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,...
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...
Once upon a time, the go-to rasps for woodworkers seeking quality were the Nicholson #49 and #50. These were hand-cut rasps, where each tooth was individually raised by a skilled...
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...
Tool: Tooley Park Big Compass Kit Shop Now Manufacturer: Tooley Park MSRP: £150.00 ($201.50) A few issues ago, Popular Woodworking shared a set of scribers from a company in the UK...
Tool: Veritas Hacking Knife Shop Now Manufacturer: Lee Valley MSRP: $95.00 Of all the tools in my shop, I probably use a knife the most. Oftentimes, it’s something as simple...
A craftsman makes the argument that bevel-up planes are easier to tune for end grain and difficult woods. I can clearly remember my first experience with bench planes. I was...
Tool: Router Plane Shop Now Manufacturer: Blue Spruce Toolworks MSRP: $269.99 One of the benefits of being in my position, is that I sometimes get to see tools that are...
Perfection doesn’t exist. But you can come close. One of the first things any beginning woodworker must do is set up a workshop. Like so many other things a novice...
Stop measuring and simply learn how to saw straight. The dovetail is an ancient joint widely used in cathedrals, barns and Egyptian furniture. It is the right joint for many...
Devon Campbell is designing and building world-class tools from his shop in Queensland. Sometimes, the universe has a way of connecting the dots, whether you’re looking for it to or...
No one can match Pfeil’s sharpening quality—Pfeil gouges arrive perfectly honed with ideal edge geometry. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case with the Chinese knockoffs I tested. Both straight [...]
