Woodworking Posts

I wear clothing until it falls off my body or until my wife refuses to leave the house with me – whichever comes first. My favorite sweatshirt is one I bought my first day of college in 1986. It’s a U.S.-made Champion sweatshirt and has always served as a reminder that buying cheap clothes is false economy. Recently I’ve had to replace some of my work clothes because my Army surplus […]

The post Some Quality Shop Clothing appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

The float has arrived and is soon to be sharpened and used. In the meantime, and following on from the comment about the details of the plane, I’ll try and share some of the Mathieson magic. On that note: A very big thank you to anyone who has made the time to leave a comment on my posts. One of the things I enjoy most is discussion so please keep […]

The post Mathieson’s Stats appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

For the last month, I’ve been revising and expanding my first book “Workbenches: From Design & Theory to Construction & Use” for F+W Media. The revised book is scheduled to be out by the end of 2015 and printed in the United States. I started writing that book in 2005, and a lot has changed in the last 10 years – not in workbench design, but in workholding. Plus, after […]

The post Revising my First Book, ‘Workbenches’ appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

Collectively, members of the Popular Woodworking Magazine staff past and present have spent a lot of time at Old Salem and the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts (MESDA) – I’d say it adds up to at least two months. And of course, if you were at Woodworking in America 2014, you likely spent time there, too. One of the perqs of being on the staff of a woodworking magazine […]

The post ‘Building the Portable Moravian Workbench’ DVD appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

Last year while working in Maryland, I took a day to travel to Light Street in Baltimore to meet Jennie Alexander, author of the book “Make a Chair from a Tree.” Alexander is an iconic figure in woodworking and chairmaking, a term she would reject (or at least roll her eyes to when hearing). She calls herself an “informed amateur,” but has spent her entire life exploring how wooden parts […]

The post Make a Revolution from a Tree appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

Any devoted home barista will tell you that if you are considering a $2,000 espresso machine, instead spend a grand on the espresso machine and a grand on a good grinder and you will get better brews. Coffee beans ground too fine, too coarse, or inconsistent in size will never yield a good espresso shot, no matter how expensive the brewing machine. When people ask me whether they should spend […]

The post Millionth-of-a-Micron Filters for Dust Collection Systems appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.