# STL227: Tom McLaughlin is serious about square

- Show: [Shop Talk Live](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/shop-talk-live)
- Published: 2020-10-23
- Length: 1h 20m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/shop-talk-live/2020-10-23-stl227-tom-mclaughlin-is-serious-about-square-4b0e33d2
- Listen: https://shoptalklive.podcast.static.taunton.com/stl227-tom-mclaughlin-is-serious-about-square

## Summary

Tom McLaughlin, a custom furniture maker and member of the New Hampshire Furniture Masters, joins Mike Pekovich and Jeff Miller to discuss finding one's style in furniture making, detailing his journey from 18th-century apprenticeship to a unique Deco-influenced aesthetic. The group troubleshoots a listener's misaligned desk lid caused by hinge depth errors and offers techniques for jointing 7-foot-long boards with a short jointer. McLaughlin also explains his '3-cut method' for squaring a cross-cut sled without digital tools.

## Chapters

- [0:06](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/shop-talk-live/2020-10-23-stl227-tom-mclaughlin-is-serious-about-square-4b0e33d2#t=6) Introduction and Pandemic Life
- [5:36](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/shop-talk-live/2020-10-23-stl227-tom-mclaughlin-is-serious-about-square-4b0e33d2#t=336) Finding Your Style: From Period to Personal Voice
- [32:19](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/shop-talk-live/2020-10-23-stl227-tom-mclaughlin-is-serious-about-square-4b0e33d2#t=1939) Troubleshooting Misaligned Hinges and Hardware Selection
- [47:58](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/shop-talk-live/2020-10-23-stl227-tom-mclaughlin-is-serious-about-square-4b0e33d2#t=2878) Steam Bending Mistakes and Mindset
- [54:38](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/shop-talk-live/2020-10-23-stl227-tom-mclaughlin-is-serious-about-square-4b0e33d2#t=3278) The 3-Cut Method for Squaring a Cross-Cut Sled
- [1:03:24](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/shop-talk-live/2020-10-23-stl227-tom-mclaughlin-is-serious-about-square-4b0e33d2#t=3804) Jointing 7-Foot Boards with a Short Jointer
- [1:14:54](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/shop-talk-live/2020-10-23-stl227-tom-mclaughlin-is-serious-about-square-4b0e33d2#t=4494) Random Recommendations and Closing

## Topics

- [Industrial & consumer product design](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/industrial-design)
- [Mechanical engineering](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/mechanical-engineering)
- [Materials & manufacturing processes](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/materials-and-processes)
- [Fabrication & craft](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/fabrication-and-craft)

## Most relevant to

makers and hobbyists

## Mentioned

- Fine Woodworking (company)
- New Hampshire Furniture Masters (company)
- Pug Moore (other)
- Stickley (company)
- Krinnoff (other)
- Brousseau (other)
- Delta (company)
- Mini Max (company)
- The Boat Guy (other)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [438: It Feels Like a Big Boy Saw](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/making-it/2024-04-19-438-it-feels-like-a-big-boy-saw) (Making It)
- [498: I’m Like a Dog](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/making-it/2025-09-12-498-im-like-a-dog) (Making It)
- [357: If you had a huge piece of gum and you put it in a sock…](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/making-it/2022-06-03-357-if-you-had-a-huge-piece-of-gum-and-you-put-it-in-a-sock) (Making It)
- [252: Bad habits and baby voices](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/making-it/2020-03-13-252-bad-habits-and-baby-voices) (Making It)
- [Episode 297: I’m not sick, just 53](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/making-it/2021-02-26-episode-297-im-not-sick-just-53) (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/2020-10-23-stl227-tom-mclaughlin-is-serious-about-square-4b0e33d2. 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.