Shop Blog

Tool storage – is it the most controversial subject in the craft? People have debated it. Great books have been dedicated to it. Philosophies have developed and wars fought over it (well, at [...]

  My workbench project is now underway, but I’m going to avoid showing any detail or videos on the build process until it’s finished. However, I will be posting some of the [...]

There’s more than one way to make backs for frameless cabinets. Here’s how to choose the method that’s right for your project. Think about how many materials you want to use for the cabinet [...]

About six years ago, Megan Fitzpatrick, the editor of Popular Woodworking Magazine, asked me to join the group of editors blogging on the magazine website. I don’t remember why I turned her down. [...]

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 …

For many years I’ve lined the jaws of all my vises with sueded leather to improve their grip. Whenever I mention that I do this, I get a barrage of questions: Where do you buy suede? (Really? Any [...]

While many people get warm and wet feelings about their smoothing planes, I have those emotions about my hand drill. Maybe it’s because I use a hand drill almost daily for nails and screws, [...]

The cover story for the April 2016 issue (#224) is Caleb James’s article on making matched sets of Roubo-style moulding planes (the three sizes for which he reaches the most: Nos. 4, 6 and 8). To [...]

To turn wood safely, you need to know the correct way to introduce a cutting tool to a spinning workpiece. There are different ways to start a cut, depending on the type of tool you use. Here’s a [...]

With my sawhorses ready and waiting, the plan clear in my mind and hardware in place, it’s time to start progressing the workbench project. On balance, I think I’d say the U.S. has [...]

Mike Dunbar, the founder of The Windsor Institute and the leader in the renaissance in Windsor chairmaking announced today he is closing the school. According to an e-mail sent to students, [...]

Visitors to my shop are always surprised how small my shop is – 15’ x 25’ – and that I share it with the house’s furnace (it’s a friendly relationship, I promise, with good dust collection). At [...]