Woodworking Posts

Tool storage—is it the most controversial subject in the craft? People have debated it. Great books have been dedicated to it. Philosophies have developed and wars fought over it (well, at least flame wars). I’m quite sure many woodworkers spend their entire woodworking careers pursuing it. Here, I’m going to put the subject to rest. In my opinion, the cheapest, most efficient, and flexible way to organize and protect tools for […]

The post Tool Storage for the Rest of Us appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

  My workbench project is now underway, but I’m going to avoid showing any detail or videos on the build process until it’s finished. However, I will be posting some of the methods I adopt that translate more broadly into other applications. With that in mind I needed to laminate 2″ x 4″s together to make the legs. I could of reverted to the many clamps we have in our […]

The post Box Clever, Use Box Cleats appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

There’s more than one way to make backs for frameless cabinets. Here’s how to choose the method that’s right for your project. Think about how many materials you want to use for the cabinet boxes. This means all the parts except doors, drawers and drawer fronts. If you plan to use 1/4” or 1/2” material for your cabinet backs, you’ll need at least two thicknesses of plywood (one for most of your […]

The post How to Make Backs for Frameless Cabinets appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

About six years ago, Megan Fitzpatrick, the editor of Popular Woodworking Magazine, asked me to join the group of editors blogging on the magazine website. I don’t remember why I turned her down. Maybe I was just really busy. Anyway, the possibility came up again recently and I jumped at the chance. I have a lot to say. You may be familiar with me through my long-running column, “Flexner on […]

The post Bob Flexner, Now Blogging appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

My Japanese corner chisel is not the most handy tool in my tool box. In fact, I hardly use it. But since I have it, I feel obligated to keep it sharp. If you own one and look for instructions on how to sharpen it you will see that all of the demonstrations use flat abrasive stones or files such as diamond, oil, Arkansas, or a piece of steel wrapped in […]

The post Sharpening Awkward Blades without a Diamond Stone appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

For many years I’ve lined the jaws of all my vises with sueded leather to improve their grip. Whenever I mention that I do this, I get a barrage of questions: Where do you buy suede? (Really? Any craft store, fabric store, Tandy etc.) What glue do you use? (Any glue. Hide, yellow glue, epoxy, contact cement etc.) How do you apply the leather? (Like veneer. Clamp a caul on […]

The post Improve the Grip of all Your Vises: $10 appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.