Woodworking Blogs
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Chris Schwarz Blog
Editor Christopher Schwarz is a long-time amateur woodworker and professional journalist. He built his first workbench at age 8 and spent weekends helping his father build two houses on the family’s farm outside Hackett, Ark.— using mostly hand tools. Despite his early experience on the farm, Chris remains a hand-tool enthusiast.
Chris’s blog focuses mostly on hand tools and hand work. Chris also writes short tool reviews, book reviews and generally gets the inside scoop on new tool introductions before other blogs.
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Popular Woodworking Editor’s Blog
Hands-on advice, tips and techniques from the editors of Popular Woodworking Magazine. This blog includes free videos, tool reviews we didn’t have room for in the printed magazine and tidbits of the day-to-day life here at the magazine.
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Arts & Mysteries with Adam Cherubini
Arts & Mysteries is one of our most-read columns in Popular Woodworking magazine. Whether you sympathize with Adam Cherubini’s approach to working wood entirely with hand tools or think he’s simply a glutton for punishment, I think we all can agree on one thing: Adam’s column is never boring.
Don’t Believe Everything You Read
For centuries, woodworking skills and techniques were passed down directly from master to student. If you wanted to learn, you spent time with someone who had done it for a long time, followed an example that you saw first hand, and tried it yourself with your teacher there to correct your mistakes. When we learn Continue reading»
Aging Hardware with Jax Chemicals
I’ve used a lot of different methods to add age to my hardware – everything from a propane torch to ammonia to gun blue to (yes) human urine. Whenever I discuss these methods, I get complaints. So in an effort to garner more complaints, here’s another one: Jax Chemicals. These are the formulas that metalsmiths Continue reading»
New Episode of ‘The Highland Woodworker’
The second episode of “The Highland Woodworker” web TV show is out and if you haven’t seen this new show yet, it’s definitely worth a look. Produced in conjunction with Highland Hardware in Atlanta, the show provides great woodworking advice and visits with some of the best woodworkers out there. (The first episode included a Continue reading»
Roorkhee Chair: First Look
I like Morris chairs – Lord knows I’ve built enough of them to change my middle name to “Morrie.” But this evening I finished up work on a chair that is lighter in weight (less than 10 lbs.), just as masculine (leather!) and is (gasp) even more comfortable. It’s called a Roorkhee Chair, and it Continue reading»
Chair Joinery: Tapered Tenons & Tapered Mortises
Because chairs take abuse like a rented mule, the simple mortise-and-tenon joint is sometimes not enough. In traditional Windsor chair construction, the legs and spindles are attached to the plank seat using tenons that are cone-shaped along their lengths. So the mortises have to be the same shape. These tapered joints are clever. The more Continue reading»
‘Mastering Hand Tools’ – a 2-DVD Set from Christopher Schwarz
“Mastering Hand Tools: Basic Skills for Balanced Woodworking,” a new 2-disc video from Christopher Schwarz, contributing editor, introduces you to the basic hand-tool skills you need to integrate hand tools intelligently and confidently into your shop. Why use hand tools? That’s one of the first questions Chris answers as he explains how even a hard-core Continue reading»
My Favorite Band Saw Blade
While I do most of my work by hand, there are two machines that I refuse to do without: a thickness planer and an old Delta 14” band saw. These two machines remove the drudgery from reducing boards in thickness and long rips. So I baby these two machines. When it comes to band saw Continue reading»






