Category Archives: Wood and Woodwork
Four Steps to Rust-Free Tools
Ever since the dawn of the Iron Age (whenever that was), rust has been the enemy of the woodworker. I live in the wettest region of the continental USA, so rust is ever present to me. Even though I store … Continue reading
Planing Stop
To plane down a piece of wood by hand, you have to immobilize the wood. If the workpiece is small enough, it can be held in a bench vise. But if the workpiece is too wide or too long, it … Continue reading
The Story of My Stanley # 4 1/2 Smoothing Plane
A week ago I wrote about my growing preference for lightweight tools instead of heavy ones. While writing that post, I remembered that I had never blogged about how I came to own my Stanley #4 1/2 smoothing plane. Here … Continue reading
Loose the Weight
I used to prefer heavy tools. Now I don’t. It has taken me longer than it should to recognize that, given the choice between two tools of similar quality, I should choose the one that is lighter in weight. Let’s … Continue reading
Crosses and Craftsmanship
When my church did some remodeling, they salvaged several painted pine boards and commissioned me to make some decorative crosses out of the wood. Some were gifts for volunteers; others were sold in a missions fundraiser. From a joinery point … Continue reading
Tool Chest Guided Tour
Ten years ago, I was collecting hand tools at a rapid rate. I had most of them tucked into various crates and tool boxes, but others were just sitting on the benchtop because I had no better place to store … Continue reading
Meet My Dumb Apprentices
When I began working wood in earnest more than 15 years ago, I was working almost exclusively with hand tools, by choice but also by necessity. Most operations–smoothing boards and joining them together–were fun and even efficient with a fairly … Continue reading
Building the Mule Chest
Most of the time my projects begin because I have a problem I need to solve, and sometimes they begin with me reading a book. This time it was both. The book I’ve been reading is The Anarchist’s Design Book … Continue reading
De-Cluttering Your Time: 3 Keys to Reducing Screen-Time
Last week I said I wanted to reduce the amount of time I spent on social media–essentially de-clutter my time just like I’m trying to de-clutter my space. The hope was that I could make more time for doing things … Continue reading
The Literary Workshop Blog 