Arts & Mysteries

I’m personally gratified by the amount of progress I see in woodworking today. When the author of “Table Saw Magic” (really? magic?) says to me with a gleam in his eye that [...]

PW has published a compilation of my column to date and added some great Schwarz content to round it out narratively. What you get is a cd that works a little like a webpage. There’s an [...]

Last time I visited Kelly Mehler’s school, I admired the fine sharpening set-up he had. People who are serious about woodworking have permanent sharpening stations, and Kelly’s is top [...]

In anticipation of making this chair, I carved several ball and claw feet and several full legs, including one with the knee returns attached. I’m a firm believer in practice. But it [...]

I’ve learned alot about baroque carving making this chair. Yes, yes, I know this is a Rococo carving and Rococo is different from Baroque. But I yes, it’s the baroque aspects of the [...]

I skipped Pennsbury yesterday and spent the day carving instead. When I began my Chippendale chair project, I under estimated how much I would enjoy carving. Sounds a little funny to say out loud [...]

Maloof rocker, courtesy of Wikipedia As I am sure you know, our community is marking the passing of Sam Maloof. We are lesser for the loss of this iconic woodworker. A gifted furniture maker, and [...]

I may be biased, but I think the folks who read and comment on the Arts & Mysteries blog are some of the smartest folks on the internet. I read and enjoy their many different views here and [...]

When you push a plane, you are exerting a force down, against the bench and forward against the stop. We build our workbenches to react these forces. But those forces don’t come from thin [...]

The number one rule about edge tool safety is: Always keep both hands behind the cutting edge of your tool. This rule is absolute, and if you follow it absolutely, you’ll absolutely never [...]

Both of these nicks were caused by splinters this past weekend. Splinters are par for the course when working with wood. But when you work in a shop where your hands provide the precision, a bad [...]

This is the second year for Woodworker’s Safety Week. Started last year by Wood Whisperer Marc Spagnulo, Woodworker’s Safety Week is one week dedicated to instruction, tips, and [...]