Shop Blog

When done carefully, mixing wood species in a single project piece can be beautiful. When I first started woodworking I loved mixing different woods together. The more contrast – and the starker [...]

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As a sawyer, I find my lumber stash sometimes gets out of hand. I saw a bunch of material and dry it, then end up with a ton of stock in my lumber rack. It works out great—I always have …

On this week’s episode of the ShopNotes Podcast, Phil, Logan, and John, discusss updates on recent projects, as well as take listener questions and comments. Find all of the ShopNotes [...]

I’ve been a Festool Domino fan since they came out. The ingenious tool combines a biscuit joiner’s plunge action with an oscillating router to cut precise, repeatable mortises for loose tenons. [...]

On this week’s episode of the ShopNotes Podcast, John, Logan, and Phil are back talking about following your own advice, fixing furniture, listener comments, and more… Find all of the [...]

Every woodworker has made at least a few birdhouses, but probably nothing like these. When you think of a birdhouse, you think of a square wooden box with a hole in the front. Birds don’t ask for [...]

Earlier this week I had the opportunity to visit the Festool USA headquarters in Lebanon, Indiana to partake in Festool’s 100th anniversary birthday bash. The red carpet was rolled out for [...]

If you can build it yourself, why would you want to buy it? I’ve always gotten “in a mood” whenever my wife would buy something online – whether wooden, or not – that I could have built cheaper, [...]

The key to good rip cuts is a good rip fence. The Biesemeyer table saw fence is so much a part of the modern shop that the name is almost an adjective: Even if your saw’s fence is designed by …

I’ve been getting into laser engraving and cutting in a big (and small) way. I continue to be impressed by what today’s laser engravers/cutters can do. Chief among them is the huge range of [...]

On this week’s episode of the ShopNotes Podcast, it’s John, Logan, and Phil discussing bandsaw options, surprising tools that make you a better woodworker, and checking in on listener comments [...]