We’re honored to announce that Popular Woodworking University will host Frank for a live webinar on Where to Find Good Design Ideas on October 8, 2014, 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time. Ever feel puzzled when trying to think up a new furniture design? Wonder how to turn your ideas into woodwork? Frank will show you how he comes […]
This weekend I went out to cut firewood; it’s that time of year. I brought along my 9-year-old son whom I have taught how to split wood. I found some trees that had been bulldozed over for a clearing. We went on site and found some very straight timber. To the surprise of the landowner […]
I ran across this Benchtop Shaving Horse the other day in an old Living Woods magazine. It was designed by Nick Gibbs for the Forest Education Initiative in the U.K., based on an idea for standing horses shown in an earlier Living Woods by James Mursell and Bob Slade. What makes this interesting is that it’s great if you don’t have […]
Well, we’ve got three upcoming on-campus one-day classes next week–The Art of Sharpening, Handplanes – Their History and Use and Hand-Cutting Dovetails. In The Art of Sharpening course, you’ll end any frustration with getting the edge and shavings you want. Putting together time-tested methods and modern techniques, we’ll show you how to get a razor edge every time on chisels, […]
If you’ve been following this blog, you’ve probably recently noticed a lot more activity on it. This is part of our endeavor to build an online community and network of woodworkers where the combined knowledge and experience of each can free-flow and benefit all. We thought this would be a good time to give you […]
Come join us for a day of hand tool joinery. Learn how to cut dovetails, mortise-and-tenons and dado joints all by hand with just a few simple tools. If you have always wanted to try your hand at hand tool woodworking, now is the time. Come join us for a one day woodworking joinery class […]
One common woodworking question is, “How large should my shop be?” It seems that woodworkers always need more space. (If only we could fit that next dream machine!) Even if you’ve got a shop space already, it’s often smaller than most of us would like–a garage, spare room, or closet sometimes just doesn’t seem big enough. […]
In many of my recent posts you have seen me talking about green woodworking, that is starting with the log. The problem, however, lies in the fact that the wood is green, that is wet and when we have wet wood it does one thing: it loses moisture and shrinks. This is something we have […]
I noticed a couple days ago that the infamous conversation arose again, about what is the best coping saw blade for coping out the waste in your dovetails. I have not tried the new blades that Chris Schwarz was talking about; I think he was still trying to find the blades in the USA. However, […]
Today was a steamy day, both for me and my wood! I spent a good part of the day bending chair legs for 10 ladderback chairs that I am building. I was only able to fit 2 back legs in my steamer which I built from schedule 80 PVC. A turkey fryer provides the fire […]