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I crossed the border from Missouri to Arkansas this afternoon, and I knew immediately I was home. For starters, the land is achingly beautiful. I miss the Ozarks I grew up with, which are [...]

I drove to Indianapolis last weekend for dinner. Chris was demonstrating there at a Lie-Nielsen show, a friend who lives in California cashed in some frequent flier miles and flew in, and [...]

When I bought my first smoothing plane at a flea market in Burlington, Ky., I could fit everything I knew about handplanes into one of the Elvis Presley shot glasses I stumbled upon that weekend. [...]

In a move that will please traditionalists and people who pare, Lie-Nielsen Toolworks has started offering some plane irons and chisels made using oil-hardened (O1) steel , in addition to the [...]

I’ve always been an advocate for low workbenches, especially for planing operations. My workbench is at 34″ (and while standing on my horse stall mat it’s 33″). And [...]

This week I’m building the sitting bench for the White Water Shaker community; the bench will be featured in the Winter 2009 issue of Woodworking Magazine. The version I’m building is [...]

If you liked the video of me walking up a wall, you might enjoy this alternative treatment sent in by a reader who we like to call “Cheeseburger, No Meat.” If you are offended by [...]

You know, at our Woodworking in America event last week I didn’t get to talk to a lot of the toolmakers. In fact, I didn’t even get to see some of them. That is what a madhouse it [...]

In my book, there is one rule for buying vintage tools: Buy them from someone who will take them them back if the tool stinks. That rule keeps me on my toes on eBay, at auctions, flea markets and [...]

One of the weaknesses of the so-called transitional handplanes is the way the tote attaches to the metal frame of the tool. The tote comes loose when you touch it, look at it or even think about [...]

This year I’ve made friends with my chisel plane. In fact, I don’t think I could have installed the Benchcrafted wagon vise as a retrofit without it. Today I got another lesson in [...]

For me, there is something that is far more interesting than the purported uses of “the nib” of a handsaw. And that is: The origin of the term “jack plane.” In my book [...]