Author name: Enthusiast

The craft is clogged with so many counter-productive myths and practices that someone could make a career out of a “Mythbusters”-like approach to woodworking. If I could eliminate one myth from the national wood-consciousness, it would be that you shouldn’t wipe off wet glue from a joint and should let it set to a more solid state. Lots of people – including glue technologists and working craftsmen – have studied […]

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Recently, we met up with Aaron Moore from Walke Moore Tools at the Lie-Nielsen Hand Tool Event at Braxton Brewing Co. in Covington, Ky. He have us some insights on the inspiration behind their new router plane, and some of the cool features that you won’t find on any other router plane. Check out the video below! — Jon Russelburg

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As in so many other industries, the companies who supply us with paints and finishes are consolidating at a rapid rate. When I started in this field 40 years ago, there were all sorts of local and regional suppliers. Every store carried its own unique brands. Minwax was a very small player. It was just announced that Sherwin-Williams is buying Valspar. In addition to its own brand, Valspar owns Cabot […]

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Dennis McEvoy and Bart Slutsky of Rogerson’s Hardware in Hudson NY are doing the herculean job of keeping a great old american hardware store alive, and they are doing it well. Swimming against the stream is fraught with difficulty, but the five-story building that has housed Rogerson’s Hardware since 1830 is a testimony to McEvoy and Slutsky’s success. In this building there is an unprecedented inventory of rare locks, hinges and various hardware. There […]

The post A Hardware Store That Will Take You Back in Time appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

As a material object, a piece of furniture reflects the taste of its designer, the skill of its maker and larger cultural influences. For example, Shaker furniture shows the elegance of simplicity and the value of using local woods, while Utility furniture derives from post-World-War II scarcity. You don’t need to be a cultural historian to learn from a piece or style; examine an item with an eye to see […]

The post Five Lessons from Mid-Century Modern Furniture appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

For curved and sculptural work, nothing beats a good rasp. But there are many times that I need to do precise and fine work that most rasps aren’t capable of (at least the rasps I’ve seen or can afford). So I make my own custom sanding sticks using sticky-back sandpaper from the home center plus some dowels and scraps. Today I’m finishing up an English Layout Square for a customer […]

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