Seth Keller, Author at WoodWorkers Guild of America

Walnut DIY Knife Block Plans

November 22, 2017 By Seth Keller & filed under Last Minute Woodworking Gifts, Plans and Projects, Woodworking Projects.

Storing kitchen knives is a perpetual problem. Some people buy them one by one, and when not in use, the knives jangle inside a drawer getting dull and nicked. Other people store an enormous set of nine or ten kitchen knives, six steak knives, scissors, and a sharpening steel in a huge angled knife block…

A Super Simple Table

February 23, 2015 By Seth Keller & filed under Furniture, Furniture Making, Plans and Projects, Woodworking Projects.

If you’re looking for a cool last minute gift, or just a great project, this table is for you. Incredibly, it can be made it about one hour!

Easy Shop-Made Knobs

October 9, 2014 By Seth Keller & filed under Jigs and Fixtures, Plans and Projects, Woodshop Projects.

Custom Knobs Create a Warm and Personal Shop Jigs are everywhere in my workspace. Taper jigs, custom sleds and even fixtures for boring holes populate my shop in alarming numbers. Single use jigs are crude, but jigs made for the long-term get special treatment. While cast plastic polycarbonate knobs are available at woodworking stores, I…

Hearing Protection for the Woodshop

August 29, 2014 By Seth Keller & filed under Buying Advice, Tool Education.

Why Hearing Protection is Important My first job out of college was framing houses. The contractor I worked for was ‘old school.’ Protective gear like gloves, earplugs or safety glasses were generally viewed as signs of weakness. For a long time I tried to be a tough guy. After an afternoon of air-nailing fire blocking…

Leigh Super FMT Frame Mortise and Tenon Jig Tool Review

March 12, 2014 By Seth Keller & filed under Buying Advice, Joinery, Product Review.

Accuracy and Repeatability The Leigh FMT Mortise and Tenon Jig is super fast at milling mortise and tenon joints. A little sibling to the industrially machined aluminum Leigh Pro FMT, this less expensive model is made out of 10 and 12 gauge bent and bolted steel. Arriving standard with the jig is a 5/16” spiral…

Recipe Box

December 16, 2013 By Seth Keller & filed under Last Minute Woodworking Gifts, Plans and Projects, Woodworking Projects.

Let the Feast Begin! At our house, we use an iPad search for much of our cooking, but we also have a slew of recipes passed down from grandparents or culled from the Food & Wine section of the local newspaper. I’ll never throw away these pre-internet culinary gems, and I’ve designed a simple, beautiful…

Custom Cut Butterfly Joints

December 2, 2013 By Seth Keller & filed under Portable Power Tools, Router, Skill Building.

Handmade Graduated Butterflies Are Stunning The butterflies or ‘dutchmen’ embedded in this desktop are custom sized and cut on a bandsaw. Butterflies stabilize the crack and also provide a focal point on top of the desk to highlight your woodworking skills. When making butterfly joints, I tend to avoid templates available at woodworking stores. In…

Graco TrueCoat II Review

November 4, 2013 By Seth Keller & filed under Buying Advice, Product Review.

I have tried practically every method of finishing, but waterborne finish technology continues to evolve, keeping me on my toes. Clients recently requested flat panel cabinet doors and end panels to replace their existing ones, but they wanted lacquer-like smoothness with an environmentally friendly finish. Balancing all of the variables like cost, durability, ease of…

Table Top Fracture Repair

August 1, 2013 By Seth Keller & filed under Shop Tips, Skill Building.

Much of the work I do utilizes beautiful, live-edge hardwood slabs like this 34” wide piece of Red Oak. Because my sources are often different, I rarely know how long the wood has been drying, what the conditions were, and if the wood will move much when I get it back to my shop. I…

Countertop Connectors for Project Assembly

February 14, 2013 By Seth Keller & filed under Cabinet Making, Skill Building.

A client recently asked me to design a platform bed for him. Beds are always a challenge; because of the large size, they must always disassemble for transport and delivery yet be rock solid when set up. The large miter on the corner of the platform presented a particular problem. The long joint needed to…