This beauty dates from 1939. The motor hangs off the back, like a contractor’s saw, but the trunnions are bolted to the body, like a cabinet saw. The body is all cast iron; I made the base below from MDF. The saw weighs a hefty 330 lbs., less the base. A heavy saw is just…

These traditional tools are woefully misunderstood by modern craftsmen. Here’s a primer. In the 1970s when I was the young, innocent and naive chairmaker at Strawbery Banke, a museum in Portsmouth, N.H., 50,000 tourists passed through my shop each summer. It never failed that when I was cutting out a chair seat with a bowsaw…

Tool: Black 8″ Helical-Head Jointer JWJ-8HH-BLK Shop Now  Manufacturer: Jet MSRP: $2499.99 The company JPW (Jet, Powermatic, Wilton) has a long, rich history of offering quality, well-built power tools. (Note the side of my vintage Powermatic Planer in the photo above—circa early 1980’s, still running like the day it was new). Jet recently released a…

Tool:M18 FUEL 7-1/4″ Circular Saw 2834-21HD Shop Now  Manufacturer: Milwaukee MSRP: $449 (tool, 12ah battery and charger, framing blade, and bag) (Also available as 2834-20 bare tool) Don’t feel alarmed if you’re feeling a bit of deja vu; back in October I reviewed the new Milwaukee FUEL 6-1/2″ circular saw, and now that I have…

Tool: M12 FUEL Brushless 18-Gauge Compact Brad Nailer 2541-20 Shop Now  Manufacturer: Milwaukee MSRP: $249 (Bare Tool) I’ve been a slow converter to cordless power tools. However, with today’s advancement in batteries, you can do a heck of a lot with a fairly small battery. And, there’s something to be said for not having to…

Tool: ALPHA HW615 Band Saw Buy Now Manufacturer: Harvey MSRP:$3,399 A band saw is an invaluable tool in the shop. In fact, I know several extraordinary woodworkers that don’t even own a table saw, favoring a band saw instead. After seeing a few of the Harvey band saws in person at the IWF show in Atlanta,…

Tool: Gen II 18V One+ HP Compact Brushless Drill/Driver (PSBDD02K2) Buy Now Manufacturer: Ryobi MSRP: $139 (includes drill, two 1.5AH batteries, & charger) I have to confess this review is coming from a fairly biased space—the first generation ONE+ HP Compact Drill is probably my favorite drill I’ve ever owned. It was lightweight, powerful, perfectly balanced,…

Tool: 18V Brushless Colt Palm Router Kit (GKF18V-25PL14) Buy Now Manufacturer: Bosch MSRP: $399 (includes router, fixed base, plunge base, L-Boxx, 4ah 18v battery, charger, misc dust attachments) There is probably not a name more synonymous with compact routers than the Bosch Colt. For twenty years now, Bosch has been releasing compact routers under that moniker,…

Tool: Tooley Park Big Compass Kit Shop Now  Manufacturer: Tooley Park MSRP: £150.00 ($201.50) A few issues ago, Popular Woodworking shared a set of scribers from a company in the UK called Tooley Park. Tooley Park recently released a new tool called their “Big Compass” tool. You can see this in the photo above. The big…

Tool: Veritas Hacking Knife Shop Now  Manufacturer: Lee Valley MSRP: $95.00 Of all the tools in my shop, I probably use a knife the most. Oftentimes, it’s something as simple as cutting open a box or opening a bag of hardware. But, sometimes I need a knife with a little more oompf. The Hacking Knife,…

A craftsman makes the argument that bevel-up planes are easier to tune for end grain and difficult woods. I can clearly remember my first experience with bench planes. I was in high school shop class and while I was leveling a joint with coarse sandpaper wrapped around a sanding block, the instructor stepped up and…

Tool: Router Plane Shop Now  Manufacturer: Blue Spruce Toolworks MSRP: $269.99 One of the benefits of being in my position, is that I sometimes get to see tools that are in the works before they get released to the public. I’ve watched the development of the Blue Spruce Toolworks router plane for a while now,…

Perfection doesn’t exist. But you can come close. One of the first things any beginning woodworker must do is set up a workshop. Like so many other things a novice woodworker must do, the preparation of a workshop shapes the capabilities and enjoyment of the craft long after the novice has become an intermediate or…

Stop measuring and simply learn how to saw straight. The dovetail is an ancient joint widely used in cathedrals, barns and Egyptian furniture. It is the right joint for many items including fine furniture, carcases, drawers and jewelry boxes. They are all dovetailed together. I was only 27 years old when I came to this…

Tool: Spider Mobile Base Shop Now  Manufacturer: Harvey Woodworking MSRP: $369-$569 Having the ability to move stuff around in a shop is key. This is especially true when it comes to a small shop. It is invaluable to move a tool into a workspace, set it up, and then store it when you’re done. The…

Tool: Tooley Park Big Compass Kit Shop Now  Manufacturer: Tooley Park MSRP: £150.00 ($201.50) A few issues ago, Popular Woodworking shared a set of scribers from a company in the UK called Tooley Park. Tooley Park recently released a new tool called their “Big Compass” tool. You can see this in the photo above. The big…

Tool:Drill Press Protractor Shop Now  Manufacturer: Woodpeckers MSRP: $69.99 Over the last several years, I’ve started to become interested in machinist tools and practices. One of the things that fascinates me is the precision that is required in many machining operations. I’ve started to apply those principles to my woodworking, and have seen a noticeable…

Tool: Veritas Hacking Knife Shop Now  Manufacturer: Lee Valley MSRP: $95.00 Of all the tools in my shop, I probably use a knife the most. Oftentimes, it’s something as simple as cutting open a box or opening a bag of hardware. But, sometimes I need a knife with a little more oompf. The Hacking Knife,…

Tool: Versa-Fence Face Upgrade Shop Now  Manufacturer: Woodpeckers MSRP: $169.99 I think it’s a safe bet that the table saw is at the heart of most shops. Today, Sawstop saws are the most popular due to their safety features. And they are indeed a great saw. The one item I always thought could use a…

Tool: OSHA-Compliant Dust Extractor Shop Now  Manufacturer: Hercules MSRP: $349.99 I continue to be impressed with the leaps and bounds that Harbor Freight has made in the power tool marketplace. The new 12-gallon OSHA-Compliant dust extractor from their Hercules brand is a great example. If it had been part of our dust extractor competition in…