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A brief history of a not-so-romantic woodworking education system. Ever since the renewal of interest in woodworking in the 1970s, especially among amateurs and small-shop professionals, there [...]

Blowin’ in the Wind My wife and I ran out of plywood as we were adding shelves to the garage, so we headed to the home center for another sheet. We hadn’t noticed how windy it was until we came [...]

Editor’s note: this article originally appeared in the February 2013 issue of Popular Woodworking I’ve got router planes and shoulder planes, cabinet scrapers, drawknives and shaves to [...]

The right hardware is as important as wood selection and finish. Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in the August 2016 issue of Popular Woodworking Not too long ago, I was [...]

Kick the Can When I was a boy, my dad taught me a great way to re-seal a can of stain. He would place the open can on the floor with the loose lid in position on the can, …

When buying supplies for my shop, I often visit a store where stuff costs around $1. Many items sell for much more at a home improvement store, so I save a pile of money. You never know what [...]

A concise chronicle of furniture hardware styles to help you build it better. One question I am often asked is, “What hardware should I use?” And the answer is usually, “It depends.” What did you [...]

SURE SHOT When I found out my wife was pregnant with our first child, I decided to make a cradle. Nine months seemed like plenty of time, but naturally, I finished building the cradle with only a [...]

Grab your torch and pitchfork; the hand-tool guy has a table saw. Editor’s note: this article appeared in the November 2016 issue of Popular Woodworking People react with shock and horror [...]

Snake Surprise While I was visiting my brother in Florida, he showed me his latest toy, a Wood-Mizer portable sawmill. A huge hickory log was mounted on the cutting platform. Sawdust puffed as [...]

Exposure to great furniture hones the eyes for quality and proportion. Woodworking is, all at once, frustrating, elating, challenging and straightforward stupid simple. It combines the elements [...]

Select a reliable tool with these simple tests. I can’t think of one project I’ve made that hasn’t involved using one or more of my combination squares. I use these to lay out joints and cuts, [...]