Traveling Tool Chest
Historic proportions and details are still the best. Since I started woodworking in about 1993, I’ve stored my tools in almost every way imaginable – from plastic buckets to wall cabinets, racks [...]
Trend Diamond Whetstone Honing & Polishing Kit
Tool: Diamond Whetstone Honing & Polishing Kit Manufacturer: Trend MSRP: $199.99 To be frank, I’m not a fan of sharpening hand tools using diamond systems because I don’t find the final edge [...]
Compound Angles; No Math
Once you understand ‘resultant’ angles, sawbenches (and chairs) are easy. Most first-time chairmakers are intimidated by the compound joinery used to fasten all the legs, stretchers, spindles and [...]
Kreg Precision Router Table
Tool: Precision Router Table System Manufacturer: Kreg MSRP: $549.00 Some router tables have gotten so complex and expensive that they actually rival a decent shaper. I’ve always preferred simple [...]
American Gothic
This early form – an aumbry – spawned many different types of furniture. It is easy to forget that many of our favorite pieces of furniture are recent innovations. Forms such as coffee tables, [...]
Shellac Tiger Flakes
Tool: Tiger Flakes Manufacturer: Brooklyn Tool & Craft MSRP: $28+ Because shellac is my favorite finish, I have tried nearly every brand of flakes on the market. By far, my favorite brand is [...]
Blue Spruce Joiner’s Mallets
Tool: Rectangular Mallet Manufacturer: Blue Spruce Toolworks MSRP: $85 For some woodworkers, building your own mallet is a rite of passage. After using dozens of student-made mallets, however, I [...]
Folding Bookcase
Though not as lightweight as an eReader, this portable library is far more stylish. Bookcases that fold up like a clamshell were common among British travelers of the 19th century. Soldiers, [...]
BenchCrafted Classic Leg Vise
Tool: Classic Leg Vise Manufacturer: BenchCrafted MSRP: $210 Until recently, workbench hardware on the market was so pitiful that you were better off looking for vintage vises and screws for your [...]
Improve a Coping Saw
When I was a kid, the first saw I bought was a Craftsman coping saw with a chrome frame and red-stained handle. For years I did everything with that saw – crosscuts, rips, curves and even joints. [...]
Bickford Moulding Planes
Editor’s note: This article was originally published in the December 2010 issue of Popular Woodworking. Vintage moulding planes are tricky beasts. Typically the wood is warped, the irons [...]
6-Board Chest
Use two planks, two days and two piles of nails to make this age-old form Six-board chests have been an enduring form of furniture in Western cultures for hundreds of years. And while they differ [...]
