More than one old-timer I know tells how new carpenters used to be judged on the job by their ability to build a sawhorse. If they could deal successfully with the required angles and joints of a sawhorse, creating something solid and…
Just for fun, here’s a two-minute peek over my shoulder as I use a super-sharp chisel and mallet to create a pocket for a hand-forged hinge for a wooden door I built. This is how all traditional hinges are installed.
Steve Maxwell, “Canada’s Handiest Man”, reviews Lee Valley All-steel Framing Chisels as must haves for the home woodworking hobbyist.
In this week’s video episode learn how to remove an existing tabletop finishing with a belt sander; avoid one popular type of sander when you’re smoothening a table top; choose and apply a repairable oil finish that’s excellent for tables; and see how oil brings out rich wood grain like nothing else can
Click above to watch and learn about my favourite handsaw, and see how the reflection of the board you’re cutting can help make for square cuts.
Video Watch Time = 11 minutes Sanding lightly between coats is the single most important step you need to take to achieve a smooth, interior wood finish. Watch my 11-minute video lesson below for all the details. Transcript after the video…
Woodworking is all about cutting wood into pieces and joining those pieces together again in better ways. The video above is all about the cutting-wood-to-length-wisely part of the craft and the techniques you’ll see in this video are perfect for…
Leonard Lee, famous Canadian and founder of Lee Valley Tools, died on July 7, 2016 and when that happened it got me thinking. Mr. Lee improved the lives of a lot of people with the business he started and the…
I’ve noticed that most woodworkers start assessing a board by looking at its face, but if this is where your investigations end, you’re missing out on insights that can lead to a lot of creative control and better woodworking. That’s…
Plug welds offer a simple way of joining two pieces of metal when you don’t want a visible weld bead. You can see a plug weld happening in the video above. There are several circumstances where this approach makes a lot…
Are you interested in learning to work with wood? You’ve come to the right place. The best way to make that happen is to practice doing things the right way, and that’s what you’ll begin to learn here, with the…
Steve Maxwell, Canada’s Handiest Man, informs homeowners of the benefits of powder-actuated tools (PATs), especially for basement renovations.