Tag Archives: Bob Rozaieski

Arts & Mysteries: Separated at Birth?

Western and Eastern tools might not be as different as you think.

By Bob Rozaieski & Wilbur Pan
Pages: 22-24

From the April 2011 issue #189
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At first glance, Japanese woodworking tools and techniques seem like the platypus of the woodworking world. Beginning in the Edo period in the early 1600s, Japan isolated itself from the rest of the world, especially the West. A policy of Sakoku meant that no foreigner could enter Japan and no Japanese could leave the country – under penalty of death in either case. This policy continued for more than 200 years until the mid 1800s, when Commodore Matthew Perry forced the opening of Japan to the West.

Blog: Visit the Logan Cabinet Shoppe and view hand-tool podcasts.
Blog: Wilbur’s blog, “giant Cypress,” often discusses Japanese tools.
To buy: “Japanese Woodworking Tools: Their Tradition, Spirit, and Use” by Toshio Odate.
In our store: “The Care and Use of Japanese Woodworking Tools: Saws, Planes, Chisels, Marking Gauges, Stones.”

From the April 2011 issue #189
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Arts & Mysteries: Soup up Your Sawing Savvy

Good practice makes perfect – or at least better.
By Bob Rozaieski
Pages: 28-29

From the December 2010 issue # 187
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When it comes to using hand tools, good technique is everything. We can spend hours sawing, chopping and planing, but if we don’t practice good technique, all we are doing is getting good at bad habits. To really become proficient with our hand tools, the secret isn’t more practice, it’s practicing better technique.

Nowhere is this more true than when using a handsaw. So often, the struggles that we have making accurate crosscuts and rips, and sawing joinery, can be attributed to difficulty tracking a straight line. So we buy better saws and practice more, hoping to cut that perfect dovetail. But often, the improvement is only marginal.

It can be frustrating when your skills seem to hit a plateau. But it may not be your fault. You may simply be practicing old, bad habits. Just like anything else, sawing by hand takes practice. But to do it well, it takes proper practice of good technique.

WEB SITE: Visit Bob Rozaieski’s web site and read his hand tool blog.
ARTICLE: Read Editor Christopher Schwarz’s article on the three classes of sawcuts.
BLOG: Read Adam Cherubini’s Art & Mysteries blog.
ARTICLES: Read our articles on making a sawbench.
IN OUR STORE: “Sawing Fundamentals,” a DVD from Editor Christopher Schwarz. Read more »

Arts & Mysteries: Replace Your Tailed Router

Stop the screaming once and for all.
By Bob Rozaieski
Page: 22-23

From the February 2011 issue #188
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When I first started using hand tools, I was hesitant to let go of my router. I had no love affair with the screaming
beast. We weren’t even good friends. We just called on each other when we felt that need to … make moulding.

Let’s face it. It’s tough to beat a router at cranking out moulding. For the woodworker on a budget, the big shaper with custom cutters won’t give us the time of day. So the router becomes the go-to tool.

But as most make-do relationships go, we tire of the screaming, constant mess and inadequate performance. This leads to periods of inactivity, neglect and, ultimately, designs devoid of the shapely features we once knew.

When I finally had enough of the screaming, I discovered moulding planes. If you’re a relatively new hand-tool addict, beware these hand-tool sirens. After using a well tuned moulding plane, their calls become difficult to resist.

Web site: Visit Bob Rozaieski’s web site and read his hand-tool blog.
Article: Read Editor Christopher Schwarz’s article about Clark and Williams, makers of molding planes.
Blog: Read Adam Cherubini’s “Art & Mysteries” blog.
In Our Store: “Traditional Molding Techniques,” a DVD from Don McConnell. Read more »