Category Archives: Uncategorized

(* – apologies to the late Johnny Burnette … df) My introduction to steam-bending wood was in the mid-1970’s in northwest Alaska. We got into building dog sleds and boats, and making and repairing snowshoes. The Inuit people had always … Continue reading →

The first iteration of the class “Make a Wall-Hung Cabinet” (henceforth to be called simply “Cabinetmaking”) was held over three days in late August (26-28) 2011 with two students: Matt Vredenburg and Chip Hidinger, both woodworkers with some experience. It … Continue reading →

Another milestone in my lifelong quest for excellent hand tools: a Record #073 shoulder plane. A little rusty but complete and completely restorable, purchased from England via eBay. These are the classic production steel shoulder planes, made 1933-1994, based on … Continue reading →

‘Floats’ have been made and used for centuries. Simple tools, they are a cross between file and a saw, designed to remove material evenly from a surface while leaving it flat. You may be familiar with the ‘planemaker’s’ floats, used … Continue reading →

Krenov-style shop stands are strong, lightweight (unless you use, say, bubinga :-)) and nest neatly without taking up lots of floor space. Making them is a good exercise in basic mortise-&-tenon joinery, planing and assembly. In my ‘Mortise and Tenon’ … Continue reading →

The Stanley ‘transitional’ planes, combining a wooden body with a cast iron frame, frog and standard adjustment mechanism, were made between 1870 and 1940. You see these things pretty commonly in antique shops and flea markets. According to those in … Continue reading →

My old Davis & Wells horizontal boring machine is a great platform for making mortices, using machinists’ end mills, and boring holes in doweling and other operations. Knowing that the end mills like a little higher rotation speeds than most … Continue reading →

At the Lie-Nielsen Tool Event held at Timber Woodworking in January, 2011 I had the pleasure of meeting Kevin Drake, toolmaker and proprietor of Glen-Drake Toolworks (www.glen-drake.com). Kevin also happens to be a graduate of the College of the Redwoods, … Continue reading →

Though I am a certified wooden plane geek, I’ve owned and used metal planes over the years as well. Not bench planes, so much, but special purpose planes: block, rabbet, side rabbet, shoulder/bullnose, scraper, spokeshave, etc. Lately, though, I’ve developed … Continue reading →

Making and using wooden hand planes are among my favorite things to do, so I was pleased when Phil Groben and Ryan Edwards chose to make planes with me in the April 23-24 session. Understanding the critical points of plane … Continue reading →