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When I call my students “maggots,” I do it in only the kindest, most loving way possible. After all, most of them are at the very beginning of their journey on handwork. If I wanted to be cruel I [...]

Kitchen Work Table A perfect fit for that small space in your kitchen. Edited by Tim Johnson Here’s a compact work table that you could tuck away in a corner or use as a central island for [...]

Every time I write about a new product (such as the new “Sharpen Your Handsaws” DVD from Ron Herman), a day or two later, I remember something about which I forgot to write…and [...]

When I teach a class on sawing by hand, some students seem bewildered by how much work we do with planes and chisels. When I teach a class on planes, there’s a lot of work with saws and chisels [...]

Iron Out Those Dents Here’s a classic tip that everyone should know: It’s not hard to make a dent in wood and fortunately, it’s not hard to get one out, either. All you need is [...]

Traditional housewright Ron Herman has sharpened thousands of handsaws in his career, and now, he shares his expertise with you on a new DVD: “Sharpen Your Handsaws.” Ron starts off [...]

From the August 2011 issue #191 Buy this issue now Portable productivity with a nod to steampunk style. By Mag Ruffman The glorious thing about being self-sufficient is that you can usually [...]

Simple Steam Box Build a box and add a steam kettle: you’re ready to bend wood. By Seth Keller Building a steam box for bending wood only requires exterior-grade plywood, waterproof glue [...]

Magic Coin Bank Kids love secrets—and so do adults! This small bank with its sneaky false drawer is a kick to make. You won’t need any fancy mechanism to make the drawer; just a few [...]

From the August 2011 issue #191 Buy this issue now In April 2011, I blogged about a new dust collector from JET (read it here). I also wrote about the new collector design in the August 2011 [...]

I believe that art contains specific and important information about the nature of the human condition and how we view ourselves and the world.  Furniture is art and I think 18th-century [...]

The choice of building boarded or joined furniture wasn’t typically left to individual English craftsmen. The Trade Guilds to which English woodworkers belonged mandated what they were [...]