Felt, an Inexpensive Handle for a File or Rasp
When I first began teaching at our school, I noticed that many of the rasps and files our students were using had a gooey buildup of masking tape around their tips. This blob of glue and paper [...]
Regular Paint vs. Pee-Back Paint
In my introductory blog post, I mentioned that there are a lot of fascinating advances being made in the coatings industry. This one may top the list. Most of us guys have done it, and maybe even [...]
‘The Woodwright’s Shop’ Mix-and-Match
When I was offered the job at Popular Woodworking Magazine, the first thing my friends asked me was, “Do you get to meet Roy Underhill from “‘The Woodwright’s Shop’?” There was no [...]
Tool Storage for the Rest of Us
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 [...]
Box Clever, Use Box Cleats
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 [...]
The Advanced Art of Veneering
Working with veneer when there are multiple pieces being glued at once-or an oddly-shaped piece that’s hard to clamp always gave me pause. I was aware of vacuum bags, but thought of them as [...]
How to Make Backs for Frameless Cabinets
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 [...]
Bob Flexner, Now Blogging
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. [...]
Sharpening Awkward Blades without a Diamond Stone
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 …
Improve the Grip of all Your Vises: $10
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 [...]
Bad Luck with Hand Drills
While many people get warm and wet feelings about their smoothing planes, I have those emotions about my hand drill. Maybe it’s because I use a hand drill almost daily for nails and screws, [...]
Heat Treating O1 Steel
The cover story for the April 2016 issue (#224) is Caleb James’s article on making matched sets of Roubo-style moulding planes (the three sizes for which he reaches the most: Nos. 4, 6 and 8). To [...]