Category Archives: Illustrating

Hillbilly Tansu Corner Joint

Posted on June 3, 2014 by Greg Merritt

I touched on my affinity for the Japanese tansu in my last post.  I have wanted to build some version of a tansu for quite some time now.  You can explore several samples here.  There is surprisingly little information available … Continue reading →

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Knotted Pull No. 2

Posted on May 23, 2014 by Greg Merritt

Knotted Pull No. 2 consists of a tack knot with a wall knot neck.  The tack knot will give you a more traditional round knob and can be tied with three, four or more strands.  Strictly speaking the tack knot … Continue reading →

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Knotted Pull No. 1

Posted on May 18, 2014 by Greg Merritt

As promised here is the instructions for creating knotted pull no.1.  This pull consists of four crown knots and one wall knot.  So it is just a simple combination of the knots that I have posted about thus far.  The … Continue reading →

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The Wall Knot

Posted on May 16, 2014 by Greg Merritt

The wall knot is the reverse of the crown knot.  Like the crown knot, the wall knot is of limited use by itself.  However, when used is combination with other knots, the wall knot is the basis for a number of practical … Continue reading →

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The Crown Knot

Posted on May 15, 2014 by Greg Merritt

The crown knot, in and of itself it has very little use.  So why did I go to all of the trouble of creating an instructional drawing and writing this post?  The crown knot, along with  the soon to be introduced wall … Continue reading →

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The Constrictor Knot

Posted on May 9, 2014 by Greg Merritt

The constrictor knot is a very effective binding knot and was first termed by Clifford Ashley in his seminal work, “The Ashley Book of Knots“.  Although Mr. Ashley implied that he invented the knot, further research has shown that the knot … Continue reading →

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End Tables Part 1

Posted on May 8, 2014 by Greg Merritt

The current Woodworking Masterclasses series is a sofa table.  The high narrow type that is most typically found placed behind the sofa.  The series is a primer on building tables and is presented in Paul Sellers usual thorough manner.  If … Continue reading →

Posted in Design, End Tables, Illustrating | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Build Yourself a Fid

Posted on May 6, 2014 by Greg Merritt

The fid is a simple shaping project that will yield a very useful tool if you are going to undertake knot tying.  In my layout 1/4D=6mm chisel.  You can use 1/4″-3/8″ or 6mm-10mm chisel to set the width of 1/4D.  Then … Continue reading →

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Build Yourself Trammel Points

Posted on April 27, 2014 by Greg Merritt

When you start drawing full-scale layouts on a regular basis there will soon come a time when you exceed the reach of your dividers. That is where trammel points come into play. Essentially they are just a set of movable … Continue reading →

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Build Yourself a Straight Edge

Posted on April 25, 2014 by Greg Merritt

Dividers let you lay down the important points in your design.  The straight edge connects the dots to give your layout form.  I know it seems a little obvious that you need a straight edge for drawing straight lines, but … Continue reading →

Posted in 5-Tools, Design, Illustrating, Straight edge | Tagged , , | 4 Comments