When it comes to poisonous things that bite you, Australia has more than its fair share. Within an hour of landing in Melbourne, I heard some lovely stories of spotted little spiders that make your flesh rot. I haven’t seen any spiders, but during my first day of teaching a tool chest class at the … 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
The dovetailed skirt around the carcase of a tool chest (or blanket chest) is fussy to fit. The case has to be square and plumb. The skirting material has to be flat and square. And you have to get the joint’s baselines in just the right place. And even when you do all that, you … Read more
At some point during a woodworking class, students, teachers and bystanders become a sort of ersatz family. It is not by design. It is despite my best efforts. Today at The Woodwright’s School, students dressed the shells of their tool chests and added the tongue-and-groove bottom boards (yay for cut nails). After that brief nailing, … Read more
After two only days of work, nearly the entire class has assembled the shells of their tool chests. This is not according to plan. We are supposed to assemble the chests on Wednesday night. Late Wednesday. Dark. With greasy pizza boxes strewn everywhere. There should be tears. Alcohol deprivation. Hide glue. Instead, we have only … Read more
When you’ve worked out of a traditional tool chest for 15 years, you sometimes forget how excellent it is to work from. That is, until you teach others how to build the chest. This week, I’m at Roy Underhill’s woodworking school, “The Woodwright’s School.” This is the last class I’m teaching in 2012 (aside from … 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
