Installing the hinges. Part 1 • Part 2 • Part 3 • Part 4 • Part 5 • Part 6 • Part 7 • Part 8 Most of the time, when building furniture or boxes, I opt for high-quality extruded brass butt hinges, such as those made by Brusso. These hinges are superbly machined from…

Practice some mass-assembly techniques to create this elegant stand. Project #2501 • Skill Level: Intermediate • Time: 2 Days • Cost: $35 You know how it goes, you spot a need that you can fill with a woodworking project. In this case, I needed a place to put my headphones, as well as a tray…

Designing and making the lid cut. Part 1 • Part 2 • Part 3 • Part 4 • Part 5 • Part 6 • Part 7 • Part 8 Any box designed to house a specific collection item must be meticulously tailored to the item’s dimensions, ensuring proper protection during storage and convenient access for…

Perfect box joints of any size every time. I got tired of making a new box joint jig each time I wanted to change the width of the joint fingers. My latest jig allows cutting fingers of any size, up to 3/4-in.-wide. The jig slides in both miter slots, so it cuts precisely, and it’s…

This traditional, lightweight stool is an excellent first step toward chairmaking. One highlight of a visit to historic Old Salem in North Carolina is the beautiful Moravian furniture and woodwork in the village’s buildings. My favorite piece in the town is a small stool that shows up in many of the buildings. It’s a tough…

Wrapping the Brass Strip Around Part 1 • Part 2 • Part 3 • Part 4 • Part 5 • Part 6 • Part 7 • Part 8 After annealing and straightening the brass and dadoing the sides of the box to accommodate the metal strips (discussed in detail in Part 4), it was time…

This versatile approach is easily adapted to other styles and uses. Project #1916 • Skill Level: Advanced • Time: 2 Days • Cost: $300 It’s deeply satisfying to sit in a chair that you’ve created in your own shop—and watch others do the same. Building chairs is also a great way to learn new skills…

With one board, you can put together this side table that packs in a bunch of great woodworking techniques. Project #2418 • Skill Level: Intermediate • Time: 3 Days • Cost: $250 I enjoy a good scrap wood project as much as the next woodworker but you can only make so many cutting boards. Surprisingly,…

This live-edge coffee table is just the beginning of what you can build with a $20 doweling jig. Project #2302 • Skill Level: Beginner • Time: 4 Days • Cost: $400 This walnut coffee table is featured in my latest book, “Build More Stuff with Wood,” (see all the places you can purchase it here)…

A few tools can go a long way. When you get started in woodworking there are many paths to follow, forks in the road, dead-ends and shortcuts. It’s a journey that our forebears would make with the help of a living, breathing guide: a master, a grandfather, a shop teacher. Sadly, the guides are fewer…

With its quartersawn oak, and Arts & Crafts finish, this desk is sure to serve generations to come. Project #2417 • Skill Level: Intermediate • Time: 5 Days • Cost: $450 The best thing about being a woodworker is the ability to make custom furniture for a particular spot in the home. Need a desk…

Brush up on your precision miters, and build this mid-century-inspired record player stand. Project #2416 • Skill Level: Intermediate • Time: 3 Days • Cost: $250 I’ve always appreciated vinyl for its aesthetic qualities as much as the analog experience of putting a record on. Yet for some reason, my collection has always lived inside…

Make your bench indispensable. Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in the February 2004 issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine. Christopher Schwarz has published numerous articles on workbenches since then, and his thoughts have evolved on some of the topics discussed here. Still, this is a good guideline for anyone looking to upgrade the workbench in…

In 2005, I loaned my French workbench to a friend to use in his booth at a woodworking show. As I rolled the 350-pound behemoth onto the show’s floor, I heard a couple wolf whistles (really?), then one of the show’s vendors stopped me. “How much for the bench,” he asked. I didn’t know what…

For a quick and simple bench stop, I mounted a sliding bolt taken from an old door to the end of my workbench. In the locked position, the bolt stays put, and in the unlocked position it’s completely out of the way. -Darryl Thomas

I felt like I won the storage-space lottery when I came up with this bench design for my shop. I wanted a way to store lumber and my benchtop tools. The backbones of this bench are the 2 x 4 frames. For my 8-ft. bench, I made four frames. The rest of the materials were…

Tool: 7 in. Carpenters Vise Shop Now   Manufacturer: Doyle MSRP: $69.99 I recently saved an old workbench from the scrap heap, and the first thing I knew it needed (after a good cleaning and flattening) was a vise. I wondered aloud to Logan if Harbor Freight had anything, then decided to check online. Just…

An 18th-century French workbench is quite possibly the most perfect design ever put to paper. In the 18th century it was common for the workrooms and living areas of a home to share the same space. A workbench, for example, would not be out of place in the front room of the house. This small…

Make your bench indispensable. Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in the February 2004 issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine. Christopher Schwarz has published numerous articles on workbenches since then, and his thoughts have evolved on some of the topics discussed here. Still, this is a good guideline for anyone looking to upgrade the workbench in…

Turn your miter saw into a precision cutting tool by building this storage-packed miter saw station. Project #2420 • Skill Level: Intermediate • Time: 3 Days • Cost: $600 Over the years, I’ve found two opposing mindsets when it comes to miter saws. One group believes that, while miter saws are okay for trimming a…

Build a tool chest that’s worthy of your tools. Customize it to fit exactly the tools you want. Project #2115 • Skill Level: Intermediate • Time: 4 days • Cost: $250 I have a confession. I like nice tools. There’s something about boutique tool makers that I love. I’m guessing it’s the combination of high-quality…

After detailing the design approach and layout in my last entry, I moved on to building the actual components for my garage post-shelf system. This phase involved crafting and installing brackets that would not only securely clamp onto the steel columns but also support a functional, sturdy shelving solution. To begin making the 2×4 brackets,…

Like many home woodshops in North America, mine is set up in a two-car garage. Similar to other suburban homes, our garage has two steel columns in the middle, supporting the bedrooms above. These load-bearing round steel posts, common in ranch-style and many other one-family houses, are often found in garages, basements, and unfinished spaces….

Is it the saw or where the saw lives that increases your accuracy? There are two types of miter saws. The first can be a mainstay in the woodshop, dependably making accurate crosscuts day in and day out. Or it can be a cantankerous helper, needing constant attention and delivering inconsistent results. The difference usually…

Adapted from a 19th-century example, this wall-hung shelf is perfect for displaying your treasures.

Finishing it all up. Part 1 • Part 2 • Part 3 • Part 4 • Part 5 • Part 6 • Part 7 • Part 8 After many hours of meticulous work (see previous entries), I was finally approaching the completion of the Megillah boxes. With the hinges basins created, my next focus was…

Installing the hinges. Part 1 • Part 2 • Part 3 • Part 4 • Part 5 • Part 6 • Part 7 • Part 8 Most of the time, when building furniture or boxes, I opt for high-quality extruded brass butt hinges, such as those made by Brusso. These hinges are superbly machined from…