Category Archives: Wood and Woodwork

Crosses and Craftsmanship

Posted on January 2, 2022 by literaryworkshop

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 →

Posted in Wood and Woodwork | 1 Comment

Tool Chest Guided Tour

Posted on December 18, 2021 by literaryworkshop

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 →

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When a Furniture Maker Buys Furniture

Posted on October 8, 2021 by literaryworkshop

The other day I suddenly realized that, to my knowledge, I have never actually bought a piece of furniture. When we were newlyweds, my wife and I gladly accepted nearly any secondhand (or third- or fourth-hand) furniture that was offered … Continue reading →

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Meet My Dumb Apprentices

Posted on September 17, 2021 by literaryworkshop

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 →

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Building the Mule Chest

Posted on September 11, 2021 by literaryworkshop

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 →

Posted in Boxes, Build-Alongs, Furniture, Wood and Woodwork | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

De-Cluttering Your Time: 3 Keys to Reducing Screen-Time

Posted on August 20, 2021 by literaryworkshop

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 →

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Beating the Clutter-Creators: Habits and Strategies

Posted on August 8, 2021 by literaryworkshop

There are many de-cluttering schemes out there, and because I live in a small house with a fairly large family, I have gone through many de-cluttering events, from simple tidying to annual cleaning to outright purges. In her book Making … Continue reading →

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Essential Tools (For Me), Part 4: Joinery Planes

Posted on June 30, 2021 by literaryworkshop

There are two kinds of “essential” tools: all-purpose tools that you use for all kinds of jobs, and specialized tools that you use for just one operation. Up to this point in this blog series, I’ve featured tools in the … Continue reading →

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Essential Tools (for Me), Part 3: Spoon-Making Tools

Posted on June 27, 2021 by literaryworkshop

Because spoon making has been such a big part of my woodworking, I think it’s appropriate that I write my 350th blog post about the tools I use to make spoons, spatulas, and other wooden utensils. These are by far … Continue reading →

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Essential Tools (to Me), Part 2: The Dovetail Saw

Posted on June 23, 2021 by literaryworkshop

I don’t have a favorite tool. I really don’t. My “favorite” tool is whichever well-made, ergonomic tool will do the job I need to get done at the moment. But if I had to pick one, favorite tool out of … Continue reading →

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