Woodworking Posts

Basic handplane theory states that long planes are for straightening wood and short planes are for smoothing it. The planes in the middle can do either job or be set up for roughing out the work. But all planes do some straightening of the work, and most planes do some smoothing, too. So this simple rule of thumb is actually a bit more complex in practice. After all, some very […]

The post Handplanes: The Long and Short of Flat appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

I’m a big fan of Mike Rowe, the “Dirty Jobs” guy. I say that having only seen a few episodes of that shows recently. I came to know him from his Ted Talks, online interviews, and his address to congress. I think the message he preaches about hard work, safety, life in general make sense. His foundation supporting skilled trades is making a concerted effort to pick up the slack […]

The post Letting down the next generation of woodworkers. appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

I wouldn’t typically give away free on our site an article that hasn’t yet been seen by magazine subscribers. But this is not a typical situation, and time is of the essence. Don Williams, whose latest book, “Virtuouso: The Tool Cabinet and Workbench of Henry O. Studley” (with photographs by Narayan Nayar) will shipping in just few weeks from Lost Art Press. But the book will be available for the […]

The post Studley: The World’s Best-known Tool Cabinet appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

While walking through the ridiculously tidy racks at Northwest Timber in Jefferson, Ore., I realized at that moment something that hadn’t fully occurred to me during the last 20 years. I am buying, transporting and storing a lot of garbage. Not “garbage” in the sense that the wood is of poor quality. But garbage in the sense that a good deal of rough stock goes into the dust collector, scrap […]

The post Northwest Timber Seeks Lumber Perfection appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

Alan Lacer has been involved in the field of wood turning for almost four decades. He’s done almost anything and everything you can think involving the craft from turning to teaching to writing, and is a past president of the American Association of Woodturners. His latest book, “Alan Lacer’s Woodturning Projects & Techniques” is a collection of his writings for American Woodworker Magazine, presenting 15 years worth of his articles in one volume. In the […]

The post Alan Lacer on His New Book, Woodturning and More appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

Litmus tests are a necessary evil in life. In the sciences they are a critical tool; in a social context they’re a justification for exclusio, and a rational for prejudice. Having said that… Woodworking is not a science and during my time as a woodworker I’ve developed a litmus test. The longer I woodwork, the harder it is to find others who have information in their brains that I can […]

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