Category Archives: Wood and Woodwork
125 Utensils in Three Weeks
It was already shaping up to be a busy market season when somebody messaged me wanting to know if I could make 125 little spoons and/or spreaders. A local company wanted to put together gift baskets with locally-made items, and … Continue reading
The Art of Sanding
Sanding is so easy to do that it is very often done badly. But sanding well is a skill just like any other woodworking skill. Doing it well takes good tools, good technique, and practice. In the world of dedicated … Continue reading
What’s in a Name?
Since middle school, most of us have hesitated to let other people give us names. Name-calling is a basic tool in the toolbox of bullies and leaders of cliques. And even though our parents mostly gave us nice, socially-acceptable names, … Continue reading
Hurricane Sally: A Woodworker’s Perspective
To employ the worst of literary cliches: “It was a dark and stormy night.” It really was. On the evening of Tuesday, 15 September 2020, Hurricane Sally slowly moved into the Alabama Gulf Coast. For the last few days, our … Continue reading
A Note of Encouragement to Beginning Carvers
If you’re doing any wood carving these days, you probably belong to one or more Facebook groups for carving. Or you follow some expert carvers on Instagram. Seeing beautiful woodwork every day can be inspiring at first. But eventually it … Continue reading
Building the Marriage Bed
Barely one year ago, I shared a post entitled “One Last Bedstead,” in which I showed how I made a bedframe for my son. I ended that post with these words: “that should be the last bed frame I have … Continue reading
Your Project Makes You
When you’re building a piece of furniture on a tight schedule, there comes a point where you stop fussing with a workpiece and decide that “good enough” really is good enough. If, for example, you’re making a dresser for your … Continue reading
Podcast Recommendation: Hand Tool Book Review
I don’t listen to a lot of podcasts. Yes, there are a lot of great podcasts out there, but the time I have available for listening is pretty limited, so I have to choose my podcasts with care. That said, … Continue reading
What to Do with an Old Treadle Sewing Machine
My wife and I were cleaning out one of our storage spaces, and she dragged out a very old treadle sewing machine. A decade in the heat and humidity had not been kind to its wooden parts, which hadn’t been … Continue reading
From Toy Box to Tool Chest
When my kids were very young, I built a few things for them–a cradle, a toddler bed, and a toy box. But kids grow up, and if you build these things right, you eventually look around at all the kid-sized … Continue reading
