John Wilson’s Adjustable-pitch Plane

If you had only one bench plane, it would be nice if that plane could do both roughing and smoothing chores. Woodworker John Wilson tackled that problem in our April 2011 issue with his [...]

Evapo-Rust a Friend to Vintage Tools

I love “before” and “after” photos of things. This week I picked up a nice 3/16” side-bead plane from Josh Clark (aka Hyperkitten). The tool is a gem. The boxing is perfect. The sole is straight. [...]

Thanks, Mr. Dead Guy

I don’t get to read much fiction anymore, but I do read old woodworking books almost every night (last night I finished the potboiler “Cabinet Construction” (1937) edited by the great J.C.S. [...]

Highly Recommended: Catharine Kennedy

This morning has been frustrating. I’ve been scouring the shop for my bradawl, which I’ve owned for ages, but it’s just plain gone. And earlier this fall, one of our students [...]

Worth Reading: Matt Bickford's New Blog

If you are curious about or struggle with moulding planes, planemaker M.S. Bickford has recently launched a new blog that will open your eyes: Musings from Big Pink. Using SketchUp drawings and [...]

Use the No. 95 Trimming Plane Upright?

I’ve always held the No. 95 edge-trimming plane like a block plane. The lever cap faces up to the sky. The fence of the No. 95 is then vertical. So I was surprised to see a little tip in …

Falling Off the Wagon in Style

Those of you who follow my personal woodworking blog know that I have been selling off a lot of my excess tools and upgrading my shop at home. Since August, I’ve sold more than 100 tools [...]

Do You Sharpen Too Much?

When I teach people to sharpen I notice a bad habit that many of them have: They think that rubbing the tool against a stone is sharpening. The more they rub, the sharper it gets, no? Well, no. I [...]