Author name: Enthusiast

All of our vises at school have cast iron jaws that can damage work and tools. So, I am in the process of lining them with wood inserts to save our rasps and gouges from damage. This also allows our students to have a better grip on the curved and rounded objects that we clamp, mostly mallets and spoon blanks. In order to provide an even better clamping (vising) agent, […]

The post Pressed Paper Pulp to Protect Your Work and Tools appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

At the beginning of a hand tool class at the Marc Adams School of Woodworking, one of the students stopped me as I was passing by his bench. “I have a question for you,” he said. “What is this plane for?” He held up a chisel plane. “I thought it looked really useful,” he said, “maybe for planing tapers on legs.” I knew I was about to break his heart. […]

The post Hand Tools: What is Most Common is Most Precious appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

I’m nearly done with my workbench project, I promise! I’ll break down the build soon with plenty of videos and explanations as to the whys and wherefores. I wanted to get the project done before I start sharing it because I hope it will enhance things a bit, seeing the finished article at the start that is. It’ll also give me some time to generate content for the next project with […]

The post String Theory appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

For me, nothing says summer like a porch swing. As a kid I would spend hours reading on my parents front porch swing, with my over-sized Labrador sitting next to me.  I would hold the swing still so he could jump into it and then I would sit next to him.  He was definitely spoiled, and it was probably too much weight for the swing, but it never let us […]

The post Outdoor Projects appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

We’ve just launched the full website for Woodworking in America 2016, September 16-18 in Northern Kentucky/Cincinnati, and registration is now open (early bird rates through June 10). This year, we’re delighted to welcome back some familiar faces (Roy Underhill, Mary May, Alf Sharp, Christopher Schwarz, Marc Adams, Wilbur Pan, Freddy Roman, James Hamilton, George Walker, ), as well as some woodworkers and tool makers (and one SketchUp guru) who will […]

The post Woodworking in America 2016: Registration Now Open appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

It seems like everything is becoming smart these days: smart phones, smart watches, smart cars, smart drugs. There are even smart coatings (paints and finishes). I’ve blogged about one already, a coating that uses nanotechnology to create an air barrier that causes liquids such as pee to bounce off walls and cover the perpetrator’s shoes. There are also coatings that are corrosion resistant, that change colors when hit with different […]

The post Smart Coatings appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.