PVC Lumber Storage

In need of some quick lumber storage, I rummaged around my shop for a solution.  I discovered a length of PVC pipe left over from a plumbing job and cut...

To Build or Buy?

Cost, time, and a spouse’s patience help determine the course of action. Editor’s note: This article was originally published in the November 2009 issue of Popular Woodworking.  It’s a dilemma...

Wood Too Good to Burn

Look to your firewood pile for plenty of project inspiration. I’ve been cutting up my leftover bits of green wood for firewood to use in my new workshop. It’s not...

The Right Way to Prepare Lumber

To true your wood with machines, the steps you follow are critical. This time-tested procedure is the best way we know of. I get to meet many woodworkers around the...

Logs to Lumber

In a search for wide boards, it pays to buy whole logs. Visitors to my shop often ask where I buy the wide, matched cherry and walnut boards I use...

Lumberyard Prep

Arm yourself with a good plan (or two) and your buying trip will be a success. I have a 10″-wide piece of 8/4 purpleheart sitting on my lumber rack. I...

The Secrets of Spalted Maple

What makes this wood so special? Fungus. If there’s one wood that can really challenge your sense of design—and your woodworking skills—it’s spalted maple. Those inky black lines can both...

Simple Live-Edge Slab Table

Slab, or live-edge furniture is all the rage, and I like it! If you think wood is one of the most amazing things ever created, then how can you not...