Techniques

To turn wood safely, you need to know the correct way to introduce a cutting tool to a spinning workpiece. There are different ways to start a cut, depending on...

Making “stop shavings” – where the plane cuts only one part of the board – is one of the keys to better edge joints and lots of other handplane techniques....

Much of the furniture found in the Gamble House living room has a cloud lift pattern detail on all four sides, along with a carved pattern matching this detail. The...

Have you ever used flashcards or CDs to learn a foreign language? To learn a new word, you read it from a card or listen to a native speaker say it in the new...

One of the great joys of woodworking is helping other woodworkers realize their fullest potential. With limited technical and artistic skills there is little I can do to help other...

Normally, a planer can’t take the twist out of a board; it merely makes the top side parallel to the bottom. To get a board flat without a jointer, fool the planer into thinking the bottom of [...]

A student wrote and asked me this paraphrased question: “Can you give me some suggestions for drawing these irregular tenons into the legs? If the mortises were rectangular I would...

Rust is the curse of all woodworkers, but you’ve got three weapons at your disposal.

It’s easier to work with than an oil-based floor paint and doesn’t give off dangerous fumes as does epoxy paint. Concrete stain won’t peel or chip off when you move your machines around because [...]

A plunge router and template are two must-have tools for wood inlay work, and to get tight-fitting inlays, you’ll need some way to make sure your work pieces don’t move around...

A starting pin helps prevents kickback when using a bearing-guided bit. It’s an important safety feature.

So what is SketchUp and why should woodworkers use it? Simply put, SketchUp is a 3D sketching, modeling, rendering and design documentation tool. However, SketchUp is much more powerful than...