Hanging and Wedging a Wooden Handle – Part 2
Three years ago while teaching a woodworking class at Peters Valley I met Blacksmith Eric Dennis, who was at the time the studio assistant in the iron shop. When I entered the noisy, coal-smoky, [...]
Veritas Pocket Plane
A few weeks ago Veritas tools (Lee Valley) released their most recent plane. The squirrel-looking plane (there are actually two versions of it: a limited edition stainless steel, and a continuous [...]
Dust Off Your Sandpaper to Extend Its Efficacy
Whenever I hand sand with a sanding block, and also often when I use an orbital sander, I keep a stiff bristle brush at hand, and occasionally I scrub off the sandpaper to remove clingy wood dust [...]
A Non Oily Lubricant for Drilling and More
Most lubricants are associated with oil, wax and grease, substances that are hard to remove from wooden surfaces. When drilling wide or long holes in wood, especially when you later need to glue [...]
Use Technology to Eliminate Bugs in Reclaimed Wood
Commercial bought lumber, such as the one found in lumber yards and in the big-box stores is almost always guaranteed to be kiln dried. This means that the lumber was heated in a kiln in order to [...]
Make a Reclaimed or Scrap Wood Quilt
Last week I taught a class on how to design and build furniture using reclaimed and scrap wood at Snow Farm School of Crafts. Some students brought a trunk full of scraps from their own shops, [...]
Hanging and Wedging a Wooden Handle, Part 1
Hanging and wedging a wooden handle is one of those topics that are heavily discussed in woodworking forums, on youtube, and in blogs. Advice on how to hang, and in particular – how to wedge – an [...]
Building a Wooden Boat With a Young Student – Part 3
After completing the hull and the deck of our boat (read parts 1 and Part 2) we were ready to shape the masts and booms. I gave Thano some short scrap pieces of dowels and he shaped a nice …
Building a Wooden Boat With a Young Student – Part 2
Once the boat’s hull was completed (read part 1), Thano turned to work on lowering the surface of the deck. First, and with the help of our dent-inhibiting Homasote liners, he clamped the hull [...]
Building a Wooden Boat With a Young Student – Part 1
When my fourth grade students finish their first mandatory projects (making a mallet or a walking staff) I invite them to choose their next project by themselves. Obviously I help them navigate [...]
Stubborn Extractions in Cincinnati
Last summer while visiting family in Cincinnati I paid a visit … no, not to the dentist, but rather to the Popular Woodworking offices to shoot a short video on the first stages of initiating and [...]
Two Modifications to the Knew Concepts Fret Saw
Knew concepts fret saws belongs to a small group of truly revolutionary tools such as Tite-Mark Marking Gauge and the veritas® PM-V11® Bench Chisels. Whether they were the brainchild of a [...]