Woodworking Posts

Picking up after my last post on sawhorses (or sawbenches, as you might call them), the housings were all formed and ready to go. Then it’s down to cutting the legs to length: 26 1/2″ will yield a finished height or around 24″ (if you want to work it out accurately with a bit of math, proceed with my blessing – but I did a bit of guesstimating). I cut […]

The post Building Sawhorses, Part 2 appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

After showing you in my last post a few ways for clamping workpieces to the Bench Bull (F-style clamps, Veritas Fast-Action Hold-Downs and 3/4” pony #56 pipe clamps), I want to introduce one last way: a regular 1/2” or 3/4” pipe clamp that will make your Bull even more handy – practically transforming it into a miniature workbench or portable vise. Which Pipe Diameter to Use? It mainly depends on […]

The post ‘Bench Bull’ – The Jack of All Bench Jigs, Part 3 appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

Making “stop shavings” – where the plane cuts only one part of the board – is one of the keys to better edge joints and lots of other handplane techniques. But few people in my hand-tool classes have ever been told how to do it right. Most people do it like they are taking off on a runway. They start pushing the tool where the cut should begin and then […]

The post The Better Way to Get a Plane to Stop Cutting appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

  If you’re considering making a sawhorse, sawing stool, saw bench or however you like to describe it, this pattern is worthy of consideration. Thanks to its very stable platform, economical use of timber, easy stacking and the chance to get your head around compound joinery, these appliances will be an asset in the shop. Last time I showed an option that would involve reshaping the legs or making housings with […]

The post Building Sawhorses, Part 1 appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

After 19 years of building workbenches and testing workholding devices, I am darn picky about what equipment I have on my benches. In truth, I don’t have a lot of vises on my benches because I prefer simple workholding. But when it comes to my leg vise – the most important part of my bench – I am an absolute fool for Benchcrafted’s Crisscross. Paired with the company’s Classic vise […]

The post The Best $139 I’ve Spent on my Bench appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

For Part 1, click here. I crosscut our first batch of Bench Bulls from a 7-1/4″ x 2-1/2″ rough pine beam that we found on the street in front of our school. The beams were discarded by our school’s neighboring townhouse at the end of their home renovation. This is the kind of basic sawn pine beam that is used in construction, and I think might not be that easy […]

The post ‘Bench Bull’ – The Jack of All Bench Jigs, Part 2 appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.