Make Your Own Grooving Plane

This traditional plane is a fun way to cut grooves, and can be made in half of a day. The grooving plane is a hand tool that is faster than a power tool that will do the same task. Not …

Shop Mallet Selection

It’s easy to get a handle on which whacker to choose. If you’ve ever whacked a carving tool or pounded a joint using your palm or the side of your fist – I know you have because we’ve all …

Zen-Wu F-2 Hammer Review

Tool: F-2 Titanium Hammer Shop Now  Manufacturer: Zen-Wu Toolworks MSRP: $159 It’s not often that a new tool company makes a significant impact in the woodworking market, and it’s even rarer [...]

95 and Counting

More than a century ago, Stanley introduced a new plane, and I’ve wanted one ever since. Well, no — I’m not that old — but it was still in production when I was born and would continue to be [...]

Handplanes for Beginners

Once you understand the anatomy of a handplane, you’ll be well on your way to using it with success. [View the full-size exploded view of a handplane here] Handplanes are the king of woodworking [...]

The Core Hand Tools

For the cost of one large piece of machinery, you can set up a complete shop with hand tools. Here's what you need to get started.

Coarse, Medium & Fine

  Most woodworking projects involve roughing, refining, and finishing steps, and using the right tool for each makes the work both precise and efficient. Too often we hear that hand tools [...]

16 Sharpening Tips for Woodworkers

Understanding the Why is just as important as the How. Hand tools are a pleasure to use — if they’re sharp. Once you have a sharp tool in your hands, you’ll begin to realize why some [...]

Rabbeting by Hand

Cutting rabbets by hand can quickly and easily be done with vintage and modern planes alike. Both just take a little know-how. I would consider a rabbet joint an essential woodworking joint to [...]

Understand & Use a Bowsaw

These traditional tools are woefully misunderstood by modern craftsmen. Here’s a primer. In the 1970s when I was the young, innocent and naive chairmaker at Strawbery Banke, a museum in [...]