Making Greene & Greene Ebony Plugs
Ebony plugs are essential to the Greene & Greene style. In fact, it would be almost inconceivable to design a Greene & Greene piece without them. They are simple to make, but woodworkers often...
View ArticleSupercharge Your Brain and Shop with 5S
It has been my pleasure over the last several weeks to help Steve Johnson develop content for his new video series with Popular Woodworking University, “More Space and Time in Your Shop.” This 19-day...
View ArticleHow did this happen?
Some poor, deluded fool decided that a “Best of Chuck Bender” would make a good collection in the Popular Woodworking Magazine (PWM) store, and I was asked to write something about it. I still feel...
View ArticleBreadboard Ends – Why and How
Cross-grain construction tends to freak out most beginning woodworkers, but it’s a viable construction method in many cases. Wide tables and chest lids often employ breadboard ends to keep things flat,...
View Article“We’re all climbing the ladder together” – Q&A with David J. Marks
David J. Marks is recognized internationally as a master furniture maker, turner and sculptor. He hosted 91 episodes of the television show “WoodWorks,” which debuted on HGTV and the DIY Networks back...
View ArticleBenefits of Working in the Round
As primarily a “flat” woodworker, I enjoy and appreciate watching a turner work. The payoff – completing a project some hours (or less!) after you start – is very attractive. And you have the benefit...
View ArticleAll About Try Squares
One of my favorite parts of our now-retired publication, Woodworking Magazine, was the back cover. Each issue featured a handy, illustrated guide to something every woodworker should know – and about...
View ArticleLike Riding a Bike
Our next online course in Popular Woodworking University is a 1-hour, live web seminar with one of the hardest-working educators in our network. Bill Rainford is a North Bennet Street School graduate,...
View Article3 Types of Classic Tools you Should Question
It is important to understand which classic tools should be bought and which shouldn’t. Because tools vary in quality, many are not worth owning. In fact, you must be careful and selective. The...
View ArticleSketching and Design Development
In addition to using sketching to solve problems on the fly in the shop, I also use quick sketches while making formal drawings to visualize the appearance of the finished drawing. When I’m at a museum...
View ArticleWoodworking Philosophy 101
As the “new guy” on the Popular Woodworking Magazine team (and you may, or may not, know there’s an even newer guy on the team now – Mike Wallace…no, not that Mike Wallace, but more from and about him...
View ArticleWhat’s Important in Organizing a Shop?
I’ve worked in a 2,000 square-foot professional shop and I now work in a one-car garage shop, and the one thing that’s universal for all shops is that you’ve got to be able to find stuff. Whether it’s...
View ArticleWhat is Shellac?
This 11-minute video excerpt, featuring the one and only Don Williams, is a fairly complete answer to a common question – what is shellac? I say “fairly complete” because the video generated a couple...
View ArticleHand Drafting Skill-builder FAQ
Q: Is there ever a time in the hand drafting process when you use paper with lines on it, such as graph paper? A: If I am out in the field and do not have a portable drafting setup, then graph paper is...
View ArticleMaps for Your Journey
The search for design inspiration is a journey down many different roads, some of them fruitful and some dead-end. One of our goals within Popular Woodworking University’s online classes is to give...
View ArticleDoes the Arts & Crafts Cycle End with the Greenes?
I can’t swear to there being a “cycle” for every Arts & Crafts woodworker. I can only speak to my own experience and add that I have had many nods of agreement when sharing my philosophy. I began...
View ArticleNew Faces (and Some old Ones)
What really stood out for me at our annual woodworking conference last month were all the new faces and ideas. Part of that was the new location – Winston-Salem, N.C. – and part of it was the fact that...
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From Temple Roofs to Tansu: In Search of a Bamboo Nail
Kyoto’s Kinkakuji sits on the edge of an ornamental pond, its gold leaf catching the light and turning it to an aureate glow, the whole gleaming apparition reflected in the pond. And yet when I visited...
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