The monolithic piece is made of curly maple, a grain which causes the wood to shift color from dark to light depending on how the light is shining. Here it has been stained to a warm amber color. The effect is quite beautiful as the sun changes the light in the room throughout the day.

The lower section is a frame and panel construction with pegged mortise and tenon joints. The lipped drawers are made with hand cut half-blind dovetails . Hand carved  tombstone panels liven up  the doors.   Grain and color of each board was carefully considered to give a unified facade. On top there are gently shaped shelves for plates and glasses. It is held together with hand cut dovetails and through wedged mortise and tenons. A carefully matched scalloped valance and crown molding top it all off.

This is a stool I had been wanting to make for a while. It is based on a stool possibly made in Philadelphia between 1680 and 1720. I just love the square structure and simplicity of the doric columns. The original piece is quite small so I scaled it up a bit for a more comfortable seating height.
I upholstered them with jute webbing, burlap, horse hair stuffing and muslin. they need a layer of cotton batting when the fabric goes on. I think a solid color would be best, maybe velvet? maybe tacks?

Once I began making the parts for the stool, I realized how great it would be to make a set. They could be used a number of ways and they don’t take up much space. Arrange them in a square and they become a coffee table, though they could still be used for seating during parties (or for tying your kids shoes). They can be used as a window seat or set up in tetris shapes as room dividers.

I had a lot of fun making the columns. I lined them up in group of 18. It was cool how light and shadows changed inside as you move around. It would make a great lamp base.

The stool’s legs and stretchers are made of walnut and the rails are made of ash. It is held together with pegged mortise and tenon joints. There are sixteen joints in each stool.

They can be used around a table, like this one or something more modern. This is a curly maple tea table based on examples made by John Townsend in Newport, Rhode Island c.1760-1790.

I made a double seat one too!

This small bench was built taller than normal to allow joinery to be cut at a more comfortable height – no more bending over to see your scribe lines.  I built the base using drawbored mortise and tenon joinery.  The bench was made of Western maple.

Tall Workbench Assembled

All the joints were drawbored mortise and tenons.  I used my drill press and chisels to cut the mortises and cut the tenons with my bandsaw and tuned them with my shoulder plane and chisels.

Mortise and Tenon

In this video, I demonstrated how I shaped and installed drawbore pegs while discussing why drawbored mortise and tenon joints are effective.  Listen how the sound changes as the peg encounters the offset hole in the stretcher’s tenon.  (Duration:  1:27.)

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To keep the build simple, I only did what was necessary.  The faces of the legs were left rough-sawn and the back of the bench top still bears a live edge.  The bench top was attached to the base with four lag bolts in oversized holes to allow for expansion.  No glue was used.

In this second video, I showed how I used my sliding table saw to straighten one edge, then crosscut the two adjacent edges square.  (Duration:  3:09.)

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The bench itself required 13 hours to construct and the Moxon Vise with Flair required another two hours.

Tall Workbench

What do you think of my 13-hour Tall Workbench with Flair?

Quite a few other bloggers are documenting (or have documented) the building of their workbenches.  You can read about their benches by following these links:

• Roubo Bench Build by Vic Hubbard of Tumblewood Creations;
• Workbench Build by Eric Dinges of Kropfaktor.com;
• The Clockwork Bench by Dyami Plotke of Penultimate Workshop;
• The Roulleau Roubo Workbench by Nick Roulleau of Mansfield Fine Furniture;
• Bench #3: Roubo by Jameel Abraham of Khalaf Oud Luthery;
• Joinery Bench by Shannon Rogers of Renaissance Woodworker;
• Roubo Workbench by Shannon Rogers of Renaissance Woodworker;
• The $175 Workbench by Mike Lehikoinen;
• Roubo Workbench by Kari Hultman of The Village Carpenter;
• Workbench by Ian Mackay, Woodcanuck; and
• Workbench by Marilyn Guthrie of She Works Wood.)

(If I have missed your bench build, please leave a link in the comments section.)

The following is copied from: The Complete Book of Wood Joinery by R.J. DeCristoforo.

From “Illustrated Cabinetmaking” by Bill Hylton

Examples of standard and expresses mortise and tenon joints.

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Some shutters are designed to last longer than others due to the type of material used to make them so it’s worth asking before you buy, how long they are likely to last and what would be the best form of maintenance.

You can actually get shutters for most Windows and glass doors if you’re planning on having exterior shutters. For interior shutters a lot of people tend to opt for blinds for patio doors instead as you can now get them where they are flush with the glass doors so you don’t even need to touch the Venetian blinds when opening them.

Shutters, just like window blinds, come in all sorts of shapes and sizes and are made from various materials but the most popular choices are either vinyl or wood. Most window blinds shops also carry a range of shutters but you sometimes find them being sold in general hardware stores as well.

Here’s some examples of shutters you can buy -

If you’re going for wooden shutters your best option is to either choose ones made from cedar or basswood as both hardwoods offer the best value in terms of prolonged quality and durability. To help prevent warping, shutter designers often use mortise and tenon joints so it’s a good idea to find a shop that sells shutters with these attributes.

If I had to pick between the two I would always go for cedar wood because it offers a stunning natural look and is highly resilient to bad weather conditions. You will often find farmers using cedar wood on things like fencing polls because of its long-lasting qualities. It’s secret lies in its ability to prevent moisture penetration which will often ruin other types of wood. The tannin oil in the wood also helps its to deter bugs and insects which is another reason why it’s the preferred wood for shutters.

When I was looking for some shutters for my home I wanted to match the shutters with the wooden venetian blinds I had already installed in various rooms. This was especially important with the blinds for patio doors because they were the most noticeable. The last thing you want is to have a mismatch of window coverings because it will then just ruin the whole look. In the end I chose cedar wood and I was glad I did because it’s lasted quite a long time and looks great.

By the way, make sure you use an oil based primer which closely matches the colour of the wood as this will help to protect the wood further and you’ll be able to paint the shutters afterwards if you wish. If you don’t plan to paint them it’s definitely a good idea to stain them instead because this will add even more protection to your shutters. Just be sure to pick out the right type of staining as certain types are designed for exterior purposes and others are not.

Fitting the shutters should be relatively easy so you shouldn’t have any problems but you can always contact the place where you got them from and they should be all to advise you if needed. One important point to remember is that you leave a half inch space between the back of the panels and the wall to allow proper ventilation. It’s also good idea to use rust proof screws otherwise down the road your shutters will end up looking a little tatty with bits of rusty metal showing.

Once the shutters are fitted properly they can make quite a difference to the look of your house and provide extra protection against bad weather which is a good thing if you live in a rather windy area such as close to the seafront. So the next time you’re planning on making a home improvement don’t just think about blinds for windows or blinds for patio doors because there is also the option of buying exterior shutters because you never know, they might just make all the difference.

In case you’re wondering how on earth you’re going to fit the shutters here’s a video on how to do it.