Shop Blog

Threading is the mechanical operation of removing material from the exterior of a cylindrical shape in order to create a helical thread. The newly formed stem at the base of...

I love to use pencil compasses in my woodshop. Unlike regular drafting compasses, which are fitted with fragile lead that tends to break easily, pencil compass are [...]

I finished yesterday fitting the three bottom drawers to the Campaign Secretary I’m building and I started in on building the gallery – it’s all dovetailed now. I’d be quite...

Can we not agree that I am not of sound mind and body? Yup? OK, read on. Last year I commissioned blacksmith Peter Ross to make a holdfast for me...

Frame & Panel Hope Chest Mortise and Tenon Joinery the Easy Way by Tom Caspar I used to struggle with mortise and tenon joinery. I tried every new system that...

When you think of the work of Greene & Greene, you usually think of Pasadena, Calif. Pasadena is home to the Gamble, Blacker and Robinson houses, and there is a...

I’ve seen a lot of vintage tool chests in my travels, and most of them have been made of pine. What kind of pine? Hard to say. Most pines look...

Slot & Spline Paneled Door Hands down, the easiest way to make a frame-and-panel door. By Tom Caspar Purchase the complete version of this woodworking technique story from AWBookstore.com. A...

Is there a secret to planing end grain? Is a low-angle block plane required? I don’t think so. My trusty wooden smoother does a good enough job for me. What...

After much searching, purchasing and examination I settled on a suite of hardware for the Campaign Chest I’m building for Popular Woodworking Magazine. The hardware arrived this week, and I...

Learning a new skill is a lot easier if you think of it as a hobby. Though I wasn’t one of the earliest adapters, I started using SketchUp, a drafting...

I have a palm-grip random-orbit sander that I’ve used for many years on household projects that could not be planed because they were too big, such as 16’-long runs of...