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Create a Soda-Shop Classic  In simpler days, soda jerks quickly and efficiently dished perfect servings of ice cream with sturdy wooden-handled scoops. Once you’ve collected the metal parts [...]

An Exercise in Mastering the Skew Do you like a challenge? Want to develop your woodturning skills? Can you learn from mistakes? If your answer is “yes”, you’re ready to tackle the rolling cut [...]

Master this most basic turning tool. When I introduce someone to woodturning, I choose the spindle roughing gouge. When I work with kids, it’s the first tool I place in their hands. Why? [...]

Develop a delicate touch by creating graceful shapes. As an alternative to mass-produced items, Christmas ornaments rank high on the list. They easily become treasured keepsakes and the delicate [...]

Customize their fit for comfort and performance. Decades ago, woodturning tools came without handles, and turners would simply fashion their own. This makes perfect sense, because a handle that [...]

Heirloom Awl Metal and wood are the basic ingredients in most woodworking tools. As woodworkers, we’re familiar with working wood, but what about metal? Actually, the level of metalworking [...]

Turning the body is half the fun. When I picked up Silvio Calabi’s book Antique Fishing Tackle, my interests in fishing, antiques, and wood turning met head on: Now I’m hooked on [...]

Modify a skew chisel to bend a curl; then leave the shavings attached. These trees come all the way from the Erzgebirge (‘erts-gə-bir-gə). Actually, I made them in Wisconsin, but the unique [...]

Sharpen your end-grain hollowing skills. Drinking from a wooden Goblet is a unique experience, because its weight and feel is distinct from goblets made of other materials. But is it practical? [...]

A good lathe stand is just as important as a good lathe. Build a professional-quality lathe stand that’s stable, strong and heavy.

For many woodturning operations, a chuck performs the essential job of holding the work securely and safely. These operations often present unique requirements, so a dizzying array of [...]

A true American folk object, the game call gained enormous popularity in the late 19th century, when it became part and parcel of hunting, especially in the Mississippi flyway. (According to [...]