Techniques

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, I’ve [...]

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 boxes, [...]

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 be an adventure, too. Resawing [...]

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 a series of circular [...]

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 the result of the [...]

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, which is a [...]

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 I use.  The [...]

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 lapped; it was also a plane for which …

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 with hot [...]

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 help you out (or help [...]

In previous entries, I explained how to lap short-bodied planes using diamond stones and sandpaper rolls (click to read parts 1 and 2.).  This entry is dedicated to lapping larger planes and [...]

Chris Schwarz shares some handy, nearly-forgotten handsaw tricks to use in the shop.