Below you’ll find smart woodworking techniques including quick tips, advice for beginners and more advanced methods to improve your skills and allow you to get the most out of your workshop and tools. Whether you’re looking for traditional woodworking techniques using hand tools or power tools, finishing or sharpening advice, or just want to hone your woodworking basics, the advice below is from seasoned and trusted woodworkers and furniture makers working at the top of their field.
Accurately set up for and safely make these versatile curved shapes. It was the 1970s. I was a young, lost woodworker out cruising the West Coast in search of inspiration, mentors, cool old tools [...]
Get better woodworking results with these 12 tips. I’ve been teaching now for more than 15 years. And in that time I’ve thought a lot about why students are or are not able to do certain things. [...]
A simple table saw technique levels four legs in no time flat. Rock-n-roll. That’s what four-legged pieces have a habit of doing – even with perfect joinery and a careful and unhurried assembly. [...]
Add this flexible material to your shop repertoire. Plastics are amazing materials. Their lightweight grain-less structure gives them uniform strength in all directions making it an ideal [...]
These tips and tricks will take you a long way toward success. The router is, simply put, a multi-tasking workhorse in the woodshop. But you would be surprised by how many folks don’t get [...]
Your joints will last for decades if you know how to apply your glue. Much of woodworking is joinery: An edge-to-edge joint is used to join two or more boards to create a tabletop, dovetails are [...]
Editor’s note: This dovetail method is referenced in the October 2021 issue of Popular Woodworking, so we are republishing it to the home page. The blog below was originally published in [...]
A simple sharpening technique for unbelievably sharp edges that are tough and long-lasting. By David Weaver, Winston Chang, and William Tindal Nothing slices, chops or pares through wood like a [...]
I previously wrote about several types of hinges commonly in use and described various techniques for installing them. For the second article in this series, here are five hinges with more [...]
To true your wood with machines, the steps you follow are critical. This time-tested procedure is the best way we know of. I get to meet many woodworkers around the country at woodworking [...]
Every door needs a hinge – Nancy Hiller shows you which hinges to use, the advantages of each type, and how to install them. Wherever there’s a door, there must be hinges – and just as there’s a [...]
An Exercise in Mastering the Skew Do you like a challenge? Want to develop your woodturning skills? Can you learn from mistakes? If your answer is “yes”, you’re ready to tackle the rolling cut [...]