I just found out via a friend that an amazing show about Japanese traditional carpentry and its tools is about to close in three days. The show, When Practice Becomes Form: Carpentry Tools from Japan, was organized by the Japan Society in New York City. It showcases a plethora of Japanese structural wooden components, their…

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 thinnest plane shaving. Watching these videos is fun and informative and makes you grasp how seriously the Japanese take their woodworking traditions. But…

If it were up to me, I’d be able to divide myself into two parts. Editor’s note: this article appeared in the April 2020 issue of Popular Woodworking One would focus on my family, health, and career, and the other would focus on making great furniture. Unfortunately, that’s impossible. So, I’ve done the next best…

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 decision will change everything you do for the rest of your life. To set the stage a bit, this happened about 2008….

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 answer: Dead woodworkers. Charles H. Hayward is my No. 1 hero. He was everything I have ever wanted to be: A…

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 a lot about this saw (check this entry for the background and copious links). Bottom line: It’s served me well for years…

Achieve great results with the least amount of work. Think about it: What’s the first thing you do when judging someone else’s woodwork? You run your hand over it, of course. If it feels really smooth, you admire the work. If it feels rough, you aren’t as impressed – even though the woodworking may be…

Linen and more. Three times in recent memory, articles have appeared in major woodworking magazines instructing readers to use linen for the outer cloth in a French polishing pad. No explanation, just the instruction. This brought back memories from 30 years ago of my running all over town searching unsuccessfully for linen because I had…

Bob Flexner compares the three basic finishing tools (rag, brush, and spray gun) in terms of their cost and efficiency.

Sponsored by Inventables Like many woodworkers, we can get bogged down in specs when we’re researching a new tool (or car or kitchen appliance). How many horsepower? What size bits can it use? What sort of steel is it made of? What’s the runtime on batteries? How fast does it go? Does it cook both…

While enjoying a leisurely lunch the Sunday before Christmas, it hit me. Something was missing. Nope, it wasn’t the usual holiday panic — a forgotten gift or missed greeting card, but an urge for a holiday-theme woodworking project. Something that could be made with woodworking tools between now and New Years’. Something simple, Something needed….

The Star Wars Universe Not long ago, in a small workshop far, far away… As new technology spread rapidly throughout a galaxy of centuries-old traditions, the woodworking world was in a period of great unrest. At a remote base deep in the woods of the Great Northwest, a lone rebel armed with revolutionary tools faced…