By Christopher Schwarz From the Spring 2004 issue of Woodworking Magazine, pages 8-11 When I was taught to cut rabbets in my first woodworking class, we made them with two cuts on the table saw. You’ve probably seen this technique in books and magazines before. For the first cut, the work is flat on the … Read more
If I wrote about all the woodworking tools out there that stink, I wouldn’t have much time to build anything. Most of the junk out there can be avoided. You can buy better drill bits, screwdrivers and hammers than the stuff you find in the $1 bins at the home centers. But for some tools, … Read more
When I moved from the Deep South to the Midwest, it took me awhile to realize that the word “interesting” is not always a good thing. For example, Sno-Balls have an interesting aftertaste. Another example: Woodworkers have a lot of interesting ways of laying out an equilateral octagon. Why is this important? Hand-tool woodworkers, turners … Read more
There are some woodworkers who say that shavehorses weren’t used in chairmaking – according to the historical record. But shavehorses were definitely used in the mining industry. Check out this 1556 illustration of a guy working at a shavehorse from the Latin text “Georgius Agricola: De Re Metallica.” The gentleman looks like he is not-so-merrily … Read more
This summer I have made two changes to my Roubo-style workbench that I built in 2005 that have made the bench even more effective and easy to use. First up, a real-deal antique French holdfast, sent to me by a colleague in France. Clearly blacksmith made, this holdfast is sized somewhere between the monster holdfast … Read more
The first lesson of handwork is this: Most things that you think are important are not important. Most surfaces do not need to be true. Most edges do not need to be square. Most boards do not need to be four-squared (or even free of bark). Most dimensions – length, thickness, width – will only … Read more
I’ve hauled my tool chest all over the United States and Canada, and I remain impressed – deeply impressed – by how it has handled all the miles. I’ve even dropped it from a height of 36” – fully loaded – onto concrete. One corner of the chest’s dust seal splintered a bit, but the … Read more
