A sure-fire recipe for turning any wood deep black. Remember the old ad slogan, “better living through chemistry”? When it comes to turning wood black—a process called ebonizing—I prefer the chemical approach, which uses solutions made from vinegar, steel wool and tannic acid. Watching them transform an ordinary wood, such as the yellow poplar I’m…

Learn how to restore your damaged furniture finishes with these practical tips and techniques. Over time, furniture finishes can become dull or develop various marks and blemishes. This guide will help you bring back the shine and beauty of your furniture through simple restoration methods. 1. Revive a Dull Finish As furniture finishes age, they…

Shooting boards are one of those hand-tool jigs that people talk about (a lot) but few people actually know much about. Whenever I teach, students always clamor for a demonstration of the device, even when I’m teaching something that doesn’t directly relate (sawing tenons, sharpening, steaming salmon). First things first: Why do you need one?…

When you know what you’re doing, chisels can be wonderfully helpful tools. If all you want to do with your chisels is adjust machine-cut joints or slice glue drips, any technique or tool will work. This sort of work is occasional in nature, and not particularly strenuous. But chisels offer woodworkers the opportunity to do…

In just over 90 seconds Logan walks you through all the main parts of a metal body hand plane. Interested in learning more? Check out the article Handplanes for Beginners. For Basics Week we’re presenting a special offer on our PopWood+ membership, where you can save 25% off your first month or full year when…

Puzzling lubrication. Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in the August 2010 issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine I ran out of mutton tallow this morning! I searched my tool chests, under the benches and in the drawers hoping to find just enough white magic to ease the passage of the big jointer plane up and…

Practice Traditional Building Joinery on a Smaller Scale Project #2104 • Skill Level: Advanced • Time: 2 Weeks • Cost: $300 During my 14 years living in Europe, I marveled repeatedly at how these beautiful timber framed structures had withstood the test of time—I remember one awe-inspiring timber framed house near Wiesbaden, Germany, with a placard on…

I use biscuit joints in lots of small projects, particularly for joining rails to legs. I usually reference from the bottom of the plate joiner rather than use its fence. When I want to make an offset joint, I cut the slots in the rails first. Then I add a large shim plate to the…

When using my miter saw, I’ve found that the easiest way to sneak up on a line is to use a stack of sticky notes. First, set a stop block to cut your part slightly oversize (1/16″ is plenty). Attach a thin pile of sticky notes to the stop block, make a cut, and then…

I use a portable circular saw to break down plywood and other sheet goods into manageable pieces before bringing them to the table saw for final sizing. I prefer to do the job on sawhorses rather than crouching on the floor. Unfortunately, you normally need three or four horses to provide enough support to prevent…

The next time you use your jigsaw, forget about hauling out the sawhorses or cantilevering a hard-to-hold workpiece off your bench. Extruded polystyrene insulation board, the rigid pink sheets used in housing construction, makes sawing easy, whether you’re cutting a small piece of hardwood or a full sheet of plywood. During the cut, the workpiece…

Tool: 5 Piece Spoon Carving Set Shop Now Manufacturer: Stryi MSRP: $249 For several years, I’ve seen tools coming out of Western Ukraine, and they’ve always appeared to be high-quality. One company caught my eye in particular named Stryi. Sharing a name with the town where they’re located, Stryi is hand-forging tools that rival some…

Attach the tree to the base. Part 1: Introduction • Part 2: Push and Peel Knife Maneuvers • Part 3: Parting and Pulling Techniques • Part 4: Rounding the Tree • Part 5: Sculpting the Branches Now that we have finished creating the tree, it’s time to plant it. You have several options for creating…

Sculpting the Tree Branches Part 1: Introduction • Part 2: Push and Peel Knife Maneuvers • Part 3: Parting and Pulling Techniques • Part 4: Rounding the Tree • Part 6: Attach to The Base We’ve reached the final stages of the whittling journey – crafting the tree branches. Let’s start by tracing five or…

Tool: STSQ4 4-1/2″ Trim Square Shop Now • STSQ7 7″ Carpenter Square Shop Now • STSQ7-L 7″ Carpenter Square with Level Shop Now Manufacturer: Stiletto MSRP: $74.99 • $84.99 • $99.99 Stiletto, a longtime hand tool maker known for their hammers, is entering the measurement tool market with a trio of new squares. There’s a pair…

Establishing Depth Reference A recent project required making a series of small wooden panels with shallow concave faces. For efficiency and accuracy, I decided to make a series of preliminary cuts on the table saw to establish the basic concave surface, then clean up the faces with an angle grinder and disc sander. It worked…

Turn a contractor’s tool into a precision woodworking machine. I don’t know of too many woodworking shops, whether home or professional, that don’t have a miter saw as part of their equipment. A miter saw is a fine alternative to a radial-arm saw or circular saw for rough-cutting lumber. It’s also an accurate alternative to…

  Tips for taming those awkward and heavy sheets. Woodworking alone is peaceful, serene and quiet. Just you, the radio and your project. It’s also a pain in the posterior when you have to work with big, heavy sheets of plywood, MDF or particleboard. If you can get help, it’s great, but often we end…

A complex moulding can be difficult to sand. Softening its crisp edges is a crime, so I’ve been using a thin, flexible stick with sandpaper adhered to it for getting into the flat areas. Not just any stick will do; it must have just the right amount of spring. An auto-body putty spreader, cut into…

When sawdust got packed into the back end of my planer’s blast gate, I couldn’t close the gate all the way.  I solved this annoying problem by cutting a notch in the gate. Now, when I close the gate, all the dust slides right through. –Fredrich Meder