Wooden Flowers to Keep the Critters Away
What do you do when the critters outside eat your flowers? If you ask Jon Slaton, he will tell you that the best thing to do is to make some wooden flowers and stick them in your pots. Jon, who [...]
Build a Frame Saw Part 5: Wrap up
A few months ago I blogged about plans for a frame saw design that was equipped with a hack saw blade. I explained how I intended to build this saw with my seventh grade class, focusing on [...]
T-shirt “Brushes” for Shellac and Oil Finishes
Every successful project should culminate at the finish line. And in the case of our seventh, eigth and ninth grade classes the finish (line) is made mainly of shellac. I like to use shellac [...]
Reading and Working with the Grain, a Simple Tip
Perhaps the most important characteristic of wood is its grain. And grain orientation is undoubtedly the most critical consideration for charting a plan for cutting, milling and shaping wood. [...]
Pick Your Poison. (Or: Is the Price Worth it for Tools You Don’t Feel Passionate About?)
I prefer working with hand tools as much as I can. I find them much quieter, safer and more fulfilling than machines. I believe that only when using a hand tool can one become intimate with the [...]
Build a Tool Tote With Your Kids: Part 2
Before I developed the tool tote project, I did some online research and discovered that there are two major trends in the design of simple wooden totes: (A) Those whose tall end-walls flank the [...]
Build a Tool Tote With Your Kids: Part 1
On top of the daytime woodworking classes, my school offers to our students the opportunity to stay later for an hour and half of “extended day” classes. My woodworking class is one [...]
New Handles For a Mid-Century Walnut Dresser: Part 2
Read Part 1 Here After the terraced rhombus was formed, it was time to start coving. The required radius for the coves, as dictated from the original handle was 1”. But, since the only round [...]
New Handles For a Mid-century Walnut Dresser: Part 1
Read Part 2 Here The dresser A few months ago I received an email form a person who wanted to know if I could build two walnut handles for a Mid-Century walnut dresser that she cherished. She [...]
Sawing Curves with a Straight Blade Saw
Is it possible to make an arched rabbet, dado or a groove without an electric router? Well.. two years ago I experimented with a hand tool technique that allowed me to create all the above and [...]
Pressed Paper Pulp to Protect Your Work and Tools
All of our vises at school have cast iron jaws that can damage work and tools. So, I am in the process of lining them with wood inserts to save our rasps and gouges from damage. This also allows [...]
A Hardware Store That Will Take You Back in Time
Dennis McEvoy and Bart Slutsky of Rogerson’s Hardware in Hudson NY are doing the herculean job of keeping a great old American hardware store alive, and they are doing it well. Swimming against [...]