Woodsmith

I’m one of those woodworkers cursed with having to wear bifocals. So it’s really tough for me to get the holes in the sanding disks lined up with the dust collection ports on a random-orbit sander and to get them back in the container they came in. T

Straight and square — these are the normal boundaries of the woodworking world. It’s a standard that provides order and structure. But we all love shaking things up a bit. Throwing a curve (or a circle) into the mix is one sure way to add spice and v

A surefire way to increase the “Wow!” factor of a project is to use unusual woods that draw your attention. The grain pattern or a small feature like a knob or inlay can make all the difference. One easy way to do this is with a unique, exotic specie

Most woodworkers eventually get around to adding a dedicated surface planer to their arsenal of shop tools. It’s typically not the first piece of equipment most of us buy, but certainly not the last, either. After all, creating workpieces of a consis

Woodworkers are typically a very giving group of people. Sharing handcrafted projects with others is the ideal way to show you care. So it’s no surprise that small projects, like this candle centerpiece, are so popular. It can be built in a short amo

Many of us have hobbies beyond woodworking. Whether it’s fly-tying, model making, or jewelry making, they all require a place to work. Providing that work area is where this hobby station wins the day. The main feature that attracted me to this proje

Displaying our family treasures has never been more of a joy since the addition of this cabinet to our living room. Its size and profile are easy on the eyes and could occupy any space in your house with quiet confidence. The cabinet is made of a tri

There’s no children’s toy more iconic than the wood rocking horse. It’s the one toy that most children will remember well into their adulthood. I have great memories of the hours spent on my simple store-bought horse, pretending to ride the range and

One of the best parts of building a project is creating the joinery. It doesn’t really matter what joint it is, either. My enjoyment comes from carefully forming the joints and seeing the parts come together and the project taking shape. Since I adde

Woodworking tends to be a retreat for most of us. Spending time in the shop is our relaxation and alone time. But the more I look at woodworking forums or pages on the internet, I notice a recurring theme — a lot of us aren’t actually alone in the sh

Most woodworkers I know combine hand tools and power tools in their shops. But when it comes time to size parts or deal with joinery, they typically turn to their table saw, band saw, or router. That was pretty much how it worked in my shop – until I

Long and lean legs with a gentle taper add beauty to the display cabinet on page 28. The “lean” part is the result of tapering the leg. The best way to address this challenge requires the table saw sled you see in the main drawing below. It has a ser

The “hook” of a blade is simply the angle at which the teeth lean forward (or back) when looking at the blade from the side. Blades are available in a range of hook angles. If the teeth lean forward (so that they face into the cut) the blade is said