Chinese Workbenches – a Little Bit Roman?
When you start studying ancient woodworking tools, it’s the similarities that are most striking – not the differences. Saws, chisels and planes – the core tools of the furniture maker...
Lie-Nielsen Toolworks Honing Guide
by Christopher Schwarz page 16 Since the mid-1990s I’ve been married to my inexpensive side-clamp honing guide, sometimes called an “Eclipse” guide after the firm that developed it. So when...
Sand Curves With Ease
Sand Curves With Ease Sanding is one of those necessary evils we all face as woodworkers. That’s why we flock to any tool that promises to make the job easier....
Learn How to Build a Deck the Right Way
In 1991, I began wondering why backyard decks weren’t typically built better. Looking at them back then with my woodworker’s eye, there seemed so much that could be done to...
Vintage Chisel Bliss
I can’t help it. And I don’t want to help it. Between projects, I really enjoy getting to know different tools and discovering what I like and why I like them....
Tool Test: Lie-Nielsen Toolworks Honing Guide
by Christopher Schwarz page 16 Since the mid-1990s I’ve been married to my inexpensive side-clamp honing guide, sometimes called an “Eclipse” guide after the firm that developed it. So when...
Cheap, Simple & Portable (Yes, Another Workbench)
Though I find it darn-near impossible to believe, it has been more than five years since we published plans for a full-sized workbench. That was Christopher Schwarz’s “Return of [...]
In Praise of the Engineer’s Hammer (aka a Lump Hammer)
While I was at David Savage’s workshop I was delighted and surprised to see he used a “lump hammer” for assembling casework. David brought the hammer to my workbench when...
On Cabinetmakers’ Hammers & Where to Buy Them
I’ll begin with the top-notch U.S.-made hammers that were introduced to the market in recent years. Kings County Cabinetmaker’s Hammer At the top of the list stands the Gramercy Tools...
A Furniture Show, Vandals & a Mystery
Two weeks ago I managed to spend a few hours at the Celebration of Craftsmanship & Design in Cheltenham, an impressive display of bespoke furniture makers both young and seasoned....
A Tour of David Savage’s Workshop and School
For the last two weeks I’ve been teaching a course and taking a class in veneering at David Savage’s school and workshop, which sits on a farm in rural Devon....
Finishing Furniture Projects
I recently found myself with that most fortunate of situations – a whole day in the shop. I knew exactly what I wanted to do: get some furniture projects finished....
