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Efficient, cheap and simple to make. This magazine puts a lot of emphasis on hand tools – that is, tools without motors. Common subjects include handplanes, chisels, scrapers etc. But when it [...]

Back in the early 1920’s, my grandfather, John Rudzki, built wooden truck bodies in Pittsburgh, PA. Customers would order the chassis for a refrigerated truck, a moving van or some other kind of [...]

Clamp-Ka-Bob This morning I glued up a 4′ x 6′ tabletop made of maple 2x2s on my assembly table. I positioned 6′ pipe clamps alternately on the top and bottom faces of the [...]

While visiting the local Habitat for Humanity store I noticed a woodturning lathe. The store manager told me it had come from an estate and was almost new, so I bought it and took it home in the [...]

The past few months have made me thankful for a lot of things. A partner who loves to cook and bake and keep me fed, even when I’m not always upholding my end of the bargain. A partner who knows [...]

There are only four categories, so it’s easy. There are probably more myths surrounding furniture polishes than any other single aspect of wood finishing. What makes this topic confusing are the [...]

When needs change, there’s no shame in repurposing. I have a confession to make: I don’t do nearly as much woodworking as I should. As someone with limited time and resources, I like to do things [...]

Strength, patience and a sharp saw turn scraps into treasure. The hardwoods I use are almost always riven or split from a log. When I need thinner pieces than usual, I split them again. But there [...]

While design is dominated by the eye, the hand plays an important role. Most of what I’ve written about design has focused on how we look at it. Yet good design often has multiple layers that [...]

The universal and timeless structure of our imaginations. Woodworking spans the globe and is a common thread linking humans across the ages. This craft shares a basic tool kit across time and [...]

Gain more control over your staining with these techniques. The most popular types of stains are oil stains, also called wiping stains (though most stains are wiped after application). Oil stains [...]

Christmas, 1956. I was a little fella, and my seeing the Tonka Hi-Way series display in the W.T. Grant store months earlier had captured my entire attention. In my letter to Santa, I asked for [...]