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I’m frequently amazed at what happens when I hand a sharp full-size handsaw to a fellow woodworker for a test drive. Nine times out of 10 they clamp something in the bench vise and then [...]

At least once a week I’m asked if I prefer handplanes that have the iron’s bevel facing up (like in a block plane) or facing down (like in a traditional Stanley/Bailey-style bench [...]

Sometimes the best woodworking books don’t have a single word of advice on how to cut a joint, build a cabinet or rub out a finish. Instead they are the kind of book that will pry your eyes [...]

One of my favorite woodworkers who has been exploring the Roubo bench with me is Robert Giovannetti of Crystal Lake, Illinois. He’s a hard-core woodworker, builds his own planes and works [...]

Everything I know that is worth a darn was taught to me by someone else who knew their stuff , planing, sawing and all my machine skills came from other woodworkers to whom I owe a huge debt. I [...]

One of my favorite movies as a teen-ager had a scene where a 1940s-era G-man goes to a mystic for help in becoming a superhero. The G-man shows the mystic , named Sombra , a photo of a caped hero [...]

Two more volumes of Roubo’s masterwork on the woodworking trades have trickled into my hands. I’m still missing two volumes I really want, and I’m probably going to have to buck [...]

One of the themes coursing through the next issue of Woodworking Magazine is rethinking the role of nails in woodworking. And so I’ve been whacking a lot of cut nails lately and setting [...]

These last few weeks I’ve been deep in another spate of chairmaking. If you’ve ever built a Windsor chair, you know that they are a great antidote to making cabinets. All the hand [...]

On Saturday our postman left a note: There was a package for me, but they couldn’t leave it at my house. I had to go to the Post Office and sign for it personally. I’m annoyed (and a [...]

With all the woodworking books and magazines out there, it’s a bit surprising that we need any more. But we do. Nearly every woodworking book and magazine that gets published eventually [...]

There’s an adage that cherry is the wood that comes with a built-in stain. All you have to do is apply a clear topcoat and watch its rich color develop during the following years. Of [...]