Archives

For many years I was happy with my Olson coping saw, which I bought from the now-vanished Aufdenkamp Hardware in 1996. The saw locked tight. It held the blade without rotating. And when armed [...]

This week we received a visit from James Travis, who built what could be the most ornate sawbench. Travis, who is in his early 20s, was traveling through Cincinnati on his way from Boston to San [...]

John Sindelar, who owns the most jaw-dropping, drool-inducing tool collection I’ve ever seen, is bringing a big chunk of it to our Woodworking in America show Oct. 1-3 in Cincinnati. And [...]

This summer Lie-Nielsen Toolworks will release a DVD on the basic principles of using handsaws and backsaws. During the video, I quote the Bible, cut all sorts of joints and am constantly menaced [...]

For me, this is like the day I first saw my name in the phone book. I am somebody. This summer I’m teaching a three-day class at Roy Underhill’s school, The Woodwright’s School, [...]

Most American woodworkers struggle with bowsaws. Now before you think that bowsaws are tools for beret-wearing, Gitano-smoking woodworkers who eat espresso and croissants when on a break, think [...]

The hardest part of ripping (besides the exertion) is making a square cut through the thickness of the work. It’s fairly easy to follow your line when ripping, but it’s also easy to [...]

Andrew Lunn at Eccentric Toolworks has resumed taking orders for his custom saws. Let the whuppings and hand-wringing commence! Last year Lunn stopped taking new orders so he could concentrate on [...]

I’m sad to announce that the world has lost another good saw sharpener. Steve Cooke, 61, of York, Pa., died on March 17. Cooke was the founder of Cooke’s Sharpening Service, which [...]

All week I’ve been itching to saw these joints that connect the legs to the benchtop. I’ve never cut a 5″-deep dovetail joint in a 6×6, so I wasn’t sure what to [...]

When I am deep into a sawcut, you could walk into the shop totally naked, on fire and covered with leprous monkeys, and I probably wouldn’t notice. Accurate sawing is tantric. It’s a [...]

For me, ripping boards on low sawhorses is a quick trip to a sore back. It’s a balancing act done while bending over and pushing hard. So I’m always on the lookout for ways to do the [...]