You can tune up your band saw to resaw veneer without expensive fences or blades. The subject most often written about in woodworking magazines is probably cutting dovetails. In second place – [...]
I wanted to rout some shelf dados, but I didn’t have the correct-size bit for the job. Fortunately, my dad stopped by and, as usual, had the answer to my problem. We cobbled up a couple L-shaped [...]
No joints. Just jigsaw and go. After Hobbit Frodo Baggins destroys the One Ring in Peter Jackson’s epic film “The Return of the King,” there’s an emotional reunion scene when Frodo wakes up in [...]
After 50 years of woodworking, I’ve got a confession to make. I enjoy fixing up an old machine or rearranging my shop more than woodworking itself. A few years ago a friend gave me an old [...]
As you recall, a few months ago, I wrote about a beautiful chair made of solid mahogany that we bought and found out that it was sadly damaged during shipping. The vendor sent us a replacement, [...]
We improve a contemporary design to make it sturdier, a bit curvier and easier to build. Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in the August 2005 issue of Popular Woodworking [...]
To sand a lot of molding, glue 80-grit sandpaper to several inches of the molding. Rub a block of Styrofoam on the sandpaper until the block conforms to the molding’s contour. Glue [...]
Beating it requires knowing the right way to nail a board. When I was about 8 years old, I decided that I needed to construct a sturdy fort to protect myself from the army of aliens (who cleverly [...]
There are many things we do wrong but we don’t know they’re wrong. In woodworking there are two kinds of mistakes: There’s the garden-variety gaffe where we simply cut a board too short or botch [...]
Phil, Logan, and John are back on the ShopNotes Podcast talking about “What Grinds Your Chisels” and other updates on the latest issue of PopWood Magazine and so much more! Find all [...]
How to choose, condition, and clean a finishing brush. It’s really tempting to buy an inexpensive brush for finishing. Say you spend $4 on a standard paint brush and throw it away rather than [...]
Measured drawings for some, story sticks for me (and others). I once had a job making a couple of wainscot chairs and chests for the National Park Service. After barely surviving the paperwork it [...]