Design: From Shaker to Snaker

Trying to teach design is like trying to push water uphill – or so I’m told. Despite the warnings and eyerolls from some fellow woodworking instructors, I’ve tried to build...

The Theory of Chisel Monogamy

When I teach woodworking, I talk a lot about monogamy. Not to your spouse (that’s your problem) but to your tools. I think it’s easier to learn to saw, sharpen...

On the Precision of Chisels

When it comes to doing precision work that has to be performed over and over again, it’s easy to fall into the siren whine of the router. The router is...

Friday’s Tip for July 5th

Thickness Gauge I use this handy device constantly to check and compare thickness on a variety of projects. Slide the gauge over the edge of the stock, keeping the graduated...

Is SketchUp Bugging You?

My job is to post weekly, here on the American Woodworker Contributor's Blogs, on a SketchUp topic I think will be of interest to the readers. I would very much...

Triangle Woodworkers Learn the Secret

Last week I spent a few days in the Raleigh-Durham area with the Triangle Woodworkers Association. Friday night the club gathered for its monthly meeting where I did a presentation...

Keep Inlay Color-free

I get a fair amount of finishing questions. Recently, most questions that come my way ask how to finish a project that has inlay without heavily affecting the contrast between...