Three Days In July

One Saturday late in July 2014 I called up a friend and fellow woodworker John and asked if he was doing anything. I told him I was heading to Avoca NY, about 2 hour drive west.  While Avoca is in the heart idyllic country, it is no tourists destination, but people...

Plane and Simple

Planes are the epitome of fine woodworking and have four jobs in the shop: to straighten, flatten, smooth and remove wood. Simple, but many woodworkers are confused by all the different sizes of bench planes available.  Stanley has at least 15+ planes, from the tiny...

Shadow Boxes

I was recently commissioned to make a series of shadow boxes.  I ended up making a total of 5 boxes. 3 made from Oak ply  – trimmed in White Oak and 2 from Baltic Birch trimmed in Cherry. Here you can see the process for making the two different boxes.  ...

Padawan Box

This is a project that ‘Padawan’ Wes wanted to make – he came to me asking if we could make a box…  Sure, simple I thought,  and in my mind, I naively pictured a Twinings Tea box – (what you think I would be thinking red rose)?  You know...

Tools you can’t do without – Bench Hooks

I once read somewhere that owning a backsaw and not owning a bench hook – was like riding a bicycle without handlebars. A bench hook lets you quickly hold your work piece in place while sawing across the grain, without having to clamp your piece down. I use mine...

Cherry Bookcase

I was recently commissioned to make a cherry book case for a gift.  The wood is old Cherry – although it was so weathered it was thought, at first, to be walnut.  The design was rustic – live edge and asymmetric. Construction: The shelves are made of two...