An Open Mind
It pains me to admit this, but I am a lousy woodworking dad. My oldest son (age 10) occasionally asks me to help him build something. 95% of the time, I’ve been in the shop all day, so the answer [...]
Quercus Maeroearpa
As a sawyer, I find my lumber stash sometimes gets out of hand. I saw a bunch of material and dry it, then end up with a ton of stock in my lumber rack. It works out great—I always have …
Appalachian Roadtrip
As subscribers to our magazine, you see a part of what we do every day—you’re holding it in your hands. What you don’t see is all of the behind-the-scenes stuff. We operate in two month cycles; [...]
‘Tis the Season.
It feels so odd, to be sitting here working on the December issue of PW, because it’s the middle of August and in the mid-90’s. But, alas, that’s how far ahead the magazine world runs. As you’re [...]
Onward, Forward.
As I sit here writing, it’s been a wet, humid summer in Iowa. I’ve finished most of my travels for the year. Typically, from spring to summer, I’m traveling to various contributing writers’ shops [...]
Yes, We’re Probably Dumb
Some of you are probably aware that I got my start in the woodworking publication world as an assistant editor at Woodsmith Magazine. Heck, even after taking over here at Popular Woodworking, [...]
Find Joy in Stupid Stuff
For anyone that has met me, you’ll probably know that I have a pretty happy-go-lucky personality. I enjoy helping others, sometimes to my own detriment. One thing that I’ll always do is try and [...]
The Patternmaker
I’ve long talked about woodworking containing a variety of disciplines such as turning, carving, scroll sawing, etc. In my opinion, there’s one type of woodworking that shaped this country (and [...]
Whole Lotta Cutter
Who knew that in today’s day and age, a piece of mail could send me over the moon. Well, that’s what happened in early October when the invoice for the cutter head for my Towsley jointer arrived. [...]
Faces of Woodworking
Over the last several years, I’ve had the opportunity to meet and work with various people, and sharing their stories through this magazine is one of the things that I genuinely enjoy. For [...]
Woodworking Friendship
I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again (and keep saying it)—the people you meet in the woodworking community are some of the best around. Recently, I met a gentleman by the name of [...]
Woodworking Abroad
I’m going to admit that there are aspects of my life that I live (and view) “inside the box.” Woodworking, as an industry, tends to be one of those. Our (magazine) audience is concentrated in the [...]