Over The Workbench

I just finished the most difficult project I’ve ever made. It was a project I never really wanted to do, but I was asked to do it and couldn’t – wouldn’t – refuse because it means so much to me.

What’s the longest it’s taken you to complete a shop task? For me, it’s about 30 years – give or take a decade.

Getting sick often means you don’t feel like doing any work. But for woodworkers, it frequently means that you shouldn’t even try.

Despite your best efforts, sometimes things go sideways no matter how carefully you plan.

Woodworkers are nothing if not do-it-yourselfers. But there are a few things that baffle me that anyone would want to do themselves.

Remembering to open a blast gate is a pretty basic first step in effective dust collection.

After more than four decades of woodworking, there are still some basic things I can’t do. For those, I get help.

Using things while it’s fresh is always a good practice, whether in the kitchen or in the shop. Glues and finishes come immediately to mind.

Sometimes the hardest part of a project is the first step: Picking which side of a piece of stock to be the one everybody sees.

Whatever happened to NiMH tools? For that matter, do you even remember them?

Wood prices and availability are getting better every day. But the quality, not so much.

Nothing kicks your brain into safety mode in the woodshop like a blood stain.

There’s such a thing as “Too Much Information.” Right now, though, I’m experiencing a different kind of TMI: Too Many Ideas.

Lumber prices are coming down. Whether you’re benefitting yet depends on a couple factors.

Small tweaks to projects are often necessary, but they never take long. Except when they do.

In his most recent “Taking Stock” column, Woodshop News Editor Tod Riggio discussed knock-off tool batteries. I decided to look a bit more deeply into them.

It’s amazing how some tools evolve for the better when you’re not paying attention.

Getting finished lumber today is difficult, but there was a time when just getting the timber itself was a Herculean effort.

Yea verily, creating a working pattern for a reproduction when thou canst not touch the original doth presenteth a challenge.

The most beautiful woodworking joints are usually showcased for all to see. Except when they’re not.

Sometimes, your favorite new tool is something you never even knew you wanted.

Need to buy some decent Baltic birch plywood? If so, I hope you win the lottery.

I was robbed of some of my best wood supplies! Fortunately, I found the thief – she was upstairs getting a cup of coffee.

Internet advertisers for furniture restoration have always exaggerated to make sales, but some just outright lie to the unsuspecting.