Techniques

Create artistic signs the old-fashioned way. You can churn out lettered signs by the dozens with a router and a set of letter templates or produce them by the hundreds...

Quicker than starting from scratch, and you don’t waste any material. Editor’s note: Nancy Hiller passed away on August 29th, 2022 after a long battle with cancer. In honor of...

A throwaway wooden ruler prevents fatal errors when dovetailing. The No. 1 mistake made by first-time dovetailers has nothing to do with sawing or chopping – the obvious choices. Instead,...

Not everyone’s ready to tackle hand-cut dovetails. Here’s how to get the most from your router and jig. Dovetails are prime joints. Long history, great appearance and cachet. Used in...

Resawing can be a wild ride. You never know exactly what’s going to happen when you cut open a board! Just getting your tablesaw or bandsaw to work right can...

Make this traditional design with a router and plug cutters. Line and berry inlay is an old American tradition. There are many variations of the design, but all consist of...

The summer is here in earnest, and with it came the rising humidity. Humidity and ferrous-based metals such as carbon steel and cast iron don’t get along that well, and...

A single cable provides 120-volt and 240V service. Every article I’ve seen describing the wiring of a shop for both 120 volts and 240V uses separate cables for each voltage,...

To conclude this series of entries about lapping/flattening the soles of metal planes (read them here #1, #2, #3, #4), I wish to share some information about the precision tools...

Read Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3. The #8 Record plane I bought a few years ago was the most prominent, heaviest, and the longest plane I have ever...

Blacksmithing is a hasty sport. Unlike woodworking, where you can step back and contemplate a cabinet’s lines or run your hands over a planed surface to check its smoothness, working...

Cutting your own dovetails is a right of passage for many woodworkers. Many out there find it intimidating when they first start though. Here are a few techniques that will...