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American Woodworker Editors
After 50 years of woodworking, I’ve got a confession to make. I enjoy fixing up an old machine or rearranging my shop more than woodworking itself. A few years ago a friend gave me an old Rockwell lathe which clearly needed a lot of help. The motor, pulley, belt cover, tool rest and tailstock base…
How to choose, condition, and clean a finishing brush. It’s really tempting to buy an inexpensive brush for finishing. Say you spend $4 on a standard paint brush and throw it away rather than taking the time to clean it. You may buy 40 such brushes over the next 10 years … that’s $160! A…
Pop Wood Editors
Welcome to the 2022 edition of the Popular Woodworking gift guide! This year we’re featuring a ton of great gifts for woodworkers, no matter what skill level they’re at. Know your price point? Jump right in below, or keep scrolling if you’re just browsing for ideas. $30 and under • $30 to $100 • $100…
Collin Knoff
Tool: R97801 18V SubCompact Drill/Impact Kit Shop Now Manufacturer: Rigid MSRP: $199 (includes two 2.0Ah batteries, charger, carrying case) The tool Rigid’s lineup reinvention continues with the R97801 18V SubCompact Drill/Impact Kit. The kit includes their new 18v 1/2″ SubCompact brushless Drill/Driver and new 18v SubCompact Brushless Cordless Impact Drill, plus a charger, two…
Tool: PCL401 18v ONE+ Cordless 1/4 Sheet Sander Kit Shop Now Manufacturer: Ryobi MSRP: $109.97 (includes 4.0Ah battery, charger, 3 sheet of sandpaper) The tool Ryobi’s new 18v ONE+ Cordless 1/4 Sheet Sander runs at 14,000 orbits per minute and features onboard dust collection. The kit includes a 4ah battery, charger, and three sheets…
Tool: 8240 Cordless Rotary Tool Shop Now Manufacturer: Dremel MSRP: $99 (includes 2.0Ah battery, charger, storage case, and several accessories) Dremel has been a whirlwind recently, releasing several new models and updated old ones, most recently the new and improved 8240 High-Speed 12V Cordless Rotary Tool. The 8240 slots nearly perfectly between the flagship…
Tool: 18V ONE+™ 5″ Random Orbit Sander PCL406B Shop Now Manufacturer: Ryobi MSRP: $59 (bare tool with 3 sheets of sandpaper) Usually, the first steps of reviewing a tool are taking it out of the box, charging the batteries, then photographing the tool while it’s still in pristine condition. However, the new Ryobi 18V…
We take a look at six drills to see what sort of progress these tools have made in the past decade. There was a point in time when drill comparisons were ubiquitous in the pages of this magazine. There was an almost comforting familiarity in seeing the latest and greatest put to the test every…
Frank Klausz
An ancient European tool that still has a place in the modern American shop. Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in the November 2008 issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine. Why should you own a bowsaw? Why not? You have many other tools that you use only when you need them. Seriously, if you make 18th-century-style…
Yoav Liberman
My son is seven years old, and so far, I have tried to refrain from proselytizing woodworking to him. My hypothesis, at least for now, is that the love for woodworking should come naturally and be cultivated with joy. So when Asher visited my one-car garage shop a few weeks ago and asked me if…
A notched batten is one of the best jigs you can make to help in hand planning. This simple thin hardwood strip has a hoof-shaped notch at its end and is used to prevent boards from shifting during planing. The way it works is pretty simple. First, tuck your board against the bench’s planing stop,…
Lonnie Bird
This versatile hand tool should be every woodworker’s first plane purchase. As a “professional woodworker” I often get asked what’s the best bang-for-the-buck tool by people getting into this craft. My response is always to ask if they have a good quality block plane. I know, it’s not the big, awesome aircraft carrier-like jointer plane….
Christopher Schwarz
Chris Schwarz demonstrates how to prep rough stock in this classic Popular Woodworking video.
Willie Sandry
Tool: Whiteside Plus by Dimar Industrial Saw Blades Shop Now Manufacturer: Whiteside MSRP: $76+ I had the opportunity to spin the newest blades from Whiteside Plus by Dimar. I thoroughly tested the Whiteside Plus dado blade in cabinet-grade plywood, both with and against the grain. The dado blade didn’t falter in sheet goods, but…
Logan Wittmer
Tool: BladeClean Shop Now Manufacturer: Microjig MSRP: $99 Sharp bits and blades are the keys to getting clean cuts and crisp routed profiles. More often than not, what appears to be a dull blade can simply be a dirty blade. The new BladeClean from Microjig helps take care of all your blade cleaning needs…
Tool: 9 1/4″ 36V Track Saw XSH10 Shop Now Manufacturer: Makita MSRP: $542 As the owner of a sawmill, I have a variety of sizes of lumber that I work with regularly. Recently, as I’ve gotten into bigger pieces of live-edge lumber, I’ve found a need for a hand-held solution for cutting slabs to…
Tool: Card Scraper and Dual-Handle Burnishers Shop Now Manufacturer: Blue Spruce Toolworks MSRP: $21.99 The very first hand tool that I ever purchased was a set of Lie-Nielsen card scrapers back when I was taking high-school shop. Boy, did I think I was hot stuff with those fancy scrapers. And to this day, I…
I think my eyes are the most valuable tool in my bodily toolbox, so I’m trying to take care of them the best I can. I am not just talking about the importance of reducing screen time, intermittently gazing at a long distance outside the window, and eating carrots; although eye supplements and the Bates…
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