Woodworking Posts

I cut my first dovetail in 1993 and that was also the first day I learned to use a marking gauge. The instructor didn’t tell me how to use it, so I set it and worked things out for myself. I ended up marking my baselines by pulling the gauge toward me. And I’ve never done it any other way. The funny thing is that this year I’ve been editing […]

The post I’ve Been Doing this Wrong Since 1993 appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

A smooth feel is critical when judging the quality of a finish. It’s natural for people to run their hand over a finish, feel dust nibs and say, “This is not a great finish.” The problem is, there’s almost always a little dust that has settled on, and stuck to, the last coat of finish, even if you keep your finish area very clean. There will be less with fast-drying […]

The post Brown Paper Bag Trick appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

There’s a lot going on in the photo above that’s important when making casework. I have two case sides for a chest clamped together before dovetailing them. Here is a quick summary of what I’m doing: I’m going to dovetail both pieces at once, called “gang-cutting.” This saves time and makes it easier to keep your saw at 90° across the thickness of the boards. But before I can dovetail […]

The post Don’t Kick the Bucket (Out of the Shop) appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

David Marks wrote the step-by-step photo feature below detailing the build process of his bentwood laminated lamp.  His “Woodworks” Seasons 4-6 Collection has just been released on shopwoodworking.com. Enjoy… — Jon Russelburg   Bentwood Laminated Lamp Phil, a student from the Sacramento, CA area, took a class with me in November 2012 on how to make a bentwood laminated lamp from mahogany, similar to the one I made on “Woodworks” Season 5, Episode 12. Bending wood […]

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More than five years ago I built myself a full-size 18th-century style tool chest to replace the beat up blue one I’d been using since 1997 or so. That new chest was the subject of the book “The Anarchist’s Tool Chest,” and I didn’t think a single person in the world would build it. Why? The book is more about limiting your tool set to basic high-quality tools. The chest […]

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When I first began teaching at our school, I noticed that many of the rasps and files our students were using had a gooey buildup of masking tape around their tips. This blob of glue and paper was there to protect our students’ soft skin from the coarse surfaces of the tools as they were holding the rasp to shave away wood. Although adults have tougher and less sensitive skin, I find […]

The post Felt, an Inexpensive Handle for a File or Rasp appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.