DeWalt Pride back in America

Previously

• Craftsman Miter Station Model 88136301

I was at a Habitat for Humanity ReStore  a few weeks back with my son.  In a pile of saws I saw a 24″ long backsaw peaking out with a $5.00 price tag on it.  I looked it over.  Not a Disston, Warranted Superior.  I explained to my son that we had a longer better […]

• Workshop Memories

In putting together some photos for my next post, I discovered some photos of some funnier times in the workshop with my son.  These are in chronological order.  They make me smile and laugh. Hopefully they’ll bring some joy to you too. Okay.  I promise to quit kidding around and get to some actual woodworking […]

• Handscrew Repair

My Father has recently decided he is too old to do workshop type work anymore.  At 83 I’ll let him use that excuse.  As a result of his decision he has started unloading some of his tools on me.  Many have seen better days.  Florida’s salt air is hard enough on tools, and much of […]

• Adjustable Stand-up Sit-down Desk

As a full time web developer I need a desk that allows me to work at my computer standing up, but when I need to get off my feet, can also let me sit down.  As a picky person I have a long list of requirements Allow me to use the computer while standing up […]

• Brilliant Woodworking Animation – Chair makes itself

This video (really a still frame animation) of making a lawn chair is quite fantastic.  I like the style of the chair, but the brilliant bit is the way the craftsman / videographer make it appear as if the wood and tools are making the chair themselves. Clever no matter how you look at it. […]

• Walk the Plank … the Cedar Diving Board.

My son swims quite well for a 4 year old, and when he expressed an interest in diving from a diving board, I wanted to be an encouraging father.  So I went out to the shop and rummaged  around for a suitable plank.  I had  5′ long 2″x6″ made of cedar.  It was not quite […]

• Home Depot Choosing China Again

I was in my local Home Depot yesterday and walking through the tool section looking to buy a couple of bar clamps.   I have always favored the Jorgensen brand because they are sturdy, well made, and are made in the USA.  I have always appreciated that Home Depot carries them.   So I walk […]

• Workbench Serendipity Favors … someone else

Every old tool fan has a story of the one that got away.  Some great old gem of a tool that slipped through their fingers for some reason or another.  My most recent one still makes me shake my head in disbelief. I’m not fully up and running with my new garage bay workshop.  To […]

• Good Plane Advice – Good Physics

This video is amazing and clearly shows the effects of a chip breaker with a much steeper angle on the front of it (think snow plow rather than ramp) and setting it closer to the edge of the blade than “conventional wisdom” would have suggested. The video very clearly shows that the chip breaker works […]

• Rustic Outdoor Lamp Posts

My workshop in FL is still not ready yet, so here is one from a collection of things from my time in NY that I had not gotten around to posting. On our property I needed some outdoor lighting to keep our B&B guests from bumping into things in the dark.  Any of the modern […]

• Kids Builds at Lowes and Home Depot

While my workshop is being reconfigured, the only real woodworking projects I have been doing lately are taking my 3 yr old to the Home Depot Kids Workshop and the Lowes Build and Grow Workshop a few times a month.  Both stores really do a nice thing of providing the kits, tools and work space […]

• No Waste – High Tech Timberframing

I watched this video and was impressed by all the cool automated technology used to create the timberframe  components.  But I also thought, where’s the fun in that?   Industrially precut timber framing has become the predominant house construction method throughout Japan. In this documentary, Bakoko explains the process from factory floor to building site. […]

• Vaughan Hammer – Sad Gloat

I am still suffering from a severe case of workshop withdrawal.  The entire contents of my workshop are still residing in a 5’x8’x8′ U-box pod waiting for us to move into a new house. Overall I have to say I am happy with the U-box service…just sad to be without a shop for the duration […]

• Band Saw Set-up Video

I have a Craftsman 14″ bandsaw that is a twin brother to the Rikon (the Rikon has a few more refinements).  I am not certain whether Rikon makes the Craftsman or some third company makes both the Rikon and Craftsman. Either way, I saw this video about fine tuning at setup and I wanted to […]

• Barn Moving

In general, timber frame structures are incredibly solid and stable.  Here is a great example of the stability when 344 people gathered to lift a barn and move it by hand and foot from one location to another.

• Mallet Head Angle

I’ve seen this issue come up and get discussed on several forums.  A joiners mallet is pretty simple to make, so it is a quick and satisfying shop project to get one constructed, but then the question arises,  “what angle should be put on the head?”  This is an important question with advice ranging from […]

• Tuning Up a Cheap Spokeshave

For years I have been keeping my eye out for a rounded bottom spokeshave (convex, front to back).  I have an old Stanley 151M flat soled spokeshave that works quite well and I wanted a vintage round bottom Stanley 151R to match.  Unfortunately they seem to be kind of rare, or on eBay the photos […]

• Chisel – Long Lost Brother

Tool owner stamps always intrigue me.  When I pick up one of my  old wood planes and  look at the layers of old owner stamps on them, I wonder who they were and what they did.  Were they carpenters, or just hobbyists?  Did they pass them on to their children? Did they save up for […]

• Portable Chisel Rack

For years I have kept my chisels in a drawer.  I keep covers on the tips so they don’t damage each other, but as my chisel collection has grown, the drawer has gotten crowded and is just not the best way to store and access them repeatedly.  So I decided to make a chisel rack.  […]