Interview With Furniture Maker Seth Rolland
Seth Rolland is a full-time studio furniture maker producing commissioned work. His designs always incorporate flowing, moving lines. That motion has become his signature, allowing his work to be immediately recognizable. Some pieces are simply carved into curves, others are steam-bent, taper-laminated or vacuum-formed. Although a fine furniture maker, his approach to design can be utilized in many other areas of woodworking.
His work has been featured in Fine Woodworking, several books and on TV's "Modern Masters." He is represented by numerous galleries, has exhibited nationally and can be seen on the web at www.sethrolland.com .

Highland Hardware is very fortunate to be able to present Seth's workshop "Creating and Introducing Curves" in the Tage Frid Seminar Room this October. We had the opportunity to speak with Seth from his studio in Port Townsend, Washington.

Read our interview with Seth

View a slideshow of Seth's work

Employee Contribution
Finishing Lessons From a Small Shop Professional
by Chris Black

If you ask any woodworker what their weakest skill set is, they will probably say finishing. Perhaps it's because we've spent all our time mastering joinery and furniture design that we've neglected the art of finishing. As a result, we relegate ourselves to finishing with something someone recommended at a paint store that may or may not be applicable to what we're doing. Then when that doesn't work out, we fall back on slow-drying, slow-building wiping oil that at least gave us predictable results in the past. Start talking about coloring wood and we're completely lost. We'll try any old can of thin hardware store stain and pray for the best. How come we'll spend days on design and weeks on construction but give little consideration to the coloring process?

More

Helpful Hint
Bandsaw Blade Tensioning Tip

Once you have your bandsaw blade tensioned and tracked properly, there's one last bit of tuning you can do that can make a big difference in cutting performance. Before you bring the lateral guides and thrust bearings up close to the blade, shut the saw's wheel covers and turn the saw on. If the blade vibrates at all, try increasing or decreasing the tension very slightly until the blade runs in a straight, quiet, single line from wheel to wheel. You'll get a big payback from this simple step: cuts will be much smoother when you've eliminated a major source of fluttering in the kerf, and the saw will cut more efficiently and quietly as well.

For additional woodworking tips, articles & solutions visit our Library