Wary and Paralyzed in the 19th Century

Though Charleston is the most ethnically diverse and open Southern city I’ve ever visited, its taste in furniture has long been English. And because I am working on a book (which should be [...]

The Last Project

When I was in Charleston, S.C., last week one of the tour guides said something about cabinetmaker Thomas Elfe that stuck with me. “Most of his work is buried in the ground.” One of [...]

A Visit to Thomas Elfe’s House

“Charlestonians thought of themselves as Englishmen who happened to be living in America, and naturally did everything possible to emulate the life of London society.” – E. [...]

Neener, Neener, Tofflemeier

I’m a child of the Cold War. I remember the drills in elementary school where we curled up under our desks in the event of a nuclear attack (to kiss our butts goodbye I suppose). One of my [...]

Get Mired in ‘Red Tape’

My grandfather’s workbench had an adhesive rule stuck to its front edge, which was extremely useful when woodworking. You could check part dimensions without pulling out a tape measure or [...]

First Look: Andrew Lunn's New Saws

Last week Andrew Lunn of Eccentric Toolworks announced he was going to remove some of the decorative details on his saws and pass the savings onto his customers. This week we got our first look [...]

Amendment to My Review of Drawbore Pins

In my review of drawbore pins in the Summer 2009 issue, one of my gripes with many of the tools were the round handles. A round handle plus a round pin equals a tool on the floor. My vintage …

My Favorite Planing Stop. Price? $1,200

Time to drop my drawers and lose all my Neander-cred. My favorite planing stop for drawers and casework is the rip fence on my $1,200 Unisaw. The rip fence is completely adjustable, at the right [...]