Precision Inlay, Simple Tools

A few shop-made appliances allow you to add stunning face-grain inlay to your work. Geometric bandings and inlay patterns, or parquetry, are widely used, from Japan to Egypt to Spain. I developed [...]

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 [...]

Wired for Beauty

A rotary tool, hammer and a few shop-made tools are all it takes. I recently had the opportunity to explore a concept that has been rattling around the dark recesses of my cranium for almost [...]

Perfect Shoulders

An 18th-century chairmaker’s saw makes 21st-century work easier The graveyard of obscure and forgotten tools is large, densely packed and many layers deep. Many of these tools richly deserve [...]

A Must-have Woodworking Glue

Without a doubt, yellow woodworking glue has adhered its place in the Woodworker’s Hall of Fame. But for complex joinery, veneer work and bent laminations, there is a better choice. Urea resin [...]

Must-Have Router Bits

Here are four profiles that will change your woodworking life. Every woodworking shop has a few vital tools that are absolute necessities. And whether you have a strict power-only tool policy or [...]

Quarter Columns

Forget the lathe; a router table setup makes quick work of these striking architectural features. If you want to add a little punch to your next traditional furniture project, try adding quarter [...]

Free-form Sculpting

With a couple simple techniques you’ll augment your design skills and flexibility. What woodworker hasn’t dreamed of wielding sharp gouges and chisels, effortlessly transforming a giant, lifeless [...]

An Ideal Joint for Small Drawers

When you slide open a small drawer that fits nice and tight, it’s a pleasure to see well-crafted joints.  Small, handcut dovetails answer well, but sawing and chopping them requires a lot [...]

Chucks and Chucking

For many woodturning operations, a chuck performs the essential job of holding the work securely and safely. These operations often present unique requirements, so a dizzying array of [...]

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. [...]

Butterfly Keys Made Easy

Tips and techniques for beautiful bowties Furniture made from thick wood slabs, with gorgeous grain and natural edges, at once rustic and refined, has remained popular ever since George Nakashima [...]