# STL 85: Furniture Maker Chris Gochnour

- Show: [Shop Talk Live](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/shop-talk-live)
- Published: 2015-05-22
- Length: 1h 04m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/shop-talk-live/2015-05-22-stl-85-furniture-maker-chris-gochnour
- Listen: https://shoptalklive.libsyn.com/stl-85-furniture-maker-chris-gochnour

## Summary

Furniture maker Chris Gochnour, a Salt Lake City-based professional and Fine Woodworking contributing author, discusses his career, tools, and major projects with host Matt Kenney. Gochnour details his restoration of a vintage 1945 Oliver Jointer and his preference for cherry and local mountain mahogany, while recounting his biggest failure: a screw-through error on a commercial reception table. He also describes his success building an oval desk for the Governor of Utah from tornado-felled trees, which took 10 weeks to complete despite a 6-week deadline.

## Chapters

- [0:06](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/shop-talk-live/2015-05-22-stl-85-furniture-maker-chris-gochnour#t=6) Introduction and Lee Nielsen Vice Correction
- [4:13](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/shop-talk-live/2015-05-22-stl-85-furniture-maker-chris-gochnour#t=253) Listener Questions: Kumiko, Sapili, and Frame-and-Panel
- [18:07](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/shop-talk-live/2015-05-22-stl-85-furniture-maker-chris-gochnour#t=1087) Chris Gochnour's Background and Tool Collection
- [28:20](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/shop-talk-live/2015-05-22-stl-85-furniture-maker-chris-gochnour#t=1700) Failures: Finishing Errors and the Screw Incident
- [32:34](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/shop-talk-live/2015-05-22-stl-85-furniture-maker-chris-gochnour#t=1954) Success: The Governor's Desk Project
- [38:47](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/shop-talk-live/2015-05-22-stl-85-furniture-maker-chris-gochnour#t=2327) The Dual Drum Sander and Hand Tool Odyssey
- [44:21](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/shop-talk-live/2015-05-22-stl-85-furniture-maker-chris-gochnour#t=2661) Vintage Machinery and Shop Stories
- [46:01](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/shop-talk-live/2015-05-22-stl-85-furniture-maker-chris-gochnour#t=2761) Finishing Wenge Countertops and Tool Favorites

## Topics

- [Mechanical engineering](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/mechanical-engineering)
- [Materials & manufacturing processes](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/materials-and-processes)
- [Debugging & failure analysis](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/debugging-and-failure-analysis)
- [Industrial & consumer product design](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/industrial-design)
- [Prototyping & iteration](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/prototyping)
- [Design for manufacturing & NPI](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/design-for-manufacturing)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Lee Nielsen (company)
- Oliver Jointer (tool)
- Mountain Mahogany (material)
- Cherry (material)
- Wenge (material)
- Aquacote (tool)
- Armor Seal (tool)
- Hitachi (company)
- Powermatic (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [352: I was in the ER last night…](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/making-it/2022-04-22-352-i-was-in-the-er-last-night) (Making It)
- [Making It #007 : Failure](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/making-it/2015-01-15-making-it-007-failure) (Making It)
- [370: The Gizmocity Factor](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/making-it/2022-09-16-370-the-gizmocity-factor) (Making It)
- [486: If I Had $300, I Could Do That Too](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/making-it/2025-06-16-486-if-i-had-300-i-could-do-that-too) (Making It)
- [Episode 341: I’m a urinal expert](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/making-it/2022-02-04-episode-341-im-a-urinal-expert) (Making It)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/shop-talk-live/2015-05-22-stl-85-furniture-maker-chris-gochnour. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to Shop Talk Live.