Old Saw Handle Push Stick
I have two kinds of push sticks I use all the time. The first is the excellent Big Horn 10230 orange plastic push stick which is good for anything wider than ⅞” (otherwise, you’ll be risking [...]
A Stylish Eye Protection – Reviewing a new Safety Glasses
I think my eyes are the most valuable tool in my bodily toolbox, so I’m trying to take care of them the best I can. I am not just talking about the importance of reducing screen time, [...]
Cross-cutting Aid
My son is seven years old, and so far, I have tried to refrain from proselytizing woodworking to him. My hypothesis, at least for now, is that the love for woodworking should come naturally and [...]
Yet Another Rendezvous With Our New but Broken Bamboo Chairs
If you recall, a few weeks ago, I wrote about the unexpected repair job I performed on one of our newly bought solid mahogany chairs (read parts one and two here). What I didn’t expect is that I [...]
David’s Walnut Bowl – Part 2
After Dave excavated the bowl and trimmed the end grain, he sanded the inner bowl and was ready to add one more element – a stabilizing leg that would level the bowl. As I mentioned last [...]
David’s Walnut Bowl – Part 1
Last Memorial day weekend, I returned to Peters Valley School of Crafts to teach a Live Edge furniture-making class. Our class was on the short side; concise and intensive. My three students [...]
Notched Batten for Planing
A notched batten is one of the best jigs you can make to help in hand planning. This simple thin hardwood strip has a hoof-shaped notch at its end and is used to prevent boards from shifting [...]
Clamps for Delicate Work
Most of the clamps in our woodworking arsenal are designed to produce tons of pressure per square inch. While we use them to hold pieces over the workbench, close joints, or keep glued parts from [...]
Unexpected Out of the Box Chair Restoration – Part 4: The End of the Beginning.
The last two repair remedies this chair needed before its inauguration into productive service life were reinstalling it with the old leg brackets and creating and installing a set of new corner [...]
Unexpected Out of the Box Chair Restoration – Part 3: The Right Honorable Screw Joint.
One of the more disappointing joining methods that miserably failed due to the traumatic fall (or jolt) before the chair had been placed in its shipping box was the leg-to-rail and rails to cross [...]
Unexpected Out of the Box Chair Restoration – Part 2
My course of action with any repair, restoration or conservation is: Do No Harm. That is, I try to deal with the essential structural, finish, hardware, etc. issues without forcing changes on the [...]
Unexpected Out of the Box Chair Restoration – Part 1
A few weeks ago, my spouse purchased two Faux bamboo Chippendale mahogany chairs for our dining table. The chairs were a reproduction of a Victorian furniture style and meant to match the [...]
