The August Issue of PWW has arrived...

[Chris Griggs]

...and along with it our friend Zach Dillinger's article on his William and Mary spice chest. I must say its a very very good article. I'd go as far as to say that it hits exactly what's typically missing from handtool media. That is, that it doesn't spend its time rehashing techniques that have been done to death and can be looked at a million different ways on youtube. Rather it covers the how/when/why you proceed with techniques when constructing the piece. For instance, Zach took the time to tell you which faces he used as references faces, which while basic, is REALLY important when you build something entirely by hand, not always obvious to figure out, and is almost never covered in project build articles. When you read the article you really "get" how you would go about making the piece...you can really see yourself going through the process because you really get a good idea of where to start and where to end. And...you learn some good basic things that could be applied as rules of thumb for the construction of any case piece.

Zach does, btw, cover a couple specific techniques as well (e.g. veneering), but they are a) not something you see covered all that much and b) only one part of an article that does a great job detailing the complete construction of this lovely piece of furniture.

Kudos Zach!!!! Really great work. I hope to see more.

And Megan! No, not you, the other Megan. Yes you, Megan Fitzpatrick, Editor (or is it Senior Editor now?) of PWW. I want to see more of this stuff...so get this man to write some more articles for you guys... please :)

[Winton Applegate]

Thanks for pointing this article out. The spice chest is one of my favorite pieces.
i agree, often too much rehashing of same old "this is a chisel you poke it in and out like this" ; in FWW's case how to that was two issues back. I look for personal or unique info: why they like this piece, what or who got them interested in it, history of it, where to see other examples, variations of it, other masters of the design.
i almost bought the latest FWW today because they were , for a change, focused on fine wood working but i already know about the basics of shellac and cabinet scrapers. I may break my hadit and actually buy this issue of FWW but the "fine" is still missing that PWW has a handle on these days.

[Megan Fitzpatrick]

Chris,
Duly noted! (And I'll just add to your kind words about Zach – in addition to being a great maker, he's a very good writer, and easy to work with (heck - we asked him to do a SketchUp model (that's how we generate the illustrations) and even though he'd never before used the program, he figured it out and delivered!).
Megan (editor & content director, to answer your question)

[Chris Griggs]

Glad he's working out for you as an editor and content director as well as he is for me as a reader. It really is a very good and fresh article and just flat out a cool choice of project.

I'm impressed you got him to use Sketchup...what little I know Zach I would have expected him to deliver his plans hand drawn on parchment to you via horseback;)

[Hilton Ralphs]

That LinenFold article looks pretty awesome. I know you can get router bits to do this but the thought didn't cross my little mind that carving it is the original method.

[Chris Griggs]

Yeah, that's good article too. Mary Mae explains things very well. IIRC, she uses just a couple molding planes and a few carving tools. Very neat article. Glenn Huey has a nice little build of a "Southern Gents Mirror Stand" in there is as well. It looks like one of those projects that would be a lot of fun to knock out in a weekend or two. I kinda want to build it just so I can go off the deep end and start shaving at it with my straight razor, and imagine that I'm a gentleman.

I'm very pleased with what PWW is putting out these days, and always get excited when my digital issue arrives in my email box (no connection to the mag BTW, just a satisfied customer). They have a nice variety of content and content writers and I think they pick cool projects. I also have an online subscription to FWW, which is nice because it gives me access to old articles so its a good research tool when there is something specific I want to learn about, but I almost never read the new FWW issues. I like some of what they do too but A) are just not doing nearly as well a job as PWW at picking unique and interesting projects and b) the articles just aren't as well written.

I don't know how to say this w/o sounding nasty, but a lot of what I see in FWW seems kind of shallow...as in I don't read an article and think "that's a great project or great technique, maybe I'll make something similar or apply that method here", but rather I read those articles and think - "okay so that's how that guy builds this specific mission chair, and ???" IDK, guess I just don't feel like I get as much applicable knowledge or inspiration from FWW, its more of "hey you can build this too just like the author did, all you need to do is buy the full-sized plan". And while I actually do think its cool that they offer full size plans for a lot of there stuff, I don't feel like I should need to buy it to get something useful from the article. I don't want to overstate this. Like I said, I do like a lot of their stuff, and they do provide nice exploded views and such of their projects, but again, I just think PWW is doing a better job with content presently and when I read their articles I feel like I am left with better knowledge of how to construct furniture in general vs how to build a replica of the project being showcased (in addition I'm more likely to want to replicate a PWW project just because I think they're picking more interesting stuff).

Anyway, I like having access to the FWW library well enough that I keep my subscription active, but I definitely enjoy actively reading PWW a lot more these days. Keep up the good work Megan et. al.

[Zach Dillinger]

I really like Glen's Gents Mirror. I may have to make one for myself.

Thanks Chris (and Megan) for the kind words. Doing this kind of work is a lot of fun!

Zach

[Megan Fitzpatrick]

Thanks Chris - we'll do our best to continue to improve and to exceed expectations.

[Chris Griggs]

I really like Glen's Gents Mirror. I may have to make one for myself.

Thanks Chris (and Megan) for the kind words. Doing this kind of work is a lot of fun!

Zach

My pleasure.

Yeah the mirror really is pretty cool. Maybe I'll build that next...I like that mitered rabbet joint and would like to mess with his techniques for aging/weathering the paint. You realize if you make that mirror you will be required to start shaving with a straight razor right? Just let me or Dave know when you're ready...we'll help you get started :).

[Chris Griggs]

Thanks Chris - we'll do our best to continue to improve and to exceed expectations.

Always glad to provide positive feedback, and thank you for listening to customer feedback. Glenn especially is consistently putting out great articles, I don't work anywhere near in the same way he does which is why I like Zachs article so much but I find myself wanting to build everything Glenn makes lately. Looking forward to seeing Chucks contributions, though I'm kinda pissed that you stole him from my neck of the woods.

[Mel Fulks]

Concerning the linen fold ,we made a pair of white oak doors once. Used a moulder to make lineal footage of one side of overall design ,cut to rough length ,carefully jointed and glued up and trimmed to finished length . Routed some of the end flat and sent to a good carver to get the ends done.That last step was really important. In England linen fold stuff has been moved around and reused many times and is often seen shortened and without the carved ends. I've always thought that would be a good look for kitchen cabinets. Only saw it used that way once,in a magazine ad for some kitchen product.

[lowell holmes]

I wonder why my copy has not showed up?

Has anyone else not received their August Issue?

[Bob Lang]

Copies of the August issue have just entered the mail stream. They ship from different locations and generally take longer than 1st class mail. Some areas will see the issue sooner than others. If you haven't seen yours in a week or so, get in touch with the magazine. And if you want to be first in line, digital issues are available now.

Bob Lang

[Chris Griggs]

Yes, I have a digital subscription so I got an email to download it earlier this week. Print will take longer.

[Chris Hachet]

Thanks Chris - we'll do our best to continue to improve and to exceed expectations.
You guys have really been exceeding expectations for awhile now...

[Ryan Baker]

Looks like a good issue. I just bought the digital version.

[lowell holmes]

Bpb, thanks for responding.

[lowell holmes]

It came today! :)

[Ray Bohn]

It came today! :)

I still haven't seen mine....