Woodworker's Journal eZine - From America's Leading Woodworking Authority

Keep it Moving!

Rob-Portrait As you click through the pages of the eZine this time out, you may notice a theme of sorts. Wooden bicycles and carved motorcycles -- transportation hits the woodshop. For me, transportation in the shop has a more plebeian orientation: I put everything I can in my shop on wheels. Casters are the gift that keeps on giving, in my opinion. My benchtop planer? On casters. My chop saw? On a cart — with casters. Table saw, band saw, lathe, bigger band saw, planer/jointer combo tool — all on casters.

That's just how I roll.

I admit, my addiction to all things casters may be a bit of overkill. I do tend to run an idea right into the ground. (My rolling lumber rack … turned out to be just a bit too big to actually roll.) So what about you? Are you going mobile in your shop or are you firmly planted to the ground? As always, your feedback will be shared with the gang.

Rob Johnstone, Woodworker's Journal

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Satisfaction from the Simplest of Tools

Cleaning up the surface of his workbench with a scraper was a good chance for Chris Marshall to get back to basics with one of woodworking's simplest tools.

Tile-Topped Coffee Table

This reader-submitted coffee table features hand-made joinery and a clever use of tile for the tabletop. I wanted to share this project that I'm so proud of: a custom built coffee table with marble stone tiles on top. To use stone tiles for the top of a table is a great way to give furniture [...]

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Downloadable Plans

ONLY $1.00!

Dresser-Top Coin Bank

With this handsome coin bank on your dresser top, it will always be the right time to save. It's an attractive and interesting alternative to the tray that many of us use to hold our loose change when we empty our pockets at day's end.

Pierced-Tin Spice Cabinet

This small but elegant cabinet can have many faces and a multitude of uses, not just a spice cabinet. The piece can be just as at home in the living room, perhaps as a collector's display cabinet.

Fishing Rod Rack

Fishing rods don't usually fare very well when stored in closets, garages, basements or attics. Better to keep them in a rack like this, where they can be given a measure of protection. It also makes a handsome display for the living room or den.

Keepsake Jewelry Box

If the ability to make a box is the foundation of most every carcase construction in woodworking, then this jewelry box carries the concept even further. If you can make a drawer, then you can make this box and conversely, if you can make this box, then you can make not only drawers but chests, cases and cabinets.

Tabletop Armoire

This Tabletop Armoire is an elegant piece with classic proportions. It's perfect for use as a curio cabinet or perhaps a dresser-top jewelry chest. Our armoire is made of pine, but consider using a hardwood if you don't like the painted look.

Workbench Helper

Generations of craftsmen have used these handy helpers to hold the other end of the board. They're especially useful for hand planing or jointing boards too long for a vise to support. Once you make this shop project, you'll wonder how you got along without it.

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