Use Big Chisels for Fine Work

Though it might seem counter intuitive, sometimes bigger is better when you are doing fine work with veneer and inlays. A wide chisel provides plenty of reference surface to keep delicate cuts straight and square and plenty of heft to slice effortlessly. If you excavate for banding using a router, you will wind up with rounded outside corners. Once again, a wide chisel is better to square them off because […]

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Screws – A Quick Guide

I was hoping to get into the shop today to finish the assembly on my current project, a kitchen island, and post about that. But in between meetings, I’ve been (metaphorically) chained to my desk all day. So…no shop time. I’ll be using screws to secure the piece together – pocket screws to hold the shelves in their dados (so as not to bore into end grain), regular wood screws […]

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A Return of the Home Invasion

This morning the crew from Popular Woodworking Magazine showed up to shoot photos of my recently built aumbry for an upcoming issue. While I’m always happy to shoot my own photographs, if they offer to send photographer Al Parrish, I roll over immediately. He is one of the finest photographers I’ve ever worked with. I also immediately purchase pastries – Al travels on his stomach. They started by shooting the […]

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Beyond The Vise: Planing Boards

On several occasions I’ve taught hand tool woodworking in locations that weren’t really setup for it. The challenge I faced was hand planing workpiece faces on tables or workbenches that didn’t accommodate the operation. My solution was a planing board. I’ve seen several different styles. A sticking board is a particularly specialized one, long and narrow for planing long, narrow moulding stock. It has a back stop edge to keep […]

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Cut a Bead Detail for the English Square

When I first built an English layout square in 2011, it took me about 20 minutes to cut one of the six bead details on the square. Four years and more than 100 beads later, each bead is less than 5 minutes of work. If you have ever thought of building one of these beautiful squares, here are tips for the tools and processes that make it easy. Make a […]

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Dados for Lunch – Yum!

I got a good start on my kitchen island over the weekend…but then Monday came along and work intruded. Loath to let my momentum falter, I decided on sawdust for lunch instead of my usual diet of Diet Coke and pretzels. So I headed to the shop to cut the dados for the two “floating” shelves; the top one will hold the microwave, the bottom one will likely be quickly […]

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Saw Sharpening 101

A well-tuned tool pays great dividends when the blade hits the board. by Matt Cianci page 36 We’ve all been there: You reach for your saw in the middle of a project, and before you start the cut, you drag your finger along the teeth and say to yourself, “Meh…they’re sharp enough.” But you soon find out they are anything but. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could sharpen your […]

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Not so Ordinary Router Cabinet

Great shop storage isn’t always built using plywood. by Glen D. Huey page 40 As I look around my shop, or most woodworking shops, I see cabinets built with plywood and screws. But there are other options. I decided to change things up and make a shop cabinet using hardwoods, and to use the project to experiment with a couple of different techniques. I consider a router an essential woodworking […]

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Tricks for laying out router-bit storage

Shop-made jig makes layout simple by Glen D. Huey The router-bit shelves in my cabinet featured in the December issue have holes drilled for both 1⁄4″- and 1⁄2″-shank bits. I mixed up the layout so each shelf holds both sizes. A simple L-shaped jig and filler pieces cut to 1″ in width make the task easy; it has to be because there are 27 holes in each shelf. Make the […]

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Woodcarving Basics

Learn techniques for ‘shallow relief’ and ‘applied’ carvings. by Mary May page 46 Have you ever been involved in something where you get completely absorbed in it? Where hours go by without realizing it? Those are the moments when you discover something you truly love. Within a month of taking classes from European Master Carver Konstantinos Papadakis, I knew carving would be my life. I often found myself dreaming of […]

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Dovetail Ruler Trick

A throwaway wooden ruler prevents fatal errors when dovetailing. by Christopher Schwarz page 51 The No. 1 mistake made by first-time dovetailers has nothing to do with sawing or chopping – the obvious choices. Instead, I’ve found that most fatal mistakes happen at the point where the shape of the first half of the joint – the tailboard or pinboard – is transferred to its mate. During the transfer process, […]

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Mr Langmaid’s Tool Chest

Antiques stores are often a draw for me and I’m sure for many fellow woodworkers. You can be sure to find inspiration and education in equal measure. While browsing through one of the local venues I found a smart-looking tool chest. Chatting with the owner I discovered the chest was brought in by a person late in years and was reputed to belong to their Grandfather, who was a lifelong […]

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Jet JWBS-14SF-3 Band Saw

by Chuck Bender page 18 The new 14″ steel-frame band saw from Jet is nothing less than heavy-duty. With its 3-horsepower, 220-volt motor, this saw is built to handle just about anything you can throw at it. The one-piece frame makes this band saw extremely rigid for tough cuts such as resawing wide boards (it has a 131⁄2″ capacity). At 360 pounds, there’s enough mass to absorb almost all of […]

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Jet JWBS-14SF-3 Band Saw

by Chuck Bender page 18 The new 14″ steel-frame band saw from Jet is nothing less than heavy-duty. With its 3-horsepower, 220-volt motor, this saw is built to handle just about anything you can throw at it. The one-piece frame makes this band saw extremely rigid for tough cuts such as resawing wide boards (it has a 131⁄2″ capacity). At 360 pounds, there’s enough mass to absorb almost all of […]

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Shenandoah Tool Works Birdcage Awl

by Megan Fitzpatrick page 18 If you’re in the market for a birdcage awl, this Shenandoah Tool Works version offers a stylish twist – that is, the hand-forged 01 steel shaft is actually twisted during manufacturing. While this aesthetic touch has no effect on performance, it looks nice – and one could argue that, subliminally, it tells you the tool’s primary function. The four-sided point allows you to ream a […]

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Shenandoah Tool Works Birdcage Awl

by Megan Fitzpatrick page 18 If you’re in the market for a birdcage awl, this Shenandoah Tool Works version offers a stylish twist – that is, the hand-forged 01 steel shaft is actually twisted during manufacturing. While this aesthetic touch has no effect on performance, it looks nice – and one could argue that, subliminally, it tells you the tool’s primary function. The four-sided point allows you to ream a […]

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Open-sided Mortises

Though I’m still coughing and sniffling a little, I just couldn’t bear to sit home while there’s work to be done in the shop. And I want my kitchen done. So, I came in to work on the base of my kitchen island. I won’t be writing about it for the magazine (the dimensions and purpose are too particular to my narrow needs), so I’ll share bits of it here. […]

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Make Your Mark

Traditional woodworking marks are simple – and they prevent errors. by Christopher Schwarz p. 62 If you don’t use a clear system of marking your project parts, it’s easy to get confused and cut a joint on the wrong face of a board or assemble table legs in the wrong orientation. During the last 20 years, I’ve seen every imaginable marking system in use by my colleagues and students (even […]

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Design Matters: Not Just Any Hat Will Do

Let function and proportion be your guide when designing a top. by George Walker page 20 Growing up, I was never one for wearing hats – that was until fresh out of high school when I headed west to work on a cattle ranch high in the mountains of Montana. My brother looked me over the first day and said, “Where’s your hat?” He tossed me a baseball cap emblazoned […]

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Flexner on Finishing: Catalyzed Finishes

Apply a professional, quick-drying and durable finish at home. by Bob Flexner page 58 You may have heard of catalyzed finishes: pre-catalyzed lacquer, post-catalyzed lacquer and catalyzed or “conversion” varnish. These finishes are commonly used in industry and in cabinet and professional refinishing shops. But there’s no reason you can’t use them also. The primary advantages of catalyzed finishes are their durability, which is similar to oil-based polyurethane, and their […]

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How a Tree Became a Whale

A rescue and careful work reveal the spirit of land and sea. by Lee Dye page 64 I have lusted for years after the wide, irregular planks used by the legendary George Nakashima to capture what he called “the soul of a tree.” I would give them new life as a piece of furniture emphasizing the natural figure and sculpted edges of the wood, just as he did for decades. […]

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Hello, from an English Joiner!

As a new name here it seemed wise to make my first post a brief introduction. My name is Graham Haydon and I’m a woodworker in England. By day I have the good fortune of making a living as a joiner within our family business. Being a joiner from a small town in the rural South West means we cover a wide range of work – the core being windows, […]

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WIA 2015 Location: More Hints

In the comments on my post from yesterday, all possibilities were eventually correctly postulated for the location for Woodworking in America 2015. But which of the four possible cities is it? (I’m now wishing my hints had been less narrow…I have to string this out for a few more days until the conference team says I can reveal the location.) So, more hints: • I can drive there in one […]

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How Best to Adjust the Cap Iron on a Veritas Plane

I bought one of the new Veritas bevel-down planes to get familiar with its parts – I’m quite sure I’m going to see a lot of these planes at woodworking schools and in the hands of students in the coming months. Overall, it’s a great plane, and I have a full review coming up shortly in Popular Woodworking Magazine. One of the little difficulties I had with the plane at […]

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Woodworking in America 2015, Sept. 25-27

I am pleased to announce that we’ve signed the site contract for Woodworking in America 2015. The dates? Sept. 25-27. The place? Let’s have a little fun with that for a few days. • The city has a major league baseball team. • It is the most populous city in the state. • There are many municipal fountains. • The state flag is predominantly red, white and blue. • The […]

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Modern Wooden Planes … Why?

Let me be honest up front. I do know how to use a hand plane, and I have used a jointer plane once or twice. But it was a metal-bodied plane – only remotely similar to a wooden-bodied plane as used during the 18th Century. I liked the feel of the plane, and it’s long body made sense for one of its purposes of shooting edges to join boards. That […]

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Make Monster Dovetails

I have, inexplicably, received several questions over the weekend about cutting really big dovetails for workbenches, such as on a tail vise. That’s weird, given that most bench questions I get are about what kind of wood to use (whatcha got? use it), and how the LVL top is holding up (quite splendidly, but I’d not use LVL for a base again). Not to mention, we’ve not published a bench […]

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How to Make ‘Condor Tails’

An ingenious way to combine routers, a band saw and hand tools for big dovetails. by Jameel Abraham pages 48-53 from the August 2011 issue click on the photos below to make them larger I know what you’re thinking: “Another opinion on how to cut dovetails.” I hear you. But this one’s different. I promise. No back and forth over pins or tails first. No Rob Cosman vs. Frank Klausz. […]

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The Slant-lid Tool Chest

In some Victorian books on woodworking, the author suggests that if you don’t have a shop you could use a chest of drawers as a woodworking bench, tool chest and shaving collector. I’ve not seen an occurrence of this in the wild, but it is an interesting idea. Recently, Will of Texas sent me photos of his tool chest, which is based off a slant-lid desk with banks of drawers […]

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Sniffle Island

I’d planned to go to the office/shop today (Saturday) to work on the personal project that’s been hanging over my head like a black cloud for months – a kitchen island/microwave stand. But I’ve got a bad case of the chest and sinus crud; the very thought of sawdust makes me cough (even more than I already am). And that’s OK (well, the staying home part – I’d rather not […]

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In Search of the Perfect Wax Finish

My four-decade-long desire to identify, understand, replicate and develop new analogs to historic furniture-making materials has led me on some interesting quests and situations. Included in these would be learning a lot about tropical insects whose “sweat” is the foundation for the most amazing finish ever (shellac); studies of sausage casings, artificial skin and corneas as I tried to (successfully) create a convincing alternative to tortoiseshell for my own Boulle-work […]

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And the ‘Practical Woodworker’ Winner Is…

Congratulations to DBell, whose comment on my giveaway post last week was chosen randomly from among all respondents. He or she is the lucky winner of a set of the four-volume paperback set of “The Practical Woodworker.” — Megan Fitzpatrick

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Frank Klausz: The Man Behind the Bowsaw

I have a strange relationship with Frank Klausz. Frank doesn’t know it, but I’ll share it with you. I went to work with my father in his custom woodworking shop when I was in high school, and worked there through college. I learned much from my dad, but I also lost something in the process – the dynamic of father and son. Decades later dad and I are on good […]

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Grain-painting Done Well – Quite Well

When people ask me what foods I hate, I usually say, “I’ll eat anything, as long as it’s prepared well.” I didn’t like Brussels sprouts until I had them roasted. I didn’t like oysters until I tried them right from the creek. And I didn’t like green beans until I had fresh ones (ugh, 1970s canned green beans;I’d rather eat bauxite). The same thing goes for furniture finishes. Most people […]

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Sharpening Shortcuts

It goes without saying that there is a renewed interest in hand tool woodworking, and much has been written on the topic, and that’s great because there really is a lot to know about these tools that are “new” to many woodworkers. That said, my experience with hand tools has taught me one thing – Keep it Sharp! Whether a saw, knife or blade, sharp tools cut more accurately, safely […]

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Pattern-transfer Tip from Mary May

I just finished the binder read-through for the December 2014 issue, and in it, Mary Mary has an article titled “Woodcarving Basics.” Therein, she shares the tools and techniques you need for a successful start in carving, and one of her suggestions was so interesting that it caused me to pick up an iron for the first time in…I don’t know how long. (We share office space with our parent […]

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Your Passion for Woodworking Could Pay

We’ve just posted two positions – one to conceive of, acquire and edit woodworking books; the other to conceive of, storyboard, direct, film and edit woodworking videos – for the Popular Woodworking community, reporting to the content director (that’s me). If you have a passion for and solid knowledge of woodworking (along with the skills particular to each job) and live in or are willing to relocate to the Greater […]

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Linseed Oil, an Ancient Friend (and Foe)

When Egyptian King Tutankhamun was buried in haste, the linen cloth he was wrapped in was soaked with linseed oil. And, perhaps because Tut was buried in haste, the oil was not allowed to cure. And so began one of the most common safety messages in relation to finishing: Spread out your oily rags to dry cure to avoid spontaneous combustion. Yup. The oily rags that wrapped Tut’s body spontaneously […]

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Beyond The Vise: Workholding For Hand Tools

Why go beyond the vise? While most workbenches include a vise, it’s not always effective for all hand tool work. Things get even more difficult if you don’t have a good vise, or are working away from your regular workbench. A variety of work holding methods have evolved over the centuries to help out. Most are very simple yet make the work far more efficient. One of my favorites is […]

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Designing with Chalk

You may recall that a few months ago, I tore out my old kitchen and built new cabinets, installed a new floor, a farmhouse sink, etc. etc. But once everything as fully functional, well, I moved on to more pressing things. But It’s been bugging me ever since to not have the small island built (because it will also serve as my kitchen table; for months, I’ve had to – […]

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American Gothic: An Aumbry from Kentucky

Last night I put the first coat of linseed oil on this oak aumbry I’m building for an upcoming issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine and think it came out like I wanted. The oak is nothing special – just rift and quartered red and white oak off the rack at the lumberyard. I chose it mostly for its straight grain and color. Most of the construction is dados, rabbets and […]

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Frank Klausz — The Man Behind the Bowsaw

I have a strange relationship with Frank Klausz. Frank doesn’t know it, but I’ll share it with you. I went to work with my father in his custom woodworking shop when I was in high school, and worked there through college. I learned much from my dad, but I also lost something in the process – the dynamic of father and son. Decades later dad and I are on good […]

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Wish You Well

Following a restructuring of the woodworking team by our parent company, three people have decided to leave the company. October 15 will be the last day as part of the F+W woodworking community for Robert Lang, Glen Huey and Chuck Bender. I, along with the rest of their co-workers, thank them for the excellent work they’ve done for Popular Woodworking Magazine and the F+W woodworking community, and wish them well […]

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New Faces (and Some old Ones)

What really stood out for me at our annual woodworking conference last month were all the new faces and ideas. Part of that was the new location – Winston-Salem, N.C. – and part of it was the fact that woodworking is growing! Here’s a blog round-up of my impressions from the trip, with an emphasis on the new stuff. Please add your own impressions and links in the comments section. […]

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