Author name: Enthusiast

I’ll cut right to the chase: I’m giving away a free copy of the four-volume set of “The Practical Woodworker” (a must-have foundation set of books for the woodworker interested in early 20th-century woodworking techniques, edited by Bernard Jones. And I mean free – no shipping costs, no free trials, no nothing – just an awesome collection of books. Why? We always try to work ahead, and I am seeking […]

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Full disclosure: The following gift ideas are 100-percent unsponsored. I bought all these tools myself and would buy them all again – that’s why they are on this list. First on my list for 2014 is a tool you don’t see much in woodshops, but you should. It’s called a “lead holder” by artists and architects and it basically what a normal mechanical pencil would look like if you were […]

The post The 2014 Anarchist’s Gift Guide: Day 1 appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

When I built my bench I wanted a cost effective vise that I could build myself. I had a choice between the popular leg vise or the less-liked face vise. One thing I was sure about was that I did not want a leg vise with a pin. I know there are some clever solutions to avoid the pin but they were not in the picture for me at the […]

The post The Least Popular Vise appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

Roorkee chairs are great fun to show customers – until they ask me to take it apart and put it back together for them. For the first year or so, I was pretty slow at putting them together because there are eight buckles to tighten up all while keeping the loose parts from falling down like a Jenga game. After thinking about it and working with the chairs for three […]

The post A Faster Way to Assemble a Roorkee appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

On November 3, 2014 Trimble Navigation LTD released SketchUp Make 2015 and SketchUp Pro 2015. This was an exciting announcement for all SketchUp users, as there was something new for everyone; and rest assured the woodworker was not forgotten. The improvements in SketchUp 2015 are mostly performance related; so let me start with the most important changes. Polygon Modifier Key Added A modifier key (Ctrl in Microsoft Windows or Option […]

The post An Intro to New Features of SketchUp 2015 for Woodworkers appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

While I already have a couple of (virtual) handshake agreements with presenters for WIA 2015 (and a long list of potential presenters), next week (after the February 2015 issue is to the printer), I’ll be diving deep into the programming for next year’s conference (which is Sept. 25-27 in Kansas City, Mo.). And you can help. • What one presenter would you most like to see? • What one topic […]

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