New Vise Mechanism from Hovarter
Len Hovarter of Hovarter Custom Vise has developed a simple and inexpensive quick-release leg vise mechanism that looks quite ingenious. Like all of Hoverter’s vises, they work on the age-old [...]
Basque Workbenches – With Unusual Face Vises
Take one leg vise. Rotate it 90°. Now you have a Basque face vise. Woodworker Matt Talley is working in France right now. And during his free time he is hunting down workbenches in the Southern [...]
Lie-Nielsen Open House (and a Crazy Dutch Chest)
Last weekend I attended the Lie-Nielsen Open House at the company’s factory in Warren, Maine, and got to hang out with a lot of contributors to Popular Woodworking Magazine and work together on [...]
Campaign Birdhouse, the Movie
I often joke that I will someday make my fortune by writing a birdhouse book – typically the best-selling woodworking books (by far). And many readers have asked (jokingly) why I didn’t include a [...]
A Visit to the Famous Maine Tool Barn
The first rule of buying old tools: If you think you might buy it, grab it. You can always put it back. So today I did a dumb thing. I spent a couple hours at the Hulls Cove Tool Barn…
Metal Planing Stops Not Obsolete
Because my workbench doesn’t have an end vise, I’ve become creative when it comes to planing my stock with only a simple planing stop, a holdfast and dogs. Mine is a primitive arrangement [...]
Wierix Square, Part 3
With the glue dry, it’s time to see if your square is square – or if it’s a doorstop. Squaring a wooden square is a simple operation if you plan to use it for woodworking – not for building [...]
Build a Wierix Square, Step 2
Making the blade of the Wierix square is the most creative part of the construction process, when you can get in touch with your inner fledermaus (aka bat). While you can argue about whether or [...]
Build a Wierix Square, Step 1
A customer asked me to make a Wierix try square for him this week, and because it’s silly to make just one wooden square, I’m making a batch of five this week and am documenting the process here [...]
The Dutch Campaign Tool Chest
This week, I built a lower cabinet for my small Dutch tool chest, a project featured in the October 2013 issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine. The unit I just built sits below the tool chest [...]
Dutch Tool Chest with a Lower Storage Unit
The Dutch Tool Chest from the October 2013 issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine has proven to be a popular project – I’ve been asked to teach classes on building this chest all over the world [...]
Workbench Day 2: The Case for Workbench Classes
Building a workbench at a school is, in my calculation, a wise investment. Good schools have huge machines – wide planers, beefy mortisers and sliding table saws – that can make difficult jobs a [...]
