Until recently, my go-to glue-spreading tool for small joints was always a cheap nickel-plated steel brush with natural bristols. I still use these brushes, but ever since I discovered the flexible polyurethane paddles, AKA Glue Spreaders, they replaced the brushed and became my glue applicator of choice.  Plastic spreaders have two main advantages over small…

This traditional joint allows the wings of a table to raise up and have a seamless look. A rule joint uses matching profiles to fit a table top together with a folding leaf. The resulting shapes fit together perfectly and allow the table panel to offer support to the leaf along the edge, something a…

Vacuum attachments are a challenge to store. They come in so many shapes! I made this device to keep them all together, within easy reach. It’s just a long chain with shorter lengths of chain branching out from it. Each branch has a 3″ to 4″ length of 1/2″ dowel fastened to its end. The…

Additional reading: Check out Michael Dunbar’s Sharpening Method Here are some general thoughts and advice on sharpening, as well as answers to some frequently asked questions. Every shop should have a dedicated sharpening system. You should work with sharp tools. It is easier and safer. You are less likely to stop and hone a tool…

Sometimes it’s fun to build a gadget just because it’s a neat idea. There are many ways to draw a centerline, for example, but this method is very clever. It doesn’t require any measuring or trial-and-error adjustments. To build the marker, you’ll need two hardwood bars 3/4″ x 1″ x 12″, two Plexiglas links 1/4″…

On this episode of the ShopNotes Podcast, Phil and Logan welcome guest Kevin Scott, Chief Technology Officer at Microsoft by day and long time woodworker in his free time. This episode of the ShopNotes podcast is presented by Epilog Laser. Quickly and easily customize your woodworking projects for added beauty and value. Learn more at…

After roughly shaping the awl’s handle (read the first part of the story here) on the bandsaw, I clamped it inside my Pattern Maker’s Carving Vise and began shaping the neck. This vise is the perfect tool for holding tapered shapes and any blank with unusual facets. If you don’t have a dedicated vise, you…

We’re interviewing makers from across the country. Today we’re featuring Chris Davis, a shop teacher at Henry Ford II high school in Michigan.  How did you get started woodworking?  I got started in woodworking at a young age with my dad. He was always building something, and I learned a lot of the basics from…

Puzzling lubrication. Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in the August 2010 issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine I ran out of mutton tallow this morning! I searched my tool chests, under the benches and in the drawers hoping to find just enough white magic to ease the passage of the big jointer plane up and…

Tool: M18 Track Saw Kit 2831-21 Shop Now   Manufacturer: Milwaukee MSRP: $639 (includes saw, 6ah battery, charger, and Packout XL toolbox) Few tools in recent memory have been as hotly anticipated as Milwaukee’s new track saw, and the new M18 Fuel model does not disappoint. It doesn’t break much new ground, but it’s a…

Hardware-store parts do the trick. This simple leg vise is based on a traditional design still favored by many woodworkers. My version is built with inexpensive parts you can buy from any hardware store or home center. Every bench should have a good vise. Why use a leg vise, rather than a commercial face vise?…

Basements aren’t recommended in this part of North Carolina, and our lot was too small for a detached shop. That meant my woodworking was either going to have to dodge cars in the garage—or I could turn the space above the garage into a shop. As this was going to be my first real shop…

It is fun to make a tool for your own use. When that tool becomes one of the handiest tools in the shop, you’ll be delighted that you took up that challenge. On the many occasions you hold it in your hand and mobilize it into action, you’ll look fondly at it and be proud…

We’re interviewing makers from across the country. Today we’re featuring Lee Scheffey, a spoon carver from New Hampshire.  How did you get started woodworking? Who were your mentors? I came to green woodworking by necessity, with a need to ground myself in my humanness and the interconnected expansiveness found in wood. As a child, I…

Even though my shop is well-lit, sometimes I need more light right on my work area. Instead of rigging up additional lights, I attach a small clip-on LED light to my cap’s brim. It’s great for working inside cabinets or doing close work of any kind. The light shines right where you’re looking. You can buy…

The world’s best custom-made apron is handmade by husband-and-wife team Patrick and Michelle Melchior. When I step into my shop,a few things happen each and every time — so much that they’re nearly primal instincts. In one motion, I flip all the lights on and slip my shop apron off its hook. My apron goes…

Drawbore it for a joint that will last centuries. I once had a visitor to my shop remark that he’d like to see a book about all the types of joints that I use. I told him it’d be a pretty short book: One page for the rabbet joints I use in boxes and drawers,…