Click here for Part 1 of the frame saw build, and here for Part 2. The central (compression) beam tenons are 5/8” long and 1-3/4” wide (see enlarged drawing at the bottom of this post). The [...]
The frame saw that I devised for my students is, among other things, a great exercise in woodworking joinery. It teaches the student the importance of what I call ‘interdependency’. I use this [...]
Building a functioning tool is a fantastic skill-building exercise for anyone who studies woodworking. Whether it is a wooden plane, a marking gauge or a mallet, the process of creating an object [...]
A few weeks ago I blogged about a jig that I built that is intended to help in woodworking clamping tasks and, in some cases, even substitute for a work bench. I called the jig a Bench Bull and [...]
Toddlers can be risky creatures, endangering themselves as well as your property. They are notorious for putting themselves in the most precarious situations such as rolling down the stairs, [...]
My friend Gil Arad, an Israeli woodworker who lives, works and teaches in a small village outside of Jerusalem has recently published a really cool video that depicts the kind of work that he [...]
When I first began teaching at our school, I noticed that many of the rasps and files our students were using had a gooey buildup of masking tape around their tips. This blob of glue and paper [...]
My Japanese corner chisel is not the most handy tool in my tool box. In fact, I hardly use it. But since I have it, I feel obligated to keep it sharp. If you own one and look for instructions …
After showing you in my last post a few ways for clamping workpieces to the Bench Bull (F-style clamps, Veritas Fast-Action Hold-Downs and 3/4” pony #56 pipe clamps), I want to introduce one last [...]
For Part 1, click here. I crosscut our first batch of Bench Bulls from a 7-1/4″ x 2-1/2″ rough pine beam that we found on the street in front of our school. The beams were discarded [...]
Perhaps the most important instrument for the hand-tool oriented woodworker is a sturdy workbench. A reliable bench is fundamental for the success of sawing, chiseling, planing, grooving, [...]
I don’t think that there is a more reputable furniture artist, teacher and designer who is still actively producing masterpieces than Wendell Castle. Castle, who is now in his 80s, is considered [...]