Woodworking Posts

In case you don’t follow rarewoods.us (also known as Travis Knapp) on Instagram, I share with you this cool (and inexpensive) tool lube solution he’s now offering: mutton tallow in a tube. For just $5, you get the convenience of keeping your hands clean while swiping greasy tallow (greasy is good!) on your plane, sawplate…whatever you have that needs to get slickery for better work. Tallow doesn’t interfere with glue […]

The post Mutton Tallow Tool Lube – As Seen on Instagram appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

  What is the best design for a round mallet? It has to do the job, feel good in your hand and remain comfortable as you use it. Three weeks ago, while at Peters Valley, I had a chance to make a few mallets and try out their feel and comfort levels. Round mallets are easily turned on the lathe (although the 4th graders in my school carve them out […]

The post The Best Design For a Round Mallet, Part 1 appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

We all know that Joseph Moxon didn’t invent the Moxon vise. But perhaps the Italians did? I spent a fatigue-fueled weekend researching some red herrings and stumbled on this circa 1300 hand-drawn illustration of the construction of Noah’s Ark. I found the plate in “Les Rabots,” a fantastic modern book on handplanes in French. (Someone should really translate it; please don’t ask me to do it.) The drawing from Northern […]

The post You and Your Puny Moxon Vises appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

I came to the Popular Woodworking team with an interest in woodworking, but since working here, I seem to have been drawn specifically to woodturning. I find it fascinating, and as with any craftsmanship, it is inspiring to see the passion and care someone puts into a piece, regardless of its use or size. In fact, ever since Editor Megan Fitzpatrick offhandedly mentioned bringing in an experienced turning teacher to […]

The post Turn a Paper Towel Holder & More with Tim Yoder appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

I learned how to make tools from two places: 1.With Hammer in Hand (The book about the Dominy workshop) and 2. American museum tool collections. When I looked at these collections, I saw an overwhelming majority of tools in which clearly aesthetics were an afterthought. Plain grain (stability), few decorative embellishments and apathy toward surface refinement were ubiquitous characteristics. There are always exceptions of course, but those exceptional examples are […]

The post Romanticizing Tools (Without Shame) appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

London, 2012 – Usain Bolt runs the 100-meter dash in 9.63 seconds. Mexico, 1968 – Bob Beamon flies 29 feet, 2 inches in the long jump. Berlin, 1936 – Jessie Owens wins four gold medals. Impressive Olympic feats – but can they saw straight? Cut a dovetail? Forget the runners and jumpers and gymnasts – the real Olympic competitors will be at the Hand Tool Olympics at Woodworking in America 2015, set […]

The post The Hand Tool Olympics: Sawdust, Fun and $2K+ Worth of Prizes appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.