Tool: 4″ x 6″ Square Buy Now Manufacturer: Blue Spruce Toolworks MSRP: $135 One thing I always worry about with fixed-blade metal try squares (especially beautiful and expensive ones) is the reality that rough handling or an accidental drop from the workbench can knock them out of alignment and render them useless. The 4″ x…

Winter is the perfect time for fireplaces and firewood, and the best firewood is the one you generate yourself. The late Moravian psychoanalyst, Dr. Schtriker Von Axen, used to teach his meek and feeble patients the art of using a maul forcefully and decisively as a vehicle for self-improvement. He used to say: “If you…

Leigh — known for accurate and clever joinery jigs — has a new box-joint jig for routers (for handheld use or on router tables). It’s designed to create 1⁄2″- and 3⁄4″-wide box joints and looks similar to other jigs, so I was ready to be under whelmed until I set it up and started checking out the features.

Unlock your saw’s full potential. by Seth Keller   The tablesaw’s power and precision put it at the center of everyone’s shop. Despite this honored position, a tablesaw is mostly used for mundane ripping tasks. To make better use of my tablesaw, I use these four simple jigs in my shop. They take advantage of…

First a disclaimer: This is a recollection of impressions following the installation and test running of our new 6” Grizzly spiral Cutterhead jointer, that we bought at full price this fall.  As many of you know, I teach woodworking at the Rudolf Steiner School in Manhattan. Our program is mainly geared towards hand tool work….

A Desktop size CNC at an Entry Level Price One of the questions I’m most often asked is “would you do a review of an affordable CNC?”  Up to now, there’ve been few choices for woodworkers on tight budgets with small home shops. Here’s the thing: as woodworkers, we do pretty heavy duty work and…

Track saws are a favorite among on-site installers and carpenters, for breaking down sheet goods, trimming floors and other operations common on the job. Their portability and accuracy make them a godsend for contractors. Many woodworkers have a circular saw in their shop and use it for crosscutting, kerfing out large joinery or cuts where the tool…

Router table cabinets can be a waste of space. This compact, vise-mounted unit stores easily and is just the right size. by David Thiel April 2005 Popular Woodworking Magazine I think it might have been seeing a $1,000 router table setup at a recent woodworking show (it’s very cool, but $1,000?). Or maybe it was…

A few weeks ago one of our remarkable 8th grade students approached me during class and with a sad face as he presented two pieces of steel that just a few moments earlier used to be a vintage socket chisel. He remorsefully said that the chisel broke while he was shaping a round tenon at…

A few weeks ago Veritas tools (Lee Valley) released their most recent plane. The squirrel-looking plane (there are actually two versions of it: a limited edition stainless steel, and a continuous production cast iron) is by far one of the smallest planes around.

A while ago I blogged about a Breast Drill that I bought on eBay and restored. I also mentioned that it is hard to find a good quality drills with concealed gears on the market today. After I wrote the blog I found a supplier of drills who held (and still does) a few tools…

It sure is cute – but is it useful? by Clarence Blanchard from the December 2006 issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine Few tools spark the affection of so many as the Stanley No. 1 size bench plane. Regardless of one’s interest, the small plane has a way of catching everyone’s eye. Set one on a…

This article, by John Wilson (of The Home Shop, which offers Shaker boxes and supplies for making them) first appeared in the August 2005 issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine. While we’re still calling it the “$5 Router Plane,” it’s possible it will now cost a bit more to make – but likely still less than $10…

When I was learning to sharpen and set saws in the 1990s, I was desperate for information. All I had was one modern book, a somewhat helpful video and the attempts I had made on my bargain basement saws. It was a slog. While today there is a lot more information available on saws and…

  Tool: 4″ x 6″ Square Buy Now Manufacturer: Blue Spruce Toolworks MSRP: $135 One thing I always worry about with fixed-blade metal try squares (especially beautiful and expensive ones) is the reality that rough handling or an accidental drop from the workbench can knock them out of alignment and render them useless. The 4″ x…

Tool: MakerX Ultimate Combo Kit Buy Now Manufacturer: Worx MSRP: $229.99 Battery technology comes to a few of the craftier tools in a woodworker’s kit. Worx has paired a 20-volt battery/power supply with a variety of smaller handheld tools. Yes, there’s still a cable attached to these tools when you use them, but you’re not tethered…

Tool: PRO-Tek Chuck Buy Now Manufacturer: Nova MSRP: $140-$220 Nova’s new PRO-TEK line of chucks build on the company’s long history with the lathe. This new series of chucks feature rust-resistant nickel plating, stronger and more versatile 50mm/2″ PRO-TEK jaws with an improved dovetail and serrated profile, upgraded six-point star fasteners, and a captured pinion and…

Tool: Planing Stop Buy Now Manufacturer: Benchcrafted MSRP: $29 Most woodworkers have the skill to engineer a makeshift planing stop from a block of wood and a bit of old saw blade, but the precision engineering and price point of the new toothed planing stop from Benchcrafted beg the question: Why would you want to? The…

Tool: Axe Carbide Lathe Tools Buy Now Manufacturer: Carter MSRP: $119.95 If you feel like wasting an entire afternoon, just type “carbide vs. high speed steel turning tools” into your favorite internet search engine. If you would rather spend that time making something beautiful and functional on a lathe, then picking up a set of “The…

Tool: Compass Guides Buy Now Manufacturer: Walke Moore MSRP: $33-$90 Designed as solid anchor points for placing compasses and dividers on the edges and corners of boards to mark curves, two of these Compass Guides from Walke Moore Tools allow you to make perfect circles or arcs anywhere on projects without fumbling to align a compass…