End Grain

Turning woodworking into a pastime helped me love it again. There are two ways I hear the term “hobbyist” thrown around. The first is by “professional” woodworkers and, more times than not, it is [...]

Proportion and structure outweigh ornament and showy materials. Have you ever found such a stunning piece of wood that you were almost afraid to cut into it? You know the boards I’m talking [...]

Mr. Sheffield’s two-year writing slope. About a decade ago, I walked into my English professor’s office for advising and couldn’t take my eyes off of his homemade writing slope. He was talking [...]

Ease and speed versus the idealization of the past – sometimes. When Lord Acton wrote that “absolute power corrupts absolutely,” he was referring to politics, but he could as easily have been [...]

Situated in a picturesque Ozark town, the Eureka Springs School of the Arts has something for everybody. About an hour south of Branson, Missouri is the small town of Eureka Springs, Arkansas. [...]

This hand surgeon likes meeting fellow woodworkers – but not at work. I long ago lost track of how many people, upon learning of my interest in woodworking, have puzzled aloud over my table saw. [...]

A lifelong dream of woodworking comes to fruition. I stared up at the silent giant, standing twice as tall as me – polished wood, crystal-clear glass, full of brass gears and weights that seemed [...]

A stay-the-course attitude turns phobia into appreciation. I don’t know many woodworkers who enjoy finishing. We will gladly spend an eternity devising a jig to help with an operation that we’ll [...]

Your early projects don’t have to end up as firewood. When people see the Philadelphia-style secretary I built, they inevitably want to know how long I have been making furniture and how many [...]

You, too, can determine moisture content simply by feeling a board. Murphy had never bought lumber from us before. He watched his boards carefully as they were loaded onto his truck. “They look [...]

I purchased this classic tool chest at a yard sale in Maine, while on vacation. The case had only two drawers remaining, and no handle. The seller said he had every intention of restoring it, but [...]

No doubt, you’ll fit right in. A woodworking club offers countless rewards to the aspiring craftsman. It provides a platform for displaying your work. It offers the chance to learn new [...]