Popular Woodworking Magazine » Marking and Measuring

Don’t Leave Home Without Essential Layout Tools

Robert W. Lang — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 16:04:45 +0000

Whenever I leave town to teach a woodworking class, I make two stops to pick up a supply of two essential things for project layout. The first stop is the office supply store for a box of Bic .5mm mechanical pencils. Next stop is the “big box home center” for a dozen lumber crayons. The … Read more »

The post Don’t Leave Home Without Essential Layout Tools appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

Find Center With a Combination Square

Robert W. Lang — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 19:28:54 +0000

In this short video, executive editor Robert W. Lang demonstrates how to find the center of a board using a combination square, it’s easy, accurate and no numbers were harmed in the making of this video. – Robert Lang

The post Find Center With a Combination Square appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

Precision Drilling Repetitive Hole Patterns

Steve Shanesy — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 21:08:33 +0000

Years ago, when I was woodworking as a full-time occupation, I remember a couple jobs in particular that required me to set up a drill press to drill a sequence of holes where accuracy was a must. One job was producing prototype cabinets for JBL, the company that makes speakers. The cabinets were intended to … Read more »

The post Precision Drilling Repetitive Hole Patterns appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

My Favorite Tool from the H.O. Studley Tool Chest

Christopher Schwarz — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 15:26:49 +0000

Making woodworking tools doesn’t interest me as much as making furniture, but my recent encounter with Henry O. Studley’s tool chest has me eyeing the metals section of the McMaster-Carr web site. The tool that turned my head is small and simple, but boy do I have a crush on it. It’s a locking thickness … Read more »

The post My Favorite Tool from the H.O. Studley Tool Chest appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

My Chisel Handles are Older Than Yours

Christopher Schwarz — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 00:45:11 +0000

Exotic woods don’t blow my skirt/kilt/skort up much. In small doses they can look beautiful, but for the most part I find them oily, difficult to work and far too wild looking for full-size furniture. I’ve always preferred hardwoods and softwoods from the Northern hemisphere. Quartersawn beech is exotic to me. Quartersawn sycamore is too … Read more »

The post My Chisel Handles are Older Than Yours appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

How to Sharpen a Marking Knife

Christopher Schwarz — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 01:21:55 +0000

Sharpening a spear-point marking knife isn’t difficult, but it sure seems to flummox some woodworkers. The bevels on the knife are small, and if you aren’t used to freehand sharpening, you might be afraid of rounding over the edge. Dave Jeske of Blue Spruce Toolworks was at the Wooden Boat Festival in Port Townsend, Wash., … Read more »

The post How to Sharpen a Marking Knife appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

The English Layout Square: A Mystery and a Slideshow

Christopher Schwarz — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 22:16:39 +0000

Today I’m in Portland, Maine, eating myself sick at Duckfat and studying the architectural details on the old houses in this coastal city. As I started picking apart some Victorian houses on the city’s east side, I remembered something that a student once said about the English Layout Square I built for the December 2010 … Read more »

The post The English Layout Square: A Mystery and a Slideshow appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

Tool Test: Veritas Dual Marking Gauge

Article Index — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 14:54:50 +0000

By Glen D. Huey Page: 20From the October 2011 issue #192 Buy the issue nowMost mortising gauges do a poor job and need to be heavily modified to mark out mortises. And when you modify them, they then do a poor job of marking the mating tenon.BLOG: Read Chris Schwarz's online review of this tool at popularwoodworking.com.From the October 2011 issue #192 Buy the issue now Read more »

The post Tool Test: Veritas Dual Marking Gauge appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

Video Preview: Superior Works Sliding Bevel

Christopher Schwarz — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 19:30:59 +0000

Tool seller Patrick Leach has a new sliding bevel in the works that does something that no other modern bevel does: It locks at a perfect 90°. Yup. Sliding bevels are great at describing almost every angle except 90°, which is why we have try squares. With this new sliding bevel, some woodworkers might throw … Read more »

The post Video Preview: Superior Works Sliding Bevel appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

New: Veritas Dual Marking Gauge

Christopher Schwarz — Tue, 24 May 2011 11:11:40 +0000

If you remember the Veritas Dodeca-Gauge – the company’s hilarious April Fool’s prank that featured a marking gauge with 12 independent sliding rods – then the company’s newest tool might look a little familiar to you. The Veritas Dual Marking Gauge offers only one-sixth of the rods of the fictional Dodeca-Gauge, but the good news … Read more »

The post New: Veritas Dual Marking Gauge appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.