Sorry zinc, I am not attracted to you. Yes, you keep the elements at bay, but your non-stop shiny countenance is irritating. It looks out of place on my traditional projects. And you do not age well. Zinc, it’s over. I’m going to go get me a stripper. </stupidliteraryexercise> There are lots of ways to … Read more
I’ve now built more than a dozen traditional tool chests entirely by hand. Hand-cut dovetails. Hand-cut mouldings. Hand-cut shiplaps and beads. Hand-cut blah blah blah. These chests take me about 40 to 50 hours of pedal-to-the-metal work to get ready for finish. Today, I built the entire shell and lid of a chest in less … Read more
For the last three years I have been paring down my working tool set to the bare minimum by selling off or giving away many of the tools that I amassed while working at Popular Woodworking Magazine. It was so cathartic I wrote a book about it called “The Anarchist’s Tool Chest,” which is available … Read more
If it weren’t for Highland Hardware in Atlanta (now called Highland Woodworking), my life would be a lot different. 1. That’s where I first met Roy Underhill. Well, “met” is not the right word. I was too shy to introduce myself. I just watched him for about an hour until it reached the point that … Read more
When it comes to holding a woodworking tool in our hands for hours at a time, we have two choices: change the tool or change our attitude. Most woodworkers – surprisingly – refuse to change the tools. Perhaps we’re afraid we’ll make it worse. Or we don’t know what to alter on the tool. Or … Read more
If a workbench or a tool chest is on your list of woodworking projects to build this year, you’ll definitely want to read on about two upcoming DVDs I’m working on with Popular Woodworking Magazine. In just a few weeks, we’re filming a DVD on building a traditional tool chest using a small set of … Read more
OK, so let’s say you are too cheap to purchase a blacksmith-made lock for your next tool chest or blanket chest. Wait, that wasn’t very kind of me to call you “cheap.” Instead, let’s put it this way: Let’s say your spouse just ran off with the village blacksmith, so you are looking for an … Read more
