Archives

Take a walk on the wild side of finishing. I’ve got six good reasons to skip the stain and polyurethane on your next small project: bleached, blended, charred, marbled, salt and pepper, and iron [...]

Dress Up Your Custom Furniture With Custom Knobs Why would you ever make your own when you can buy them for less than a buck? I can think of many reasons. One is wood choice: many knobs are only [...]

Protect your “cheaters” in style. Sooner or later everyone’s eyes need a little help—especially for reading or close work. One popular solution is to buy a pair of “cheaters,” those stylish [...]

An essential part of your turning tool arsenal. There’s a theory in woodturning—popularized by some British turners—that wood “prefers” to be cut rather than scraped. While I agree with this [...]

Learn how to turn a classic wooden baseball bat. This timeless project is a great opportunity to practice your turning skills.

Create a Soda-Shop Classic  In simpler days, soda jerks quickly and efficiently dished perfect servings of ice cream with sturdy wooden-handled scoops. Once you’ve collected the metal parts [...]

An Exercise in Mastering the Skew Do you like a challenge? Want to develop your woodturning skills? Can you learn from mistakes? If your answer is “yes”, you’re ready to tackle the rolling cut [...]

Master this most basic turning tool. When I introduce someone to woodturning, I choose the spindle roughing gouge. When I work with kids, it’s the first tool I place in their hands. Why? [...]

Develop a delicate touch by creating graceful shapes. As an alternative to mass-produced items, Christmas ornaments rank high on the list. They easily become treasured keepsakes and the delicate [...]

Customize their fit for comfort and performance. Decades ago, woodturning tools came without handles, and turners would simply fashion their own. This makes perfect sense, because a handle that [...]

Heirloom Awl Metal and wood are the basic ingredients in most woodworking tools. As woodworkers, we’re familiar with working wood, but what about metal? Actually, the level of metalworking [...]

Turning the body is half the fun. When I picked up Silvio Calabi’s book Antique Fishing Tackle, my interests in fishing, antiques, and wood turning met head on: Now I’m hooked on [...]