Recent Comments
Advertisements
Category Archives: Wood and Woodwork
How to Sell Your Handmade Goods at a Craft Market, part 1: The Display
It took me a few years to learn to make wooden spoons and spatulas that people actually wanted to buy. But when I started trying to sell my work at local craft markets, I learned something important: selling things is … Continue reading
Posted in Wood and Woodwork
Tagged business cards, craft market, craft show, craft table, display table, market table, signage, signs
2 Comments
Book Review: Cræft by Alexander Langlands
Cræft: An Inquiry into the Origins and True Meaning of Traditional Crafts by Alexander Langlands, Norton, 2017. $26.95 You may have noticed that there’s a handicrafts revival going on. Every month there seems to be a new craft market to shop … Continue reading
Posted in books, Reviews, Wood and Woodwork, Woodworking Literature
Tagged adventure, Alexander Langlands, book, books, craft, craft book, Cræft, reading
Leave a comment
Build A Simple, Wooden Storage Crate in an Hour
One of the tests of a competent woodworker is the ability to make a simple, sturdy box to order. Just this afternoon, my wife was cleaning and reorganizing, and she asked me to make her a crates to help her … Continue reading
Posted in Build-Alongs, storage, Wood and Woodwork
Tagged box, build a crate, crate, make a crate, nails, organization, organize, storage, wood crate, wooden crate
1 Comment
The Hardest Part of Learning to Sharpen
The other day, I was teaching a friend to sharpen his plane iron, and it got me thinking about sharpening. Of all the skills I have learned while working wood, sharpening has been the most life-changing. It started with chisels … Continue reading
Posted in sharpening, skills, teaching, Wood and Woodwork
Tagged Chris Schwarz, edge, sharp, sharpen, sharpening
7 Comments
Rebuilding Trunnions on a 14″ Steel City Band Saw
Not long ago, a friend offered to give me his old bandsaw, which he was replacing with a newer, bigger model. The only catch: the old bandsaw had two broken parts, and because the manufacturer has gone out of business, … Continue reading
Posted in Wood and Woodwork
22 Comments
The Parable of the Homemade Wine
Once there was a man who had a garden and an orchard. He grew many kinds of fruits–plums, figs, blueberries, strawberries, and grapes. His fruits grew so well that he needed something to do with them, so he began to … Continue reading
Fairy Furniture You Can Make on Your Front Steps
After a big tropical storm made a mess of my daughter K’s fairy garden, she decided to do some remodeling. First on her list was new fairy furniture, so we thought up some simple designs for a table and chairs. … Continue reading
Posted in Build-Alongs, Kids, Wood and Woodwork
Tagged fairy, fairy furniture, fairy garden, fairy house, garden, tree branch
2 Comments
Working Wood with My Children (Mostly Pictures)
Ever since my children were old enough to hold tools, I have included them in my woodworking. My workbench is right in our main living space–on one end of the dining room–so the kids can all see me every time … Continue reading
How to Make a Tobacco Pipe with Hand Tools, Part 4: Stem-Bending, Staining, and Finishing
On balance, I would say that half of pipe making involves sanding. It’s not exactly the fun part of making a pipe, but the results are worth the care and effort. Theoretically, rasps and files are used to establish the … Continue reading
