A Visit to Clark & Williams

I crossed the border from Missouri to Arkansas this afternoon, and I knew immediately I was home. For starters, the land is achingly beautiful. I miss the Ozarks I grew...

Small Planes for Fast Work

When I bought my first smoothing plane at a flea market in Burlington, Ky., I could fit everything I knew about handplanes into one of the Elvis Presley shot glasses...

Benchtop Table Saws

Riving knives have made benchtop table saws ‘new’ again. Could one be the tool for your shop? When you scanned this issue’s cover and discovered an article on benchtop table...

Completely 'Bad Axe' Saws

There are some words we get in trouble for using in a woodworking magazine. Here are a few: “foolproof” (fools, we have found, are very clever), “holiday” (don’t [...]

When Your Workbench is Too Low

I’ve always been an advocate for low workbenches, especially for planing operations. My workbench is at 34″ (and while standing on my horse stall mat it’s 33″). And [...]

Planing Long Edges

This week I’m building the sitting bench for the White Water Shaker community; the bench will be featured in the Winter 2009 issue of Woodworking Magazine. The version I’m building...

Where to Buy Vintage Tools

In my book, there is one rule for buying vintage tools: Buy them from someone who will take them them back if the tool stinks. That rule keeps me on...