Author name: Enthusiast

Building a functioning tool is a fantastic skill-building exercise for anyone who studies woodworking. Whether it is a wooden plane, a marking gauge or a mallet, the process of creating an object that will be used for making other objects adds magic to the learning process. So, when I started to brainstorm project ideas for our 7th grade class, I knew that I wanted them to build a tool. What kind […]

The post Build a Frame Saw Part 1: Design and Stock Preparation appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

In the day of helicopter parents, litigious lawyers and cubicle life how is a person going to experiment with a risk vs. reward model with relative safety?  Woodworking gives us an outlet to analyze, and take the risks that can provide great reward while avoiding the risks don’t. One example is pushing a board through a saw. It doesn’t matter what type of saw you’re using, if you push the board through in an unsafe manner there […]

The post The Bleeding Edge of Risk appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

A tool rack in your chest is a nice way to keep your chisels, screwdrivers and other tools close at hand and protected from damage. After experimenting with lots of different racks, here’s how I make racks for myself and customers. I start with a length of pine that’s about 1” x 1-1/4” x the interior dimension of the chest. To lay out the holes for a set of five […]

The post Details for a Rack in a Tool Chest appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

There is a phrase in Spanish called “media naranja,” which literally translates to “half orange.” I don’t speak Spanish, so being called this for the first time meant nothing to me. Then I found out what it really meant. It’s a colloquialism for “other half.” So instead of being referred to as someone’s “other half,” some people say “half orange.” I bring this up for one reason. Foreign languages can […]

The post A Community Woodworking Glossary appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

In the next issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine I review the Chestnut Tools Universal Sharpener from Lee Valley Tools. I learned about this remarkable and inexpensive little tool from furniture maker Freddy Roman. I was skeptical about it until I got my hands on it. This thing is … well you’ll have to wait for the full review in the magazine. One of the best things it does in my […]

The post File a Scraper with the ‘Universal Sharpener’ appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

OK – I’m not really looking for someone who can draw a turtle; I need an illustrator who can take over our Tricks and Letters drawings, to develop digitally deliverable images (four to six illustrations per issue, seven issues per year) working from photos and text. And obviously, a solid understanding of woodworking is key. Our long-time and much-beloved illustrator, Mary Jane (MJ) Favorite, has an exciting venture on the […]

The post Can You Draw Skippy the Turtle? appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.