Forget plastic or metal pans – a wooden one looks nicer and works better. Some time during the last 25 years of prowling around workshops, museums and antique stores, I spotted a wooden dustpan. The encounter made me slap my forehead – why do I have a plastic pan when I could build a wooden…

For accurate drilling, build an engineered table. Did you know that most drill press tables are made for metalworking? Woodworkers need a better table: it should have a broad surface, an easily adjustable fence with a stop, hold-downs, and replaceable inserts. I’ve studied many plans for a table with these features, but each one seems…

Related: Shaker-Inspired Sewing Counter Shaker Sewing Counter: Glue-Up Tips  The glue-up for case pieces is ALWAYS a little nerve-wracking and though this particular Shaker-style Sewing cabinet is no less daunting given its frame-and-panel construction, following these tips can make everything a breeze:  TIP #1:  Pre-Finish Before Glue-up = Massive Headache Avoided     First, you’ll want to save yourself the headache of cleaning glue out…

Project #1923 • Skill Level: Advanced • Time: 1 Week • Cost: $250 I’m not a fan of period furniture from England. The English emphasis on the horizontal conflicts with the American emphasis on the aspiring vertical that I find so appealing in period furniture built in this country. But, of course, there are exceptions,…

Creative thinking and dirt-simple jigs make the joinery a straightforward task. Full-Size Plan:  Download I tend to think of Chippendale chairs as highly ornate. But there are startlingly simple examples of the style as well. After encountering some of the simpler versions of these chairs, I became fascinated. I love the interplay of curves and angles,…

The planters and bench are separate parts—arrange them as you wish. Smell the flowers. Touch the leaves. It’s easy to enjoy plants when they’re placed at a convenient height—and easier still when you can sit right next to them. Sitting on a planter bench brings nature close to hand.    While you can make this…

Steve Shanesy builds an improved Adirondack chair with Norm Abram in The New Yankee Workshop. Build the chair and learn how Abram works. Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in the August 2005 issue of Popular Woodworking  I’ve become keenly aware throughout the years that patience allows time for opportunities to come along that might…

Simple joinery allows (time to add) cool design details. I like traditional joinery, and I enjoy working with hand tools. But I also like completing a project without having it drag on because the joinery is labor intensive. This table has all the earmarks of a traditional heirloom: beautiful hardwood, classic proportions and solid construction….

Storage and utility in just the right size. It’s often said that a shop layout is never truly complete. While that may be true, I have discovered a valuable asset in my shop that can move and adapt to changing layouts. I’ve been testing a mobile shop cart over the last several years to make…

Tradition meets technology when we marry an 18th-century workbench design with modern laminated veneer lumber. Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in the November 2009 issue of Popular Woodworking. A follow-up post from 2014 should address any questions on how the workbench wore with age. When it comes to workbench designs, I think it is…

Build a modern workbench using digital woodworking tools The Maker Workstation Overview • Building The Top • Building The Base •  Furniture & Accessories • CNC Instructions If you’re a CNC user who would like to build a Maker Workstation, this article is for you. Since CNCs come in a wide range of sizes, capabilities,…

Transform your workbench with custom-fit workholding – without any fuss. For many woodworkers, especially those of the Galoot persuasion, a workbench with a tail vise of some sort is a fundamental necessity. These vises are integral to most European-style benches, and there are now extraordinary aftermarket options, some of which I own. But what are…

Accessories = Versatility The Maker Workstation Overview • Building The Top • Building The Base • Furniture & Accessories • CNC Instructions A key feature of the Maker Workstation is versatility. What makes it work is the precision grid system that’s the foundation for all that happens on the surface, sides, and base of the…

One Workstation. Two Bases to Choose From The Maker Workstation Overview • Building The Top • Building The Base • Furniture & Accessories • CNC Instructions When designing the maker workstation, a goal was to make sure the top would work on different kinds of bases, sawhorses, or other stable platforms.  The workstation top is a…

A Hybrid Construction Method that Imitates a CNC The Maker Workstation Overview • Building The Top • Building The Base • Furniture & Accessories • CNC Instructions This the first of five online articles on building the Maker Workstation featured in the June 2021 issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine.  This is an extended version of the…

As I mentioned last week, a common way to flatten a board that is too wide for your jointer is to build a planing sled and then pass the board & sled through the planer. Via incremental milling, the uneven top surface of the board will be flattened, and then you can flip the board…

If you don’t own a big European style table saw or a large miter saw, and need to crosscut wide lumber at 90 degrees you will probably like my newly-built CCS (Cross-Cutting Square). This jig is easy to build and use. You can clamp it to your lumber or hold it down tightly with one…

Forget plastic or metal pans – a wooden one looks nicer and works better. Some time during the last 25 years of prowling around workshops, museums and antique stores, I spotted a wooden dustpan. The encounter made me slap my forehead – why do I have a plastic pan when I could build a wooden…

For accurate drilling, build an engineered table. Did you know that most drill press tables are made for metalworking? Woodworkers need a better table: it should have a broad surface, an easily adjustable fence with a stop, hold-downs, and replaceable inserts. I’ve studied many plans for a table with these features, but each one seems…

I own three bandsaws. Two are hand-me-downs from neighbors and the most recent arrival is a brand new Grizzly 17”  that I bought. The Grizzly is a great machine but like many of its peers, most of the bandsaw adjustment features are controlled by locking socket head cap screw, aka Allen screws. There is nothing…

  A few years ago I wrote about Ha-Khoret’s wooden bench vise and its embedded feature which prevents the notorious jaw racking syndrome. Vise racking happens when clamping a workpiece on the right (or left side) of the jaws, and while tightening the screw, the moving jaw pivot in the opposite direction. This condition prevents…

This simple rack uses no nails, no screws and holds up to 15 pairs of shoes.

Add artful accents to a play table. Project #1914 • Skill Level: Beginner • Time: 1 Day • Cost: $150 Last Christmas my wife and I introduced our young boys to LEGO. This was a good reminder that there is something really special about spending time with your kids with toys that you grew up…

Add GFRC to your furniture-making arsenal. I’ve always loved aircraft-inspired design. There’s just something about an everyday item inspired by a plane that evokes a sense of wanderlust in me, and I wanted to make a piece of furniture that had that aircraft feel. This concrete and walnut “wing” table is the result. Before I…