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Once you understand ‘resultant’ angles, sawbenches (and chairs) are easy. Most first-time chairmakers are intimidated by the compound joinery used to fasten all the legs, stretchers, spindles and [...]

Tool: Precision Router Table System Manufacturer: Kreg MSRP: $549.00 Some router tables have gotten so complex and expensive that they actually rival a decent shaper. I’ve always preferred simple [...]

This early form – an aumbry – spawned many different types of furniture. It is easy to forget that many of our favorite pieces of furniture are recent innovations. Forms such as coffee tables, [...]

Tool: Tiger Flakes Manufacturer: Brooklyn Tool & Craft MSRP: $28+ Because shellac is my favorite finish, I have tried nearly every brand of flakes on the market. By far, my favorite brand is [...]

Tool: Rectangular Mallet Manufacturer: Blue Spruce Toolworks MSRP: $85 For some woodworkers, building your own mallet is a rite of passage. After using dozens of student-made mallets, however, I [...]

Though not as lightweight as an eReader, this portable library is far more stylish. Bookcases that fold up like a clamshell were common among British travelers of the 19th century. Soldiers, [...]

Tool: Classic Leg Vise Manufacturer: BenchCrafted MSRP: $210 Until recently, workbench hardware on the market was so pitiful that you were better off looking for vintage vises and screws for your [...]

When I was a kid, the first saw I bought was a Craftsman coping saw with a chrome frame and red-stained handle. For years I did everything with that saw – crosscuts, rips, curves and even joints. [...]

Editor’s note: This article was originally published in the December 2010 issue of Popular Woodworking. Vintage moulding planes are tricky beasts. Typically the wood is warped, the irons [...]

Use two planks, two days and two piles of nails to make this age-old form Six-board chests have been an enduring form of furniture in Western cultures for hundreds of years. And while they differ [...]

* Read a tutorial on leveling Skansen Bench feet. * Visit Skansen’s web site. I’ve always liked things that are Swedish, impossibly overbuilt and yet somehow graceful. For example: my beloved [...]

One of the first tools I bought was a 9″ steel try square with a brass and rosewood stock. Like a supermodel, it’s nice to look at, but not so fun to deal with day-to-day. Its blade is too [...]