Star Tools Marking Gauge

Marking gauges have all manner of ways for you to lock the head to the beam, but most involve a screw or wedge mechanism. I think the coolest method I’ve...

Take Your Eye for a Walk

Ever since I saw George Walker’s DVD on furniture design and his lecture at Woodworking in America, I’ve been trying out some of his ideas on pieces of furniture that...

Roubo's Triangle on the Job

I finished up building a set of try squares based on Andre Roubo’s 18th-century plans this weekend and need to put the finish on them. What’s holding me back? Well,...

The Roubo Triangle

Inspired by Robert W. Lang’s article on making wooden try squares in the Autumn 2009 issue, I decided to make a batch of squares this weekend. Yesterday at lunch I...

Who Would Make Such a Stupid Rule?

In the history of measuring equipment, there is one blunder so awful that it makes me twitter (old-school twitter) like a smack-addled squirrel every time I encounter it. It’s a...

Place Hardware So it Looks Right

There is precious little information out there about placing your hardware so it doesn’t look awkward. My theory: Woodworking writers get so worn out by the time that they reach...

Neener, Neener, Tofflemeier

I’m a child of the Cold War. I remember the drills in elementary school where we curled up under our desks in the event of a nuclear attack (to kiss...

Get Mired in ‘Red Tape’

My grandfather’s workbench had an adhesive rule stuck to its front edge, which was extremely useful when woodworking. You could check part dimensions without pulling out a tape measure or...