Andy Glenn’s new book “Backwoods Chairmakers” has been a runaway hit – we’ve about blown through the first press run after only 3-1/2 months. Recently, Andy had the great idea to gather the chairmakers from his book at Berea College so readers can meet these chairmakers, hear their stories, see their chairs and watch demonstrations...... Read more

The mercury got pushed up to 79F (26C) in my part of the universe today. Spent the morning working on the transitional herd cleaning them up. The PM I spent in the backyard doing some yard maintenance. I promised my wife months ago I would do it and today it was made good. It was a good time to squeeze it in because I'm on the fence with the next project. I want to make a new bedside table. I want... Read more

House & Garden magazine in the U.K. has a nice feature on vernacular stick chairs and cricket tables in its current issue. You can read the article here. Tim Bowen of Tim Bowen Antiques is quoted throughout. Tim and Betsan Bowen authored “The Welsh Stick Chair,” a lovely book that we stock. (It is the...... Read more

This is a sequel to show the unbelievable speed you can achieve ripping by hand in a seated position. Ripping this fast unless you’re super fit is pretty much impossible.... Read more

 Daughter #1 came up from Baltimore today for work and to visit friends. That left me the AM session to get the Miller Falls No 14 straggler ready for adoption. Spent the PM with her taking in the sights in Cumberland RI. She heads back south on monday to rejoin her husband. I wanted to get the shellac going on the 2nd portable chest of drawers but that didn't happen. I'll try to do it on monday. ready to assembleIt took... Read more

 Let me put this another way. All the woodworking is done as is the prep for applying the finish. All that is left to get a check mark in the done column is 4-6 coats of shellac. I spent the morning working on it and quit at lunch time. I'll start the shellac tomorrow. The rest of the day was spent prepping the three #5's for sale.the drawer stops cooked overnightFirst glamour shot is head on. The only drawers I... Read more

“The Anarchist’s Tool Chest,” the book that allowed me to quit my corporate job is now available as a free pdf download, now and forever. To download it, you need only click on this link. You don’t have to register, give up your email or do any other smarmy marketing idiocy. We will continue to...... Read more

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cosmonautroger:Godzilla, Columbo... Read more

Well, it is almost ready for shellac. I think I'm done with the woodworking for the 2nd portable chest of drawers. Of the two of them I like this one more than the first one. It was a bit frustrating doing the last of the woodworking today and it ate up a ton of time and boatload of calories. Before I launch myself into another project I'm going to finish up the #5 planes I want to sell.a senior momentI... Read more

We were wrapping things up at the end of the bowl carving class. Joel Paul and I were talking about bowls and tools when he handed me this: I had no idea what it was. Heavy. A fancy plumb bob? … Continue reading →... Read more

Although I’ve alluded to this before, I realized today that I never explicitly mentioned this here. My bad.The good folks at the Maine Japanese Woodworking Festival were kind enough to ask yours truly to teach and give a talk this year. The festival runs from July 26 - 28, 2024 in Mercer, Maine. The title of my talk is “The Japanese Tool Tradition: It’s Not What You Think It Is”. I figured it’s a good title — vague enough that I... Read more

 The crappy weather came back today but the worse of the rain is supposedly coming on friday morning. It doesn't matter as I got all the drawers done for the 2nd portable chest of drawers. Well it might be a maybe got all of them done. One drawer might be iffy. I'll find whether or not it went south tomorrow. healthy amount of twistI knew this was twisted or was going to be twisted when I glued it up. It was... Read more

Woolley and Wallis’ upcoming Collections & Fine Furniture sale will take place at Dinton Hall, Buckinghamshire, on Tuesday 16th April 2024. “The sale will comprise of over eighty lots of fine furniture and works of art which has been collected … Continue reading →... Read more

Modern planes come blades made of exotic types of steel, but what about vintage planes? For instance, what sort of steel did the Stanley’s use? The short brochure “Read this before you use STANLEY PLANES”, describes the blades. It appears that for several generations the steel used In Stanley Plane Cutters was made for Stanley … Continue reading What steel was used in vintage plane blades?... Read more