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A hole is just a hole, no matter how you dig it. The mortise-and-tenon joint is fundamental in woodworking. Along with the dovetail, this joint has been used for thousands of years. If you judge [...]

Why you’re better off to look this gift horse in the mouth. There is a trap lurking within the pages of our magazine. It is also in most woodworking magazines, and many books. It is called the [...]

With five pieces of wood and a clamp, you can make vertical cuts safely. Most magazine articles about jigs miss the point entirely. Jigs exist to make work easier, safer and more accurate. They [...]

If something is worth doing, it’s worth doing excessively. There are many bookcases in my house, but they’re a motley collection – poor cousins to the rest of the furniture. The really nice [...]

The end grain holds the secret to what stock to use where. The single-most important factor in the appearance of any woodworking project is the selection of the material. This isn’t what species [...]

There’s no need to fear the most versatile machine in the modern shop. There are good reasons that the table saw is at the center of many shops. This machine revolutionized the way we make [...]

This small rack rolls easily to anywhere you need it. There is an old saying in woodworking that you can’t have too many clamps. While this is true, it is entirely possible to have too many [...]

Some simple adaptations turn this 19th-century bench into a modern mudroom necessity. There is an old Shaker hymn called “Simple Gifts” that begins with this line: “Tis the gift to be simple.” [...]

An easy interlocking joint begets great strength and style.

Double-check your tools, your technique, and your thinking. One of the most important skills in woodworking is rarely discussed or considered as a thing that needs to be learned or practiced. The [...]

In the hands of genius, ordinary items become fine art. One of the best-known quotations to arise from the Arts & Crafts movement is from William Morris. A founding father of the movement in [...]

Destroying 10 joints taught us surprising lessons about joint design, wood failure and the tenacity of modern glue. Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in the December 2005 [...]