Once an inaccuracy gets started, it becomes almost impossible to correct. “A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on,” said Winston Churchill (or others, if you believe different attributes). If you are familiar with my teaching and writing about finishing, you know that I have…

Like a movie star, oak possesses natural good looks. Unlike a movie star, however, oak is easy to work with—even during finishing. Oak’s distinctive grain pattern (see photo below) is what people are responding to when they say, “I love the look of oak.” The best finishes for oak celebrate its grain. In this article,…

In the October, 2017 issue of Popular Woodworking, page 10, I answered a question from a reader concerning how to handle paint on an exterior door that was beginning to lift at the cross-grain joints where water was able to get in and work its way underneath. This inspired another reader to ask how to…

Three years ago while teaching a woodworking class at Peters Valley I met Blacksmith Eric Dennis, who was at the time the studio assistant in the iron shop. When I entered the noisy, coal-smoky, old building, Eric was in the middle of forging some impressive looking tool. Coincidentally, that very summer I was trying to…

By George R. Walker Meet Reid Schwartz: artist, interested human, maker of tools, worker of wood and restorer of old things. It’s hard to think of a craft that’s not tied to woodworking in some way. Wood is either the material of choice or it’s found in the tools used to shape other materials, such…

Try Squares While you can certainly use a typical machinist’s combination square for layout work, they aren’t particularly friendly to the hand, they are heavy and they can easily, if mishandled, ding the wood. In contrast, a wooden square feels soft, light and warm to the touch and is a thing of beauty to look…

The Anarchist’s Gift Guide is a yearly list from Chris Schwarz that puts an end to the question of what Uncle Woodworker wants for Christmas. Each entry recommends items that are simple, inexpensive and that a woodworker will actually use throughout the year.

Lathe and handwork yield a seamless transition from turned legs to a flush apron on this sculpted side table.

I think one of the most rewarding parts of being a woodworker is the creative process. You start with an idea, either a request from someone or just something you want to build. It begins as an image in your head; a table, cabinet or in this case a candle holder. Now that “concept” can…

Safely make shaper-quality molding on your tablesaw without fancy jigs. By Eric Smith and Richard Tendick This how-to story has a picture-perfect ending. In fact, you might want to round up some spectators for applause in the final steps. Richard Tendick has developed a safe, simple technique to help you make narrow, complex picture-frame stock…

Cut logs into lumber, make thin boards from thick and cut your own veneer. By George Vondriska Perhaps you want to cut 3/4-in.-thick material down to 3/8 in., or make veneer from that one precious figured board. Or maybe you want to get useful lumber from a gorgeous piece of wood in your firewood pile….

My dovetails are always at their best if I warm up before sawing. But I’ll be honest – when I am pressed for time I have no patience to cut an entire joint, much less prep the wood for a practice set. So here are two things I do to get my sawing on track…

In earlier posts in this series, I explained how you can take simple computer drawings and make paper patterns. In my last post, I revealed the process I used for years for making MDF patterns. But, how do you do that if you don’t own a CNC?  Outsource it. Here are a few tips on finding and…

Dale Barnard has been building furniture professionally for decades. And during a recent video shoot, it was very comforting to see that I wasn’t the only one breaking the rules on sanding. Building a Greene & Greene furniture piece means changing transition levels in the wood frequently. And that leads to either rasping, filing or…

Ebony plugs are essential to the Greene & Greene style. In fact, it would be almost inconceivable to design a Greene & Greene piece without them. They are simple to make, but woodworkers often struggle with the process. Over many years of building and teaching in the Greene & Greene style, I have developed a…

In this series, I’ve covered tools for standardization, tools for measuring and tools for precision. Now, it’s time to bring it all together with a few recommendations for different kinds of woodworking. How much accuracy you need depends on the kind of woodworking that you do. Remember that for hundreds of years, woodworkers got away…

Over the last few weeks, I’ve made several posts about measuring tools in the series Precision Instruments for Woodworkers. The purpose of the series is to introduce the idea of precision through establishing standards for accuracy with a few high-quality instruments and to test all of your measuring tools against them. It’s a simple theory: If…

When people injure themselves in the shop, their first reaction is to grab the wound and refuse to look. Sadly, this is the same attitude many woodworkers take with the squareness of their components: They refuse to look and hope things will work out. While there are lots of areas of woodworking where squareness doesn’t…

A collection of our favorite router tricks recently unearthed from our archives. A router is truly one of the most versatile tools in the shop. Enjoy!

Here is a dirt-simple, but effective, accessory for your miter saw. It eliminates tear-out, allows you to make precision cuts by aligning a pencil mark with the kerf, and provides room to screw or clamp a stop block anywhere along the fence. Originally, I built this table for extra support when cutting long pieces. But…

If you have a drill press and a cross-sliding vise, you don’t need a mortising machine. A cross-sliding vise is a machinist’s vise with two crank handles—one crank moves the part held in the vise back and forth, while the other moves it side to side. Mount the vise on a piece of plywood or…