I’m installing 12 hinges today on a collapsible bookcase and about half of them are in tight quarters where no drill can go, and screwdrivers are no picnic, either. To make the job easier, I like [...]
When I hear the word “veneering,” I reflexively think of the many hours I spent feeding 4×8 sheets of plywood into the Joos hot press machine where I used to work. Sometimes we had the [...]
As a furniture-maker, turning was always an uphill battle for me. Every turning tool requires a different touch and a different sharpening approach. The problem was that I never practiced enough [...]
Of all the variables of design, context is the easiest to miss. That is one of the powerful things about using SketchUp, you can easily compare one piece to another, add a human figure to the [...]
Tabletop Connection Steel tabletop fasteners are a great way to attach a tabletop to its base while still allowing for seasonal changes. On a table with straight aprons, it’s easy enough to [...]
The last two items on my list are for woodworkers who have been very good this year. They are a bit more expensive than the other items on my list, but they are excellent tools. Of those last two [...]
As editors, we search our two web sites (popularwoodworking.com and shopwoodworking.com) constantly for information for the online extras portion of all articles and most columns – the [...]
I watched my old high school get pummeled in their state football championship game last weekend. Two things were obvious to any keen observer: 1. DNA matters. The opposing team, Valor, featured [...]
I’m in the early planning stages for an upcoming project build for Popular Woodworking Magazine. The project will be a reproduction of a wardrobe cabinet from the early 1900s. I was trying [...]
With turkey day behind us, we’re heading full-force into Christmas. Many evergreens have been cut – most of them many months ago – to become holiday trees that we decorate. For me, this is [...]
We learn how to read a ruler in grade school, and for lack of more advanced instruction many of us go on reading a ruler for the rest of our lives – including in our shops. In many cases, [...]
How tight does my blade have to be? Q: I have a heck of a time loosening the arbor nut when I switch blades on my tablesaw. How hard do I really have to crank on that nut when …