The shop is getting a wee bit crowded. The 1/2" plywood left over from the roof is taking up a lot of walking area real estate. I have table parts leaning against the drill press cabinet and all the stock for the shaker cabinet occupying every bit of available horizontal space. It is like a running an obstacle course walking around the shop. I think I will take the next day or two and do some rearranging. It might be... Read more

I’m a big fan of the Taiwanese-made “carver’s vise” sold by many vendors with slightly different paint jobs. The vise is inexpensive and incredibly versatile, especially for chairmaking operations. Most students who take a chair class here seem to end up ordering one after using one of ours. The vise basically replaces a shaving horse....... Read more

Settee by Hugo FrancaAfter obsessing about tear-out for weeks, I needed some entertainment. This past weekend I found myself at Sotheby's auction house looking at their Design Week show. Most of the crowds were gathered to see really expensive jewelry, or "important" watches and collectible sneakers (some of which have already garnered bids above $20,000) of the concurrent Luxury Week show. Stuff that used to belong to Paul Newman and Freddie Mercury (including the original song sheet lyrics for Bohemian... Read more

 There was a break in the weather and I took advantage of it. The seers predicted clouds and rain and there were blue skies with fluffy white clouds and sunshine. At least for a little while. I lugged the lunchbox planer to the driveway and I'm paying for it now. I don't consider myself a weakling but carrying that planer was a chore. My back has been telling me all day it didn't like it at all. I got all... Read more

. . . or the lure of a mechanised performance! The most predictable thing about wood is its unpredictability. I would say that that is the case in most natural materials used in most crafts and that is why we have such a predominance of man-made alternative materials; for any type of mass-making the materials... Read the full post The Lure of Unpredictable . . . on Paul Sellers' Blog.... Read more

 I had my doubts that the roof would be done today due to the weather. They showed up at 0730 (6 men and one woman) and were done by 1430. There were several times it sprinkled and one down pour and they worked through it all like it didn't happen. The old roof was ripped off entirely by 0930 and the first corner of shingles went on before lunch. The most impressive thing other than the awesome new roof, is... Read more

 Along with it being overcast it has gotten cold. I had to turn the heat on again to take the chill out of the house. The sun peeked out twice today. When I rolled out of the rack the sun was shining but on the walk back from McDonalds it was  cloudy and overcast again. It came out again after dinner for while. No rain at all but tomorrow is supposed to rain all day so I probably won't get... Read more

Katherie has just posted 30 jars of Soft Wax 2.0 in her store. This batch was made in the nacho cheese machine – we are still struggling to get her lipstick machine back on line. She’ll be done with college in two weeks, and then she will have some more time available to work on...... Read more

The sun peeked out today briefly this afternoon for about 5 minutes. The rest of the day was dark and dreary. It tried to rained several times but it never amounted to more than a few drops falling. I spent a couple of hours this AM watching the weather and debating on whether or not to risk bringing the lunchbox planer up to the driveway. I didn't do it mostly because it weighs over 80lbs and it is a PITA... Read more

I’ve been rooting around in my shop’s attic and I found this partially finished chair, abandoned by a student in one of my classes long ago. I can’t remember what happened – maybe he got sick or something. I’ve been tripping over it long enough, so I’m selling it for the cost of the parts. […] The post For Sale: Continuous Arm Settee – Some Assembly Required first appeared on Elia Bizzarri - Hand Tool Woodworking.... Read more

I am so pleased to have George Walker as our first guest host of the Lost Art Press Open Wire. George is a traditional woodworker who (with his friend Jim Tolpin) has spent nearly 20 years exploring and explaining “artisan geometry.” Artisan geometry is the clever and simple system behind all the good designs and...... Read more

I’m still grateful for the workshop I work in: it’s the one I close the door on at night and then open at first light. I reach inside for the light switch and light floods what was left the night before. There’s always the certainty of gratitude that so too floods my mind for the... Read the full post Yesterday on Paul Sellers' Blog.... Read more

I found this protractor head for a combination square at a recent garage sale.  It had no rule with it, so I had to hope the rule on my Starrett combo square would fit it.  For a buck it was worth the risk.UNION TOOL CO.ORANGE, MASS. U.S.A.Note that Orange, MA is right next to Athol, MA, home of Starrett (coincidence?)I like taking things apart (to the extent of my limited abilities, anyway) to see how they work and to clean... Read more

I don’t deal with deadlines. It’s a good thing, too. Today, in between other things, I was planing some molding to set on the deep drawer’s front. The first task is to make some beveled oak framing – just about 2″ wide x 3/8″ thick. Tapering down to about 1/8″ on its thin edge. So … Continue reading Tomorrow’s another day... Read more