Author name: Enthusiast

I like McDonald’s. It’s not haute cuisine, but I like it. One of the things that makes me like McDonald’s is that whether I order my Sausage McMuffin with Egg and an extra hash brown in Ohio, Texas, Florida or anywhere else, I know how it’ll taste (delicious). The brilliance of Ray Kroc, the man who made McDonald’s what it is, was his insistence on consistency. Billions of burgers later, the golden […]

The post Create Better Work with 28 Jigs & Fixtures appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

At long last, there is a fantastic and reasonably priced tri-bolt available so you can make your own campaign stool. The hardware is beautifully machined from solid brass and stainless steel, made in Canada and is only $34.50 (U.S.). You can order it directly from Lee Valley here. I’ve made at least 20 of these folding stools using a variety of bolts and the Lee Valley version is by far […]

The post New Campaign Stool Hardware from Lee Valley appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

For a new woodworker, finding an effective way to work these days can be tough. It would be easy to choose a totally unplugged path. And what a wonderful path that is. The Eaton County Woodworker , Tom Fidgen and Peter Follansbee are examples of how exciting and dynamic that experience could be. Even though I get a great deal of satisfaction from doing a great deal of my work by hand, […]

The post Balance appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

Basic handplane theory states that long planes are for straightening wood and short planes are for smoothing it. The planes in the middle can do either job or be set up for roughing out the work. But all planes do some straightening of the work, and most planes do some smoothing, too. So this simple rule of thumb is actually a bit more complex in practice. After all, some very […]

The post Handplanes: The Long and Short of Flat appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

I’m a big fan of Mike Rowe, the “Dirty Jobs” guy. I say that having only seen a few episodes of that shows recently. I came to know him from his Ted Talks, online interviews, and his address to congress. I think the message he preaches about hard work, safety, life in general make sense. His foundation supporting skilled trades is making a concerted effort to pick up the slack […]

The post Letting down the next generation of woodworkers. appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

I wouldn’t typically give away free on our site an article that hasn’t yet been seen by magazine subscribers. But this is not a typical situation, and time is of the essence. Don Williams, whose latest book, “Virtuouso: The Tool Cabinet and Workbench of Henry O. Studley” (with photographs by Narayan Nayar) will shipping in just few weeks from Lost Art Press. But the book will be available for the […]

The post Studley: The World’s Best-known Tool Cabinet appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.