Wood and Shop

Shave Horse for Green Woodworking with the Ellis Bros.
Recently my friends Ervin & Willie Ellis came to visit my school, to plan out an upcoming class called “Make a German Shave Horse with Ervin & Willie Ellis”. In the above video they demonstrate how to use a shaving horse for making timber frame pegs, a tomahawk handle, and traditional roof shingles. You can learn more about their two day shaving horse class here. There are no openings for the July class, but the October
How to Find Large Wood Slabs for Workbench Tops
Last year I bought six large slabs for workbench tops in my school, and I've had a lot of readers and students ask me where they can purchase beefy slabs like these. I can certainly share my source for people who live within reasonable driving distance to my school, but for everyone else I'll just have to tell you what to look for in your area. Almost without exception the least expensive way to find slabs like these, is
Introduction to Hand Tool Woodworking Class
I recently taught a three day "Introduction to Hand Tool Woodworking" class here at my traditional woodworking school in Virginia, and want to share the experience to give you an idea of what the class is like. The first thing students do in this class is learn about & try out workbenches and all the different hand tools in the shop. Then they jump in and use a folding rule to measure out a length
Which Affordable Dovetail Saw is Best? Lie-Nielsen vs. Veritas
In the above video I discuss backsaws, and what to look for when you're buying a back saw. I focus on comparing two of the most popular mid-priced dovetail saws, the Veritas dovetail saw (by Lee Valley) and the Lie-Nielsen dovetail saw. What is a Back Saw? A back saw is a hand saw that has a stiff metal back (brass, steel, or plastic) that rigidly holds a thin saw plate for use in cutting accurate furniture
Photos of My Newly Finished Woodworking School
The Wood and Shop Traditional Woodworking School is finished, so I wanted to share these photos so you can see inside! 10 workbenches fill the school, which includes six Moravian workbenches, two traditional Roubo workbenches, one French pine bench, and one Swedish made workbench. This lovely maple workbench top was cut last year by a guy down in North Carolina: I recently finished installing these wagon-style tail vises, made by my friend Will Myers. They glide sooo smoothly! I had
Woodturning Basics with Will Myers Part 1: Turning Tools, Lathe, & Roughing a Spindle
In the above video Will Myers teaches the basics of woodturning for woodworkers. He starts by showing how to prepare and center the wood, then discusses woodturning tools & parts of the lathe. And finally he begins roughing out a spindle for a classic cherry shaker candle table. This tutorial comes from the class and DVD: "Building the Hancock Shaker Candle Stand with Will Myers". If you'd like to build this historical candle stand along
How to Darken Oak Furniture with Ammonia Fuming
In this video I show a historical method for darkening white oak furniture with industrial strength Ammonia, inside a makeshift plastic fuming tent, and I do it on a pair of Shaker style quartersawn white oak end tables. My most recent video & article showed how these end tables fit together (here) and I previously shared a video & article on experimenting with lower-strength home center ammonia to fume an oak Moravian footstool (here).