Woodworking Posts

The BARN Workbench is named for a community group of woodworkers and other artisans. BARN is the Bainbridge Artisan Resource Network located on Bainbridge Island. The island is directly across and a 35 minute ferry ride away from Seattle. Started by a group of enthusiastic woodworkers, the group has grown to include artisans with a number of interests, including fabric artists, metal workers, jewelers, writers, printers and more. After years […]

The post The BARN Workbench appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

On the way back from Handworks, editor Megan Fitzpatrick asked me a question I get a lot: “Does it irk you when people build your furniture designs and fail to credit you when they post them on social media?” Answer: Not at all. For me, the reward isn’t that someone praises my design. The reward is that they were inspired enough to pick up the tools and build something. Building […]

The post Taking Credit, Giving Credit and Stealing it appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

Fight woodworking ignorance 15 minutes each day. Editor’s note: In the September/October 2017 issue (which mails to subscribers on Aug. 1), we have an article from up-and-coming makers on the books that have influenced their work and woodworking philosophy. Below is a similar article we ran in June 2011, asking established makers what they felt were the most important woodworking books, plus we included our staff picks. (I’ve linked to […]

The post The Craft Classics in Just 5′ – Must-Read Woodworking Books appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

One of the great things about handwork is that 90° is not the most critical angle. While absolute 90° is a holy setting on machinery, 87° or 93° is just as easy to cut with a handsaw, plane or chisel. And so sometimes hand-tool users (myself included) denigrate absolute 90° as something reserved for beginners, Arts & Crafts enthusiasts and machinists. After years of working by both hand and machine, […]

The post How to Make 90° Your Best Friend appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

As with most things in woodworking, there’s more than one way to fit doors and drawers. Nothing beats a hand plane for precision, flexibility, and speed when you have a solid bench and vise. A table saw can also do the trick — quite well, in fact, even for tapered cuts. But what about those times when you’re working in a shop (or on a job site) with a less-than-solid workbench and […]

The post Fitting Doors & Drawer Faces With a Router appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

Anyone who has introduced a square to young students or beginner woodworkers knows the challenges of teaching them how to control the tool and maintain it square to the edge of the workpiece during use. The main problem for the inexperienced woodworker is to keep the square where they intended. As the student slides their pencil or marking knife down the ruler, problems begin. The further away they slide the […]

The post How to Increase the Holding Power of a Square appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.