Author name: Enthusiast

A woodworker friend called wanting to know where he could buy some methylated spirits. He had just read in a book that it was the best solvent to use with shellac. So I asked him if the book he was referring to was from England, to which he answered that it was. This term has caused much confusion in the U.S. It’s often misinterpreted here as methanol (methyl alcohol) because […]

The post Methylated Spirits: Is it the Best Solvent for Shellac? appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

I recently received a press release that Powermatic brought a new version of their popular 3520 lathe to market.  The new version, “C”, is the 4th generation of the 3520 lathe family. The new features really grabbed my eye, so I gave the product manager for this new lathe, Michael D’Onofri, a call to hear first hand about them. The movable control box allows the user to place the most important controls […]

The post New Features on the Powermatic 3520C Lathe – Movable Digital Control, Integrated Riser Feet and More Mass appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

  Rooms are virtually never square, level, or plumb. Ceilings tend to sag toward the middle of their rooms; floors usually do the same. Plaster walls are rarely flat; drywall builds up at interior and exterior corners. You get the picture. Designing built-ins is an art that takes contextual imperfections into account and makes dealing with them as easy as possible. A common way of handling these points of intersection […]

The post Scribing, Part Two: Making Cabinets Fit Seamlessly into Irregular Surroundings appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

If you design furniture or work a lot with curved parts, it’s difficult to function without a “drawing bow.” This simple jig – a stick and a string – allows you to lay out precise and large curves with only two hands. Before I could afford a commercial one (Lee Valley Tools makes an excellent one that I recommended in my 2017 Anarchist’s Gift Guide), I made my own. While […]

The post Make Your Own ‘Drawing Bow’ appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

Congrats to Ramsey L. from Grand Rapids! They won the set of Kreg in-line clamps and bench clamps from our last giveaway! 🎥 Modern Builds – https://youtu.be/gM3oCXcyxoA 🎥 wortheffort – https://youtu.be/VGQOKcZe9TM 🎥 RIDGID Tools – https://youtu.be/mKFj2SD1WLU 🎥 Wood and Shop – https://youtu.be/CMN8tJP0HGQ 🎥 Matthew Cremona – https://youtu.be/9IPkqEPuKpw 🎥 April Wilkerson – https://youtu.be/EGNuhyfyF6k Enter this week’s giveaway, two BORA roller stands! Popwood Playback – Bora Rolling Stand! ➕ More viewer submitted […]

The post PopWood Playback #6 | Top Woodworking Videos of the Week appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

When you don’t need an absolutely accurate line drawn on a piece (say for a shooting/nailing line or layout line) all you need is a wooden folding ruler, a pencil and your two hands. Lay the rule on your piece the proper distance in, then hold the rule in your left hand with your index finger against the edge of the piece. With your pencil against the tip of the […]

The post Tricks of the Trade: Testing the Finger-Guided Ruler appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.