Woodworking in America: New Tools
I got to spend a little time in the Marketplace area of the Woodworking in America conference this morning and got a first look at some new hand tools that will be available soon. First stop was [...]
Who Would Make Such a Stupid Rule?
In the history of measuring equipment, there is one blunder so awful that it makes me twitter (old-school twitter) like a smack-addled squirrel every time I encounter it. It’s a 6″ [...]
Place Hardware So it Looks Right
There is precious little information out there about placing your hardware so it doesn’t look awkward. My theory: Woodworking writers get so worn out by the time that they reach the end of [...]
Neener, Neener, Tofflemeier
I’m a child of the Cold War. I remember the drills in elementary school where we curled up under our desks in the event of a nuclear attack (to kiss our butts goodbye I suppose). One of my [...]
Get Mired in ‘Red Tape’
My grandfather’s workbench had an adhesive rule stuck to its front edge, which was extremely useful when woodworking. You could check part dimensions without pulling out a tape measure or [...]
I Couldn’t Possibly Do That…
If you want to sell something to a woodworker, the easy way is to start by selling him on the idea that he can’t possibly do it himself. If you can accomplish that, then you have someone [...]
Bridge City's DSS-6 Double Saddle Square
When I attended the 20th anniversary of Lie-Nielsen Toolworks, John Economaki of Bridge City Tools was at the next table. When Thomas Lie-Nielsen called out Bridge City as one of the other [...]
The Golden Meaningless?
When I first learned about the so-called Golden Mean or Golden Section I was enthralled by the concept. I actually remember the moment. I was in the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C., [...]
Chris Vesper and the Drop Test
With every project there is always some tool that deserves an Academy Award-style acceptance speech. “In building this chest of drawers I’d like to thank my mom for birthing me, Hanes [...]
Marking Gauges: The Clamps of the Hand Tool World
Really, I have enough clamps , a couple dozen , to do just about anything. If I can’t clamp it, I can always use pinch dogs, drawboring or some other dodge to get the job done. But I [...]
Now I Click, Snap and Curse Much Less
In the shop, my mechanical pencil is as important as my eyeglasses. I use a mechanical pencil with a 0.5mm lead to darken in my knife lines when cutting dovetails, tenons or other joinery. I like [...]
Restore a Folding Rule
I feel like a dirty English tool dealer this morning. But I’m OK with that. Recently I purchased a bunch of brass-bound folding rules to give to co-workers and friends. Most of these were [...]
