Archives

Finding a felt-tip marker or touch-up stick that actually matches the color of your project is a real crapshoot. What if you could make your own, using your own stain? You can, using the Perfect [...]

If your Mom is a woodworker, then this is the perfect Mother’s Day gift guide to help you shop. She’ll love anything you get for her on this list. Looking to build something for your [...]

Ease and speed versus the idealization of the past – sometimes. When Lord Acton wrote that “absolute power corrupts absolutely,” he was referring to politics, but he could as easily have been [...]

Tool: Quick-Release Pock-It Hole Clamp Shop Now Manufacturer: Rockler MSRP: $25.99 Pocket hole joints are quick and easy to make. For some applications, such as face frames, they’re perfect. But [...]

Tool: Mortise Chisels Shop Now Manufacturer: Veritas MSRP: $76.50+ The Veritas (Lee Valley) mortise chisels are awesome in every sense of the word. They’re big, heavy and can plow through a [...]

Precision vises serve a purpose beyond their conventional use of securing workpieces on the drill press. In my workshops, these tools prove invaluable, especially when it comes to tasks like [...]

I confess to having a weakness for collecting Precision Vises (aka Toolmaker’s vises). These machinist tools, bearing names that mirror their meticulous craftsmanship, redefine the game when it [...]

My dovetail jig doesn’t have a depth gauge, and with my engineering background, I like things to be precise. This depth gauge allows me to set my router bits to within .001 of an inch! I also use [...]

The simplest tool in your chest is also the most sensitive and versatile; here’s how to set up a chisel to a high level and wield it like a maestro. It’s almost impossible to build furniture [...]

Learn how to choose and use these versatile shaping tools. As a Windsor chairmaker and spokeshave maker, I use a spokeshave more than any other tool. I have three: two straight shaves (large and [...]

A tenon should be one-third the thickness of a rail—at least, that’s what an old rule of thumb recommends. A 3/4″ board should have 1/4″ tenons, for example. But what about a [...]

Stanley No. 45 and No. 55 combination planes are put to the test. “This Universal Tool is a PLOW, DADO, RABBET, FILLETSTER, and MATCH PLANE, a BEADING and CENTER BEADING PLANE, a SASH PLANE and a [...]