This is a journal of the art of woodworking by hand
This is why you will hear experienced woodworkers give different answers. The disagreement is not because one person understands glue and the other does not. The difference comes from their experience, the adhesives they have used and the reasoning behind their approach. Paul Sellers, who has spent decades teaching traditional hand tool woodworking, recommends applying modern PVA glue to one…
A good strop is one of the simplest and most useful tools a woodworker can make. A strop is simply a flat piece of wood with leather attached to the surface. Its purpose is not More
Most woodworkers own a leather strop, but few understand what it actually does. This article explores the history of the strop, explains the science behind stropping, separates common myths from fact, and shows why proper technique matters just as much as the strop itself.
For years I have looked at my website statistics and wondered how many of those numbers represented real people. Like many content creators, I have questioned whether the visitors were genuine readers or simply numbers More
A quick note about the AI character used in my videos Recently I introduced an AI generated character to present some of my videos. The scripts, ideas, research, and woodworking knowledge behind those videos are More
A properly fitted hammer handle is held in place by mechanical force, not adhesive. Here's why the wedge still beats glue, and always has.
For years I believed that if you made something with enough care, honesty and skill, people would eventually flock to it. It would command a high price, your reputation as a craftsman would be highly More
I was looking for videos on YT on how to film woodworking videos. I'm curious how they get all those close up angle shots without themselves or their hands being in the way. As always on YT I get everything else, but what I want.
A look at a simple but widely used woodworking technique where a chisel is intentionally dulled to act as a scraper instead of a cutting tool. This old workshop method gives more control over material removal, especially in fine fitting work and planemaking, where a sharp edge can sometimes be too aggressive. We explore where the idea comes from, how it behaves in practice, and why it is still…
What I make is for others, but how I make it is for me.
