James Krenov called hand planes “the violins of the woodworker’s orchestra”. I never got what he meant by that exactly other than to express his own reverence for this group of hand tools. I have never played a violin, but I have learned, over four decades of using hand planes, that the nuances of the …
Scott Seganti writes, “I ordered some lumber online for the first time and had a question about acclimation procedure. Bought some eight quarter Claro Walnut from Oregon where the average humidity is around 70%. The wood came in to this Arizona shop at 15-17% moisture content.” And by the way, this is not uncommon. We have not …
I received this question in episode 4 of the Ask Brian Boggs Show: I have a large walnut tree I will be dropping next week. Would I be better off busting out parts or part-sized pieces green or trying to store the log? Well, it’s the wrong time of year to try to store a …
I received this question in episode 4 of the Ask Brian Boggs Show: I’m having trouble with sticker stain on all white woods and the sap woods of cherry and walnut. Is there an easy way to prevent this or remedy it after the fact? Yes to both. The way that we prevent it in …
I received this question in episode 4 of the Ask Brian Boggs Show: I assume you use wide boards for many of your projects. How do you prevent wide boards from warping? I realize selection is important, but are there any other ways to prevent warpage? There are many ways to prevent warping nevertheless selection …
I received this question in episode 3 of the Ask Brian Boggs Show: I’m just starting out. How important is it to use a moisture meter? Well, if you’re making spoons, it’s not all that important, but if you’re making furniture where you’re gluing things together, or using joinery, where parts are bonded, or fixed …
I received this question in episode 2 of the Ask Brian Boggs Show: Hi, I live in Los Angeles and would like to pursue chairmaking but the lumber available here is all kiln-dried. Air-dried is not available, let alone green logs. I ran into that issue and for years taught chairmaking in both Hawthorne … Well, …
For several years, I made post and rung chairs in the greenwood tradition, where the legs had some moisture content in them still from the tree. The stretchers were super dry. For that type of construction, the ideal combination is either red maple or sugar maple for the legs, and hickory for the stretchers. Either …
