End Grain: ‘Put Yer Ass Into It’
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 [...]
Destroy to Create
When needs change, there’s no shame in repurposing. I have a confession to make: I don’t do nearly as much woodworking as I should. As someone with limited time and resources, I like to do things [...]
A Father’s Legacy
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 [...]
Why I Love Ikea
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 [...]
How a Tree Became a Whale
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 [...]
End Grain: Blacker House Garden Bench
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 [...]
New Names for Old Tools
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, [...]
10 Tips for Working With End Grain
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, [...]
Sandpaper Drawer
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 [...]
End Grain: The Myth of Original Design
Sanding Our Past Away: Please Take off Your Shoes
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 [...]
CSI: Tools
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 [...]
