Sculpting the Tree Branches Part 1: Introduction • Part 2: Push and Peel Knife Maneuvers • Part 3: Parting and Pulling Techniques • Part 4: Rounding the Tree We’ve reached the final stages of the whittling journey – crafting the tree branches. Let’s start by tracing five or more circles around the tree cone. As…

It’s a crate. It’s a cabinet. It’s useful shop furniture. Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in the February 2014 issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine. One of the enduring features of Roy Underhill’s “The Woodwright’s Shop” PBS television show is the familiar and rambling backdrop of former projects, parts, tools and wood that frames most…

Cutting miters so they are ‘just right’ is a problem faced by all woodworkers. Here’s how to sneak up on the perfect miter with scrap wood and a plane. You find yourself in a quandary. To ensure that you don’t cut a miter too short, you end up cutting it just a bit too long…

Water can cause many problems to finished and unfinished wood. As woodworkers, most of us have come across problems caused by water that we may be asked to repair. The problems can occur in the finish or in the wood if the water gets through the finish. Here are some of the most common problems…

There’s no need to fear the most versatile machine in the modern shop.

by Robert W. Lang
pages 58-61

There are good reasons that the table saw is at the center of many shops. This machine revolutionized the way we make things. And in recent years, it has become the center of controversy on two fronts: safety and accuracy. There is a lot of money to be made scaring woodworkers about table saws, both in manufacturing and in the media.

When my bench’s tool tray fills up with sawdust and hardware, I’ve found that the easiest way to clean it is to use a vacuum. To keep the hardware from going into the vacuum, I cover its nozzle with a washing machine lint trap. Lint traps are made for washing machine drain hoses and are…

I purchased this classic tool chest at a yard sale in Maine, while on vacation. The case had only two drawers remaining, and no handle. The seller said he had every intention of restoring it, but never got around to it. I bought it for $15 and proudly showed it to my friend Roger, who…

Scientific Name: Quercus rubra Other Common Names: Northern Red Oak Growing Regions: Canada and the United States. Size Characteristics: Grows to 70 feet tall, with a trunk up to 39 inches in diameter. Characteristics of Wood: The sapwood is almost pure white while the heartwood is usually a red-tinged brown. Once the tree has been…

If you use a cyclone dust collector, you’ve no doubt struggled with emptying the barrel. When it’s filled with dust, it’s really heavy, not to mention the face full of dust you get when you dump it out. The answer is to line the barrel with a trash bag; simple, right? Not exactly. See, when…

Get Great Results without Rubbing Out Maybe I’m crazy, but I like to brush polyurethane. I’ve built more than 50 dining room tables, and I’ve brush-finished every one, using a simple system that consistently provides great results. I’m not a purist. I use tools that you can get at any paint store and I don’t…

One of magic’s oldest box tricks. Magic boxes… Secret compartments… Items that do more than meets the eye… There is such a mystique surrounding these pieces. The world of magic and magicians is full of these. In fact, most of the magic box “secrets” we see today were invented between the mid-19th century to the…

Rounding the Tree Part 1: Introduction • Part 2: Push and Peel Knife Maneuvers • Part 3: Parting and Pulling Techniques • Part 5: Sculpting the Branches In our previous installment, we dived into the part and pull technique to shape the main facets of the trunk (F & E, below). While the part and peel…

Tool: 18V Brushless Jig Saw R86344 Shop Now   Manufacturer: Ridgid MSRP: $179 (bare tool) A thought occurred to me the other day — is the jigsaw the most versatile power tool? It can crosscut and rip. Make straight cuts or curved. It can even cut bevels and compound miters if used correctly. This mental…

On this episode of the ShopNotes Podcast, it’s John, Logan, and Phil with a Handworks recap with chairs, walnuts, and allergies galore. Check out the show notes page for photos and links: https://www.shopnotes.com/article/sho… Find all of the ShopNotes podcast episodes here.

An old-timer showed me this trick years ago and I’ve used it ever since. Plain old waxed paper is great for lubricating my tools’ cast iron tables and miter gauge bars. Whenever I start to feel resistance, I crumple up a couple sheets and rub the surface. That’s all it takes to keep workpieces and…

When you know what you’re doing, chisels can be wonderfully helpful tools. If all you want to do with your chisels is adjust machine-cut joints or slice glue drips, any technique or tool will work. This sort of work is occasional in nature, and not particularly strenuous. But chisels offer woodworkers the opportunity to do…

Establishing Depth Reference A recent project required making a series of small wooden panels with shallow concave faces. For efficiency and accuracy, I decided to make a series of preliminary cuts on the table saw to establish the basic concave surface, then clean up the faces with an angle grinder and disc sander. It worked…