Author name: Enthusiast

I recently had someone tell me that they thought I was a particular and precise individual. This caught me off guard because that‘s not the way I think of myself. My standard for “precise” woodworking was set in my days studying luthiery. The position of fret slots, the multiple angles to adjust on the compound dovetail neck joint, troubleshooting action problems… aye, aye, aye. The list goes on. Although it […]

The post Good Enough appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

I am new to the Popular Woodworking team and have a background in professional video production. Woodworking is a skill that I’ve always had an interest in and I am eager to get more practice. My first trip with PW was to Bloomington, Ind., to film “How to Build a Turn-of-the-Century Baker’s Table” with Nancy Hiller, a professional woodworker, and other members of our video team. Being able to get […]

The post First On-Location Shoot, with Nancy Hiller appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

I have a news flash for you…woodworking ain’t that complicated. It’s a learned craft at which anyone can become accomplished. How many of us have heard the sayings: “Draw a line, Saw the line,” “Stay to the waste side,” “Take the line, leave the line, split the line,” “measure twice, cut (on the line) once?” When I hear these woodworking instruction cliches, I flash back to my kindergarten teacher encouraging […]

The post You Don’t Need a Doctorate to Color in the Lines appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

Last week I talked about the first marking knives I owned and I showed one of the most practical ways to use them: making a knife wall to ensure accurate across the grain hand sawing. In this entry I will present a few of my other knives and give some recommendations to readers who want to use a utility knife etc., as a marking knife. My first knives were a […]

The post An Intro to Marking Knives: Part Two appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

…that I would never put storage cabinets below my workbench. The open architecture of early benches is your friend. — Christopher Schwarz

The post Reason No. 32… appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

I’ve been putting off the inevitable chore of flattening my workbench – I have a low spot that is interfering with my ability to handplane thin panels. But this time, I’m going to allow a high spot to remain high because it has proven to be useful. Like many French workbenches with the traditional joinery, my bench’s tenons protrude a little as the wet top is shrinking around the joints. […]

The post A Benefit of an Out-of-flat Workbench appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.