My first issue of Fine Woodworking magazine was literally the very first issue, and back in those days it was in black and white. I was studying with Alphonse Mattia at Virginia Commonwealth University in 1976 and was learning how to cut my first set of dovetails. I was thrilled when issue #2 came out because Alphonse had his article on how to cut dovetails published and I was like “wow, he’s a rock star!” That fall, I decided to take a detour from grad school and entered Boston University’s Program in Artisanry, where I studied not only with Rockstar #1, but also Rockstar #2, Jere Osgood, who published several articles on tapered laminations. What was really great about Fine Woodworking was that I was able to go back to the articles as sort of a handbook. It probably saved Jere and Alphonse a ton of work because they didn’t have to make any mimeographed¹ handouts.

When I decided to go to graduate school at Rochester Institute of Technology in 1978, I studied with Rockstar #3, Bill Keyser, who wrote several articles for Fine Woodworking on steambending, which was his modus operandi at the time. When I completed my MFA work in 1980, I was approached by then-editor John Kelsey, who wanted to feature my work in the magazine’s special “back cover” story. WOW. I had no idea what the context was going to be, but it was thrilling to be asked and when it came out, I was sharing the limelight with the one and only Garry Knox Bennett, with the title Decoration or Desecration? It presented two completely different perspectives, with his decorative nail in a beautifully executed cabinet, and with my writing desk having a scribble on the top. The next issue came out and the letters to the editor were scathing – in fact, the next two issues were full of letters complaining about that back cover. At first, I was a little mad and disappointed. I felt that my writing desk was completely misunderstood and maligned. But then I suddenly felt sort of a weight off my shoulders and a sense of freedom and confirmation that I was headed in the right direction with my work.

As an educator, I shared Fine Woodworking’s articles often and my copy of Tage Frid Teaches Woodworking #1 and #2 books were pretty dog-eared by the time I retired. One of my favorite FWW articles is Michael Pekovich’s “Shaker Chest of Drawers” because carcase construction has always been a favorite of mine as a furniture maker, and that article was just the best for helping students understand the anatomy of a chest of drawers.

[1] a duplicating machine which produces copies from a stencil, now superseded by the photocopier.

Wendy Maruyama​

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	Hand Dovetails They’re really not that hard to do Alphonse Mattia
	Bent Laminations Slice and glue the wood to make it curve Jere Osgood
	Bending Compound Curves Laminated staves make bulging cabinets Jere Osgood
	Portfolio: W. A. Keyser Bill Keyser became known for his experiments with construction techniques; notably steam-bending, coopering, the lapstrake approach of the boat builder, and the plywood-skin-over-curved-ribs of the airplane wing. Fine Woodworking editors
	Professor Frid A former student of Tage Frid describes the extraordinary experience of being taught by the Danish master Hank Gilpin,Tage Frid
	Decoration vs. Desecration On the artistic fringe of cabinetmaking, Wendy Maruyama and Garry Knox Bennett sometimes run hard against the question of decoration. Fine Woodworking editors
	Cherry Chest of Drawers Dovetail joinery decorates this Shaker-inspired case piece. Michael Pekovich