Hand tool Woodworking for the Urban Apartment Dweller
I’ve had the same shooting board for 12 years. It’s a clone of the Lost Art Press plans (made of 1/2″ baltic birch plywood) and has served me very well. But after a dozen years, it’s pretty chewed up (mostly from being too lazy to flip it over when using it as a bench hook […]
Happy New Year, everyone! Hopefully everyone has fully recovered from their New Year’s Eve partying and is back in the shop. I certainly am. As with every new year, I try to tackle a few small but important projects (I call them “fixgasms“) around the shop. The term is not exclusive to the workshop. A […]
When I first built my wall-hanging tool chest, I had only a handful of moulding planes. Basically a quarter set of hollows and rounds, plus a wooden fillister (rabbeting) plane. So the little cubbies at the bottom were more than sufficient for both those and my couple of joinery planes. But since then, I’ve accumulated […]
Happy [American] Thanksgiving to those who celebrate! It’s November 27, 2025 and things are in a weird place. It’s been a busy year for me, professionally. Workflow is good; the pipeline is strong. And all I want to do is spend some quiet time in the workshop and forget about the chaos out there. It’s […]
For those who only know me as a woodworker, you probably won’t be surprised to hear that I also love Magic: the Gathering. I’m in my mid 40’s and my first pack of Magic was Unlimited (and I still have the Savannah I opened in it). I largely play Mono White (Life gain or Midrange) […]
I was up at the Vermont house the other day and made my periodic pilgrimage to The Red Carrot in Rutland. The store is great for things like rustic boxes (more on that some day), but as a woodworker and general DIYer, I prefer the related warehouse down the street. They have most of the […]
I have an office job (M&A attorney) and my principal place of employment is in town. I like being at the office; I go 4-5 times a week. But I do work from home from time to time (especially evenings and on weekends), so it’s important that my home office is both functional and cozy. […]
For those who know me personally (or who have followed me for long enough), you’re aware that I am atheist. I grew up very Catholic. And like all good Catholic boys, the only vestige of my Catholicism now is periodically invoking the name of the Father, the Son, the Blessed Mother, or whatever Saint fits […]
Editor’s Note: Buckle up. This will be a long one and will at times feel like James is just ranting. In an effort to pander to his international audience, James is also adding metric parentheticals. Even if using anything other than Freedom Units is anathema to him. I’ve a number of small trips on my […]
Hope everyone’s 2025 is off to a great start! I am actively ignoring the shitshow that is the United States federal government for the next 2-4 years, so that means more woodworking! I was recently up north where I have a basic set of hand tools and a pretty good workbench in a shed. My […]