Woodworking Posts

I love routers and this elliptical router jig makes me love them even more. I’ve made countless circles with router jigs over the years, but this simple jig for creating a multitude of oval shapes is slick. Ovals are tough because it’s a mathematical equation to get the shape correct. While I love routers, I’m not so fond of math. By creating an elliptical jig you take the math out […]

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I’ve been trying for weeks to write this editorial; it is difficult to do because my idealist view competes with reality. I have long been ambivalent about woodworking shops and classes specifically for women, because I don’t want them to be necessary. But they are. Also, I don’t want to seem as if I’m trying to be the voice of all woodworkers who happen to be women. No doubt our […]

The post ‘Woodworker’ & ‘Woman’ are Separate Nouns appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

Terminology is important. If we aren’t all using the same definitions, we can’t communicate. Using sloppy language is one of my pet peeves, and I spend lots of effort just defining terms. Here’s a term I often hear misused: overspray. Overspray is the sprayed finish that misses the target. It’s less common on large targets such as tabletops or cabinet doors, but it’s very common on narrow targets such as […]

The post Overspray and Bounce-back appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

The Maslow CNC is a CNC kit that costs just $350. For that price, you should expect a few compromises. For one thing, you have to put it together. Of course you’ll have the key mechanical, electrical and electronic parts, however, you will need to provide plywood and a couple of 2” x 4”s to complete it. The good news, after using one for a while, I can confirm that […]

The post Testing the Maslow CNC appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

Today it’s easy to make glazed doors and mirror frames by using a router to rabbet a mortise-and-tenon frame after assembly: Cut your joints, glue the frame together, rout the inside edges on the back using a special rabbeting bit, then chop the corners square with a chisel and mallet. Before the invention of the electric router, frames for glazed doors (which include doors with mirrors) were built from rabbeted stock, […]

The post Make a Traditional Rabbeted Door Frame appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

It’s difficult to argue against perfection in woodworking. That’s because the counter argument is something like: “You’re a hack and can’t get it right, and so you say that your imperfections are intentional.” Or put another way, you can’t be too rich, too thin or have joinery that is too perfect. Here’s how I think about perfection: We now have the technology to abolish time zones. Each person’s phone could […]

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