My blog at Popular Woodworking- Video: Folding the Folding BookstandThe June 2018 issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine features an article I wrote about making a folding bookstand using scraps and copper rivets. It’s a design based on 18th-century pieces that were popular among British military officers. Several readers have requested a video that shows how the bookstand folds and unfolds. So here you go. Though the mechani […]
- Make a Marking Gauge for CurvesIf you work with curves, you need a marking gauge that can deal with curves. Me, I make chairs. So I need a gauge that can follow the curve of a seat so I can delineate the lines for the scooped-out saddle, the spindles and the “gutter” – a shallow and decorative channel on traditional chairs. I also need a gauge such as this for marking out the armbow and [ […]
- The Tools in the Bottom of my Tool ChestThe tools at the bottom of my chest are the heavy and expensive stuff – the planes and saws that get constantly used. At the back of the chest are my moulding planes. And the front wall of my chest has a tool rack that contains the stuff I need to grab without even looking at it. Let’s start with that rack. The Tool Rack From left to right: My […] The post T […]
- A Dovetailing Kit for BeginnersLast week I discussed the Zona Razor Saw and how it’s the ideal saw for beginning dovetailers. It’s just $12 to $15 and cuts extremely well. This saw got me thinking about what other inexpensive tools could fill out the kit for the beginner (or someone who is short on money). So here’s my best shot at this list. I’ve also included (at times) what I think is […]
- Video: Folding the Folding Bookstand
Category Archives: Sharpen This
Sept. 9 at Our Storefront: ‘Sharpenday’
Next Saturday, Sept. 9, is our regularly scheduled open day for Lost Art Press. We’ll have our complete line of books plus a good number of slightly damaged books at 50 percent of retail (cash only). And T-shirts. Coffee. Stickers. … Continue reading
Sharpen This, Part 10: Oh, Stewardess! I Speak Jive
Some days I wish there were a Google Translate filter for woodworking forums and podcasts. It would allow people to understand what is really being said. Below are some actual quotes I’ve heard through the years and my rough translation … Continue reading
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Sharpen This, Part 9: Guided by Voices
Read the other installments in the “Sharpen This” series via this link. When it comes to the topic of honing guides, I’d sooner have a double colonoscopy than discuss them. But here goes. Honing guides are jigs. They hold a … Continue reading
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Sharpen This, Part 8: Polish & Get Back to Work
Read the other installments in the “Sharpen This” series via this link. One of the misguided mantras in sharpening is this: Polish the edge until you remove all the scratches left from the previous grit. Then move to the next … Continue reading
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Sharpen This, Part 7: The Burr in the Saddle
Read the other installments in the “Sharpen This” series via this link. The burr – how to make it and how to remove it – confuses many beginners. Many underestimate its importance. Others disagree on how to remove it. First, … Continue reading
Posted in Sharpen This, Uncategorized
Sharpen This, Part 6: The Bevel & the Devil
“Der Narzissmus der kleinen Differenzen (The narcissism of small differences).” — Sigmund Freud, 1917 The topic of sharpening is plagued by Freud’s “narcissism of small differences,” and the best example of this is all the noise about the shape and … Continue reading
Posted in Sharpen This
Sharpen This, Part 5: The Myth of Super Sharpness
Read the other installments in the “Sharpen This” series via this link. Let’s pretend I want to break one of your fingers. The job would be easy if you held up your fingers in the air with them spread apart. … Continue reading
Posted in Sharpen This
