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Yoav Liberman
As a collector and restorer of numerous bench planes, all stemming from the classic Stanley Bailey design, I can confidently say that the two components most prone to breakage or damage over the years are the wooden knob and the handle. While cast-iron planes are notorious for cracking if dropped onto hard surfaces, that same…
Robert W. Lang
Replace your router’s base with one that is oversized and stable. The router can be a great friend in the woodshop, but it’s one of those friends with character traits that aren’t welcome in all situations. Like the fraternity brother you want at your bachelor party but not necessarily at your wedding ceremony, the router…
Collin Knoff
[Updated 7/17 4pm CST] Amazon Prime Day 2024 is here, and we’re rounding up the best deals for woodworkers! Keep checking in throughout the next two days as we update the list with tools and accessories! Don’t forget to check the lightning deals too! Jump to: Top Deals on Power Tools • Top Deals on…
Pop Wood Editors
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 referring to tools. After all, he wrote this now-famous phrase in the spring of 1887, one year after Karl Benz patented his first…
In the first part of the story, I showcased my small bandsaw and discussed the basic procedure of aligning the blade over the tires and checking for drift during a rip cut. Now, in this segment, I will detail how I endeavored to adjust the table to compensate for the excessive drift towards the right…
While our new 1955 Crescent band saw was brand new on the pallet, that doesn’t mean it was in ready-to-go condition. The tires had deteriorated over the years, and we had to deal with the three-stage power requirements before the saw could be fired up and put to work.
Ensuring your band saw’s blade runs square to the table and miter slot is crucial for accurate ripping and cross-cutting. A blade that cuts without any drift makes sawing along the grain, or ripping, a breeze and also makes sure your cross cuts will split the workpiece at the intended angle. In this and the…
Logan has finally found a band saw he considers to be adequately large — a 36-inch 1955 Crescent that was purchased as government surplus and never used. In this video, he walks you through the features and current condition of the saw, which does need some maintenance after 69 years of inactivity.
Logan Wittmer
Tool: Flat Sole Spokeshave Shop Now and Round Sole Spokeshave Shop Now Manufacturer: Melbourne Tool Company MSRP: $89 (Also available as a set for $159) If you know a woodworker that uses spokeshaves regularly… really uses them, then you know that they don’t have one. They have 10. Spoke shaves are like rabbits. You start…
Will Myers
Practice your hand-tool skills and make a pair of strong, collapsible workshop companions. About a year and a half ago my wife took a job in eastern North Carolina. My work is still on the western end of the state, so most weeks I travel back and forth from one end of The Old North…
Tom Caspar
Match the size to the job–that’s the key Hand planes come in a bewildering variety of sizes. Why are there so many? I’ll help explain this mystery by dividing the field into four groups, in order of size: block planes, smoothing planes, jack planes, and leveling planes. I’ll show you what the planes in each…
If you follow woodworking news, you might have noticed a new player in the plane market: the Melbourne Tool Company from Australia. They’ve been promoting their line of planes, spokeshaves, and router planes for a few years now, gaining notable exposure on Instagram, in woodworking magazines, and on YouTube. The reviews I’ve read and the…
In my school’s woodworking program, we have a variety of chisels, ranging from wood-handled to plastic-handled. We even have a chisel without a handle, which is a full-tang hybrid between a cold chisel and a woodworking tool. One particular type of plastic handle we have is a composite of hard, transparent plastic wrapped with soft,…
Tool:Rip Resistant GlovesShop Now Manufacturer: Venom Steel MSRP: $14.99 Just like a good pair of socks, a good set of disposable gloves is a luxury that I will not go without. My problem with cheaper gloves are that they tend to tear at the worst possible moment—the final wipe on a coat of finish, or…
Brad Holden
Tool: Magnetic Straightedge Shop Now Manufacturer: Lee Valley MSRP: $7.50 Don’t have a drafting table? Can’t draw freehand to save your life? Here’s a tool from Lee Valley that lets you easily make isometric shop sketches. The tool has two parts: a standard 12″ ruler with a matte finish and an innovative black straightedge. Seven…
Tool: QUICK-LIFT Construction Jack IRHT83100 Shop Now Manufacturer: Irwin MSRP: $99 It’s on a regular basis that we need a helping hand in the shop. Often time, it’s something simple, like holding a door in place while installing hinges. With this in mind, Irwin recently released their Quick-Lift lifting jack to lend a helping hand…
Tool: Multiscribe Shop Now Manufacturer: Trend MSRP: $70 I like tools that can do more than one thing—they keep the clutter down. When I read that Trend’s Multiscribe performs 15 functions, I had to check it out! Opening the package, I was immediately struck by how solid the tool felt in my hand. It’s clearly made…
Tool: Turbo T-60S Lathe Shop Now Manufacturer: Harvey MSRP: $4999.99 The first time I heard of Harvey International was in 2018, when it was announced they acquired Bridge City Toolworks. Within the year, I started to see an offering of power tools from Harvey that, on the surface, seemed to be priced very reasonably for…
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