Archives

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 James Krenov, [...]

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 heard a couple wolf whistles (really?), [...]

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 of the English-speaking world, [...]

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 that our forebears would make with [...]

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 [...]

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 and leave a tiny gap in [...]

The simplest tool in your chest is also the most sensitive and versatile; here’s how to set up a chisel to a high level and wield it like a maestro. It’s almost impossible to build furniture [...]

Two bits of wood and a jigsaw are what you need to make this magazine rack that converts to a bookstand. Because you’re holding this magazine (Editor’s note: please pretend you are reading [...]

Built to hold hoses, store garden tools and to last for years. Outdoor Arts & Crafts furniture was almost always made from wicker or hickory sticks, so when it came to designing a garden [...]

Shooting boards are one of those hand-tool jigs that people talk about (a lot) but few people actually know much about. Whenever I teach, students always clamor for a demonstration of the device, [...]