The New Yankee Workshop

After a tour of The New Yankee Workshop to preview the collection of furniture he will build in the first season, Norm visits a "retiring room" at the Hancock Shaker Village in western Massachusetts to find a model for a handcrafted medicine cabinet. Drawing inspiration from a looking glass and cabinet, Norm uses durable red oak and oak plywood to construct a medicine chest of his own design featuring box-joint joinery

Norm uses ash, a durable hardwood, to fashion a drop-leaf table featuring turned legs, a top and leaves made from glued up stock. Norm shows how to turn the table legs on a duplicating lathe and reveals a few tricks for making mortise and tenons joints. Using a router and two special bits, he shows how the drop-leaf joint is made.

Norm constructs a bedside table inspired by one found at the Hancock Shaker Village in western Massachusetts. Norms design, made from pine, features a shallow drawer, table legs tapered on the inner sides and a table top with a breadboard design (glued boards edged with wood on two ends).

After a look at a pine trestle table in a Shaker house on the island of Nantucket off the Massachusetts coast, Norm constructs his own easily-disassembled trestle table of cherry, a hardwood which, if kiln-dried, resists twisting or shrinking over time. Norm shows how to glue up the boards that comprise the expansive table top and demonstrates how to make the two trestles and the stretcher which connects them.

Norm demonstrates how to build a chest of drawers using Ponderosa pine. He cuts and planes the wood, glues the boards fro the top and sides. He also illustrates how to build the drawers including the drawer case, the frames, and the base. The chest measures 42" high x 41 1/2" wide x 19" deep. Norm makes his own design from Ponderosa pine, showing how to cut and plane the wood, glue the boards and build the drawers, frame and base.

Norm demonstrates how to build a hutch using knotty pine. The hutch consists of a base cabinet that has raised panel doors and an open shelf section. It measures 81 1/2" high x 56" wide x 18" deep. In the kitchen of the Fitch house at Old Stourbridge, Norm shows us an early American `hutch then builds his own pine version back at the workshop.

Norm constructs a corner cupboard of pine and plywood. His design employees a top section that is enclosed by glass paned doors and a base cabinet with raised panel doors. The cupboard dimensions are 86 1/2" high x 42" wide x 30" deep. Norm makes his own corner cupboard from pine and plywood, incorporating a top section with glass doors and a base cabinet with raised panel doors.

Norm designs his own version of the rustic Adirondack chair out of cypress, an excellent wood that needs no preservatives or treatment.

After a look at an early 18th-century kitchen cupboard at Old Sturbridge Village, a "living history" museum in Sturbridge, Massachusetts, Norm constructs his own version from pine featuring open shelves above a base cabinet whose door sports an antique-style hinge. He shows a pattern to draw the curved outline of the side pieces, then uses a hand-held saber saw to make the cut, saving the cut-out portions to make shelves. Using a molding head cutter on his table saw, Norm demonstrates how to add a decorative bead to the shelves.

Norm visits the Shelbourne Museum in Burlington, Vermont to examine an antique pencil-post bed with a rope support system and a hay-filled mattress. Norm then adapts this design to accommodate a standard full-size mattress and box spring, and builds his pencil-post bed of poplar featuring mortise and tenon joints in the construction. The bedposts are tapered on the two inner sides, then beveled on all four corners to produce eight-sided, asymmetrically tapered posts.

Norm constructs a kitchen table that functions equally well as a dining table or a worktable. Built of pine, the table features tapered legs and storage drawers, with a center rail joining the pairs of legs. Norm employs a specially made tapering jig to fashion the legs and uses mortise-and-tenon joints to put the table together.

In a change of pace, Norm shows how to build picture and mirror frames, emphasizing tools and clamps designed specifically for this purpose. Norm uses a mitre box and a table saw outfitted with a jig to cut frames and demonstrates a variety of techniques to fasten corners.

Norm leaves his trademark plaid shirt and jeans at home and dons a stylish suit and derby when he visits London for a look at an authentic English garden bench. Norm constructs his version from teak. The bench is assembled entirely with mortise and tenon joinery and pegs to ensure its strength and durability. Norm shows how to shape the benchs many curved pieces on the band saw, demonstrates how to create tenons with a tenoning jig mounted on the table saw, and reveals a trick for cutting angled mortises on the drill press.

Norm builds a three-step version of the classic Shaker step stool and a more elaborate two-step version of it. He uses hand held power tools and hand tools to build the three-step stool form Pine. He uses a sophisticated dovetail jig to craft the joinery for the two-step stool, which is made of Cherry. The two-step stool is 25 1/4" high x 16" wide x 11 5/8" deep. The three-step stool is 25 1/4" high x 17 3/4" wide x 13 1/2" deep.

Norm builds a Shaker style blanket chest using pine. He uses an acrylic latex paint to finish the outside and clear urethane on the inside. He adds two storage drawers to the chest base. The chest measures 36 1/4" high x 41 1/2" wide x 19" deep.

Based on a clock built by Shaker craftsman, Isaac Young, Norm crafts a wall clock from Walnut and adds a modern-day quartz timepiece to it. The clock dimensions are 33 3/16" high x 11 1/8" wide x 4 5/16" deep.

Norm builds a harvest table from Cherry. It has turned legs and a hand-rubbed Danish oil finish. The drop leaves allow chairs to be pushed under the table when they are in the down position. The table dimensions are 30" high x 39" wide x 71 3/4" long.

Norm crafts a Cherry library table. He demonstrates how to match the grain on the front of the two overlaid drawers. The table measures 30" high x 16" wide x 48" long.

Norms hardwood cricket table is crafted with complex angled mortise and tenon joinery. He uses a set of jigs to ensure that the pieces fit together properly. The table is 27" high with a 29" diameter top.

Norm uses a band saw to aid his in constructing a Mahogany frame for a full-length standing mirror. He uses a router to give the piece a softer edge. The frame measures 68 1/4" high x 27 1/4" wide x 20" deep.

Norm fashions an outdoor lidded bench from Cypress. The bench measurements are 55 1/4" high x 36" wide x 18 1/4" deep.

Norm uses recycled pallet wood to build a unique and rustic coffee table. He demonstrates how to prepare the slats by planing them. The table dimensions are 16 1/4" high x 19" wide x 40" long.

Norm designs a tall Shaker style chest modeled after one he viewed at Hancock Shaker Village. The chest measures 78 3/4" high x 45 1/4" wide x 18 5/8" deep.

Norm builds a simple, yet elegant, console table with a half-round top using knotty Pine. He crafts curved legs using a band saw. The table measures 29 1/2" high x 44 3/8" wide x 22 1/2" deep.

Norms umbrella stand is built from light Oak and features a mirror and clay pot holders to catch the water from umbrellas. He achieves the "burnt" effect by fuming the piece in an airtight chamber he fashioned for this purpose. The stand measures 80 1/2" high x 35" wide x 11 1/8" deep.

Norm builds a dovecote modeled after an elaborate one found in Colonial Williamsburg. Smaller than the original, it measures 60" high x 54" wide x 42" deep.

Norm builds his version of a perennial favorite, the Victorian kitchen table, using a design that combines the best features of three tables he studied in Britain. Made of century-old "sinker" pine salvaged from river bottoms in the southeastern United States, the table has a deep storage drawer that extends halfway under the table. Norm demonstrates how to incorporate this drawer into the tables design and how to turn the tables sturdy legs on a lathe.

Norm visits a private collection in an English castle and discovers a Delft rack from 1780. The Delft rack - an oak rack that is the ideal way to display china and figurines-has a cornice molding built up from up five different-shaped pieces of wood that fool the eye and "read" as one. Norm demonstrates how to mill the fluted casings, and how to use patterns to create decorative cutouts and fretwork that embellish this piece.

Norm creates two outdoor planters: one thats square with raised panels and a second thats simpler, larger and rectangular, with vertical slats. The master woodworker demonstrates how to craft the small planters raised panels on a table saw and turn its finials on a lathe. (Both planters are "sinker" cypress, an excellent outdoor wood that weathers to an attentive silver-gray.)

We call these buffets, huntboards or servers in America, but theyre sideboards in England, and some are up to nine feet long. Norms smaller white oak version has three drawers, fiddle-shaped legs and a pot board (a large open shelf between the legs for storage). Norm guides viewers in cutting the curves of the piece on a scroll saw.

Norm teaches viewers how to make flat panel doors as well as glass panel doors for the display area of this English country cupboard. Made of soft #2 pine with knots to impart added character, the practical piece has tongue-and-groove backing.

Although Norm researched arbors in old England, the one that he builds is inspired by versions from the New England island of Nantucket. Norms arbor, meant for sitting and enjoying the beauty of the garden, is built from redwood and presents the challenge of fashioning an arch out of segments of wood fixed together with a new water-resistant glue. Norm also tackles making diamond-shaped lattice panels for this project.

Norm suspects that the original of this English country clock found on Londons Kings Road, with its tapered profile, may have been built by the village coffin maker. Norm builds up its mouldings from a combination of off-the-shelf mouldings and others made at the workshop, and selects an inexpensive quartz movement.

Adult viewers may be as excited about this doll house as the children it is intended for when Norm creates a true-to-scale replica of his now-famous workshop. Norm gets some ideas from a late-Victorian example located in the Barrett House in New Hampshire, but his final design is less gender-specific, with the familiar great room that is the home of The New Yankee Workshop as well as two stories of smaller rooms and a garage - all features never before seen on camera. With some custom accessorizing, this doll house can easily be rendered appropriate for boys or girls or both. The project involves extensive work with the table saw and router.

Norm visits Old Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge, Massachusetts for the inspiration behind this Early American hooded cradle, one of the most commonly requested projects on The New Yankee Workshop. The construction includes finger joints and a sliding dovetail for the rocker. Norms choice of durable cherry is rendered particularly rich with a Danish oil finish. With its distinctive hood and graceful lines, this piece is destined to become an heirloom.

Norm considers a historic example of the classic marble roll, as well as a huge mechanical version located at Bostons Museum of Science. His own design emphasizes safety, proportioned for marbles too large for a child to swallow, while the entire unit is small enough to be portable. It is a relatively simple project, made primary on the table saw, that can often be constructed from workshop scraps.

Norm builds this project for the "A" student in the house - a desk inspired by the memory of his own version from high school. The durable laminate panels provide a smooth desktop surface for writing that will still look great after years of use. Norm demonstrates how to apply high-pressure laminates and uses mortise and tenon joinery for the stylish oak frames. The oak is sealed with polyurethane for durability.

Norm builds an "Alphabet" wagon.

Norms blockbuster project for the sixth season is a playhouse that boys and girls alike will love. He begins work by building the floor platform and prefabricating the walls, then assembling the frame in the backyard. Perfect for tea parties and secret meetings, this playhouse is also a handsome addition to any yard. Norm continues work on his playhouse, concentrating on the wood shingle roof and the many details that he refers to as "goodies," from the window box to the Dutch door. This is the project that Norms younger viewers are likely to be clamoring for loudest of all. This is part 1 of 2.

Norm visits Old Sturbridge Village, a "living history" museum in Sturbridge, Massachusetts, to investigate colonial life and furnishings and returns to the workshop with a period design for an X-brace trestle table. The handsome sturdiness of this versatile cherry piece makes it a welcome addition to any room, whatever the decor.

True to its name, this handsome mahogany piece is actually a tray and table in one: the tray features simple, sturdy handles that allow it to he used independently of its stand. Inspired by the TV tray tables of the 1950s and 60s, Norms design seamlessly joins form with function.

Norm builds a cherry bathroom vanity based on one he designed for his own home, guiding the woodworker through the details of constructing the vanitys raised panel doors using only a router. Norm also explains the techniques involved in forming the pieces solid-surface top.

Norm visits Old Schwamb Mill, the oldest operating custom frame factory in the country. Back at the workshop, he uses both stock moulding and several original designs to demonstrate the techniques used in making picture and mirror frames. Norm also offers step-by-step instructions on how to create mattes for the artwork.

A visit to the Center for Wooden Boats in Seattle, Washington launches this challenging and exciting project which is modeled after a "class boat" known as the "Clancy." Back at the workshop, Norm builds the lightweight boat from scratch using 3 x 10 lengths of marine veneer mahogany plywood and an epoxy and fiberglass system to make the craft watertight. With the final coat of epoxy sanded and the last strokes of paint and waterproof finish applied, host Norm puts the SS New Yankee 1 and 2 to the test! Norm and This Old House host, Steve Thomas, take the workshop-built Clancy boats for a sail. This is part 2 of 2.

Norm begins work on one of the most ambitious projects ever attempted at The New Yankee Workshop. Brilliantly conceived and executed, Norms intimate octagonal, screened gazebo reflects several popular Victorian styles and features a cedar deck, clever, collar-tied rafters, and a unusual tapered, cedar-shingled roof, the projects most challenging element. Norm offers useful tips on how to build screens as he creates the screen door and panels for his gazebo. The final decorative touches are applied as the Victorian latticework is assembled and mounted and the copper finial takes its place atop this storybook garden pavilion. This is part 2 of 2.

Salvaged wide pine boards, some more than 200 years old, are the material of choice for Norms version of this free-standing Shaker-inspired cabinet. More than seven feet tall and featuring a flat-paneled door and five interior shelves, this versatile piece proves an ideal kitchen pantry, linen or sweater chest.

Built of recycled chestnut barn timber, this generously sized coffee table is a reproduction pine table displayed at the Grace Family Vineyards in St. Helena. Featuring large turned legs and a natural oil finish, this table is as individual as the limited edition Cabernet Grace the vineyard is famous for.

Norm finds the quintessential gathering table - its 10 feet long - in the wine tasting room at the Myacamas Vineyards in Napa Valley. He fully demonstrates his master craftsmanship by reproducing this impressive piece of furniture, destined to become a family heirloom. To add to the integrity and value of this piece, he uses two different types of recycled pine that are peppered with interesting wood knots, buckshot and other natural irregularities.

Another piece found in a private collection in wine country, this elegantly simple desk has an expansive surface, a single center pencil drawer and nicely turned legs. The original was made of pine, but for his version, Norm uses a harder chestnut that is better for writing surfaces. As straight forward and unpretentious as the best American antiques - or wines this desk can easily double as a table.

In keeping with the wine-country theme, this project is much more than just a wine rack. It is the perfect system for people who take wine collecting seriously. Made of redwood and designed as a four-sided display, this storage unit holds 10 cases of wine while providing additional storage for glasses, corkscrews and oversized bottles, plus a platform for serving. No wine aficionado will want to return from a tasting tour of Napa Valley to anything less.

Norm builds a handsome and practical storage shed outside The New Yankee Workshop. The 12-by-8-foot shed with an attached recycling and rubbish center has plenty of room for the lawn mower, snow blower and other lawn and garden tools. Four windows let in the light, and a large door welcomes over-sized equipment. The recycling center has enough covered space for sorting and for holding rubbish barrels. The building is finished with Western red cedar clapboards, shingles and galvanized hardware to resist the elements. This is part 1 of 2.

Here is a practical project that harks back to the first half of the season: the design for this nest of drawers is based on an antique found in a Nantucket shop. A 10-drawer storage unit built of recycled pine, this versatile piece will be equally coveted by the handy person, who will want it for the workshop, and the decorator, who will want to display it on a table or hang it on a wall. The compartments are perfect for storing odds and ends like stamps, hardware or craft supplies.

Norm begins his search for low-country furniture projects in Savannahs famed Monterey Square at the home of antique map and print dealers, Virginia and John Duncan. On their veranda, Norm discovers a quintessential piece of the Old South, a planters desk. Once used by cotton and tobacco farmers for bookkeeping, the desk can function quite well today as a compact, home office. Featuring nicely tapered legs, a hinged desktop, and plenty of shelves, it also has enough room to accommodate a small computer. Back East in the New Yankee Workshop, Norm builds this piece out of recycled pine and finishes it with a new pastel stain to give it a "pickled" look.

On a sojourn to the quaint New England island of Nantucket, Norm found a wonderful lidded settle that can double as extra storage space and a hallway showpiece. Norm crafts a rendition out of beautiful cherry wood and, in the process, demonstrates a variety of intermediate woodworking techniques including spindle-turning and how to make framed panels.

In the 1800s, a dough box provided a warm hiding place for bread dough to rise. When Norm crafts his version of this simple design out of antique pine and adds a hinge to the lid, he turns it into a great-looking, modern-day, chest-on-legs.

Norm takes viewers in to his favorite antique haunt on the quaint New England island of Nantucket where he discovers two distinctive wooden trays. Deeming them the perfect weekend woodworking projects, Norm crafts the more primitive fruit tray out of recycled pine, and, for the first time on The New Yankee Workshop, introduces the craft of metal-smithing when he fashions the cherry trays hardware out of brass.

Norm spied this regal nineteenth-century English mahogany, seven-drawer chest in the back room of Alex Raskins renowned antique shop on Monterey Square in Savannah. This well-proportioned, chest-on-chest features period brass hardware pulls, edge banding, and dovetail drawers.

He may be Americas favorite master carpenter, but Norm readily admits that hes a "brown thumb," when it comes to gardening. This greenhouse is the perfect project for the serious backyard gardener (or someone who knows one) who is "workshop bound" for the winter. Norm fabricates this design out of redwood and polycarbonate panels. Built to withstand even the toughest weather conditions, this greenhouse provides enough insulation and light to sustain plants during the long winter months. This is part 1 of 2.

Between shooting The New Yankee Workshop and This Old House, Norm rarely has time to build anything for himself. And, like the rest of us, he readily admits his own home is "a work in progress." So, Norm is taking this woodworking project home. With his own Rumford fireplace awaiting adornment, Norm takes the opportunity to design this classic Colonial fireplace mantel and builds it using a variety of woods and moldings readily available at home centers nationwide.

Norm asks, "Have you ever noticed that most armoires and linen presses are too big to fit in todays rooms and look just right?" However, in a private collection in Savannah, Georgia, he finds a beautiful antique linen press whose three-foot by six-foot size make it versatile enough to fit in almost any room. Featuring streamlined, raised-panel double doors with detail beading, its simple design seems almost modern. Back in The New Yankee Workshop, Norm recreates this piece out of recycled pine to give it a vintage look.

Though a gardener friend uses his handsome antique library ladder to display a collection of vintage watering cans, Norm vows that it can also be used for more utilitarian purposes. He builds this intermediate woodworking project out of recycled, long leaf Southern yellow pine and in the process, demonstrates how to craft its defining feature - splayed legs joined by a hinged crossbar.

In Arizona, Norm goes on a search for Arts and Crafts-style furniture in Tucsons Historic Arts District. Responding to the many viewer requests he receives each season to build more of the ever-popular Arts and Crafts-style projects, Norm ventures into the F.L. Wright Furniture Gallery where he finds a virtuoso example of the era-a classic, reclining Morris chair. Norm recreates this vintage design out of quarter-sawn white oak and in the process, shares his secrets for mastering the techniques required to build the chairs reclining back.

Norms expedition to Arizona in search of Arts and Crafts-style furniture projects to build in The New Yankee Workshop leads him to Arroyo Design, a small custom furniture company in Tucson, where he spies a beautiful, glass-front bookcase inspired by the famous Greene Brothers. Featuring divided pane windows and the Greene Brothers trademark square-peg detailing, its true artisan qualities make it one of the most sophisticated pieces in this seasons collection. To ensure its heirloom value, Norm crafts this project out of mesquite and in the process educates viewers on how to work with this native Sonoran desert hardwood.

On a recent sojourn to Nantucket, Norm is invited to view a local antique dealers private collection of childrens toys and whimsical whirligigs. Inspired by their endearing humor, Norm decides to build his own mechanized version of The New Yankee Workshops logo, featuring Norm, himself, working at the table saw.

Norm visits the Old Schwamb Mill in Arlington, Massachusetts. Built in 1860, the mill was purchased in 1864 by German immigrant woodworkers, Charles and Frederick Schwamb. The brothers did a brisk business crafting the oval picture frames which, at the time, were in demand to display photographs of Civil War soldiers. In the Schwamb Brothers old office, Norm spies a handsome, quarter-sawn oak roll top desk, which inspires him to build his version of this American classic. This is part 1 of 2.

Its a little known secret that when Norm is not in The New Yankee Workshop or on a This Old House job site, he can be found in his own kitchen cooking for friends and family. Viewers who share his interest in the culinary arts were the top of his mind when Norm created this Kitchen Island.

Norms kitchen secretary solves the problem of creating a work space in the kitchen that still allows you to keep tabs on the dinner thats cooking on the stove and to take part in family conversation. Built out of mahogany, the ingenuity of its design can be found in its efficient use of space. Hung from the wall, this handsome piece features adjustable shelves to store cookbooks or a small TV and cubby holes for organizing recipes, bills, or correspondence. Below that theres a hinged desk front which folds down and offers enough space to accommodate a laptop computer. Watch and learn how to: create raised panels and intricate shelving work, and mortise and tenon joinery.

Woodworkers who entertain are going to love making Norms attractive, custom-designed teak bar. Featuring great-looking, nautical-inspired brass hardware and stunning louver doors, the bar promises to hold everything a party giver needs. The interior of the wall-mounted upper cabinet features a traditional mirror back, two glass shelves, and accent lighting to showcase a prized glass or crystal collection. The bottom cabinet unit features a durable teak countertop with a hammered-brass service sink and spout for easy cleaning. Underneath, a divided cabinet features a roll-out tray for storing spirits and snacks on one side and enough space to accommodate an ice maker on the other. Though Norm admits its louver and sliding doors make it a more complex woodworking project, its decorative appeal and utilitarian value justify the challenge.

Viewers who share his interest in the culinary arts were on Norms mind when he designed several woodworking projects exclusively for the family chef. For the pastry chef, he consulted with good friend Chef Marian Morash of the Victory Garden.

The universal carpentry and cabinetry lessons that woodworkers will learn while making these classic kitchen cabinets will enable them to build any kind, says Norm. This two-unit piece consists of a wall-mounted, upper cabinet with double-glass doors and a bottom unit with raised paneled doors for storage. Its classic look comes from its basic cabinetry style, cornice moulding, soapstone countertop, and vintage-looking cafe hardware made of brushed nickel. Watch and learn: basic cabinetry making skills, how to create glass and raised paneled doors, drawer construction, and techniques for making adjustable shelves.

Norm found the inspiration for this simple press cupboard in a Nantucket house he vacationed in last summer and was convinced that the antique originals modest size offered just the right amount of space to store linens and serving utensils for entertaining. Featuring streamlined flat-paneled doors, an upper drawer, and turned feet, its simple design seems almost modern. Norm crafts this piece out of recycled pine to give it a vintage look. Watch and learn: how to create flat-paneled doors, making shelves, using the lathe to create turned feet.

For the outdoor chef, Norm offers a solution to the shortcomings of modern barbecue grills-extra counter space-with a rolling grill cart made of weather-friendly redwood and cedar. Cart also features a pullout drawer, towel racks, hooks for utensils, and a large bottom shelf.

If only I had a workshop like Norms, I could build anything. Norm puts an end to this common viewer lament when he shows how to turn an average garage bay into a great home workshop. Using common building materials and hardware, he builds all the elements needed to make a workshop functional cabinetry, storage units, and a portable chop station. The genius of Norms original design, however is that each element can be put away to make room for the family car when not in use or easily transported to any space a woodworker decides to set up shop. At the conclusion of this ambitious two-part project, Norm gives his list of must-have bench top power tools to ensure that every home craftsman will be able to utilize the workshop to its fullest. This is part 2 of 2.

Following a trip to Newport, Rhode Island to learn the finer points of the game, Norm builds his own special croquet mallet and a bench in which to store all the equipment. Sad to say his game is not good.

Bowing to numerous requests from fans, Norm designs and builds a complex of clever spaces for the home office that will accommodate the family computer and all its peripherals.

After looking through the offerings of a country store, Norm finds the inspiration to build a small lock-and-key style writing desk which was popular 200 hundred years ago. Any viewer who has ever struggled with box joints or dovetails wont want to miss this program. These fine woodworking details are what give this simple piece its elegant character. Norm crafts two versions of this piece-one out of antique chestnut and one out of cherry-to ensure that viewers at home will be able to master these woodworking techniques.

Norm wanders into a country European antique shop and walks out with a treasure, a low English server, also commonly known as a sideboard. Simple in its design, the long antique pine boards are what give this piece its stunning character. Norm crafts his version of this piece out of some surprising distressed antique boards and proves that its natural beauty could earn it a place in any room of the house. The result will leave viewers hard-pressed to tell which is the antique and which is the reproduction.

Norm shops for a perfect gift for a loved one, discovers an exquisite jewelry case, and decides to replicate it back in The New Yankee Workshop. He improves upon its original design and makes it even more useful when he adds flip-up mirror and secret compartment to store treasures. But viewers will just have to tune in to see this secret revealed.

Norm celebrates the 13th season of The New Yankee Workshop with jigs. Proclaiming them "as important for the workshop as any power tool," Norm devotes the new season to building a variety of these useful devices, which will allow home woodworkers everywhere to build their projects with greater efficiency and accuracy. In part one, he shows how to create a panel cutting jig for cutting wide panels on the table saw, a tapering jig useful for tapering table legs, a circle cutting jig for the band saw, and a feather board for safely holding stock in place at the saw or at the router. Part two includes a jig which accurately guides a plunge router for making adjustable shelf pin holes, an ingenuous jig for mortising louvered doors and shutters, a circle cutting jig for a router, a hinge mortising jig, and a simple device for making box joints. This is part 1 of 2.

A visit to the historic Grove Park Inn in North Carolinas Blue Ridge Mountains provides the inspiration for this project when Norm spies a handsome Arts and Crafts-style hall seat among its stunning collection of antique furniture. Back in The New Yankee Workshop, he crafts his rendition out of quarter-sawn white oak. Nicely sized to fit in even the narrowest hallway, its tall back features a mirror and period brass hat hooks, while its hinged seat offers ample storage for boots and other accessories.

Norm adds to his growing collection of outdoor furniture a handsome garden armchair that has generously-sized arms for resting a glass of ice tea while lounging with a book or enjoying garden views. Built of sturdy and beautiful recycled cypress, this comfortable chair promises to withstand all weather conditions for decades.

Norm designs a clever outdoor cupboard thats versatile enough to be prized by everyone from the backyard barbecue chef and gardener to the handyman and would-be flower arranger. This attractive storage piece has everything under one roof and then some, including a divided interior with adjustable shelves on one side, a chamber for storing tall garden tools on the other, and plenty of hooks for outdoor gear. Its exterior is sheathed with weather resistant cedar paneling and features a garden trellis and hinged work shelf that can be pulled out and used as a potting bench as needed.

Norm visits the fabulous Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. Built in 1880 by George Washington Vanderbilt, the 250-room French Renaissance-inspired chateau boasts a stunning collection of fine furniture including original Sheraton and Chippendale. Among the collection, Norm discovers a sophisticated mahogany dressing table with a foldaway mirror and graceful turned legs that he decides to replicate in The New Yankee Workshop. In the second of two episodes devoted to the making of an heirloom-quality dressing table found among the famed Biltmore Estates collection, viewers find Norm in a national forest in North Carolina. There he learns how the U.S. Forest Service regulates the flow of timber to end users. Afterwards he goes behind-the-scenes at a plywood mill in nearby Asheville to see how high-quality plywood is made. This is part 2 of 2.

Like the term "coffee table" there is no such thing as a "bath cupboard" in furniture history, nevertheless Norm finds one at a favorite antique store in Cambridge, Massachusetts. There he discovers how a clever craftsman took a charming antique cabinet door and built a cupboard around it using beautifully aged timbers and period hardware. Back in The New Yankee Workshop, Norm takes the concept one step further when he lines the cabinet with painted plywood shelves, adds a full length dressing mirror to the interior of the door, and crowns it with some custom moulding.

Among Norms personal collection of furniture, is an old oak barristers bookcase that safely showcases his collection of handcrafted glasses, pottery, and books. Comprised of three separate units that nest on top of each other, each features a glass-front door with hinged sliders that allows it to "disappear" out of site. Believing it to be a versatile piece that everyone would want for their own collections, Norm shows viewers how to build one back in The New Yankee Workshop. While he keeps true to most of the details of the original, he does refine its overall design by combining the three modular units into one singular unit.

A well-equipped workshop will need a bench for a miter saw. In this two part project, Norm builds a useful model with extensions on both sides of the saw, an adjustable stop block, an auxiliary guide for use with an adjacent radial saw table, and much more. The bench base is fully equipped with pull-out drawers sized to house Norms most-used power tools and accessories. One of those, the "dedicated" mortiser, has its own pull-out shelf with a bench-top fixture that secures the tool and provides extension to support and stabilize longer stock. This will be a popular project to anyone who wants to build useful organized storage in the workshop. This is part 2 of 2.

One of the all-time most popular projects ever built in The New Yankee Workshop was the Adirondack chair Norm built years ago. Now, with this Adirondack loveseat, Norm has the chance to revisit his original design and make improvements not possible when the original was built. For example, a new generation of weather proof adhesives are now available to secure the various parts to one another. Elsewhere Norm makes refinements in joining the various elements with all weather screws and conceals them with plugs. What results from these improvements, the Adirondack loveseat, is an extremely comfortable double seated version of our all-time favorite project.

While visiting Palm Beach, Florida, Norm discovers an attractive maple shaving stand in the Flagler Museum. Norm recreates this unique piece of Americana using cherry to form the mirror surround, the drawer, and to form the gracefully cut legs. At first glance, you might wonder why Norm (with his full beard) would ever need a piece of furniture like this, but he will be ready in case fashions change.

Norm visits an antique shop and spots a small round pedestal table that the dealer tells him may have originated in Indonesia. Maybe thats why it was built from teak, a popular wood in that region. Norm likes the choice of the wood, for it means that the table can be used either inside or out. The tricky part of making a pedestal table is connecting the legs to the pedestal. After the pedestal is turned, and while it is still in the lathe, Norm uses a clever technique with a jig and a router to accurately cut the mortises.

Norm makes wooden bowls.

It used to be when you cruised the ocean on a liner you would be offered a comfortable place to read and relax on a sun deck. A deckhand would show you to your wooden lounge chair, often made of teak, fitted with brass and combined with a footrest. Today you can enjoy the same comfort with Norm?s version, made of plantation grown teak and specialized brass hardware designed to withstand the elements.

Norms original router station is the most popular shop project hes ever done. So why change it? Well, in the years since he built the first one, hes been thinking up ways to improve it. Now comes the deluxe edition of Norms router station with an improved storage system, a more stable and easier-to-use fence, an improved top, and updated electrical hookups. These small changes add up to a more useful and versatile upgrade on the original.

It would be hard to imagine a more graceful dining table than Norms new Queen Anne pedestal table. The beautiful round solid cherry top sits on a sturdy turned pedestal and is supported by three elegant legs. This is a perfect size for an animated dinner table conversation. Woodworkers will enjoy the challenge of building this heirloom of tomorrow.

Norm happened to mention to a reporter that he had never made an upholstered piece of furniture. This led to an invitation to partner with Lee Industries of Newton, North Carolina, one of Americas most highly regarded furniture makers. In part two, Norm cuts the leather using patterns and tackles the padding and other steps before showing his new-found skill at applying the rich looking leather to the frame. Its all about stretching, tacking, stretching, and re-tacking until the desired look is achieved. This is part 2 of 2.

Organizing todays electronics is a challenge with ever-larger televisions, DVDs, amplifiers, speakers, CD collections and all sorts of other paraphernalia. Finding useable storage for everything can be difficult. Norm is inspired by a beautiful antique cupboard his friend Jeff Jenkins of Leonards Antiques shows him. In this special two-part program he builds a large media cupboard made of maple and outfits it with swing-away doors, adjustable shelves, and four roomy drawers below that should answer just about every need for a home media center. The project includes finishing steps using aniline dyes and polyurethane to protect and enhance the beauty of the piece. This is part 1 of 2.

Years ago on This Old House we featured the installation of a wooden flagpole on our Napa, California project. Now Norm has taken up the challenge on making one in The New Yankee Workshop. Made of strong Douglas fir, glued with epoxy, painted with marine paint and mounted on a welded steel ground anchor designed by master welder Bob Diorio, this flagpole is easy to maintain because the whole pole can be lowered to the ground whenever necessary. Be the first in your neighborhood to make your own flagpole.

This narrow corner cupboard will be extremely useful in todays home where space is sometimes limited. The top section of the cupboard has several shelves behind a glass-fronted door, perfect for decorative china or glassware. The sturdy lower section houses additional storage behind closed doors. Made of poplar and fashioned with interesting detail, this cupboard can be painted to match any decor.

You can find Norm using hand tools in The New Yankee Workshop, but we are not proud of the way they are stored. Thats about to change when Norm builds a woodworkers hanging tool chest. But it wont be like the one he finds in a private collection in Wisconsin. There he discovers one of the most magnificent examples of a wall mounted tool chest ever made, so impressive in fact, that it has been displayed in the Smithsonian Museum. Returning to the shop, Norm builds his version of a hanging storage chest for the hand tools he regularly uses.

The folding room screen is an attractive alternative to divide a room or to seal off an unwanted view of a computer, a TV set, or perhaps a heating radiator. This handsome three-fold hinged screen is built of traditional raised panels. Norm uses mahogany, which is stained to enhance the beautiful wood grain and then sealed with hard-wearing polyurethane.

This bookcase will surprise many fans because it is unlike most Shaker designs. Elder Green built the original unusual cupboard in 1898 to contain a particular selection of documents in the Shaker Community library in Sabbathday Lake, Maine. Green built his bookcase of butternut and walnut and included a complicated cornice, built of several mouldings. Norm revised the original, making it somewhat shorter and narrower and built his of cherry.

Pennsylvania Dutch is an endearing style created by early furniture makers. Many pieces of this delightful furniture, painted with a colorful primitive design, can be found at the Winterthur estate, in Delaware, Henry DuPonts fabulous treasure house of American antiques. With curator Greg Landry, Norm tours the collection and finds an interesting dower chest dating back to 1840. Norm builds his own of tulip poplar and calls on a decorative painter to recreate typical Pennsylvania Dutch artwork.

The Lancaster County "Fan Back" Windsor chair is perhaps the most challenging woodworking project of the 16th season. Norm pays a visit to chair makers Bill and Sally Wallick in Wrightsville, Pennsylvania for some invaluable help in building his "Fan Back". Bill teaches Norm how to start with carving a seat, then turning the legs, then fitting the steam bent maple "crest" rail, and adding the delicate, but strong spindles. Then Sally Wallick takes over to show how she is able to add instant age to their new chairs, giving them a realistic patina of antiquity that will fool even an expert. This is part 2 of 2.

A pier table is a small table that is meant to be located between two windows. Norm finds a beautiful example of one at GKS Bush Antiques on Nantucket, Massachusetts. Made of poplar and beautifully painted with classic designs and a faux marble top, the original is stunning. Norm builds a copy and has it painted to match the original.

Prowling through an arts and crafts shop of highly collectable Stickley and other Mission style period furniture, Norm discovers a wonderful oak desk he hopes to use for a small computer. It is an original 1910 Oak Knee Hole Desk made by L&JG Stickley. Made of oak and finished in the appropriate color and glaze, Norm will be using this sturdy desk for his own home.

Every family needs one of these. An assembly point for the family keys, hats, and mail, with the added bonus of a large mirror that gets you ready before you leave the house. This Arts and Crafts style hall mirror, framed in oak and fitted with reproduction antique hardware, is an ideal woodworking project.

Encouraged by his success in building the upholstered cigar chair in Season 15, Norm partners once again with furniture guru Norman Coley to build an oversized ottoman that todays decorators simply must have. Norm visits the semi-annual world famous Chapel Hill, North Carolina furniture market to select the model he will build in the New Yankee Workshop. While he is at it, he adds a leather-covered footstool to go with his cigar chair.

With no television and few newspapers to read, our ancestors had plenty of time for card games thus, game tables were very popular. They often featured circular tops that were hinged and could be folded, designed to be stored against the wall when not in use. When needed, the top flipped down on a hinged gate leg and was suitable for four card players. Norm discovered an example in historic Deerfield, Massachusetts, which he used as inspiration for his piece.

Norm has said many times that chairs are the most challenging projects a woodworker can attempt. Not only do they have to be strong enough to support the heavy twisting action of a human body, they also have to be attractive enough to take their place at the table. Norm visits historic Deerfield in central Massachusetts where he discovers, amid the vast collection of antique furniture, a comfortable, handsome, American-built side chair of the early 1800s. Norm makes a faithful reproduction back in the workshop and upholsters it in a modern fabric that should stand up well to the rigors of time.

Never in the history of The New Yankee Workshop has there been a more challenging project. This bonnet-topped Queen Anne-legged tiger maple highboy is a classic in every sense of the word. Even the reproduction hardware is rare. Joining Norm in the search for a suitable highboy that Norm can reproduce are Leigh and Leslie Keno, much respected furniture experts from the PBS show "FIND." They take Norm to Leighs gallery in New York City and show him a glorious original they believe was built in Wethersfield, Connecticut in the early 19th century. It takes Norm two programs to complete the magnificent project and those who have seen it say it is well worth his time and effort. This is part 1 of 2.

Largely unknown in grandmothers time, kitchen islands have become indispensable in todays modern home. Used to house sinks, cook tops, storage for pots and pans, recyclables, and barstools, they often become the most valuable work surface in a busy kitchen. Norm builds this one out of poplar and birch plywood for a painted finish and lines it with hard wearing factory-applied finishes intended to give this island a long career of heavy use. Along with the high-tech plywood, Norm uses state of the art drawer slides and period pulls to complete this useful project.

Is there a homeowner out there who doesnt yearn for more shelf space for his books and display items, says Norm at the beginning of The Library System program, which concludes the 17th season of New Yankee Workshop projects. Recognizing the need for a good bookcase design that can be used in any suitable room and added to as needed to fill out a wall of books leads Norm to design a modular system that can be adjusted to go around existing windows or doors. It looks like expensive "custom" built-ins, yet the elements are actually built in the shop where cutting and routing large pieces of plywood and dealing with the resulting dust is easy. Norm is betting that when wood workers learn some of his tips on this project, lots of Library Systems will be built.

If youve priced plantation shutters lately, you know how expensive they can be, costing several hundred dollars per opening. Not surprisingly, Yankee ingenuity and thrift get the better of Norm and he creates some stunning shutters in the workshop. As his admirers have come to expect, he first builds a collection of jigs, which are necessary to drill holes, set staples, and mortise hinges. Then he shapes the individual bass wood slats, mounts them on a control rod, and positions the whole assembly into a frame of poplar that then gets spray-painted. Youll be impressed at how well these interior shutters look and operate when he installs them in a room hes been working on for some time.

Poker is the game to be playing right now and Norm has a special project in mind for its legions of fans when he sets out to find and build the ideal table. To find out what the locals are using, Norm interrupts a neighborhood poker game for a look at their table and comes away unimpressed. Although the one he finds supports eight players, their chips, their drinks, and the cards, it is profoundly ugly and shaky. Norm decides to build an improved version. Norm creates his eight-sided table of mahogany and mahogany veneer plywood and places it on a sturdy pedestal. Rethinking the traditional felt covering typically used on these tables, Norm chooses a state-of-the-art synthetic fabric that offers a much-improved covering. He even finds brass cup holders, which are recessed into the top for holding beverages. The finished table is a winner.

A continuation of a series of tool-specific episodes that provide instruction and techniques for using a particular shop tool, this time, the router. This is part 1 of 2.

This project involves some considerable effort. At the suggestion of a friend who, with his colleagues, is trying to restore a historic river, Norm agrees to paddle a canoe over some rapids in search of some unusual white oak thats been submerged there for nearly 150 years. The oak Norm wants was used as a dam on Virginias mighty Rappahannock River. Today it sits as a pile of salvage on the rivers edge just hoping a woodworker floats by to rescue some of it for furniture projects. Norm engages Bill Jewell, a local sawyer of historical trees, to prepare this timber for the purpose of making a drop-leaved corner table, which Norm finds at nearby Kenmore House, a noted Fredericksburg mansion that was once owned by George Washingtons sister. After Norm gets the wood to his shop, he spends considerable effort turning it into suitable pieces to make a copy of the original table - including the challenging turned legs that add so much style to this particular piece.

Taking his cue from a pool house he finds on Nantucket, Norm creates a relatively simple, multipurpose structure so coveted by todays homeowners. It could be a garden shed, a place to store the outdoor furniture for the winter, a pool house, or a home for the family bicycles and yard machines. This 96-square foot building is the perfect size for many backyards and "features" low-maintenance materials that are expected to hold paint and resist weather. Best of all, it is attractive to look at and relatively easy to build.

Corner chairs go way back in the history of furniture. Some say their early popularity had to do with the convenience of those wearing swords who could sit on such a chair comfortably. During a visit to Historic New England, a preservation society, Norm is shown a number of variations on this classic form. Norm decides to build his chair out of cherry.

One of the most challenging projects ever attempted on The New Yankee Workshop comes when Norm tries his hand at reproducing a Federal-style Giltwood Mirror. It isnt the woodworking that is particularly difficult. Norm makes that part seem easy. Its trying to gild the mirror with gold leaf and make the frame appear as solid gold that takes time, patience, and lots of skill. Norm picks up the history of Giltwood and sees some remarkable examples when antiques expert Gary Sullivan discusses his collection. Then, Norm visits Linda Abrams a gilder and reverse painter for an understanding of what it takes to turn wood into gold.

Arlington House sits high above the National Cemetery in Virginia as an imposing witness to historic events. Once the home of Robert E. Lee, it survives today under the watchful care of the National Park Service and is brimming with antiques of the Civil War era. Historic records prove that, at one time, the estate owned 63 slaves, some of whom worked in the kitchen. Lots of the tools and everyday objects they would have used still take up residence in the house, including a painted Old Pine Dry Sink. Norm notices it immediately and decides to build one himself out of recycled pine. However, the only water Norms dry sink will ever see is from tending the houseplants he intends to display on its copper top.

Without dispute, one of the greatest collections of American antiques resides at the Winterthur Museum in Delaware. One of the Museums most popular displays, the original workshops of the Dominy family, quickly draws Norms attention. The Dominys were clock and cabinetmakers who worked in eastern Long Island from the 1730s to the 1830s, creating high-quality clocks and furniture. Norm visits the exhibit and selects a clock, circa 1821, from the Dominy collection to reproduce back in the Workshop. Inspired by the Dominy clock, and up for the woodworking challenge, Norm builds his own simple tall case clock out of poplar and paints it to resemble the original.

Little is known about the handsome Painted Cupboard, which resides in one of the period rooms in the elegant country estate at the Winterthur Museum in Delaware. On a guided tour with Director of Conservation Gregory Landrey, Norm discovers the cupboard and is drawn to its scale, the unusual arched top door, and the "pinched" cornice that towers above the case. Norm will build his own version to the same dimensions back at The New Yankee Workshop and even matches the green blue paint on the exterior and the wine red color used for the interior.

As with his previous programs dedicated to a single tool, Norm takes viewers on a special two-part program that explores the usefulness of the table saw. He begins by showing various table saws and what they can do and goes on to describe and demonstrate adjustments to make them more accurate. In the second part of Table Saw 101, Norm goes on to demonstrate dadoing, setting up stacked dado cutters, the making of rabbets, and the building of a sacrificial fence. Then he turns to evaluating miter gauges and shows how they may be used to make precision miters. He demonstrates the process of making accurate tenons with a factory-built jig. In the same program, he builds a cross cut sled and a stop block that extends any table saws potential. This is part 2 of 2.

Recently, Norm, who is a trustee of the Old Sturbridge Village museum, asked the curators to put a stunning Bowfront Chest they had in storage on display in one of the Villages historic homes, the Salem Towne House, to inspire his New Yankee viewers. The stunning Bowfront four-drawer chest was built by Alden Spooner working in nearby Athol, Massachusetts in 1807. Spooner, like many furniture makers of the time, was probably well aware of pattern books and high-style designs being made in Europe and America, and this chest may well have been inspired by furniture brought here from Great Britain. Norm builds his version of mahogany and is challenged to form the French feet and the dovetailed Bowfront drawers. While not a project for a beginner, the Bowfront Chest will be of great interest to serious woodworkers.

Gary Sullivan, an antiques expert and an old friend of The New Yankee Workshop, shows Norm an antique Window Bench probably built in the early 19th century. Although it doesnt appear to be in good condition with its tattered upholstery, Gary tells Norm he wouldnt consider restoring this "rare" example of what he believes is a "museum quality" bench. "You dont expect to see more than a handful of these in a lifetime," he explains to Norm. The simple bench is little more than an upholstered seat with two rolled arms on dark wooden legs. Such benches are meant to be used at a window to frame the view or, perhaps, at the end of a bed to sit and relax. Norm calls upon the experts at Lee Industries, the fine furniture manufacturers, who come up from their base in North Carolina to help Norm upholster his version of the Window Bench. The result is handsome and very comfortable.

Norm remodels Russell Morashs kitchen. Here he gives the basics of kitchen cabinets. This is part 2 of 2.

Norm remodels Russell Morashs kitchen. Here he explains the basics of the "wet wall".

Norm remodels Russell Morashs kitchen. Here builds the "kitchen office".

Norm remodels Russell Morashs kitchen. Here he constructs the wet bar.

In the beginning of The New Yankee Workshop there was the Adirondack Chair (Season 2), a classic design updated by Norm. It became one of the most popular projects he ever did. Later, Norm added an Adirondack Love Seat (Season 14) to his collection, using improved methods and materials. Now, in celebration of the shows twentieth anniversary, Norm builds a chair, a table, and a footrest to complete the set. To add to the fun, Norm invites a friend to build one of these classic chairs alongside the master.

When reading the Declaration of Independence, no doubt some of our founding fathers would have chosen to sit in a favorite "lolling" chair. This kind of chair, with an upholstered seat and back, was popular then and has come down to us today as a classic form still much used and much loved. Antiques expert Gary Sullivan helps Norm with his research, and a professional shows him whats involved in the upholstery.

Norm begins his search for low-country furniture projects in Savannah’s famed Monterey Square at the home of antique map and print dealers, Virginia and John Duncan. On their veranda, Norm discovers a quintessential piece of the Old South, a planter’s desk. Once used by cotton and tobacco farmers for bookkeeping, the desk can function quite well today as a compact, home office. Featuring nicely tapered legs, a hinged desktop, and plenty of shelves, it also has enough room to accommodate a small computer. Back East in the New Yankee Workshop, Norm builds this piece out of recycled pine and finishes it with a new pastel stain to give it a “pickled” look. NOTE: This is the same project as Season 9, Episode 1 with a new introduction by Norm Abram.

On a sojourn to the quaint New England island of Nantucket, Norm found a wonderful lidded settle that can double as extra storage space and a hallway showpiece. Norm crafts a rendition out of beautiful cherry wood and, in the process, demonstrates a variety of intermediate woodworking techniques including spindle-turning and how to make framed panels. NOTE: This is the same project as Season 9, Episode 3 with a new introduction by Norm Abram.

In the 1800s, a dough box provided a warm hiding place for bread dough to rise. When Norm crafts his version of this simple design out of antique pine and adds a hinge to the lid, he turns it into a great-looking, modern-day, chest-on-legs. NOTE: This is the same project as Season 9, Episode 5 with a new introduction by Norm Abram.

Norm takes viewers in to his favorite antique haunt on the quaint New England island of Nantucket where he discovers two distinctive wooden trays. Deeming them the perfect weekend woodworking projects, Norm crafts the more primitive fruit tray out of recycled pine, and, for the first time on The New Yankee Workshop, introduces the craft of metalsmithing when he fashions the cherry trays hardware out of brass. NOTE: This is the same project as Season 9, Episode 7 with a new introduction by Norm Abram.

Norm spied this regal nineteenth-century English mahogany, seven-drawer chest in the back room of Alex Raskins renowned antique shop on Monterey Square in Savannah. This well-proportioned, chest-on-chest features period brass hardware pulls, edge banding, and dovetail drawers. NOTE: This is the same project as Season 9, Episode 9 with a new introduction by Norm Abram.

He may be Americas favorite master carpenter, but Norm readily admits that hes a "brown thumb," when it comes to gardening. This greenhouse is the perfect project for the serious backyard gardener (or someone who knows one) who is "workshop bound" for the winter. Norm fabricates this design out of redwood and polycarbonate panels. Built to withstand even the toughest weather conditions, this greenhouse provides enough insulation and light to sustain plants during the long winter months. This is part 1 of 2. NOTE: This is the same project as Season 9, Episode 11 with a new introduction by Norm Abram.

Between shooting The New Yankee Workshop and This Old House, Norm rarely has time to build anything for himself. And, like the rest of us, he readily admits his own home is "a work in progress." So, Norm is taking this woodworking project home. With his own Rumford fireplace awaiting adornment, Norm takes the opportunity to design this classic Colonial fireplace mantel and builds it using a variety of woods and mouldings readily available at home centers nationwide. NOTE: This is the same project as Season 9, Episode 13 with a new introduction by Norm Abram.

Norm asks, "Have you ever noticed that most armoires and linen presses are too big to fit in todays rooms and look just right?" However, in a private collection in Savannah, Georgia, he finds a beautiful antique linen press whose three-foot by six-foot size make it versatile enough to fit in almost any room. Featuring streamlined, raised-panel double doors with detail beading, its simple design seems almost modern. Back in The New Yankee Workshop, Norm recreates this piece out of recycled pine to give it a vintage look. NOTE: This is the same project as Season 10, Episode 2 with a new introduction by Norm Abram.

Though a gardener friend uses his handsome antique library ladder to display a collection of vintage watering cans, Norm vows that it can also be used for more utilitarian purposes. He builds this intermediate woodworking project out of recycled, long leaf Southern yellow pine and in the process, demonstrates how to craft its defining feature - splayed legs joined by a hinged crossbar. NOTE: This is the same project as Season 10, Episode 4 with a new introduction by Norm Abram.

In Arizona, Norm goes on a search for Arts and Crafts-style furniture in Tucsons Historic Arts District. Responding to the many viewer requests he receives each season to build more of the ever-popular Arts and Crafts-style projects, Norm ventures into the F.L. Wright Furniture Gallery where he finds a virtuoso example of the era-a classic, reclining Morris chair. Norm recreates this vintage design out of quarter-sawn white oak and in the process, shares his secrets for mastering the techniques required to build the chairs reclining back. NOTE: This is the same project as Season 10, Episode 6 with a new introduction by Norm Abram.

Norms expedition to Arizona in search of Arts and Crafts-style furniture projects to build in The New Yankee Workshop leads him to Arroyo Design, a small custom furniture company in Tucson, where he spies a beautiful, glass-front bookcase inspired by the famous Greene Brothers. Featuring divided pane windows and the Greene Brothers trademark square-peg detailing, its true artisan qualities make it one of the most sophisticated pieces in this seasons collection. To ensure its heirloom value, Norm crafts this project out of mesquite and in the process educates viewers on how to work with this native Sonoran desert hardwood. NOTE: This is the same project as Season 10, Episode 8 with a new introduction by Norm Abram.

On a recent sojourn to Nantucket, Norm is invited to view a local antique dealers private collection of childrens toys and whimsical whirligigs. Inspired by their endearing humor, Norm decides to build his own mechanized version of The New Yankee Workshops logo, featuring Norm, himself, working at the table saw. NOTE: This is the same project as Season 10, Episode 10 with a new introduction by Norm Abram.

Norm visits the Old Schwamb Mill in Arlington, Massachusetts. Built in 1860, the mill was purchased in 1864 by German immigrant woodworkers, Charles and Frederick Schwamb. The brothers did a brisk business crafting the oval picture frames which, at the time, were in demand to display photographs of Civil War soldiers. In the Schwamb Brothers old office, Norm spies a handsome, quarter-sawn oak roll top desk, which inspires him to build his version of this American classic. This is part 1 of 2. NOTE: This is the same project as Season 10, Episode 12 with a new introduction by Norm Abram.