Woodworking Posts

I’ve collected tons of drawings of old workbenches, during the years, and most fall into two categories: 1. A typical workbench with typical vises that looks like lots of other workbenches. 2. Workbenches that were drawn by an artist that have vises that would never work and that are put in stupid places where vises … Read more »

The post German Workbench: Artistic License or Pure Genius? appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

The most important skill in woodworking is problem-solving, and you don’t develop that skill by following spoon-fed, step-by-step directions. It is also extremely difficult to learn that skill all by yourself. I try to visualize what the results should look like, then apply the tools I have and the techniques I know to get there.Then … Read more »

The post Plan B Might Be Better – The Value of a Second Opinion appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

Today is Earth Day, but for the purposes of this article, I’m going to call it Dirt Day. As in dirt-simple woodworking techniques and jigs. We have a couple of perspectives, from two different woodworkers, up on our web site right now. One is from Christopher Schwarz, courtesy of Highland Woodworker TV. Chris uses a … Read more »

The post Dirt Day appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

Among the most rewarding parts of working for this (and I would assume any) woodworking magazine is to build then write about a project, send an article out into the world, then have pictures come back to you of pieces others have built based on what you’ve published. And while we design and build pieces … Read more »

The post Small Changes, Big Difference appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

If there is one disadvantage to round bench dogs, it is that they can occasionally rotate as you are clamping something between two dogs or when you are planing against a single dog. It’s a minor annoyance, but it’s real. An Italian reader devised a very clever solution to this problem that is quick. I … Read more »

The post Round Bench Dogs that Don’t Rotate appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

As you know from Monday’s article, I am in the process of setting up shop after a long hiatus from serious woodworking. On the positive side, I’ve discovered that some of the muscle memory is still there, at least in how I angle my hands and forearms for holding work. I also seem to have … Read more »

The post Weekend Woodworking Warrior appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.