American Woodshop begins 21st season

Co-hosts Scott and Suzy Phillips focus on American originality in furniture design and creativity in the use of hand tools as they begin American Woodshop’s 21st season on public television.

“American handmade furniture captures our free thinking ways,” Scott Phillips said in a statement. “Every woodworker puts a lot of who he or she is into their work, and most woodworkers are passionate about working with their hands. Free-form designs, like the hard line, soft line ideas of Sam Maloof, break with tradition. Freedom of expression shines when people add their own unique touches to everything they make by hand in their own shop. This leads to uniquely original furniture. That’s something to celebrate, and we do just that with Season 21 projects.”

Woodcraft Supply, Kreg Tool Co., Easy Wood Tools, Gorilla Glue Co., and O’Keeffe’s Working Hands provide funding for The American Woodshop, which is produced by WBGU-TV in Bowling Green, Ohio, and carried on 350 plus PBS stations.

In addition to furniture-making skills, several of the Season 21 projects incorporate specialized woodworking skills such as the Chippendale carvings found on the Philadelphia ball-and-claw armchair, the scroll sawing that produces scroll saw puzzles, the bending wood necessary to build the oval tray table, and the classic dovetail joints featured in the base of the Shaker-style secretary. Two other projects involve turning.

Three projects are designed for the woodshop: portable benches made from recycled hard maple, shop jigs and a two-drawer tool tray.

Rounding out the lineup are a tiled marbletop washstand, 1930 relief-accented desk, scrolled leg stand, and a curio cabinet featuring willow columns.

“There are many guests from all over America who join us to present breakthroughs in details from carving, scrolling, workbench designs, and even dust collection,” Phillips said. “We also dig into hand-tool use with planes, sharpening tools and jigs and apply these seriously sharp tools to ball and claw legs, a relief accented desk and even a tool tray.”