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Updates from a very busy woodshop

I've been very busy in the shop, building two projects for upcoming Popular Woodworking articles. I still managed to work on a couple of personal projects. First, a Roman bench as popularized by Chris...

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Life goes on...

I've been struggling to get in the shop these last few months (OK, last few years). The Michigan winter refused to loosen her grip until just recently and my as-yet unheated shop is rather inhospitable...

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Home repair with hand tools (and some electric devils)

One of the projects on my summer to-do list is a complete restoration of my porches. My 1900-built farmhouse has two existing porches and one that was removed many years ago (it will be recreated at...

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More porch progress

As detail in my last post, I have been working on the porches on my 1900-built farmhouse. Significant progress was made over the weekend despite receiving more than two inches of rain in less than 30...

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Porch swing installation

I've always wanted a traditional porch swing but have never made the time to install one. Over the weekend I corrected that. Though I may build one myself in the future, I opted for a pre-built example...

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18th century style tool chest

I've been working out of a large, traditional tool chest for some time, the form similar to the famous Anarchist's Tool Chest popularized by Chris Schwarz. This is a great solution to storing a...

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Post Drills and Tornados

A quick update from the shop. I've been literally tripping over this Champion #101 post drill since I bought it from a Martin Donnelly auction in 2012. It, along with several other tools which I still...

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Fitting a Jacobs chuck to my old post drill

A couple of days ago I posted about a post drill which I've been tripping over since 2012. I bolted it to the middle bent in my timber frame shop the other day, thinking it would be of limited utility...

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Details from my c.1770 Gabriel hollows and rounds

As some of you know, I'm the proud owner of a full set of 18th century hollows and rounds made by Christopher Gabriel c.1770. These planes could have been on the shelf next to those that found their...

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Another use for the sash fillister

I don't usually need anything more than a gauge line to work to for bringing a board to thickness but, on jobs that require abnormal precision, sometimes a more distinct visual reference is called...

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Making an ancient handplane

My curly birch version of a c.1300 plane Last Thursday, the Viking Museum Instragram feed posted a picture of a truly exciting plane that they use in the process of reconstructing Viking-era ships. It...

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Chatoyance on hand planed pine

Chatoyance is the fancy term for wood that shimmers and shines in the light. It is most prevalent in certain types of wood, especially heavily figured examples, but can be observed in just about any...

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Our predecessors

The chimney of Thomas Jefferson's joinery at Monticello. Photo by Zachary Dillinger. "We are not wiser, we are not better, we are not stronger than our predecessors, but we have their accumulated...

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No one is gone if you remember them and speak their name

To Jamie Bacon: friend, craftsman, and raconteur It's very difficult for me to believe it but it will soon be five years since Jamie Bacon of the Plane Shavings blog left our mortal world. I never had...

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Swedish-Estonian style breast drill - part 1

A couple of weeks ago, I finally had a chance to pick up Lost Art Press's version of "Woodworking in Estonia". Despite being an avowed acolyte of Roy Underhill, who states that this particular book is...

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Swedish-Estonian style breast drill - part 2

In Part 1, I discussed the inspiration for and the first steps towards building a unique breast drill that I found in the classic "Woodworking in Estonia". This post continues that project. With the...

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A few lockdown projects

First, let me say how incredibly thankful I am to all the healthcare professionals, front line emergency responders, and everyone else involved in the battle against the insidious Coronavirus and...

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Scratch built spokeshave rehab and an infill plane restoration

My dad's corner in the shop: his Billy the Kid poster, Southern Comfort sign, and  the catcher's mitt he used when we played baseball when I was a kid. One of the first tools I ever made from scratch,...

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Lockdown! Tools and new book projects!

It's been an extremely productive lockdown here in mid-Michigan. Our Governor recently extended the stay at home order through April 30th, so we have a few more days at home with our daughter Abigail....

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Covid-19 Summer 2020 update

 It's been one heck of a year, 2020. Aside from the obvious... I managed to seriously injure myself in my woodshop for the very first time in three decades of woodworking. Shortly after my last post, I...

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Ye Olde Traditional Storm Hat

 My dad always used to wear a storm hat. It was a beat up, old, nondescript thing that he only ever wore when we were in for bad weather. Being a crazy man, he would stand outside in the worst of it as...

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A highly recommended YouTube channel

I cannot recommend the TA Outdoors channel highly enough.  I've been watching these guys basically non-stop for several weeks now. They have a hugely impressive library of historic shelter videos, all...

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Upcoming article in Mortise & Tenon Magazine

 I'm happy to let you all know that I'll have an article in Mortise & Tenon Magazine Issue 9. I wrote for the very first issue of the magazine (now out of print and in high demand) and was featured...

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New Shop Space Build

 I've been working in my 12x16 timber frame shop for the last five or six years. I love it but a little extra has always been high on my list. I finally decided to do something about it and framed up...

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New Shop Space Build part 2

 I've made pretty good progress on my shop addition. It's a simple shed roof frame, nothing fancy, but will add another 50% in floor space and, perhaps more importantly, a ton of wall space for...

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