Arts & Mysteries

Master these skills and you can build anything. From chests to cupboards to cradles, frame and panel joinery opens a whole new world of possibilities.

Perfection doesn’t exist. But you can come close. One of the first things any beginning woodworker must do is set up a workshop. Like so many other things a novice...

To understand, you must do. Working by hand is a viable way for hobbyists to create beautiful furniture, yet it is often seen as slow, odd and antiquated. I choose...

In some contemporary households, 17th-century style storage prevails. I once sold a chair to a woman who later told me how much she loved it. “I never let anyone sit...

An experiment uncovers cutting edges of the past. “How did they sharpen their tools back then?” I’ve asked this question myself and I have been asked the question, and I’ve...

With sweat equity and a few simple tools, you can split strong, stable stock. Though sawn lumber was available to 17th- and 18th-century European woodworkers in Colonial America, many American...

This hardwood is best harvested for its bark and wood soon after cutting. Green woodworking has a different set of criteria when it comes to stockpiling material. Unlike those who...

Trade dangers revealed in 17th-century journals. I thought of Nehemiah Wallington (1598-1658) when I set up my lathe in my nearly finished workshop. A few times a year he pops...

Puzzling lubrication. Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in the August 2010 issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine I ran out of mutton tallow this morning! I searched my tool [...]

Measured drawings for some, story sticks for me (and others). I once had a job making a couple of wainscot chairs and chests for the National Park Service. After barely...

Both fast- and slow-growing wood present good opportunities. Wood selection is an important part of any woodworking project. I sometimes feel like I take it to an extreme, like I’m...

Make your own copy of this precision vintage tool. Even after two years of working alone, I can still hear the visitors to my museum shop where I worked for...