I first heard about Colen Clenton’s tools from Joel Moskowitz of Tools for Working Wood in Brooklyn, N.Y. On Joel’s recommendation, I purchased one of Colen’s squares and was deeply impressed by its craftsmanship and accuracy. I asked Joel how I could e-mail Colen and ask him a few questions about his tools for an … Read more »
I’ve been teaching classes on building “The Anarchist’s Tool Chest” for two years now, and with every class I find some way of goosing the students a bit further along. Last year at The Woodwright’s School we actually got two of the 12 students completely over the finish line. This week, I hope to shatter … Read more »
When it comes to poisonous things that bite you, Australia has more than its fair share. Within an hour of landing in Melbourne, I heard some lovely stories of spotted little spiders that make your flesh rot. I haven’t seen any spiders, but during my first day of teaching a tool chest class at the … Read more »
For the last three years I have been paring down my working tool set to the bare minimum by selling off or giving away many of the tools that I amassed while working at Popular Woodworking Magazine. It was so cathartic I wrote a book about it called “The Anarchist’s Tool Chest,” which is available … Read more »
I’m the first to admit that I have some bad habits. I drink beer. I occasionally curse. And I sometimes drag my planes back across my work on the return stroke. When you receive traditional training, dragging a plane back across your work will get your knuckles rapped by the shop nun. That’s because when … Read more »
If it weren’t for Highland Hardware in Atlanta (now called Highland Woodworking), my life would be a lot different. 1. That’s where I first met Roy Underhill. Well, “met” is not the right word. I was too shy to introduce myself. I just watched him for about an hour until it reached the point that … Read more »
If a workbench or a tool chest is on your list of woodworking projects to build this year, you’ll definitely want to read on about two upcoming DVDs I’m working on with Popular Woodworking Magazine. In just a few weeks, we’re filming a DVD on building a traditional tool chest using a small set of … Read more »
Three of the enemies in my shop are rust, zinc coating and black oxide. 1. Rust: No explanation needed. Rust is the enemy of steel, and steel is what allows us to tame wood. 2. Zinc coating: Many steel fasteners are coated with an ugly layer of zinc to protect them from rust in the … Read more »
This week I’m building a pair of portable workbenches for an upcoming issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine and spent yesterday turning lots and lots of threads for the vise and for the garbage can. Instead of using a manual threadbox for these benches, I decided to try the Beall Tool Co. wood threading system. It … Read more »
I can see the headlines now: “Schwarz Loves Nazi Buttocks.” Oh well, it has been worse than that lately. An astute reader – Mark Firley – was doing some deeper research on the Moravian-style stool published in the December 2012 issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine. (See more information on the stool here or download the Continue reading»
