Author name: Enthusiast

Litmus tests are a necessary evil in life. In the sciences they are a critical tool; in a social context they’re a justification for exclusio, and a rational for prejudice. Having said that… Woodworking is not a science and during my time as a woodworker I’ve developed a litmus test. The longer I woodwork, the harder it is to find others who have information in their brains that I can […]

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At around $1 an eraser shield is one of the best buys in your drafting toolkit. This little bit of punched stainless steel if often in my hand when I am drawing a set of plans and is invaluable for cleaning up corners and errant lines. Most folks can intuitively figure out how to use this tool – you place it on your drawing and use a high quality eraser […]

The post Furniture Design Tools: The Versatile Eraser Shield appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

At Christmas time I was lucky enough to get a few tool vouchers that enabled me to purchase some Japanese-style saws. I had some trials runs, but had not really put them to work on a project yet. Lucky for me, I got some shop time this weekend on the proviso I make something for the house, not my tool chest! That was fine by me, although I don’t like […]

The post Razor Sharp appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

Some of my favorite tools come from Blue Spruce Toolworks outside Portland, Ore. I own three of the different mallets Dave Jeske makes, plus several of his fantastic chisels and, of course, one of his marking knives. I was one of Jeske’s early customers when he started making marking knives about 13 years ago and sold them on the Internet. At the time, toolmaking was a side gig that Jeske […]

The post A Tour of the Blue Spruce Factory appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

If you are like me – compound miter joints always make me a little nervous – your blood pressure rises a little when you have to draw or cut a compound miter joint. So I am always thankful for SketchUp, where I can build a prototype and make angle measurements to assist in setting up my table saw or compound miter saw. Of course, you still need to know what […]

The post SketchUp for Woodworkers: Creating Compound Miter Joints appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

Congratulations to “church_clown” (a.k.a. Don Fugitt). He’s the winner of a print copy of “Build It with Dad: Woodworking Fun for the Whole Family.” The book features 22 kid-friendly woodworking projects – a great way to teach kids about using tools and instill an early love of woodworking (see the Table of Contents below for a list of projects). It’s available now to order in both paperback and as a PDF […]

The post And the winner of the Build It with Dad giveaway is… appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.