Author name: Enthusiast

The first photographist was an unknown itinerant American who shot a number of daguerreotypes of which 6 are in the collection of Yale University.  He was in Mexico during the Mexican War in 1846-47 and using the ‘new’ photographic process introduced from Europe by Samuel F. B. Morse, the inventor of the Morse Code. General […]

Cabinet Construction by J.C.S. Brough, 1920, 1930 Reprint by Toolemera Press Gary Roberts has brought another fine publication from the past to today’s market. While this book is later than my field of interest, I did find the book full of useful information for any woodworker.   One of the best parts was one section

While not necessarily a woodworking subject, I will wear this hat so it is related to woodworking, I also varnished and sanded the hat which is like furniture.  This hat is based on a Daguerreotype taken shortly after the Mexican War 1847, this volunteer wears the standard forage cap used by the United States military

My favorite honing guide is the one you can find at almost any woodworking store. The guides are inexpensive and poorly made, but you can easily tune them up to make them work. One of the major faults of these guides is that when you tighten a tool between the jaws, the jaws tilt up

For some of us, working wood is a form of time travel. We like the smells, the physical exertion and the pleasure of a job well done. What makes it even more fun is when a tool manufacturer plays along. This week I received a miniature catalog from Tools for Working Wood, the Brooklyn-based ironmonger

  It seems I have more holdfasts than internal organs. And yet, when I was dropping something off at Managing Editor Megan Fitzpatrick’s house this week, I was struck by two holdfasts in her bench that were familiar and yet different – like an old friend who had lost weight or gotten implants. The holdfasts