Welcome to The Splinter Report, where I gather the assorted interesting and amusing things I’ve seen in the woodworking world. This week we’re looking at compact circular saws, cartoon carving, and plinko. Tool News Quick Bites Starrett and Gerstner Team Up Again: Starrett, known for their measurement tools, is teaming up with Gerstner, a wooden toolbox…

If you’re a woodworker of any kind — weekend DIYer to pro-shop owner — I’ll bet you ten bucks you’ve already seen a dozen or more top 10 lists of holiday gifts for woodworkers.  Most of the items on those lists are pretty much the same: shop gadgets, tools you already have, things you don’t…

When cutting circles on the band saw with a jig, starting the cuts tangent to the right diameter is a problem; this method simplifies it. I started with an extension table mounted flush with the top of the band saw table. I then drew a centerline on it, even with the front of the blade….

A long time ago in a garage attached to my house, I started a project. It was December 2023, and I had decided that I needed a place to store my hand tools. Instead of designing my own project, I followed Logan’s plans for his Dovetailed Curly Maple Tool Chest, though I substituted hard maple…

With Logan out, John and Phil do all of the heavy lifting on this week’s episode of the ShopNotes Podcast with a follow up on last week’s discussion of cordless tool systems and more. Find all of the ShopNotes podcast episodes here.

Welcome to The Splinter Report, where I gather the assorted interesting and amusing things I’ve seen in the woodworking world. This week we’re looking at new tools, crafty magazine projects, and worlds colliding. Tool News Quick Bites Milwaukee Introduces M18 Handheld Vacuum: The continual march of brushless tech has now reached the world of handheld…

OSHA-approved warning and danger signs have multiplied over the years, while at the same time getting a bit more to-the-point as far as illustrating accidents and injuries. And by to-the-point I’m talking about they frequently show the overtly graphic nature of what happens when hard, heavy, sharp things meet soft, fleshy body things. There’s nothing…

My students learn two things about me very quickly: I care deeply about their education, and I care just as deeply about the tools we use while learning together. In our woodworking program—which begins in fourth grade and continues through middle school, eighth grade, high school, and eventually the junior–senior levels—we do not skimp on…