When Leatherman released its first multi-tool, I immediately bought one. I can’t tell you how many times I have been stuck somewhere without a set of tools. The Leatherman seemed to be a great stop-gap for when you needed some makeshift pliers, or a screwdriver, knife or file. But after using it a few times,…
Read moreBack in May, I served up some high praise for the “Atlas of Furniture Design,” published by the Vitra Design Museum in Germany. If you haven’t bought this book for yourself, please have your family buy it for you for the holidays. The “Atlas of Furniture Design” is one of those books that is going…
Read moreSome woodworkers scoff at owning a level because it is regarded as mostly a carpenter’s tool. Furniture doesn’t have to be level and plumb, does it? A small level – about 12″ long – is a great thing to have in the workshop. You can use it to level your workbench. And then you can…
Read moreWhen I design a new piece of furniture, I start on paper, but I almost always mock things up before committing my ideas to joinery and glue. And a big part of mocking things up involves arranging parts temporarily then physically stepping back from the mock-up to give it a gander. For this step of…
Read moreEarlier this year I wrote about these rules after conceding defeat in making our own versions under the Crucible brand name. If you haven’t bought your own, what the heck are you waiting for? Are your eyes getting younger? The black rules with white marking are extremely easy for older eyes to read when it…
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