How Sandpaper Is Made

We visit a manufacturing facility to get the nitty-gritty on making abrasives. In all likelihood sandpaper isn’t made the way you probably think it’s made. In fact, what is most...

Coarse, Medium & Fine

  Most woodworking projects involve roughing, refining, and finishing steps, and using the right tool for each makes the work both precise and efficient. Too often we hear that hand...

Knockdown English Workbench

With $120 in lumber and two days, you can build this sturdy stowaway bench. Many knockdown workbenches suffer from unfortunate compromises. Inexpensive commercial benches that can be knocked down [...]

Learning to Build a Welsh Stick Chair

David Fleming, a former English teacher turned chairmaker, teaches the craft of building chairs on the edge of the Canadian wilderness. Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in [...]

10 Workbench Upgrades

Make your bench indispensable. Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in the February 2004 issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine. Christopher Schwarz has published numerous [...]

Moravian Stool

This traditional, lightweight stool is an excellent first step toward chairmaking. One highlight of a visit to historic Old Salem in North Carolina is the beautiful Moravian furniture and woodwork...

The Almost-Forgotten Fore Plane

Learn to set up and wield one of the most useful (and inexpensive) handplanes. Also check out: A primer on adjusting wooden planes. Kevin Drake, a furniture maker who trained under...

What’s a Workbench Worth?

In 2005, I loaned my French workbench to a friend to use in his booth at a woodworking show. As I rolled the 350-pound behemoth onto the show’s floor, I...

Japanese Saws vs Western Saws

The difference is more than just pushing or pulling. It’s been over 20 years since the Western handsaw, a tool that cuts on the push stroke and was the pride...

Build Furniture Without a Shop

A few tools can go a long way. When you get started in woodworking there are many paths to follow, forks in the road, dead-ends and shortcuts. It’s a journey...

Folding Stool

For camping, conquering and contemplating, these stools have a long history among artists, soldiers and rugged individualists. Plan:  Download patterns for the leather seat and pocket. Web: Learn [...]

How & Why of Spring Joints

Save on clamps with this traditional technique for panel glue-ups. A “spring joint” is a traditional method where you join the edges of two boards to make a wider panel...