Shop Blog

Q & A: Pencil Mark Cleanup Q: How do I get the pencil marks off my oak plywood bookcase? I tried using an eraser, but that didn’t get down into the open grain.When I tried sanding it out I [...]

Q & A: Cupped Door Panels Q: Recently I glued up some 1⁄4-in. panels for cabinet doors.My other life kept me out of the shop for a week and when I returned the panels had a [...]

Though planes have been around for millennia, they haven’t always been the essential woodworking tool that we may think they were. In Medieval Europe, and especially England, lots of good [...]

I’m in the midst of making my mom’s Christmas present*, and though I did the machine work at the “office” today, I decided to bring the surfaced and mortised pieces home [...]

While I think a tool chest is the best place to store your tools, the chest can also become a rusty tomb if you aren’t careful. Woodworking shops can be nasty places. I’ve worked in unheated [...]

This evening, I whiled away an hour leafing through “The Wise Practical Home Furniture Builder: Simple Plans for the Amateur Craftsman,” a book from 1952 that is similar to the I Can [...]

I used plywood for my “Machinist’s Tool Test” project (in the October 2012 issue, and continued in February 2013 issue). In the past, I regarded plywood as being unworkable by [...]

The other headline I considered for this blog entry was: Fare thee well, pinheads. As I sorted through the box of castings and metal bits in my Benchcrafted Crisscross kit tonight I wondered if [...]

Woodworkers from all across the country have been signing up in droves for our 31 Days of Christmas Sweepstakes. Hopefully you’re already in on the action – but in case you’ve been [...]

When steel and an abrasive intersect, the typical result is utter confusion. Today we have more choices in steel than ever before. The same goes for abrasives. And so wading into the issue of [...]

We’ve compiled some of our favorite woodworking gifts for the holidays over at our store. In the short-but-diverse list, you’re sure to find a gift for every woodworker you know – perhaps [...]

Q & A: Veneered-Plywood Tear-Out Q: I have some planks with a pronounced crook.The grain is beautiful and I would like to make use of the crook in a desktop design. How can I edge join the [...]