Create a Soda-Shop Classic In simpler days, soda jerks quickly and efficiently dished perfect servings of ice cream with sturdy wooden-handled scoops. Once you’ve collected the metal parts [...]
I’m happy to announce a new, online woodturning symposium that’s going to be taking place March 19th & 20th. Tickets for Meet the Woodturner Live are available here. Here’s [...]
The price of good turning tools can be pretty steep. Since most of the better lathe tools can be purchased without a handle, put your money where it counts—in the steel, not the handle. After [...]
An Exercise in Mastering the Skew Do you like a challenge? Want to develop your woodturning skills? Can you learn from mistakes? If your answer is “yes”, you’re ready to tackle the rolling cut [...]
Master this most basic turning tool. When I introduce someone to woodturning, I choose the spindle roughing gouge. When I work with kids, it’s the first tool I place in their hands. Why? [...]
Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in American Woodwork #142, June/July 2009. I stumbled onto pen making seven years ago, as I was scouring through my husband Jerry’s [...]
Develop a delicate touch by creating graceful shapes. As an alternative to mass-produced items, Christmas ornaments rank high on the list. They easily become treasured keepsakes and the delicate [...]
Hone Your Skills Making Functional Storage PROJECT #2102 • Skill Level: Advanced • Time: 1 day • Cost: $50 It’s rare that I afford myself the opportunity to spend time and experiment at the [...]
Customize their fit for comfort and performance. Decades ago, woodturning tools came without handles, and turners would simply fashion their own. This makes perfect sense, because a handle that [...]
This jig helps you easily reverse your work for base turning. Properly finished bowls never reveal how the turner mounted them. However, traditional methods for reversing a bowl to turn the base [...]
I like to use purpleheart pen blanks because they’re less expensive than other exotic hardwoods. Recently, I stumbled on a cool trick. I discovered that I could cause the wood to overheat and [...]
Heirloom Awl Metal and wood are the basic ingredients in most woodworking tools. As woodworkers, we’re familiar with working wood, but what about metal? Actually, the level of metalworking [...]
