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All woodwork involves a little metalwork. Whether you are installing locks that need filing or working with a handplane that needs fettling, you need a good set of needle files. I’ve had my [...]

If you make wooden chairs (I make a lot) you might be missing an important accessory: a sheepskin. During a recent trip to Wales to study the country’s chairs I noticed a sheepskin on one of the [...]

I use a boot tray to hold my sharpening gear. That way I can keep my stones in the tray underneath my bench and then place the tray on the benchtop for sharpening. The low walls of the boot tray [...]

One tool that has been in my shop for decades is a little box of single-edge razors that I use as scrapers and – occasionally – as a save-your-butt tool when finishes go bad. Scrapers don’t have [...]

Welcome to the latest edition of the Anarchist’s Gift Guide, a yearly thing I do that recommends mostly small, inexpensive and useful shop items. These blog entries are great to email to family [...]

If you post content on the internet or consume a lot of it, you will encounter wankers of the first order. You already know this. But how should you respond to their insults? You shouldn’t. I [...]

There are a lot of companies spending a lot of money to get you to buy their stuff. I suspect you are probably thinking, “Duh, that’s called advertising.” But this blog entry isn’t about [...]

There are a lot of companies spending a lot of money to get you to buy their stuff. I suspect you are probably thinking, “Duh, that’s called advertising.” But this blog entry isn’t about [...]

On my way to Europe this month, I was summoned on the intercom to the airline’s desk at the gate. The attendant asked me to switch seats so a husband and wife could sit together. I agreed (of [...]

You can turn any digital photo of a piece of furniture into a full-size drawing with the help of your television set, a piece of Plexiglas and some tracing paper. Here’s how. When I travel, I [...]

One of the personal agonies of writing this blog was dealing with tool reviews. I love my tools, and I adore the people who have made them for me. But I always struggled with the fact that tool [...]

I’m leaving the world of woodworking magazines after 22 years as an editor, writer and builder. But I don’t think I’m a rat fleeing a sinking ship. I still think printed magazines have a place in [...]