Early modern records show guild regulations in London. Early 17th-century London tradesmen were protective about their work, carefully keeping an eye on any interlopers to their craft. A dispute arose in the early 1630s between London’s carpenters and joiners, and in my last column (June 2016, issue #225), I outlined the works the city aldermen…

Well, it’s certainly been a year, that’s for sure. As we close the door on a tumultuous 2020, let’s look back and see the woodworking projects and stories that inspired you in the past year. 10. Cabinetmaker’s Tool Chest 9. Butcher Block Finishes 8. Passion-Built Shop 7. Hold Everything (With Almost Nothing) 6. Norm Abram: Life…

I’ve always aspired to be one of those handymen who has every tool for every job, enough knowledge to handle any repair, and just the right piece of scrap lumber on hand for every single situation. My great grandfather, having lived through the great depression, was far more inclined to fix something than toss it,…

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…

The two products – both useful – are quite different. Dating back at least 100 years, the term “lacquer” has referred to a non-crosslinking finish that thins with lacquer thinner. The most common type is nitrocellulose lacquer. In the late 1980s water-based (or waterborne) finishes became available and some were labeled “lacquer.” The reason, as…

An explanation of this most confusing of finishing treatments. In the late 1980s, I hosted a local call-in radio show dealing with finishing and restoration. I remember one caller explaining that he had applied four coats of tung oil; he asked what he should use to seal the wood! OK, so he was probably using…

Knowing which half to believe is why finishing seems so difficult. Many years ago I coined what I call my “half-right rule.” That is, half of what you read or hear about finishing is right; you just don’t know which half. You may suspect that I developed this rule in response to all the contradictory…

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…