WGBH - Do-It-Yourself RSS

Teaching Jimmy Fallon to Build Stuff

Wed, 19 Dec 2012 18:07 PM +0000

The guys from Ask This Old House appeared on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon — and they let him play with the tools! Watch Jimmy learn how to build a cabinet and split a few rocks. (Lloyd Bishop/NBC)

Catch Jimmy Fallon on Ask This Old House

Fri, 26 Oct 2012 09:21 AM +0000

Late night superstar Jimmy Fallon will be a special guest on Ask This Old House. He'll help the guys with a “What Is It?” segment, shot right in the middle of Times Square.

Design Squad Nation

Thu, 25 Oct 2012 23:36 PM +0000

Design Squad Nation takes a kid’s passion, combines it with engineering, and shows how to create an array of engineering feats. Watch online and then see what you can build!

Late Night Asks This Old House

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:46 PM +0000

The experts from Ask This Old House with Late Night host Jimmy Fallon. (Photo: Lloyd Bishop/NBC)

The home improvement experts from Ask This Old House traveled to the NBC studios in New York in January to tape a segment for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Host Kevin O'Connor, general contractor Tom Silva, heating and plumbing expert Richard Trethewey and landscape contractor Roger Cook taught Jimmy about patching holes in drywall, soldering a copper pipe and fitting together, and using a jackhammer. Watch the clip.

Drop-Leaf Table

Fri, 04 Nov 2011 16:43 PM +0000

The drop-leaf table featured on this episode of Rough Cut has a lot of bang for the buck. Not only is the Shaker-type style beautiful to look at, but the finger joints are fun to learn how to make.

Make A Serving Cart

Fri, 28 Oct 2011 18:19 PM +0000

On this Rough Cut episode, Tommy Mac makes a practical serving cart, essential for any kitchen, out of scrap tiger maple.

Pie Crust Tray

Fri, 21 Oct 2011 14:27 PM +0000

On this installment of Rough Cut, host Tommy Mac builds a traditional pie crust tray. For inspiration, he heads out on a "Rough Cut Road Trip" to the new Art of the Americas wing at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

Arts And Crafts-Style Chair

Fri, 14 Oct 2011 14:51 PM +0000

This time on Rough Cut, host Tommy Mac takes on an Arts and Crafts-style chair. Viewers will learn how to make the legs, arms and back, mostly through standard mortise and tenon joinery. "The Road Trip" brings Tommy out to Alta Loma, California, where he visits the home of one of the biggest names in chair making: the late, great Samuel Maloof.

Fall 2011 Season Premiere

Fri, 07 Oct 2011 17:12 PM +0000

Ask This Old House® returns for its 10th anniversary season, featuring tips, practical advice, and real experts solving everyday home improvement problems. As part of the new season, Ask This Old House will feature more projects on the road, visiting Atlanta, GA, Philadelphia, PA, San Francisco, CA, Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX, Washington, D.C., and making stops around the Boston area to help homeowners with projects around the house.

Premieres on Oct. 8, 2011 at 5:30 p.m. on WGBH 2

Season Two Premiere

Tue, 02 Aug 2011 10:26 AM +0000

For the show’s second season, host Tommy MacDonald shares a variety of projects, both traditional and contemporary. From a Greene and Greene inspired Dressing Mirror and a Laminated Coat Rack, to a Sand-Shaded Clock and Potting Station, the projects will feature a mix of woodworking techniques using both power tools, and Tommy Mac's favorite, hand tools.

Premieres Saturday, Oct. 8 at 4:30 p.m. on WGBH 2

Tenth Season And Tour Dates

Thu, 09 Jun 2011 16:16 PM +0000

Ask This Old House® is back for its tenth anniversary season featuring tips, practical advice, and real experts solving everyday home improvement problems.

This Old House Bedford Project

Wed, 08 Jun 2011 15:15 PM +0000

In the small New England town of Bedford, Mass., stands a picturesque Colonial post-and-beam house that dates back to the early 1700s. See how This Old House's team of experts will renovate the 18th-century house for the owners to live in and enjoy for years to come.

Period Finish On Trestle Table

Wed, 04 May 2011 11:53 AM +0000

On this program we';re going to be talking about surface preparation and finishes—working with the trestle table that we made a few weeks ago.

We finished this table with oil, shellac, and wax—which is what I use on most of my projects. Today we'll be focusing on some of the problems you can face with finishes and we’ll show you some of the techniques you really need to be aware of to make finishing less intimidating.

Then it's time for our Rough Cut Road Trip where we'll meet up with world-renowned finisher Christine Thomson who will teach us all we need to know about finishes.

Shaker-Inspired Night Stand

Wed, 27 Apr 2011 14:42 PM +0000

The Shaker-inspired Night Stand is one of Tommy Macdonald’s favorite projects. This particular piece really shows off Tommy’s style in using rough cut lumber and highlighting the figured maple that he features in the piece.

In this episode, Tommy provides detailed project instructions for drawer construction, highlighting techniques for mortise and tenon joinery, and leg tapering. He also speaks with North Bennet Street School president Miquel Gomez Inbanez, and receives an in-studio visit from Steve Brown, head of the School’s Cabinet and Furniture-Making department.

Thomas J. MacDonald - 0106 - Shaker-inspired Night Stand - North Bennet St. School

Pick My House: Rhode Island

Tue, 05 Apr 2011 14:57 PM +0000

For the first-time ever, This Old House is looking for a historic home to renovate in Rhode Island.

The deadline for submissions is May 15, 2011.

Road Trip! Part 1

Tue, 15 Mar 2011 18:30 PM +0000

Catch the first episode of a two-part road trip through America’s heartland that will take viewers to Wichita, Kansas and Memphis, Tennessee.

Tonight at 8:30 pm on WGBH 44.

Trellis

Thu, 10 Feb 2011 14:22 PM +0000

In the final episode of season one, Tommy guides viewers through the process of building a trellis, perfect for any outdoor space. Whether growing roses, creeping vines or clematis, this is an easy-to-make project that will highlight the side of any home.

Airs Saturday, February 12 at 4:30pm on WGBH 2/HD.

Chippendale Stool

Thu, 20 Jan 2011 18:45 PM +0000

See how to build a beautiful Chippendale stool and learn a great method for carving ball and claw feet. Host Tommy MacDonald will show viewers how to cut a cabriolet -- which is a beautiful S-curve shape that is classic for this piece.

Airs Saturday, Janaury 22 at 4:30pm on WGBH 2/HD.

Building A Blanket Chest

Thu, 13 Jan 2011 10:25 AM +0000

The blanket chest has been around since the Pilgrims came to Massachusetts in the 1600s. In this episode, Tommy builds one that demonstrates basic frame construction, and mortise and tenon joinery. And, he shares his techniques for carving, a special feature of the box that is dramatic, yet simple.

Airs Saturday, Janaury 15, 2011 at 4:30 pm on WGBH 2/HD.

Keepsake Box

Thu, 16 Dec 2010 14:28 PM +0000

The Keepsake Box is a perfect project for anyone who wants to learn simple, small box construction. The box would make a great jewelry box or even a humidor. A special feature of this box is the herringbone inlay—a dramatic embellishment featured on top.

In this episode, Tommy demonstrates how to build the box and then explains how to create the magnificent herringbone veneer pattern for the top. It is a lot easier than it looks! Then, Tommy takes a trip to the John Adams House in Quincy, Massachusetts, to see one of John Adams's desks, covered in spectacular veneer and banding. Later, Tommy is joined in his shop by Neil Lamens of Furnitology.com.