Archives

Little things, such as allowing a child to spend time in your shop, can shape their future. I first learned about exploding outhouses when I was about six or seven. Maybe you’ve seen them: little [...]

Morgan library pieces get extended shelf life. The call came as monumental calls do – in the middle of hanging upper cabinets. “My name is D—, and I need you to build me two walk-in closets using [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

So you can’t afford (insert dream tool here). Boo hoo. Hit the flea markets then start making sawdust. Yeah, you heard me. Oh sure, I know exactly how it is. The new catalogs come piling into [...]