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A boring task turns into a history lesson. This article originally appeared in the April 2010 issue of Popular Woodworking One day in Williamsburg, a message reached me at the carpenter’s yard [...]

Christmas, 1956. I was a little fella, and my seeing the Tonka Hi-Way series display in the W.T. Grant store months earlier had captured my entire attention. In my letter to Santa, I asked for [...]

Lessons from a big box guide my approach to woodworking. I love Ikea. Yes, I said it. This store has provided me with an understanding of furniture design and with products I use on many of my [...]

A rescue and careful work reveal the spirit of land and sea. I have lusted for years after the wide, irregular planks used by the legendary George Nakashima to capture what he called “the soul of [...]

A gnarly old conifer finds new life on a recognized California estate. In 1908, architects Charles and Henry Greene built one of their most famous residences, the Robert R. Blacker House. In [...]

Just keep saying ‘micron.’ Woodworkers who use hand tools to lay the quality touch on their work know what can be accomplished with these wonderful inventions. Along with skill, [...]

A Backer Board Prevents Chip-Out Chip-out is always an issue when you even up the stiles and rails of a door with a plane. If you plane all the way across the door, from one end to the other, [...]

The lessons I learned from Dad’s crumpled and worn-out abrasives. Whether you’re a professional or hobbyist woodworker, having a keen sense of proper material utilization reduces the cost of [...]

Consider yourself a midwife to creativity. By Brian Boggs Page: 64 From the December 2011 issue #194

Before I give my students their sandpaper for the first time, I ask them if they have noticed the depressions in the treads of our school’s stone stairs. Most of them have not, so I continue to [...]

It’s hard to hide the loot when your wife has detective skills. I am a toolaholic. There, I’ve said it. I’ve admitted my weakness. I am in need of a 12-step program. A 12-step program or a good [...]

As managing editor, one of my duties is to pull together the “Letters” column for each issue, so please send in your questions or comments for me, the other editors or even for [...]