Discover five cross-grain construction strategies to help keep your tabletops and chest lids flat. Cross-grain construction tends to freak out most beginning woodworkers, but it’s a viable construction method in many cases. Wide tables and chest lids often employ breadboard ends to keep things flat, as well as cover end grain. If it’s done right,…

After creating the facets (drawing and image below), we need to round over the mouse’s back. To read the first part of the story click here. Add two additional guidelines above and below the facet and ask the child to rasp and round those areas. Rasp the lower round-over band from the middle of the…

This functional form is an ideal intro to the Shaker Style. Learn how to make this useful project, all while sharpening your hand tool skills.

Combine five 2x4s, a handful of screws and a long afternoon to build a handsome and sturdy sitting spot for your deck or garden. My father always has had a knack for doing more with less. He built the first house on our farm using a Skil saw, a drill and a hammer. Sometime during…

This versatile router joint is perfect for production work. When I need to batch out a bunch of drawer boxes, I use a lock miter router bit. Not only does this bit create a joint with a clean, mitered look on the outside, but the profile of the bit gives the drawer a good mechanical…

We redesigned this classic with techniques so simple even a novice can build it! Project #1918 • Skill Level: Beginner • Time: 3 days Almost everyone likes the look of barrister bookcases. But what makes them so appealing? I think there are a number of characteristics that make the barrister design popular and enduring. First…

You needn’t rely on ready-made patterns to design good-looking gams. Legs with engaging, flowing three-dimensional curves can add immeasurably to the aesthetic success of such pieces as tables, stands and chests. In this article, using the legs for a small floating-top table as an example, I’ll show a practical method for producing such legs, and…

A master craftsman’s method for making perfectly spaced drawers. I made this dresser for a client whose father designed and built similar furniture back in the 1950s. Its grid system is very modern looking, but getting all the spacing just right requires an old-fashioned, methodical approach to ensure that the case is square each step…

In my furniture repair shop, I repair a lot of chairs.  I’ve seen many DIY mistakes over the years that didn’t need to happen.  Repairing a chair with loose joints is a relatively easy project to tackle with a bit of knowledge.  I’m sharing my top 5 chair repair mistakes to avoid, so you can…

A perfect platform for teaching woodworking to kids. Woodworking safely with children requires a bench vise to hold stock securely. While stools can raise a child to the height of your workbench, there is nothing safer than having your feet firmly planted on the ground for activities that require physical strength. While most woodworking tools…

A proven design that will last a lifetime. I have many fine tools in my shop, but the most important one is my bench. It has a classic design, favored by cabinetmakers for generations.    I’ve spent a long time refining the details of this bench. I’ve built 15 of them over the years, simplifying…

Welcome to my home shop. It’s fairly small — about 14×24 and located in our finished basement. It houses my collection of hand tools, lathe, table saw, router table, drill press, band saw, and various smaller “benchtop” type tools.  While I spend most of my time at my bench with handtools, the first thing you…

After receiving and unwrapping the bench (read part 1 of the story here) I had to decide whether to finish it or leave it smooth and raw. Benchcrafted provides a very good reference sheet filled with info about the bench’s initiation process. In it, they mention that while the user can finish the base with…

Although I did not grow up in the United States (I came here in my 30s), the American holiday of Thanksgiving was not totally foreign to me. The notion that once a year we collectively reflect on the things that we have accomplished, the people who have helped us, the family members who were kind…

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…

Cut mortises of any width and length in stock of virtually any size. Here’s a win-win proposition: Spend a day in your shop and turn your drill press into a mortising machine. This fixture makes it easy to cut mortises in multiples for doors, tables and frames. It has four components: a fixed base, a…

This functional form is an ideal intro to the Shaker Style. Learn how to make this useful project, all while sharpening your hand tool skills.

Six great ideas for space-challenged woodworkers to get more out of their small shops.

Expert craftsman Tom Donahey shares his plans for an essential tool to work green wood. Few woodworking experiences are as sweet as working wood that’s just been split from a recently felled tree. Green wood is much easier to shape with hand tools than wood that’s been dried. It has a special character–a pungent odor…

Welcome to my home shop. It’s fairly small — about 14×24 and located in our finished basement. It houses my collection of hand tools, lathe, table saw, router table, drill press, band saw, and various smaller “benchtop” type tools.  While I spend most of my time at my bench with handtools, the first thing you…

Effective control for a notorious sawdust creator In addition to being versatile, accurate and virtually indispensable, my sliding miter saw also excels at spewing sawdust and resisting effective dust collection. I tried connecting a shop vacuum, but even when I remembered to turn it on, the vacuum only collected about half of the dust. I…

The inspiration for this “I Can Do That” storage bench was simple – I wanted it. Ever since I picked up a king-size bed at a liquidation sale, I wanted a matching bench to hold my shoes at the foot of the bed. After seeing many designs that were running anywhere from $250 to $400, I thought to myself “I can do that” – and with a sheet of plywood and some pocket screws, you can too.

I’m sure you’re thinking, what’s Kubb? The original name, “Kubbspel,” translates (roughly) into  “throwing block game.” The goal is simple: knock over wooden “Kubbs” or soldiers by throwing sticks or batons at them, followed by the king. With two teams and a few basic rules, this game is fun for all ages! Plus, it’s super…

Professional-sized ladder golf sets are larger and more robust than the chintzy ones you usually find in yard game kits. This project is a great way to use some long skinny scrap pieces too.  Read the rules for ladder golf here Build the Sides Plane your side boards to 7/8” thickness, then rip four 15/16”…