I Built a Harvey Ellis Dresser and it Almost Killed Me

...fitting drawers, finishing surfaces). Late 19th and 20th century furniture making involves not just one task all day but a mix of responsibilities as well as aesthetic decisions such as deciding which way to run the grain. The Ikea dresser is made on a post-Henry Ford assembly line where workers either monitor machines and/or do the same repetitive task all day. This makes for a much cheaper product but an unhappy worker. I made many mistakes buil...

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Mortise and Tenon Magazine

...ars ago I decided to declutter some of my eclectic interests (goodbye beer making) and focus on upping my carpentry and woodworking skills. Partly, this was out of necessity. Our house needed some work and those skilled with planes and hammers are busy building custom staircases for Barbara Streisand and don’t have the time for a 980 square foot bungalow in the HaFoSaFo district. I took a few classes, subscribed to some woodworking and home buildi...

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125 Green Burials with the Green Reaper Elizabeth Fournier

...wns and operates Cornerstone Funeral Services in Boring, Oregon (we’re not making that up). She serves on the Advisory Board for the Green Burial Council. You can find her online at the Green Reaper. During the podcast we discuss: What is a green burial? The legality of green burial in the United States What’s wrong with a modern funeral? National Home Funeral Alliance Cremation vs. green burial Water cremation (alkaline hydrolysis) Burial at sea...

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Make Your Own Molding With a Table Saw

...convenience of being able to easily hang and move around pictures without making a lot of holes. Should you wish to join the table saw cult, I’d recommend getting a SawStop table saw. I have an inexpensive Delta table saw that works fine, but I had a chance to use a SawStop during a class and they seem well made in addition to their unique finger-saving safety feature. If you do not have space for a table saw or other power tools, one of the best...

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Curing Boredom with Solenoids

...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcgFfY4fVqU Sixteen year old Brandon Switzer came up with a way of dealing with boredom: build a player piano. The project uses a humble Arduino and a whole lot of solenoids. It took six months to finish. I’ve come to see the value in taking on a project that’s out of your comfort zone and this is a great example of learning while making....

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