Workshop Design Competition: Design a dream shop for teaching – $500 in prize money and more! Our woodworking friend and author Josh Brower is creating a woodworking experience center near Houston, Texas, USA where he will host woodworking events and classes. For this project he wants to build a dream workshop for experts in their woodworking field to teach enthusiastic woodworkers wanting to learn. To this end he is offering prize money to all you Woodworkers Institute and GMC Publications wood working magazine readers to involve you in the design of this dream workshop. Take this opportunity ..read more

Chippendale Console: Steve Bisco carves a console bracket from Chippendale’s Director. Steve Bisco carves a console bracket from Chippendale’s Director To commemorate Thomas Chippendale’s 300th birthday I thought it would be fitting to make a carving from a design in his book The Gentleman & Cabinet Maker’s Director (see previous pages). Most of the designs in the Director are large and elaborate pieces intended for the grand mansions of the aristocracy. I don’t have a grand mansion so I picked one of the smallest items in the book. It is one of nine Brackets for Busts on plates CLX (160 ..read more

Butterfly Relief Carving: Andrew Thomas demonstrates how to produce a low-relief carving of a butterfly on a leaf. Andrew Thomas demonstrates how to produce a low-relief carving of a butterfly on a leaf The butterfly is arguably one of the most beautiful flying insects on the planet that lend their delicate form elegantly to the art of relief carving. The real-life creature differs slightly from the example in this article as it has three body sections – the head, chest and abdomen, plus the antennae, which can be applied to the design if you wish to add these details. This project is aimed a ..read more

Looking at Freeform Chip Carving: Murray Taylor opens up the world of freeform chip carving, introducing a new tool and taking you step by step through a basic freeform carving and on to a project idea. Murray Taylor opens up the world of freeform chip carving, introducing a new tool and taking you step by step through a basic freeform carving and on to a project idea In this article I will introduce you to the wonderful world of freeform chip carving, from the basic to the more advanced. I will introduce a new tool, work through freeform carvings from putting the drawing on to the wood to t ..read more

Dragon Brooch: Dave Western shows how to make a Welsh-inspired pin brooch. Dave Western shows how to make a Welsh-inspired pin brooch My wife is fond of wearing scarves when she braves our Canadian winters. I read somewhere that the ancient Celts would wear their beautiful brooches to keep shawls in place and I thought something like that would be good for keeping things battened down on windy days. I wasn’t prepared to attempt a traditional metal brooch like the ones the Celts of Britain made famous, but I thought a wooden one would be fun. Because wood is a slightly less robust material th ..read more

Lyre-shaped Thumbstick: Paul Purnell makes a lyre-shaped thumbstick. Paul Purnell makes a lyre-shaped thumbstick Following on from last month’s article on joining a shank to a head, a basic thumbstick is an ideal project to practise those skills. For this project, I am using the metal rod method (issue 21) to secure the head to the shank.  Things you will need• Rotary carving tool • Coarse and medium burrs • 8mm wood drill • Carving knife • Cushioned drum sander • Cloth-backed abrasive 120–400 grit • Hazel (Corylus avellona) shank • 127mm length of 8mm metal rod • Buffalo horn spacer ..read more

Louis XVI Rosette: Johan Roudy shows two different ways to carve the same pattern. Johan Roudy shows two different ways to carve the same pattern To illustrate Louis XVI style, I propose to carve a rosette in two different ways from the same design. The first one can be carved directly on a piece of furniture or woodwork, while the second can be freely glued as an appliqué. It is interesting to see the similarities and differences of the work from one technique to another. That will also give you more versatility to use this pattern at your convenience. In order to help you, the drawing incl ..read more

Insta Chippendale’s Director: Steve Bisco looks at the man and the book that transformed 18th-century cabinetmaking and carved ornament. Chippendale’s Director contains 200 pages of designs for fine furniture and carved ornament, much of it in ‘the French taste’, which we now call Rococo This year sees the 300th anniversary of the birth of one of the greatest names in woodworking history – Thomas Chippendale. He was born in Otley, Yorkshire in June 1718, the son of a cabinetmaker. As he grew up he became a cabinetmaker himself, and also a master carver of outstanding talent. By the age of 31 ..read more

Creating Panels: Murray Taylor explores the drawing and carving of a variety of decorative panels. Murray Taylor explores the drawing and carving of a variety of decorative panels In this article, I will introduce you to a selection of panels, from the basic to the more advanced, look at ideas for a different style of chip removal and then move on to a project. In many European countries decorative panels can be found in larger forms, such as ceilings, door panels, drawer fronts etc., and on smaller objects like box tops, the backs of spinning stools, name plates, planters and stick sta ..read more

Canadian furniture designer-maker, tool expert and author Vic Tesolin will be here in the UK and Ireland this autumn. Vic is one of Canada’s most popular woodworkers, known for his easy and approachable style together with a strong knowledge of woodworking. You can find him on YouTube, writing in magazines and compiling his own books. His first book The Minimalist Woodworker had some great reviews; his new book Projects from the Minimalist Woodworker: Essential Techniques for Mastering Hand Tools is due for release in 2020. At events this autumn, as a Veritas guru and ambassador, Vic ..read more