Finding and restoring vintage shop machinery. Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in the October 2016 issue of Popular Woodworking You pick up an old handplane at the local flea market. You clean it, flatten the sole, tune the adjusting mechanism, hone the iron to a frightful edge. That first shaving. You know the one….

Angles and an artful inlay set this Arts & Crafts-inspired design apart. I’ve been fascinated by interesting little tabouret tables lately, and it seems the more complicated the design, the more I’m intrigued. Tapered sides, angled joinery, and curved shapes all tend to invite the eye for a closer look. This small side table is…

We’re interviewing makers from all 50 states. Today we’re featuring Stephan Cheney a Lakota woodworker of the Kul Wicasa Oyate in South Dakota. He currently lives in the Wiyot Territory in California. How did you get started woodworking? Who were your mentors? My initial introduction into woodworking came by way of a relatively short but…

Architect, master craftsman and client design the ultimate gaming table. Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in the October 2007 issue of Popular Woodworking Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann was one of the finest designers of the Art Deco period. In the 1920s, he designed and produced many memorable pieces of furniture as well as other items for…

Did you know that feeler fauges are not just for machinists or for checking and adjusting our steel and cast iron woodworking equipment? How do I know this? Because I recently found out that a set of feeler gauges can be very handy in setting up the exact amount of play (tolerance) that was needed…

While making Shaker boxes, I built a jig to accurately rip 1/16″ thick strips without getting my hands too close to the blade. In fact, I can leave the guard on the saw. The jig has two parts. First, there’s a track that mounts on the saw, next to the fence. Two rare-earth magnets recessed…

Exposure to great furniture hones the eyes for quality and proportion. Woodworking is, all at once, frustrating, elating, challenging and straightforward stupid simple. It combines the elements of design, vision, accuracy, artistic intent and manual ability like no other pursuit I’ve found. Just in the moment you believe you’ve mastered a part of its scope,…

Select a reliable tool with these simple tests. I can’t think of one project I’ve made that hasn’t involved using one or more of my combination squares. I use these to lay out joints and cuts, and to check cuts to confirm that they’re square (a test I perform on a scrap piece every time…

Here’s a hi-tech way to set your tablesaw’s miter gauge to within 1/10 of 1° of any angle. It really works well for cutting picture-frame miters. The key is to use a digital angle gauge. I bought one designed for woodworkers that has as a handy magnetic base. For this degree of accuracy, you’ll also…

By the door or at the foot of the bed, this simple bench is just right for a small space.

Tool: 6-Amp Power Planer Shop Now  Manufacturer: Porter-Cable MSRP: $69.98 Say you’ve got a huge, uneven roughsawn board. It would make a fantastic top for a coffee table, but how are you going to level it? Well, one way is to use a power planer, such as this unit from Porter-Cable. A power planer is…

This jig helps you easily reverse your work for base turning. Properly finished bowls never reveal how the turner mounted them. However, traditional methods for reversing a bowl to turn the base involve a lot of fuss and bother. Cole Jaws, for example, require cranking at least 48 hex screws for each use (not to…

Venetian blinds purchased from a home center come in a variety of standard sizes. They are cut to the correct width by the retailer, but to adjust the height you remove a number of the slats at home. If you’re like me, you hold on to these extra slats because “someday you will find a…

We’re interviewing makers from all 50 states. Today we’re featuring Richie Robinson, a grad student from Hawaii. How did you get started woodworking? Who were your mentors? I can’t recall exactly how I got started though from an early age I always enjoyed creating with my hands (I loved doing origami when I lived in…

You can tell when you’re holding a good tool in your hands. The way it feels, the way it responds, the way it does everything you ask it to. There’s another dimension to a good tool, though: how the manufacturer supports it. The Nakanishi Emax EVOlution from NSK America is one such tool. This electronically-controlled…