Archives

Mortise and tenon joints are the best way to go. For a new look in cabinet doors, try mitering the corners. This simple design, as elegant as a picture frame, can dramatically change the [...]

I made this quick-release sanding block from four pieces of 1/2″-thick birch plywood. The top three pieces are glued together. Wrap a quarter sheet of sandpaper around the bottom piece and [...]

Build the perfect place to store and charge your growing collection of batteries and cordless tools. Cabinet making is a great skill to have, and once you successfully tackle your first cabinet, [...]

Every woodworker I know uses water-borne polyurethane. Of all the ways I’ve seen to get a silk-smooth finish, abrasive, steel-wool substitute pads are by far the best. The coarseness of the pad [...]

In our last entry, we left off just as the students began shaping the hull of their boats. I had explained the importance of leaving small vestigial blocks at the bow and stern—these sturdy tabs [...]

On this episode of the ShopNotes Podcast, John and Phil have to do all of the heavy lifting with Logan out on assignment. The guys talk complaining about the heat and humidity in their shops and [...]

Welcome to The Splinter Report, where I gather the assorted interesting and amusing things I’ve seen in the woodworking world. This week we’re looking at old cover projects, a burled [...]

A lot of tools we’ve used for years haven’t changed much, mechanically.  Some nice improvements have come along, as well as enhanced safety features, but these are sometimes just nice bells and [...]

These simple tools are essential for dimensioning lumber by hand or machine.  It’s hard to believe that something as simple as a pair of parallel pieces of stock can be a highly precise tool for [...]

A classic furniture form revised for 21st-century entertainment. I have a love-hate relationship with my television. I love (too much, perhaps) to watch shows, but I hate having the TV out in the [...]

Need to glue metal to wood? The answer is easy — epoxy! Epoxy bonds many kinds of materials to one another, including wood, metal, fiberglass, masonry, tile, concrete, and plaster. It will not, [...]

Successful furniture designs draw viewers closer and reward them. Out of the corner of my eye it caught my attention, a fire-engine red 1966 Chevy Impala Super Sport. Memories flooded back to my [...]