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The most embarrassing jig I’ve ever owned has been photographed, measured and pondered more than any single piece of fine furniture I’ve built. It’s a stupid little block of wood...

If a workbench or a tool chest is on your list of woodworking projects to build this year, you’ll definitely want to read on about two upcoming DVDs I’m working...

Sometimes it’s not you. Sometimes, it is the tool that is causing the problem – especially if we are talking about burnishers. The following scene has been repeated so many...

Three of the enemies in my shop are rust, zinc coating and black oxide. 1. Rust: No explanation needed. Rust is the enemy of steel, and steel is what allows...

This week I’m building a pair of portable workbenches for an upcoming issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine and spent yesterday turning lots and lots of threads for the vise and...

OK, so let’s say you are too cheap to purchase a blacksmith-made lock for your next tool chest or blanket chest. Wait, that wasn’t very kind of me to call...

I can see the headlines now: “Schwarz Loves Nazi Buttocks.” Oh well, it has been worse than that lately. An astute reader – Mark Firley – was doing some deeper...

Here’s a tip from Tim Henricksen, a fellow woodworker who has been building some six-board chests with me as I research this important early form of furniture. One of the...

While I love printed magazines and books, I am a huge fan of electronic books and magazines – especially when doing research on a project or technique. Plus, pdfs allow...

As patternmakers are the Jedi Knights of the woodworking world, their workbenches are always a little different. Usually you’ll find some sort of vise that has more adjustments than usual....

While I was on staff at Popular Woodworking Magazine, all of the editors had to read through all of the reader submissions to “Tricks of the Trade.” This was generally...

It’s difficult to have a serious conversation about the American Arts & Crafts movement without using the “S” word – Stickley, of course. The iconic, rectilinear and medieval forms of...