When I began teaching woodworking in the early 2000s, I channeled my favorite Russian literature professor. It was a huge mistake. When teaching students to saw, I barfed out everything about the topic I could muster – the historical and sociological context, the changes in tools and saw-tooth filing over the centuries, the different perspectives…
Read moreA batch of our holdfasts was exposed to moisture during shipping, and they developed some surface rust. After weighing all the options – from melting them down to media-blasting them – we decided to sell them at a discount instead. These blemished holdfasts are fully functional. The castings passed inspection. The only thing wrong with…
Read moreThis cherry six-stick comb-back chair features some new elements that I’ve been experimenting with during the last six months, including hexagonal legs, a mitered arm bow and splayed back sticks. This particular example is set up as a chair for dining or working at a desk, with a fairly upright back at 11° off the…
Read moreOne day in the 1990s, a few of us at Popular Woodworking Magazine were talking to Troy Sexton – one of our contributors – about table saw blades. We asked Troy what blades he liked. “Thin kerf,” he said. “Always thin kerf.” One of the other editors scoffed a bit. “Why would you need a thin-kerf…
Read moreWendell picked up a maul, which Meb had made from a hickory tree. It had a smooth handle and a bulbous head, squared off at the end. “With it,” he told me, “you can deliver a blow of tremendous force to a stake or a splitting wedge.” Thinking about a modern sledgehammer, I asked how…
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