• Turning the hook on a card scraper with a burnisher

    5 Easy Steps to Sharpen a Card Scraper for Woodworking

    By Joshua Farnsworth Have you struggled to sharpen a card scraper? If so, don't feel embarrassed! Years ago when I first started using a card scraper, I certainly struggled too. In this video and article I share my simplified method for sharpening a woodworking card scraper, in five easy steps. And I share a little trick that I discovered that helped me to get my card scrapers cutting every single time. But first, let's answer a

  • Cinder block with a diamond lapping plate on top and a water stone being held with hands

    $1 Cinder Block vs $200 Diamond Lapping Plate for flattening Sharpening Stones

    By Joshua Farnsworth Does it work to flatten a waterstone on a cheap cinder block? Or do you need a more expensive lapping plate? In the above video I conduct a non-scientific experiment to see if the cinder block method actually works. Here are links to the tools that I used in the video (minus the cinder block...because I found it in the forest): My waterstones My diamond lapping plate at Highland Woodworking My diamond lapping

  • Dovetail tail board with dividers, combination square, marking gauge, and pencil in the foreground

    Laying Out Perfect Dovetails with a Few Affordable Tools

    By Joshua Farnsworth In this video I share a historical method for laying out uniform tails on a dovetail joint. Rather than buying a dovetail marker jig, just use a few common woodworking layout hand tools. In the video I mentioned that you don't need a bunch of expensive tools to layout dovetails. Here are links to the tools that I used in the video: Dividers: find it here on Amazon for $7.99 Combination square: find

  • Hand using a chisel to cut a sliding dovetail joint on a candle stand spindle by Will Myers

    How to Make Sliding Dovetails with Will Myers

    In these two videos, hand tool woodworker and Shaker furniture expert Will Myers shows his simplified method for cutting the mysterious sliding dovetail joint. And he does it as part of a cherry Shaker candle stand. Will Myers reproduced this candle stand from a very famous table found at the Hancock Shaker Village. You can watch the tours that I filmed of the Shaker Village and shaker

  • Pump-n-seal sitting on a jar of wood finish with other colorful jars next to it

    Pump that Preserves Wood Finish & Saves Money

    Have you ever opened a jar of wood finish that you mixed months ago, only to find that it looks like this? A semi-solid gelatinous mass? While it looks cool, and feels cool when you touch it, it also means money down the drain. When most wood finishes are exposed to oxygen, the finishes become ruined over time. For many years I would just crush the cans inward to reduce the amount of oxygen that

  • Using a froe to split wood

    How to use a Froe to Split Green Wood w/ Elia Bizzari

    In this video Elia Bizzari shows how to use a traditional froe to split green wood. In his example, he splits a long piece of oak for a Windsor Chair seat back. This tutorial is really useful because Elia teaches how to steer the froe to control the direction of the split. If you want help buying an antique or new froe, you can visit our article: Green Woodworking Tool Buyer's Guide. You can also

  • Sharpening mortise gauge pins with a file

    Rehabbing Antique Mortise Gauges & Marking Gauges

    By Joshua Farnsworth In the above video I talk about the differences between mortise gauges and marking gauges for woodworking, and some common problems that you may encounter when buying antique gauges, and solutions for repairing them to working order. I've bought a lot of marking gauges & mortise gauges over the years, especially last year prior to opening my woodworking school. I was lucky to buy a whole box of quality marking gauges at

TOOL BUYING GUIDE

Joshua’s buyer’s guides for which hand tools to buy for traditional woodworking.

blue dovetail desk beginner projects for woodworkers

WOODWORKING PROJECTS

Woodworking projects for beginners and more advanced woodworkers. Build your hand tool skills!

WORKSHOPS & TOURS

Watch video tours of traditional workshops and other fascinating places for woodworkers.

20 BEGINNER’S HAND TOOLS

See the most basic list of tools to buy first when  starting traditional woodworking.

10 STEPS: GET STARTED

Learn Joshua’s simplified 10 steps of how to get started in traditional woodworking.

WOOD JOINERY

Learn how to cut different joints like dovetails and mortise & tenon by hand.

DIMENSIONING WOOD

Learn how to dimension wood so it is square, true, flat, and smooth.

CHOOSING LUMBER

Learn how to choose & buy lumber that is stable, beautiful, and useful for furniture.

TOOL SHARPENING

Learn how to sharpen & tune different traditional woodworking hand tools.

TOOL REFURBISHING

Learn how to refurbish antique woodworking hand tools to usable condition.

JOSHUA’S BLOG

See a full chronological list of Joshua’s woodworking video blog posts & articles.

HAND TOOL TUTORIALS

Learn how to use hand planes, hand saws, chisels, & many other hand tools.