Sometime right after being hired by Popular Woodworking magazine in 1996 I saw my first Welsh stick chair in the British magazine Good Woodworking. I can remember the exact article. Heck, I own the article. It showed John Brown standing next to one of his chairs. I was hooked, and there was nothing that could …
Editor’s note: I am pleased – and slightly surprised – to announce that we are now shipping “The Handcrafted Life of Dick Proenneke” by Monroe Robinson. This book came in much earlier than expected – I didn’t think we would see it until January. Let’s hope this means the paper shortage is abating. Other good …
Now Shipping: ‘The Handcrafted Life of Dick Proenneke’ – Read More »
If you lost your self-respect you were not looked upon in a respectful and proper manner. So in order to maintain my self-respect I put on a dinner jacket and dressed for dinner and I said to my servants, who were quite likely to get a bit slack just looking after a man by himself …
The last item or two in every Anarchist’s Gift Guide are a little more expensive than the others. I feel bad recommending expensive gear, but I’m passionate about these particular selections. This year is no exception. First is the Brown & Sharpe Dial Caliper. I use dial calipers throughout the day and am picky as …
2020 Anarchist’s Gift Guide Day 10: Brown & Sharpe Dial Caliper – Read More »
The Sterling Historical Society presents PeterGalbert from Robert McKay Jones on Vimeo. With all the (well-earned) hoopla about our Roubo translation, we haven’t been talking as much about the other projects coming up from Lost Art Press – including a fantastic book on chairmaking by Peter Galbert. The book is essentially written, and now Peter …
Good news: We have 250 more sets of Design Curves in stock in our store. They are $37 a set plus shipping. If you make chairs or curvaceous furniture, you’ll find these curves a nice addition to your tool kit. They are designed for woodworking – not drafting. Unlike drafting curves, ours don’t have the …
Other bloggers are wary of pulling down their pants. Not me. I suck at a lot of things, but I really and truly suck at mortising by hand. The problem isn’t really my results – I can get a clean, straight hole. The problem is I’m so dang slow. I have tried every method out …
This large box with a drawer below is my interpretation of this rare form from the 17th century. This is an excerpt from “Joiner’s Work” by Peter Follansbee. Now things differ significantly from the basic box. Let’s start with the feet. I’m no turner; I think of myself as a joiner who does some turning. I only know …
I’ve built a lot of knockdown workbenches in the last 15 years, but I’ve never been 100-percent happy with my knockdown mechanisms. The problem: barrel nuts, bedbolts or whatever you want to call the cross-locking nut. When installed, these things work OK. But installing them so they work smoothly is a lesson in precision down …
For 2015 (and this Weekend): The Knockdown Workbench – Read More »
