One for the Road

When I think of a tool chest, I think of a carpenter’s box, usually open and inviting, a little rough perhaps but clearly made by the hand. Think of Roy Underhill merrily skipping over the stream [...]

Old Plane Birdhouse

Yet, inspiration works in weird ways. While visiting Maine in February I saw an enormous birdhouse that looked like a jointer plane hanging outside Liberty Tool, an ironmonger. I just had to have [...]

Double-Duty Bread Box

Sitting on a countertop or mounted on a wall, this little gem helps to organize your kitchen. In addition to keeping cookbooks handy, it holds two supermarket loaves of bread and a package of [...]

How to Build a Segmented-Rim Tabletop

There’s something special about a small table with a round top—it invites intimacy. When I sit at one, I stop and savor warm memories of lingering with my wife in a quiet café or bistro [...]

A Craftsman’s Tool Chest

Machinists and mechanics keep their small tools in a chest with shallow drawers. I do, too—except mine is custom-built, sized to exactly fit what I want to keep close at hand. And it’s more [...]

Distinctive Jewelry Box

Clean lines and graceful curves are just the beginning. This jewelry box also features mitered corners, decorative keys, a textured panel and a distinctive brass handle. Inside, sliding trays [...]

Tiny Tools

Here’s a clever way to give all your friends genuine handmade woodworking tools. The materials for these little gems cost next to nothing and they don’t take long to make, because [...]

The All-But-Forgotten Spill Plane

What’s a spill plane? Well, it’s a little-known specialty plane that creates a shaving – called a spill – that’s tightly curled on itself and tapered to a point. In the days [...]

Rotary Box

My rotary box started out as a solution to a specific problem. Back when I was playing poker with my buddies, someone suggested that we needed a fitting storage container for our boys-night-out [...]

Waffle Trivets

These waffle-patterned trivets are perfect for the last minute “shopper”. All you need to crank them out by the dozen is a dado set or router table and a plywood frame. You can make [...]

Portable Workbench

Even though you can carry this bench in one hand, it has the same desirable features as a full-size bench: A thick top, solid construction, a quick-release vise and dog holes that make it easy to [...]

Folding Bench

“Have chisel, will travel.” As an itinerant carver, teaching classes here and there, I’ve always wanted a bench that I could store in a small space, carry around by hand and set [...]

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