Author name: Enthusiast

The weather is lukewarm and rainy at the shop today so that can only mean one thing. It’s the holiday season! OK, you can’t really predict what time of year it is by measuring the flighty weather of Cincinnati. The holiday season brings all of those old traditions that you love: eating great meals, gathering together to take awkward family photos immediately after eating great meals, discussing sudden hair loss with […]

The post December to Remember Holiday Sweepstakes appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

Jameel “Jamal-Alabama” Abraham of Benchcrafted introduced me to these bits, and I still need to repay the favor with beer and/or bratwurst. These bits are the cat’s meow, knees and pyjamas. Made in Japan, the WoodOwls cut through tough, wet, thick wood like it almost isn’t there. When you drill a lot of holes through 6”-thick wet French oak, these bits are a lifesaver. But even if you don’t build […]

The post Anarchist’s 2016 Gift Guide, Day 6: WoodOwl Auger Bits appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

Christopher Schwarz has commenced his annual “Anarchist’s Gift Guide” on his PWM blog, and though he and I have many of the same tools, products, likes and dislikes (he is, after all, my mentor), there are some things by which I swear that he’s unlikely to mention. So over the next two weeks(ish), I’ll offer here 12 things I can’t live without, – items that would make great gifts for […]

The post The Anarchist’s Editor’s Gift Guide, Item 1: Elipse P100 Dust Mask appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

In my last post, I covered some of the big issues in learning to use CNCs. Woodworkers first starting to use CNCs in particular benefit from in-person learning because of all the idiosyncrasies that are present when you’re designing and machining wood with a digital tool. There are a number of good solutions for learning more about these tools. Some are available in your local community. Here are some suggestions on […]

The post Where to Learn About Digital Woodworking appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

I have burned through a lot of burnishers, from the ones I’ve made myself out of carbide rod to very expensive variants. My favorite is the French-made Arno burnisher. Everything about the tool is right. The handle is lightweight aluminum, perfectly shaped and has a guard so my fingers won’t slip off the handle and onto the scraper. The tool has two carbide rods for burnishing scrapers. One has a […]

The post Anarchist’s 2016 Gift Guide, Day 5: Arno Burnisher appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

The largest, and I think only, hide-glue factory left in the United States is Milligan & Higgins, located in Johnstown, New York, west of Albany, off Interstate 90. You can buy hide glue directly from the company in 50-pound or larger quantities. For smaller quantities, resellers include Woodworker’s Supply, Tools for Working Wood, Merit Industries/Wood Finish Supply and a number of suppliers to the musical-instrument industry. My experience with hide glue […]

The post Hide Glue (2): How it’s Made appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.