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Disabilities do not define the individual. JCDC Woodworks in Ravenswood, West Virginia, demonstrates this daily by providing meaningful employment and learning opportunities—through woodworking—to individuals with intellectual, physical and emotional needs. Live edge tables and other household furnishings are carefully crafted one at a time, maintaining the natural edges and wood grain textures found in the Appalachian Mountains. Sales of these pieces help sustain the services offered.

This attractive napkin holder with its leaves at opposing angles will add pizzazz to any table. The chamfered leaves appear to float just above the surface, adding a subtle shadow line to the gently curved feet. The straightforward construction makes this a fun project to work on with a youngster or to batch-build for holiday gifts.

This maple side table has three chief features: a single, wide drawer, an open base with a large three-piece shelf, and subtle detailing to tie everything together. I stole the overall form and proportions from a functional but somewhat poorly constructed table that sat in my kitchen for some time.

I’ve been making mirrors with attached shelves for years. Recently, I started adding small objects to those shelves, including stone cairns, turned vases, and carved birds such as the one you see here. Adding these little “extras” has made the mirrors sell better, and they’re more fun to build. 

The jointer is one of those “heaven or headache” tools. When it’s working properly, it makes quick, sweet work of straightening and flattening boards. However, a poorly-tuned jointer can cause no end of frustration, yielding crooked edges, weirdly tapered pieces, and washboard surfaces.

The poor misunderstood twin tenon joint. The Internet seems fraught with dubious ways of cutting it and impractical uses for it. So what is it good for, and how do you cut the tricky thing? 

A charming oak chifforobe has graced my family for three generations, storing all sorts of household things and even surviving a couple of cross-country moves. 

Boston, 2007. Beth Ireland was at the top of her game. As a successful architectural woodworker specializing in woodturning, she was nearing the age when many people consider retirement.

I’ve had a bowed psaltery for 30 years, so I appreciated your article (p.35) in the April/May issue.

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