Here's a short video showing my tool chest.

It is just a heavy duty plastic tote I put into service because I really needed something, and it was a lot better than the cardboard boxes I had. As you will see, it isn't even close to what a good hand tool cabinetmaker's chest should be. Read more about My personal tool chest

Since I read Hand Tools: Their Ways and Workings several years ago, I've wanted a bench anvil and had been unable to find anything quite suitable. Read more about Small bench anvil now available

I need some help.

Two or three years or so ago, there was a series of blog posts by a windsor chair maker that appeared here on UnplugedShop.com by someone who built one or two stools that had seats that angled forward at maybe a 20 degree angle.

The stool was unbacked and the spindles were turned on a powered lathe. I seem to recall a video of either that project or others by the same maker.

I really enjoyed the series of posts and wanted to take another look at it to see if it is something I would want to build to replace my office chair. Read more about Angled stool

These are the planes I'm going to be tuning up and restoring as everyday users for the new ebook I am working on. It will be a quick and easy guide to tuning bench planes for regular use.

I chose typical flea market/ebay finds that weren't too bad, but needed enough work to be able to show the processes to restore them.

I plan show the fettling, i.e. tuning, process and then do some basic testing of the planes after they are tuned up.

It may be hard, but I bought them with the intention of selling them after I finish the ebook. Read more about Plane rebuild project

How to do more with hand tools is the question this site seeks to answer.

For newbies, it means figuring out what all the excitement is and how to get set up.

For the more experienced, it means learning more advanced techniques and developing relationships with other hand tool workers.

My site here at UnpluggedShop.com offers hand tool updates from other sites and also forum updates from hand tool forums. If you follow those authors for a while, that is a good start towards getting into hand tools and has accounted for much of my education. Read more about How to do more with hand tools

I've gotten a lot out of UnpluggedShop.com over the years. I've learned more than I could have ever dreamed about traditional crafts. I've gotten to know some wonderful people in a virtual sort of way. And I'd like to think I've helped people find a hobby or even business that suits their situation and interests.

One of the things I haven't received has been cash. I doubt the site has made over $10 in revenue. I'm nearly positive it hasn't made more than $20. That works out to something like twenty-five cents a month.

Given that my financial situation right now is extremely tight, I've added a Donate button on the home page of UnpluggedShop.com near the top of the page. (It's through PayPal, but you don't have to have a PayPal account to donate.)

I have been blessed already to receive several times in donations what the site has made through advertising or affiliate links up until now. Read more about About the donate button and the future of UnpluggedShop.com

I've been doing a bit of reading on design blogs. I'm talking about things like interior design, and office and home decor.

One of the things I've noticed is that a lot of the items that caught my interest would require separate and distinct skill for me to create.

I'm talking about things like a weathered wood table top with a curvy brushed metal base, chairs incorporating steel and wood, a chair that was made from a single piece of wood for the back and seat with a leather cushion and metal swivel.

What would it take to start producing stuff like this for sale? Is it possible (or reasonably) for a one man shop?

Could the non-wood items be provided for sale to individual woodworkers to finish the item and ship it?

Could it be done by a guild of three or four craftspeople working in close geographic proximity?

Are there other possibilities? Read more about Making and marketing mixed material stuff

I want to talk about how I use UnpluggedShop.com and discuss a possible upcoming change in how the links work.

For several years, I read or at least scanned nearly every article that came up on the aggregator. For me, that has become impractical now as there are so many blogs.

I still read it regularly, but now, I cherry pick based on the website and title. Some days, I read most of the articles, but more often, I will only read my favorites.

Typically, I will do a middle mouse button click on all of the links I think are interesting opening them in a new tab in my Firefox browser, and then start reading with the ones that are loaded while I am waiting for the others to load. Read more about How I use UnpluggedShop.com

Yesterday, my wife and I visited the Spiva Art Museum in Joplin, MO. Featured on display was artwork by local artists memorializing the May 22, 2011 EF5 multiple-vortex tornado that killed more than 160 people and wiped out a large section of the city.

When it hit, I was home (about 15 minutes away) with my family watching KOAM TV news as Meteorologist Doug Heady announced a tornado was on the ground in Joplin and pleaded with people to take cover. Even though he had a tower camera looking almost directly into the tornado, it couldn't be seen because of the heavy rain "wrapping" it.

We knew it would be bad, but had no idea how bad. It was so bad, it wasn't really clear until the following days exactly what had happened. For days, search and rescue was a major focus, but even that was dangerous, not only because of the wreckage, but because of the rain and heavy lightning that followed in the days afterward. Read more about The beauty of tragedy

What are some of the products or services that represent the best opportunities for hand tool and hybrid woodworkers to make a profit?

Here is my current top ten list (in no particular order):

Chairs
-We have all gotten used to chairs that fall apart and can't be easily repaired. Winning on quality is quite possible here.
Carved and turned spoons and bowls
-There is nothing like taking a chunk of firewood and making something beautiful out of it.
Architectural restoration
-When it is old and broken, there aren't many who can fix it right.
Boxes
-Yes, simple, beautiful boxes. Making a profit doesn't have to mean making exotic stuff.
Tables
-Coffee tables, end tables, and kitchen tables can be made with elegant slabs, book matched tops, and other design considerations with construction that will last a lifetime. A chainsaw mill and woodlot could help out here.
Reclaimed wood Read more about 10 Best prospects for making a profit in woodworking

I have added a number of new blogs in the last few weeks to the aggregator on this site's home page. I have been pleasantly surprised lately to see how many new blogs are out there involving hand tool woodworking.

My front page news aggregator is following over 120 blogs and forums. That means there are a number of new blog articles every day that come up. It's better than reading the newspaper. It's more fun than shaving. It's more exciting than filling up your gas tank.

When I first built this site a few years ago, I felt like I found most of the blogs out there at the time. Now, I'm fairly certain I have missed a bunch of them. Probably on the order of 25 or 50. Maybe more. Read more about New blogs added

I'm breaking all of the rules with this bench. Except the ones that are important.

I started this bench around the first of the year, and got part of the top glued up. As it got north of maybe 100 pounds, I was having trouble maneuvering it due to some sore muscles and haven't gotten back to it until now. And yes, if you are wondering, I am feeling much better now. Ask me about transdermal magnesium sometime.

Anyway, this bench is destined to be ugly. It isn't going to have the best or prettiest joinery. It has voids from splits and knots. It has screw holes. Most of it isn't going to be beautifully finished. Or really finished at all in the proper sense of the word.

In short, I'm throwing out all of the minor rules in favor of getting a bench done that adheres to the important rules.

It is already heavy. It will be flat. It will be stable. And I will be able to clamp stuff to it. That is what a workbench does. And as a bonus, it wasn't expensive. Read more about Laminated workbench construction

For hand tool and mixed shop woodworkers, there are two books I'm suggesting are "must" reading. One is Schwarz' Workbenches: From Design & Theory to Construction & Use and the other is The Anarchist's Tool Chest by the same PG rated wordsmith.

Until now, I have been unable to find a discussion on building traditional tool chests that was sufficiently detailed so one could actually adapt it for personal use. Chris Schwarz' book does just that. And that is really, really important.

Every hand tool shop needs a workbench and a tool chest. If you could see my current tool chest, you would agree that I definitely need a proper tool chest. And I'm planning on building one following Schwarz' suggestions. I'm also taking into account his tool recommendations as I build my tool kit. Read more about Review of The Anarchist's Tool Chest

I am deep into reading The Anarchist's Tool Chest.

I am also trying to put together several other ideas at the same time. Some of this philosophical meandering has been furthered by Chris' book, but really, it started much before.

In the book, he suggests that if our craft of traditional woodworking is to be continued, it will be at the hands of craftsmen who work as a hobby. I believe he is right, but I'm looking for loopholes.

At the same time, as I tool up my shop, I have been pondering the wisdom of exactly what I want to focus on building and whether or not there is anything I can build that is commercially viable. Read more about Commercial viability of our craft

Regular visitors to the site will have noticed that there has been some trouble with the latest news entries where I aggregate blog headlines from around the blogosphere.

My apologies for the inconvenience. I never really took the time to get totally to the bottom of it, but I changed and updated some feeds and settings, and it seems to be working fine now.

I do hope the aggregator serves to introduce people to more of the great blogs and resources that are out there, and that it will help some newbies find their way more quickly through the hand tool universe. Read more about Aggregator troubles