Shop Blog

This morning as I walked out my front door, my hair got caught in some low-hanging branches from the cherry tree that shades the front porch. That was enough to...

The legs for my hope chest were made from old furniture discarded by Harvard University. Harvard has a place called "Harvard Surplus Center", or as we used to nickname [...]

I spent Saturday watching and photographing carver Mary May teach a class on ball-and-claw feet at the Woodwright’s School in Pittsboro, N.C. Mary, a traditionally trained professional carver, [...]

Now that I’m no longer on the staff of Woodworking in America, I get to do three things: 1) Actually attend some of the really great seminars from people like...

First, thanks to all of you who entered – I had a hard time deciding on a winner. In the end, I guess I’ll have to chalk up the winning...

For centuries, woodworking skills and techniques were passed down directly from master to student. If you wanted to learn, you spent time with someone who had done it for a...

I’ve used a lot of different methods to add age to my hardware – everything from a propane torch to ammonia to gun blue to (yes) human urine. Whenever I...

The second episode of “The Highland Woodworker” web TV show is out and if you haven’t seen this new show yet, it’s definitely worth a look. Produced in conjunction with...

I like Morris chairs  – Lord knows I’ve built enough of them to change my middle name to “Morrie.” But this evening I finished up work on a chair that...

Old one was getting a bit beat up, one grandBRAT needed a desk for HIS computer.   Decided to make a new bottomhalf, and just re-use the small hutch from the...

      i needed a few planes for the shop.   Decided to go visit a few “thrift stores” in my area.     Found a few rusty, CHEAP planes.     Just needed...

  Is underway.   i started with some old, nail-sick, UGLY beams from a garage that fell down, old age.    enough for four legs and some other [...]