End Grain

Your early projects don’t have to end up as firewood. When people see the Philadelphia-style secretary I built, they inevitably want to know how long I have been making furniture and how many [...]

You, too, can determine moisture content simply by feeling a board. Murphy had never bought lumber from us before. He watched his boards carefully as they were loaded onto his truck. “They look [...]

I purchased this classic tool chest at a yard sale in Maine, while on vacation. The case had only two drawers remaining, and no handle. The seller said he had every intention of restoring it, but [...]

No doubt, you’ll fit right in. A woodworking club offers countless rewards to the aspiring craftsman. It provides a platform for displaying your work. It offers the chance to learn new [...]

So you can’t afford (insert dream tool here). Boo hoo. Hit the flea markets then start making sawdust. Yeah, you heard me. Oh sure, I know exactly how it is. The new catalogs come piling into [...]

The best work is often built one piece at a time, so toss your cutlist. I have been in professional piano repair and tuning for more than 30 years. My father taught me how to tune by ear. That’s [...]

Find woodworking education, fellowship, and shop space at a woodworking guild near you.  I am an avid woodworker. Let me rephrase that. I am an avid woodworker with a chronic disease. I’m not an [...]

Most of us share this pathological habit that’s hard to break. I have a problem. A compulsion, really. It’s not as serious as, say, alcoholism, a food addiction, or an unhealthy fascination with [...]

Youthful energy sparks the experience, but careful work takes time. Editor’s note: this article originally appeared in the February 2018 issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine. Recently, the [...]

The bogs of New Zealand yield gargantuan Kauri logs. Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in American Woodworker #139. Ancientwood is listed as permanently closed on Google but [...]

Passing up gold for a treasure with more lasting value. The holidays are a time for visiting and catching up. While visiting my parents one Thanksgiving, my mother handed me an envelope. I could [...]

A nervous woodworker is aghast as his best projects arrive from storage. The message “Up”(with a directional arrow, no less) seems unambiguous. When displayed prominently on all four of what [...]