Archives

Yet, inspiration works in weird ways. While visiting Maine in February I saw an enormous birdhouse that looked like a jointer plane hanging outside Liberty Tool, an ironmonger. I just had to have [...]

Thomas Jefferson’s book boxes became the foundation of the Library of Congress. I like to think of Thomas Jefferson’s personal library as America’s first “bookmobile.” When the British burned [...]

Add some mood lighting to your next outdoor affair with this great Arts & Crafts luminary.

In December I built a large traditional tool chest for my shop at home, and I couldn’t stop staring at the end grain of the wide pine planks I’d selected for the walls of the chest. Though I work [...]

A classic form from the New Lebanon Shaker community is easy to build in a few hours. If you don’t like nails, then perhaps you should turn the page. This small wall cupboard from the New Lebanon [...]

Swiped from a French engraving, this easy tool rack works in your shop or even in your kitchen. It’s good to keep your tools protected (think: tool chest). But it’s also good to keep them handy [...]

Bench planes come in a wide range of lengths and widths. Do you need them all? Which ones are most useful? And if you only had to buy one....

Chris Schwarz shares a dovetailing method perfect for beginners. This method helps build good habits when sawing and helps you fix any mistakes.

Years ago when I was editor at Popular Woodworking, I was interviewed for a job at one of our competitors. During the interview, I experienced one of those fork-in-the-road moments where a single [...]

It’s the easiest question in the world: Who is your favorite woodworker? A fellow craftsman asked me this question earlier this month, and I still don’t have a good answer. I have one easy [...]

Even if you have a gold-plated fancy-pants laser-guided dovetail saw, you should also own the $15 Zona dovetail saw because it’s so dang cheap and so dang handy for small-scale work. I’ve written [...]

Handscrews don’t get enough credit in the shop. This ancient clamp is often neglected in favor of modern clamps. But the handscrew is often the simplest solution to a tricky workholding problem. [...]