Our cover story for the April 2011 issue is a Gustav Stickley Morris Chair, built with traditional joinery and techniques by Executive Editor Robert W. Lang. Editor Christopher Schwarz reports on Compwood – a recent innovation that allows you to bend wood without using steam or adhesives. In his first story for Popular Woodworking Magazine, Jameel Abraham (one of the founders of Benchcrafted) shows how a few shop-made appliances allow you to add stunning face-grain inlay to your work in Precision Inlay, Simple Tools. Senior Editor Glen D. Huey shows you how to make a Dovetailed Keepsake Box that doubles as a master class in tight, quickly cut dovetails. Discover from John Wilson how to make a Variable-pitch Jack Plane that can be easily adjusted from 45° to 52°. Bob Lang shows you how one afternoon of work and a scrap of wood can seriously enhance your hand-tool skills in The Gottshall Block Challenge. In this month's Tool Test we take a look at DeWalt's company routers, the CEROS sander from Mirka and Bosch's axial-glide miter saw. In Design Matters, George R. Walker shows how dovetails do double duty as a design feature and joinery. Bob Rozaieski and Wilbur Pan explore the eerie simlarities between Western and Japanese planes in Arts & Mysteries. A simple but handsome tool rack (which would also look great in the kitchen) is this issue's I Can Do That (built by Christopher Schwarz). Bob Flexner discussed the challenges of shellac in Flexner on Finishing. And, Joe McMahon shares a love story that started at a Chicago crime scene in End Grain. Plus On the Level, Letters, Tricks of the Trade and a glossary of woodworking terms used in the issue.
