41 Things from 1839

I’m packing up all the tools I’ll need in North Carolina for the coming week, and I was a bit shocked this morning as I went through my checklist. One of the “Woodwright’s [...]

10 Tool Features that Frustrate Me

Some days I forget that not all woodworking tools are designed by woodworkers (see: many of the honing guides on the market). And I forget that some tools are just designed to trick your family [...]

For Dividers I Fall

The longer I’m a woodworker, the less I like systems of measurement. Whether you’re a machinist who works in metric, an imperious advocate of imperial, or a Bob who measures in [...]

OXO 16" Folding Ruler: Good for Wood?

Several readers have encouraged me to take a look at the OXO 16″ folding ruler, which is an inexpensive aluminum recreation of the classic 19th-century folding ruler. I picked one up at [...]

A Square that Stays Put

From the “I need three hands” file: Sometimes when you scribe a line on a board with the guidance of a try square you need one hand to hold the knife, one hand to press the blade down [...]

Star Tools Marking Gauge

Marking gauges have all manner of ways for you to lock the head to the beam, but most involve a screw or wedge mechanism. I think the coolest method I’ve ever seen is a cam-lock on the [...]

Take Your Eye for a Walk

Ever since I saw George Walker’s DVD on furniture design and his lecture at Woodworking in America, I’ve been trying out some of his ideas on pieces of furniture that I know and love. [...]

New Sliding Bevel from Chris Vesper Tools

Though I need another sliding bevel like I need a goat in my living room, I recently ordered one of the new sliding bevels from Chris Vesper Tools in Australia and have been putting it through [...]

Roubo's Triangle on the Job

I finished up building a set of try squares based on Andre Roubo’s 18th-century plans this weekend and need to put the finish on them. What’s holding me back? Well, I keep using the [...]

The Roubo Triangle

Inspired by Robert W. Lang’s article on making wooden try squares in the Autumn 2009 issue, I decided to make a batch of squares this weekend. Yesterday at lunch I bought some quartersawn [...]