The Trouble With Follow Through
It was the first idea I pitched to my boss: I’m going to carve a spoon and write about it. Andrew immediately approved, given the perennial popularity of spoon carving and the desire for me [...]
The Philosophy of a Craftsman with Peter Korn
You need to watch this video that was just released from the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship. It centers on the founder of the school, Peter Korn, but it really talks about why people make [...]
Worth a Watch: World Wood Day
World Wood Day 2019 – Wood Design from Wood Culture on Vimeo. My extra-curricular woodworking has been firmly stuck in cabinet land for the last six months. And building plumb and square [...]
Editor’s Note: Woodworking Through It
As this issue goes to press, Popular Woodworking is changing ownership. The last few months have been a rollercoaster of emotions for me, my colleagues, readers and contributors. There’s been [...]
A Magnifying LED Lamp for Your Shop or Studio: A Product Test
Part of the unexpected interactions that stem from having an online column in a woodworking magazine is that, on occasion, a distributor or maker of craft/woodworking related tools or supplies [...]
Dents and Gouges: How to Deal with Them
If you’ve done much woodworking, it’s very likely that you have experienced some dents and gouges. Both are flaws in the wood. But they are not the same thing, so they should be treated [...]
Controlling Sheen: How to Create Any Sheen You Want
A woodworker friend called me with a problem. He had just built a bookcase and was trying to match the approximate sheen of a factory-finished piece of furniture he had and couldn’t find a [...]
Blotching Caused by the Stain Drying too Fast
A lot of woodworkers avoid staining whenever possible because of the problems that can occur. Instead of staining, they use a beautiful wood that gives the color they want to begin with. Most [...]
Carving a Live Edge Branch Bowl – Part 2
Read part one of the story here. After most of the rough excavation was done (using an adze or a gouge – what ever works best for you) we need to clean out the vault and even out its [...]
Finishing in One Day: How do you do it?
As I’ve said many times, one of the reasons finishing seems difficult to amateur woodworkers is that the manufacturers targeting these woodworkers provide bad directions that don’t produce good [...]
Distressing wood: There are many ways to do it.
Distressing or aging wood can come in many forms, whether it's a color change or physical wear. Here some tips for achieving different effects.
4 Handy Table Saw Jigs
Get more out of your table saw with these four handy jigs. These simple jigs take advantage of the table saw’s speed and accuracy without tempting you to perform risky operations.
