Comment

I have a new essay posted last night on Comment: https://comment.org/considering-the-work-of-our-hands/

In the meantime, Happy Thanksgiving to all. We need a day of coming together and acknowleging the values we share. 

I just finished a 3 day class at ESSA, making jigs for box making. It was a great deal of fun with 8 students, each making a variety of jigs useful for making fine wooden boxes.

In the photo I'm helping the students make dedicated router set ups for making finger joints.

Make, fix and create. Assist others in learning likewise. 

a tilt lid box

 This shows the features of a tilt lid box, the making of which is illustrated here: https://youtu.be/5B8outOlH3c

A tilt lid box requires no hardware and is easy to make following the steps shown. My first was in Simply Beautiful Boxes, my second book published in 2000 and still available as a Kindle book and also included in 25 Beautiful Boxes, also available as a digital edition. Additional tilt lid boxes are in my new book Designing Boxes.

 

Making an adjustable sled runner

Wooden runners for sleds have a tendency to expand and contract with changes in humidity and may fit one saw, but not another. It is easy to make your own adjustable sled runners. You can buy runners made of aluminum or plastic, but they require precise drilling for screws to fit... a source of frustration and error.These, the result of years of experience making table saw sleds are intended to help. I originally published this tip in Fine Woodworking.

Designing Boxes

My new book Designing Boxes is now available from Amazon.

A hand screw vise.

 Woodworkers never start out with all the things we think we might need, so we exercise ingenuity and grow stronger and more creative in the process, making do with what we have. Lacking a real woodworking bench, this is how I started, and it's also a great way to get your kids started, too.

Featured as a tip in Fine Woodworking #313, December 2024