Today was two days in a row that my back/groin didn't throw a hissy fit. I got a few twinges but nothing like previous days. Of course I'm being a good boy, taking it slow and stopping if I feel a pending attack coming. When I first get up in the morning is when it bothers me the most. I would think after resting all night that I would be golden rolling out of the rack. I hope I don't... Read more

It all begins with a thoughtful idea and a pencil point reaches to the paper in a notebook to develop a roughed-out sketch. A drawing emerges, we check the open space to see what fits and then we take out the tape measure, measure the space we’ve allocated to the piece and confirm our decisions… Read the full post Prepping Wood IV on Paul Sellers' Blog.... Read more

Green woodworking with hand tools isn’t just about carving spoons or turning Windsor chairs. The method is immensely practical for building all kinds of outside-the-box structures in the woods, whether a log footbridge to span a stream or a lean-to for a quiet resting place. A few months ago, we heard from Seth Gebel, owner of Backyard Trail Builds, LLC, and proprietor of the popular (with millions of views) “Backyard Trail Builds” YouTube channel. Seth constructs incredible mountain biking features... Read more

Shopmate Megan Fitzpatrick has watched me build 40 or 50 chairs during the last five years I’ve been working in my Covington workshop. As a result, she often jokes that she could probably teach chairmaking – even though she’s never finished building a stick chair. So when she started checking over the construction drawings for...... Read more

By Joseph A. McGeough Tongs, pincers, tweezers, and pliers have the common task of holding or gripping objects so that they may be handled more easily. The early use of fire created a new problem,… More... Read more

As you can see, I’ve started carving/shaping the plates for archtop #5.I’ve been using the two new planes that I showed you a couple of posts back. The flat length, curved width one does, indeed, work incredibly well for removing wood around the outside edges.And the curved length, flat width also functions as intended, although I have to admit that I did reshape the sole by increasing the curve.Had I bought the planes, I’d have thought it money well spent,... Read more

This time while at home, I barely had time to go into the shop, since we had to empty my parent's house as it was sold. it is a good thing that we managed to sell the house fast, but clearing up your childhood home is not a pleasant job. I spent roughly 3 weeks out of my 4 weeks of home period emptying the house. And I was sorry everyday that I was doing it. I even started dreaming about moving... Read more

Lifestyle, lifestyling, lifestyler – terms as yet unrecognised and unused to describe a person’s way of life when linked to how they work to earn their living. Is it a fanciful term? Not for me. I picked my future before lifestyle existed as a word. I became a lifestyle woodworker because everything that I did… Read the full post Styling Life on Paul Sellers' Blog.... Read more

I’ve finished a few spoons that are available for purchase. All are carved from crooks, surfaces from the knife, treated with flaxseed/linseed oil, cured and ready to serve. Another batch shouldn’t be too far off. All prices include shipping. If … Continue reading →... Read more

If you’re interested in furniture making, I would say that the Japanese planing beam is not the best solution for wide stock. But I don’t think that a Japanese planing beam was intended for wide stock, either. The Japanese planing beam is typically a 6x6 that is propped up on one end using a horse, with the other end braced against something on the ground. This works well on a construction site, where you can quickly set one up, use it... Read more

My newly made mini-Roman low bench is a dream to use. Being atop the work seems to give me more control over various operations. It has given my shop a whole new vibe. If you have not tried this method before, I strongly recommend that you consider making your own. In addition to the pegs, […]... Read more

Sometimes simple things can make a big difference in the quality of your work, and the ease at which that work is performed. One example is sufficient stock support for long material. In the latest issue of Canadian Woodworking & Home Improvement, I have an article detailing how I built and adapted a removable outfeed … Continue reading Removable Outfeed Table Article... Read more

In 1965 I bought many hand tools, perhaps one per month, where each of the more productive tools like saws and planes might cost me up to and over a full week’s wage for me to put together a cluster of working tools. My saws and planes took me 46 hours of work to pay… Read the full post Pensioning Off My Vise on Paul Sellers' Blog.... Read more

My plan for the small chest project was to try to be like the cool kids and paint it with milk paint. I figured that it would just take a few days for the paint, then I could put down … Continue reading →... Read more

Last week we made a short (14 seconds!) promotional video about “The Anarchist’s Workbench” for Facebook and Instagram. In the video we mentioned the bench required only about $430 in construction lumber. When we posted the video this morning, the first comment out of the gate was about how our price was wrong because the...... Read more