McCormack designed this piece around a granite drilling core from the Massachusetts Avenue Bridge in Boston. McCormack used 60 sheets of 80-grit sandpaper to polish the granite, spending over two and a half days at the lathe. He incorporated a variety of wood into the table design (bloodwood, Macassar ebony, Swiss pear, madrone burl, and pernambuco) and topped the table with glass.
The piece took several hundred hours to complete. McCormack named it after Oliver R. Smoot Jr., an MIT undergrad whose body-length was used by in a fraternity escapade to measure the bridge (it measures about 364.4 Smoots and one ear long.)
Photo: Mitch Rice
Fine Woodworking Recommended Products
Bumblechutes Bee’Nooba Wax
Ease of Use = Very good Sheen = Very good Appearance = Very good Non-Yellowing = Very good Water/Stain Resistance = Excellent
Bosch has produced another quality miter saw. It not only fits tight to the wall; it also has the shortest distance to the miter lock. The saw’s generous miter range is complemented by its large selection of miter detents. However, it falls short in a few areas. The handle is nicely ambidextrous, but its large size may make it cumbersome for all but large hands. I also found the miter and bevel controls, including their locks, stiff. The saw is the only model in the field with no light, either an LED or laser.
The Festool Rotex is a top-of-the-line choice. On its coarse setting, it removed stock nearly twice as quickly as the second-fastest model. But that speed doesn’t mean you’ll have to wrestle with it. It’s no huge task to control it with two hands, and its long body gives you plenty of room to find a sweet spot while holding it.
With its graceful curves, cabriole legs, and ornamental back splat, a Queen Anne side chair is a bucket list build for many woodworkers. Dan Faia had a very specific Queen…
Become an UNLIMITED member and get it all: searchable online archive of every issue, how-to videos, Complete Illustrated Guide to Woodworking digital series, print magazine, e-newsletter, and more.
Log in or create an account to post a comment.
Sign up Log in