Arts & Mysteries

Perfection doesn’t exist. But you can come close. One of the first things any beginning woodworker must do is set up a workshop. Like so many other things a novice woodworker must do, the [...]

To understand, you must do. Working by hand is a viable way for hobbyists to create beautiful furniture, yet it is often seen as slow, odd and antiquated. I choose to work by hand because I enjoy [...]

In some contemporary households, 17th-century style storage prevails. I once sold a chair to a woman who later told me how much she loved it. “I never let anyone sit in it!” she exclaimed, [...]

An experiment uncovers cutting edges of the past. “How did they sharpen their tools back then?” I’ve asked this question myself and I have been asked the question, and I’ve never felt comfortable [...]

With sweat equity and a few simple tools, you can split strong, stable stock. Though sawn lumber was available to 17th- and 18th-century European woodworkers in Colonial America, many American [...]

This hardwood is best harvested for its bark and wood soon after cutting. Green woodworking has a different set of criteria when it comes to stockpiling material. Unlike those who work with [...]

Trade dangers revealed in 17th-century journals. I thought of Nehemiah Wallington (1598-1658) when I set up my lathe in my nearly finished workshop. A few times a year he pops up in my mind. He [...]

Puzzling lubrication. Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in the August 2010 issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine I ran out of mutton tallow this morning! I searched my tool [...]

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 [...]

Both fast- and slow-growing wood present good opportunities. Wood selection is an important part of any woodworking project. I sometimes feel like I take it to an extreme, like I’m some kind of [...]

Make your own copy of this precision vintage tool. Even after two years of working alone, I can still hear the visitors to my museum shop where I worked for 20 years: “My grandpa was a [...]

Forget the stockpile of wood; what about the stock of partial projects? When building furniture, some woodworkers keep a stockpile of lumber on hand and draw from their stacks as they begin a new [...]