Small Bandsaw Upgrades Make A Big Difference
Six years ago my neighbor and friend Dave gifted me his vintage Sears Craftsman 12” band saw. I love this machine and use it quite a lot. Sears used to make these saws and sell them mainly to [...]
Replace A Missing Clamp Pad, Part 2
Last week I showed how to source and install a missing swivel pad over the ball of a clamp’s screw. That kind of pad only works in a ball and socket situation, so what can we do with clamps that [...]
Replace A Missing Clamp Pad, Part 1
I recently was gifted a few old bar clamps from a fellow member who belongs to our local FreeCycle group. FreeCycle.org is an internet-based group that promotes the free exchange of items and [...]
Japanese Fish Shaving Plane
Many of us have seen videos of Japanese hand planning competitions where the contenders are competing which individual (in some cases its a team) is capable of producing the widest, longest and [...]
Veritas Side-Clamping Honing Guide Review
Tool: Veritas Side-Clamping Honing Guide Shop Now Manufacturer: Veritas MSRP: $39.50 When I saw that Lee Valley has release two new honing guides last month I knew that I have to give [...]
Feeler Gauge for Jig Setup
Did you know that feeler fauges are not just for machinists or for checking and adjusting our steel and cast iron woodworking equipment? How do I know this? Because I recently found out that a [...]
Protect Your Chisel and Gouge Edges With Heat Shrink Tubing
While most newly-purchased chisels are supplied together with their integral guard, any vintage tool, mortise chisels, corner chisels, and all gouges do not come with such protection. A few [...]
A Good, Affordable Sanding block
One of the most mundane – but important- tools in our toolbox is a sanding block. We, and I include here my students in grades four to twelve, are using our sanding blocks during the last [...]
Repairing a Slippery Vise Mechanism
Two years ago I wrote about the ordeal of finding spare parts for the popular (but now discontinued) US-made Jorgensen rapid action vises. Unfortunately, after many years of smooth operation, the [...]
GUSTAV STICKLEY: AMERICAN CRAFTSMAN – a Delightful Documentary by Herb Stratford
Gustav Stickley is perhaps the most nationally and internationally-recognized name among American furniture designers and manufacturers. His seminal contribution to the rise of the American Arts [...]
Avoid Painting Your Frame and Panel Doors in the Middle of Summer
Last August we moved into our new home in New Jersey. The house that we purchased was built in the late 1960s and was still endowed with all of its original exterior and interior elements such as [...]
Sowing the Seeds of Woodworking, Part 2: How to Create Fast and Efficient Multiples.
Read part 1 here. While thinking about ways to manufacture the butter knives fast and efficiently, and also to maximize the use of wood and avoid waste as much as possible, I came up with a [...]
