A "boring machine" (har-har) is an old hand tool for drilling up to 2" diameter holes in timbers, typically for timber frame construction. These boring machines (in this case, the Millers Falls model) are no longer manufactured, and haven't been for at least 70 years. They are quite rare, and as you can imagine, priceless. There are few non-electric tools capable of boring holes in wood in this way. They are truly an antique, blast from the past kind of tool. They are highly prized by timber framers who use hand tools.

I think it is great!  Inexpensive, pretty, and able to hold a large collection of tools.   It has great tool visibility and uses a minimum of hardware to make.   Jan Zoltowski has done a brilliant job of refining the basic tool cabinet design. While I am not a purist, I am a predominantly hand tool user and this is a hand tool cabinet, so I see this  from a hand tool users perspective.   If you look through my blog you will find more than one tool storage design.  You will also see where I have critiqued my own designs fairly severely.   I am apparently never satisfied with my own tool storage.   So don’t take my snarking on this cabinet as a deal breaker.  It is still a great design and with a bit of modification would be a near perfect design.

Shaping tools Four-way rasp Gouge Spokeshave Coping saw Scraper set Hand saw Tenon saw Chisel set Chisel hammer or mallet Smoothing plane   Joinery tools Combination square Tape measure Sliding bevel Layout knife Combination gauge Tenon saw Chisel set Chisel hammer or mallet Smoothing plane Hand router   Sharpening tools Flat file Saw set Burnisher Buffing compound Sharpening atone (Whetstone) Saw file Strop Nail punch (set) Hammer

Controversial though it may seem, and though adopting micro-bevel methods for sharpening chisels may seem to make sense, a freehand convex bevel actually gives exactly the same sharpness as any micro-bevel method, but takes only a fraction of the time to develop. A convex bevel keeps its edge longer, is stronger than most other bevels and needs no special equipment beyond a pair of hands. Establishing the skill to sharpen the convex camber on the bevel of a chisel is amazingly fast and when you do, you have that skill for life. On the other hand, why take ten times longer using machine methods when simple non-electric methods prove ten times faster and produce pristine results in seconds every time?

The basic method of spherification is to drop drips of sodium alginate bearing juice into a bath of calcium chloride. To make a lot of them quickly you need to be able to make a lot of drops quickly. One method is to make a spherification rack.

…
My initial test told me that the rush was unnecessary, the flavor had a rather unpleasant tone that needed adjustment. So I did a bit more research.

First off, the recipes and methods out there on the web are for the most part ornamental and hardly gourmet. Seriously, there are better ways to do basic spherification.

The first thing to do is to replace the calcium chloride bath entirely. It makes the taste bitter/chalky and does nothing for you nutritionally. If you need to settle your stomach then maybe, but not if you want a delightful flavor. Calcium lactate barely has a flavor, and can be good for your teeth. It makes a much better caviar developing bath.

The second thing to do is to reduce the concentrations of the chemicals so you are working more with the initial flavors and less with the additional materials. The recipes out on the web are for the most part using way higher concentrations than are needed. The basic recipe that I give below may still be way more than what is needed.

This Wertheim catalog is probably the nicest, most complete 19th century tool catalog available on-line. The source material is in great shape, scans are great and the software allows you to zoom in to see details. In the catalog you will find lots of tools that aren't well know in the US or UK, partially because tool usage has changed and partially because European tools are different in some areas than English tools. Thanks to emails from Wolfgang Jordan I found out that this wasn't the only version of this catalog to survive, German editions are known in several private collections. Wolfgang also mentioned to me that the actual exhibition with the tools, which was considered fabulous at the time, ended up in the South Kensington Science Museum. I made some inquiries and found that the display was split up and most of the parts deaccessioned and sold of in the 20th century. The museum still has some section of a few remaining panels which occasionally are on display. The catalog is also one of the very few from the time with color plates and seeing it on line like this is a boon for tool collectors, historians, and users everywhere.

A solid table created by BIRKY Design, characterized by a detailed map of Edinburgh, engraved on the surface.

A solid table made of oak wood from forests in Scotland. A mix of traditional and modern techniques capable of giving life to a work of creative art, a furnishing solution characterized by a detailed map, engraved on the surface, showing directions, parks, structures, buildings and sights of Edinburgh, the host city of the studio. The table compared to a canvas on which to relive every day, through a map, the memories of a place of our city that we particularly care or special moments experienced during a vacation.

So after riving my red oak log, finishing the preparation of the leg stock for my joint stool and preparing some of the stock for the upper and lower rails, I’ve made a few observations about working with this green stock compared to working with dry stock. I know Peter has already covered this stuff dozens of times on his blog and in his book, but I figured I’d share my thoughts from the point of view of someone who has not done a lot of this kind of work. So here are a few observations I’ve made during the last week and a half of working on this project.

The result of their labor is the new Lost Art Press book "Make a Joint Stool from a Tree: An Introduction to 17th-century Joinery." This book starts in the woodlot, wedging open a piece of green oak, and it ends in the shop with mixing your own paint using pigment and linseed oil. It's an almost-breathtaking journey because it covers aspects of the craft that most modern woodworkers would never consider. And yet Alexander and Follansbee cover every detail of construction with such clarity that even beginning woodworkers will have the confidence to build a joint stool, an iconic piece of furniture from the 17th century.

Welcome to our newly re-designed website! The parts for sale on this site are designed for the DIY CNC machine builder. Lots of people are building their own CNC routers, plasma cutters, or hot wire foam cutters. Many choose aluminum extrusion as the main structural component for its strength, flexible assembly options and accuracy. However, they all face the common challenge of finding a good way to mount motors, linear motion components, and drive systems. Industrial components that accomplish this can easily cost hundreds, if not thousands of dollars. While there is a reason for this cost, much of it is unnecessary, and adds little value for the DIYer. If you are building your own machine, you don't need fancy anodizing or a reseller's markup. You want quality, affordable components that bolt together with a minimum of fuss.

Welcome to our plan catalog, containing hundreds of free easy DIY plans that most anyone can build. You can use the Search filters to find exactly what you are looking for. For example, you can choose furniture for the Bedroom, Modern style, for Beginners.

My wife wanted an antique warehouse cart to use as a coffee table. Antique Warehouse Cart I decided to build a reproduction cart from scratch. I built the wood structure from 1″ x 6″ pine boards. Pocket holes were used to join everything together. I worked the platform with a file and kicked it around on the street to give it a well used look. For a finish, I chose Minwax mission oak combination stain and polyurethane.

Geek Chic makes heirloom quality hardwood gaming tables [and other furniture].

here are my recommendations for a trio of basic saws to get you started, and how to make sure your saws fit you.

Early 17th Century. Of nearly square form, fitting into a slightly larger shaped and carved base and conforming upright frame with a rounded toprail with ox-nose bail handle to enable transportation, and with a pair of foliate-form spandrels where each upright arm meets the base, with two framed rectangular doors opening to the interior fitted with single shelf and a row of two drawers at the bottom, the front rectangular lockplate with square openings to receive the metal members attached to the interior shelf

Paulownia is a type of wood that has been used in making traditional Japanese furniture (mainly chests) for more than 200 years. Not only being light, elastic, and limber, Paulownia is also strong to aridity, humidity, fire, and worms, giving it enough reasons to be used for centuries to protect precious kimonos and properties. All of the furniture produced in this project are hand-made by the most skillful craftsmen from Kamo Chest Manufacturer's Cooperative of Niigata prefecture.

Designed with Takamitsu Kitahara
Size: W900 D900 H270mm
Material : Wood (Structure - Plywood / Finish - Coated Tilia Japonica)

What was so special about a chair that failing to buy it (even at an outrageous price) has haunted me ever since?

Well, this was no ordinary chair: it had clearly been made to order, probably during the Arts and Crafts period, for an eccentric Victorian Scottish gentleman who wanted a reading machine. I don't have any photographs of it, alas (this predated cameraphones: in fact, it predated both my first mobile phone and my first digital camera) but it was at heart a wood-framed armchair, with brocade seat and back padding (badly in need of restoration).

But that's not all. It was a recliner, with a deck-chair like prop behind the back (which was hinged), and a leg-rest (also padded) that could be pulled out from a drawer hidden under the seat, then angled to the user's desire. Being rather more inflexible than a modern recliner, the right arm-rest was cunningly hinged to open sideways, like a rear-hinged car door, to allow entry and egress. The left arm-rest supported an elaborate adjustable wood-and-brass book reading stand, clearly modelled on a music stand, with a small circular side-table on an arm (for the wee dram of single malt) and an oil lamp holder. My memory may be playing tricks, but I'm also fairly sure there was a magnifier. Oh, and did I mention the bookshelves built into the armrests and lower back (below the reclining section)?

Blue Ox Human Powered Tools
A Partial Listing

The Shrine is a hub of drawers and doors accessible only with keys. Private items can safely be locked away in small spaces. For the very most personal items a secret room can be reached behind one of the drawers.

The rooms have been scaled after typical accessories and gadgets. This way jewellery, makeup, records, headphones, an LP player, as well as private papers and your best whisky can inhabit the Shrine. It becomes your most private place in the house.

Hi True Believers!

Here are some work in progress pics of THE EMPERORS CABINET. It still gets brass trim and guns, shelves in the bar and a mirrored interior...

Manulution is the Washington, DC based subsidiary of Rukotvorine (Eng. Handcrafts) company from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Founded in 1927 by our grandfather, Adem Niksic, the company belongs to the category of European family-owned enterprises that through generations of uncompromising quality and innovation become symbols of a city and its traditions. In the 19th century, Adem and his brothers began to expand on a centuries-old woodcarving technique originating in the small Bosnian town of Konjic. Based on this legacy we have been building heirloom quality hand-carved furniture since 1927.

I decided to create this blog to document my construction of a Nicholson woodworking bench from the English woodworking tradition.

Someone asked me recently about what I use to protect the finish of my saws (and by proxy other tools, both hand and machine tools). The answer is straight forward, though perhaps not as simple as I initially thought… I use paste wax to help protect them from rust and also to reduce friction in their use. I also use paste wax on some of the furniture I make and restore also. I have often sensed a bit of confusion on using waxes, what they are and how they work, in conversations I've had with others. Some revile it – likely because of a bad reaction with a finish of some sort or perhaps in some cases because of unrealistic expectations.

Now, I'm no chemist, nor do I claim to be any kind of an expert - but hopefully I can pass on a (very) little knowledge of the subject to help a woodworker understand it a little better (including myself!)

This wing back, reading armchair is one of a pair. It is covered in grey-green upholstery and has slightly tapered wooden legs, the two front of which finish in casters. The wooden reading surface pivots on a brass arm and is adjustable, able to sit within a variety of notches.

All the essentials, in one handy kit! Designed for the Do-It-Yourselfer, the R3 Kreg Jig is loaded with features that allow you to put projects together more quickly than ever before. The R3 features 9 position settings from 1/2" to 1-1/2" thickness, wood chip relief holes, face clamp adapter, and hardened steel drill guides with a lifetime warranty. Kit includes: R3 jig, step drill bit, stop collar, 6" driver, and screw and plug assortment. Comes in an organized carrying case.

The EZ-One Power Bench makes repeatable, straight, clean cuts better and more safely than a table saw. For most woodworkers, including myself, it can inexpensively replace a table saw, panel saw, miter saw, joiner, and router table.

This system has so many advantages over the traditional power tools I grew up with: the ability to get clean cuts with cheap blades, excellent dust collection, increased safety from accidents, pinching, and kickback, and all using any circular saw or router. The system requires far less space and can be adapted to work in more ways than I can imagine.

The EurakaZone (EZ) system is remarkably affordable. One can get started with a basic track for around $150 and use any circular saw you have around to make clean straight cuts. One isn’t penalized for starting with a smaller system. EZ sells parts individually for everything they make. You can build up as needed - everything works together - and there’s plenty of help and DIY ideas on the forums to make your own customizations.

• manufactured in furniture grade, plywood from Australian grown,
renewable plantation pine
• knife block | 10 slots for knives, steel, scissors and shears
• book shelf | 29cm L x 26cm W
• cheese board | 31cm x 23 cm bamboo
• overall dimensions | 63cm L x 26 cm W x 31cm H

This page is for the planemakers.  For the person who is making his or her first plane.  Or for anyone who is interested in the design of infill planes.  It will take some time, but in the end this page will have detailed plans of the classic planes that have come through my shop and also drawing and plans of the planes that I make today.

With so much talk about the workbench, the tool storage, the tools themselves, we often times forget that we need to have some kind of space to keep all of this stuff and do the work. So I thought about this for a little while, did some sketching, and came up with what I think would be bare minimum requirements for a shop space

Handplane Central is not just about making planes and using planes. If you’re a hand plane collector and you’re into old catalogs then we have a range of plane catalogs like the Norris 1914 catalog, the Stanley 1902 catalog or the Edward Preston & Sons 1901 Catalog and we’re adding more all the time.

On this homepage you can find some of my self-made planes and you get the opportunity to acquire some of these beauties, too. Furthermore, I also offer plane kits for most of the presented planes. I also sell plane kits completely peened and fully prepared to receive the infill. If you want to build your own hand planes, I am willing to assist the assembly process.

No, if I couldn't use a bandsaw, then I was going to cut the logs by hand somehow. That meant building a frame saw.

Fortunately, there are lots of bloggers who have chronicled the process. I'm following their lead in building my own.  Here is one link.  Here is another.  And here is one more.

In the Fall of 2010 the top preservation trades people in North America and Europe gathered for the International Preservation Trades Workshop in Frankfort, Kentucky. Among this astounding group of artisans were some of the top window restoration experts in the country. Five of these window experts, Duffy Hoffman, John Leeke, Jim Turner , David Gibney and Bob Yapp met and decided it was time to create national standards for the repair and weatherization of old and historic windows. We call this endeavor the Window Preservation Standards Collaborative (WPSC).

Designers Eva Alessandrini and Roberto Saporiti of the Italian furniture design firm Saporiti have created this beautiful bookcase system that allows you to spell custom words and phrases using modular bookcase letters. If you liked this, see also the Alphabet Bookshelf by Lincoln Kayiwa.

A Decade-by-Decade Narrative of Amateur Woodworking in America From 1900 to 2000

It’s been about a year since building the new workbench. In that time, I’ve gotten lots of questions about how I liked the bench, how the construction lumber is holding up, and if I would do anything different. After using the bench for a year, I have to say it is by far my favorite bench of the three I’ve built so far. Is it perfect? Well, no bench is perfect. But this one comes close for my work.

pylon at Ghoos, in Upper Egypt, served as the model for the top section of this medal cabinet, which was intended for Napoleon but remained in Denon's possession. The front and back panels are inlaid with a silver scarab flanked by uraei (sacred serpents) on lotus stalks. There are twenty-two drawers on each side of the cabinet, all inlaid with a silver bee. One wing is hinged to provide a pull.

So if you are just learning to work with hand tools, don't despair. You may not be doing anything wrong at all. Simply switching materials may be all the help you need. Start with easy to work woods like poplar, pine and mahogany. Avoid knots at all costs (they're end grain, and we don't like planing end grain), and only step up to the much harder woods and exotics once you understand the basics. Once you have enough experience with you hand tools, you'll know what they can do quickly and you'll know when you need to slow down.

The Capstan Table, designed by British furniture manufacturer DB Fletcher, is a table like nothing I’ve ever seen. For 10,000+ £, you too can own a table to put the Stargate to shame. Using “the latest mechanical design techniques“, DB Fletcher has created a table that expands with the press of a button, almost like magic! Even more impressive is that the table remains perfectly circular in the process, unlike those crappy Canadian tables that get all square-like.

Someone asked me recently about what I use to protect the finish of my saws (and by proxy other tools, both hand and machine tools). The answer is straight forward, though perhaps not as simple as I initially thought… I use paste wax to help protect them from rust and also to reduce friction in their use. I also use paste wax on some of the furniture I make and restore also. I have often sensed a bit of confusion on using waxes, what they are and how they work, in conversations I've had with others. Some revile it – likely because of a bad reaction with a finish of some sort or perhaps in some cases because of unrealistic expectations.


Now, I'm no chemist, nor do I claim to be any kind of an expert - but hopefully I can pass on a (very) little knowledge of the subject to help a woodworker understand it a little better (including myself!)

This is a worktable/desk that I recently finished for a client. She is a fashion designer and needed something she could do multiple things on… sketch, cut fabric, trace patterns and so on. So, I designed and built this table for her.

It has a drawing surface on the left that raises up and a light box on the right. There are 3 drawers that open from either side of the table, as well as custom carved trays for her various tools.

Every now and then I get a question from a reader about the tool rack that hangs in the window of our shop behind my workbench.

How to clean old tools.

This project is for two structures to be placed on the bank of Kielder Water, Northumberland. The structures will provide a stopping place for visitors walking or cycling along the lakeside path. They will also provide visible markers or destination points from which to begin or end a walk or bike-ride.

I will warn you, this walk-through is a big one! The results, however, will let a woodworker without a lathe or mad shaping skills to have a reasonably high chance of turning a small chunk of wood into a lovely handle that can be held with comfort and pride!

I have been researching and experimenting with tool grips for quite some time. Recently I have begun to solidify my research and decided it was time to figure out how to make the perfect tool handle, make it well and make it consistently. Part of my goal here is to provide a handle form that does not need a lathe to turn. I wanted to make this something that would inspire and allow budding craftsmen to use, make and repair hand tools.

Spacing markings equidistantly can be tedious and prone to error; it’s easy to make mistakes calculating the distance between the marks. The Point-2-Point from M-Power makes spacing marks equidistantly almost as easy as pulling out a tape measure.

Just choose how many points you need to mark and stretch the Point-2-Point so that the bracketing uprights line up with the ends of your project. The geometry of the gauge keeps each upright the same distance away from the next, no matter how far it’s stretched. For example, if you need to mark three equally-spaced holes on a board, line up the first upright with one end of the board and the 5th upright with the other end of the board.

Vintage shop fitting. 40 dovetailed drawers with brass letter plates behind original sliding glass doors. Two spacious drawers below.

The heftiest status symbol for Dutch settlers in Colonial America, a massive cupboard called a kas or kast, reigned supreme in fashionable New York and New Jersey parlors throughout the 18th century. The larger the cupboard -- some were eight feet tall -- the more formidable the fortune of the family that owned it, or so it was thought. Filled with linens, porcelains, silver and the householder's gun, the kas (pronounced kaz) was kept locked, with the woman of the house in charge of the key. "Linens were so valuable that they were always locked away," said Peter M. Kenny, one of the three curators in charge of the exhibition "American Kasten: The Dutch-Style Cupboards of New York and New Jersey, 1650-1800," at the Metropolitan Museum of Art through April 7. The exhibition of 17 full-sized versions of these cabinets and one miniature one is the first to document the most purely Dutch of all American furniture forms.

For quite some time I have paid close attention to tool grips.…I am really fond of hexagonal shapes, and generally prefer them to octagonal, but from my own playing around, octagonal is preferable on a handle to hexagonal. Hexagonal forces the hand to hold the tool at particular angles. If aligned right, this may be fine for a particular user, but a hexagon allows quite a bit more tweaking. A faceted handle has many advantages apart from the safety and convenience of the tool staying put. It also gives the hand some reference as to the angle it is being held at. It makes it easier to repeat a how you hold it.

Three Wooton desks that are in the national collections at the Smithsonian Institution were the inspiration for this paper, which traces the history of the Wooton Desk Company and its products. Wooton desks were purchased by prominent persons in Europe and South America, as well as in the United States. They became a kind of status symbol, reflecting high Victorian appreciation for flexibility in furniture. Their varied exterior trimmings made them available for persons with different incomes and preferences. THE AUTHOR: Betty Lawson Walters is a museum specialist in the division of cultural history in the Smithsonian Institution's Museum of History and Technology. This paper represents the first work in the author's continuing study of nineteenth-century cabinetmakers in the Midwest.

Welcome to the website of Holtey Classic Hand Planes, a showcase for the work of Karl Holtey craftsman toolmaker and engineer.

Since I am pretty much still a beginner without experience of what a good bench can do for me, the only real criteria for the new bench were that it should be:

1. cheap - don't want to spend a fortune on a bench or on hardwoods to build a bench until I really know what I want.
2. easy to build - I'd rather spend my woodworking time working on projects that will go inside the house, and practise my joinery etc on them, and keep things in the garage quick and easy to make.
3. proven to be a good design for working mostly with hand-tools. No point in me designing a bench from scratch since I don't yet know what works in a workbench

this is the birthday gift that I received from our friends Curtis and Karen last night. It’s a suitcase - perfectly fitted for a bottle of bourbon and a set of brass knuckles.

swedish design students, emma nilsson, johanna westin and lisa frode have sent us images of their latest project, 'på sofflocket'. the design uses traditional and contemporary techniques to reinterpret and adapt the common kitchen sofa.

the new design offers the same functions as the traditional bench but is adapted to suit the needs of the modern family and their way of living. the storage space located under the seat is separated into two parts allowing for easy access and organization. the back of the bench provides further storage for books, newspapers and magazines, reflecting the more open living spaces occurring in today's homes.

the bench is crafted out of locally produced swedish pine, indigenous to the nordic regions, with elm wood detailing.

Below you will find a listing of our upcoming programs we will be airing on The New Yankee Workshop website. We will be featuring a new program each week, available for that week only.

For the past twenty-five years we have been producing innovative and impeccably crafted heirloom tools for serious woodworkers and collectors worldwide. Made in America, all of our tools are produced in limited numbers and with minimal care should continue to inspire your children's children. I believe the look, feel and accuracy of each Bridge City tool will always influence you to do your best work.

In my post on the Japanese plane that I set up to work like a jack plane, I alluded to four types of bench planes that Toshio Odate mentions in his book that seem to take on the same roles as scrub, jack, jointer, and smoother planes do in a western woodworker’s arsenal. The curious thing is that all of these Japanese planes are very similar in size. The Japanese scrub and jack planes tend to have slightly narrower blades, from 60-65 mm, as opposed to 65-70 mm wide blades used in smoothers, which makes sense because these planes are meant to take thicker shavings, and to do so with a wider blade would take a lot of effort. The widths of western bench planes tend to follow a similar pattern. Western scrub and jack planes have narrower blades than jointer planes.