ShopNotes Podcast Episode 254 — How Brown Was My Lumber
(date: 2025-12-02)
This week the gang discusses battery platforms, different types of screws, and more. Find all of the ShopNotes podcast episodes here. …
This week the gang discusses battery platforms, different types of screws, and more. Find all of the ShopNotes podcast episodes here. …
This jewelry box is the perfect project to showcase that small piece of wood you’ve been saving to be the centerpiece of something special. By Tom Caspar and Jon Stumbras I’ll bet somewhere in the dark recesses of your shop …
31 days of giving has begun!…
Welcome to The Splinter Report, where I gather the assorted interesting and amusing things I’ve seen in the woodworking world. This week we’re looking at fiddles, tool-buying decisions, and travel agency videos. Good Vibes: Music Edition I always love a …
Editor’s note: Our Mind Upon Mind series is a nod to a 1937 Chips from the Chisel column (also featured in “Honest Labour: The Charles H. Hayward Years”), in which Hayward wrote, “The influence of mind upon mind is extraordinary.” The idea being there’s often room for improvement. To that end, we’ve asked you what else you have...
https://blog.lostartpress.com/2025/11/28/mind-upon-mind-bevel-kebab/
Happy Thanksgiving – and we don’t recommend you eat the hide glue cake (though you can). Hide Glue Cake – Soaked and Ready to Use Animal glues are the best adhesive for our work. They are reversible and can be configured to set up quickly or slowly, depending on what you need. Whenever we talk...
https://blog.lostartpress.com/2025/11/27/2025-anarchists-gift-guide-bonus-day/
1953. That’s when woodworkers were first able to buy an entire shop in a box with the commercial introduction of the Shopsmith Mark V. Hans Goldschmidt invented the concept in the late 1940s, tinkering with it in the form of …
Tool: F-2 Titanium Hammer Shop Now Manufacturer: Zen-Wu Toolworks MSRP: $159 It’s not often that a new tool company makes a significant impact in the woodworking market, and it’s even rarer for a hand tool company to do so. …
Hey everybody, it’s that time of year again – it’s the Anarchist’s Gift Guide. We’ve been doing this for more than a decade now, people seem to like it, so I guess we’ll keep it up. Why? Unlike some other gift guides, ours isn’t sponsored. (In fact, if somebody asked us to write about their...
https://blog.lostartpress.com/2025/11/26/2025-anarchists-gift-guide-day-11/
An ideal first project for working with green wood. This little sled is a perfect introduction to the age-old tradition of working green wood. Building it is a completely satisfying experience, from beginning to end: you start by cutting down …
This honing stone setup is part of my dedicated sharpening station. It consists of a plastic tray mounted in a plywood carrier box that also provides solid footing for a wooden stone holder that bridges the box. The unit is …
Hey everybody, it’s that time of year again – it’s the Anarchist’s Gift Guide. We’ve been doing this for more than a decade now, people seem to like it, so I guess we’ll keep it up. Why? Unlike some other gift guides, ours isn’t sponsored. (In fact, if somebody asked us to write about their...
https://blog.lostartpress.com/2025/11/25/2025-anarchists-gift-guide-day-10/
Big day here. “The Stick Chair Book: 2nd Revised Edition” is here (the first 1,000 people who purchase it from us will receive a free merit badge). And we are now selling 24″ Joiner’s Rules – made in Maine and hand lined and inked by us. “The Stick Chair Book: 2nd Revised Edition” has been...
https://blog.lostartpress.com/2025/11/24/new-book-new-24-wooden-ruler/
Hey everybody, it’s that time of year again – it’s the Anarchist’s Gift Guide. We’ve been doing this for more than a decade now, people seem to like it, so I guess we’ll keep it up. Why? Unlike some other gift guides, ours isn’t sponsored. (In fact, if somebody asked us to write about their...
https://blog.lostartpress.com/2025/11/24/2025-anarchists-gift-guide-day-9/
There’s something undeniably special about a gift made by hand; especially when it’s crafted from wood. DIY woodworking gifts are a way to share your skill, creativity, and time with the people you care about. From simple weekend projects to …
On this week’s episode of the ShopNotes Podcast, Phil and Logan are talking woodworking and taking listeners’ questions and comments. You can find more details on the topics here. Find all of the ShopNotes podcast episodes here. …
With the body completed (for the time being), the next job is the neck. And in the video I tell you all about it.
https://guitar-maker.blogspot.com/2025/11/electric-mandolin-part-2.html
Hey everybody, it’s that time of year again – it’s the Anarchist’s Gift Guide. We’ve been doing this for more than a decade now, people seem to like it, so I guess we’ll keep it up. Why? Unlike some other gift guides, ours isn’t sponsored. (In fact, if somebody asked us to write about their...
https://blog.lostartpress.com/2025/11/23/2025-anarchists-gift-guide-day-8/
Hey everybody, it’s that time of year again – it’s the Anarchist’s Gift Guide. We’ve been doing this for more than a decade now, people seem to like it, so I guess we’ll keep it up. Why? Unlike some other gift guides, ours isn’t sponsored. (In fact, if somebody asked us to write about their...
https://blog.lostartpress.com/2025/11/22/2025-anarchists-gift-guide-day-7/
Welcome to the 2025 edition of the Popular Woodworking gift guide! This year, the focus is on quality over quantity. These are the tools we’ve used and we’ve loved this past year, combined with tools we’re desperately hoping to find …
More than a century ago, Stanley introduced a new plane, and I’ve wanted one ever since. Well, no — I’m not that old — but it was still in production when I was born and would continue to be until …
Hey everybody, it’s that time of year again – it’s the Anarchist’s Gift Guide. We’ve been doing this for more than a decade now, people seem to like it, so I guess we’ll keep it up. Why? Unlike some other gift guides, ours isn’t sponsored. (In fact, if somebody asked us to write about their...
https://blog.lostartpress.com/2025/11/21/2025-anarchists-gift-guide-day-6-2/
We had some – a lot , actually – leftover quark after last week’s chair class. We bought enough so that everyone could make their own milk paint to paint their chairs…and only one person chose to make milk paint and paint their chair. Ah well – their loss is our gain (weight gain, that...
https://blog.lostartpress.com/2025/11/20/milk-paint-tasty-pastry/
If you recall, a few years ago I wrote about the method I use to teach my students how to drill wide holes—around 1-3/8 inches or even wider—at the base of a stool seat to anchor the legs. Since …
Hey everybody, it’s that time of year again – it’s the Anarchist’s Gift Guide. We’ve been doing this for more than a decade now, people seem to like it, so I guess we’ll keep it up. Why? Unlike some other gift guides, ours isn’t sponsored. (In fact, if somebody asked us to write about their...
https://blog.lostartpress.com/2025/11/20/2025-anarchists-gift-guide-day-4/
Tool: Filter Shaker Shop Now Manufacturer: Meyer Woodworks MSRP: $199+ I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again: my dust collection system is one of my favorite things in my shop. It could be that I’m a neat …
Hey everybody, it’s that time of year again – it’s the Anarchist’s Gift Guide. We’ve been doing this for more than a decade now, people seem to like it, so I guess we’ll keep it up. Why? Unlike some other gift guides, ours isn’t sponsored. (In fact, if somebody asked us to write about their...
https://blog.lostartpress.com/2025/11/20/2025-anarchists-gift-guide-day-5/
Logan loves his vintage woodworking machinery, and when the opportunity arose to purchase a 1950s MOAK jointer, he knew he couldn’t pass it up. The jointer needed work though — the head was stuck, the electrical was three-phase, and the …
This woven bench is a simple project to build, and is elegant enough to fit in any decor. The Shakers were incredibly inventive, not just of the furniture they designed, but of their techniques with which it was assembled. As …
I am pleased to announce that we’ve just signed a contract with Albert Kleine; he’s hard at work on a book that, in effect, democratizes marquetry, making it accessible to everyone. I don’t know when it will be available, but after spending a weekend with Albert, I feel certain he’s not one to dally –...
https://blog.lostartpress.com/2025/11/18/new-book-in-the-queue-marquetry-for-everyone/
A micro-Adjust fence is the perfect accessory for making grooves, mortises, or other milling operations using a hand-held router. It allows you to precisely adjust the distance between the bit and the fence. This device operates in two steps. First, …
Hey everybody, it’s that time of year again – it’s the Anarchist’s Gift Guide. We’ve been doing this for more than a decade now, people seem to like it, so I guess we’ll keep it up. Why? Unlike some other gift guides, ours isn’t sponsored. (In fact, if somebody asked us to write about their...
https://blog.lostartpress.com/2025/11/18/2025-anarchists-gift-guide-day-3/
This episode of the ShopNotes Podcast with Phil, Logan, and John includes even more woodworking and nonsense, so tune in to get your weekly dose. Find all of the ShopNotes podcast episodes here. …
Hey everybody, it’s that time of year again – it’s the Anarchist’s Gift Guide. We’ve been doing this for more than a decade now, people seem to like it, so I guess we’ll keep it up. Why? Unlike some other gift guides, ours isn’t sponsored. (In fact, if somebody asked us to write about their...
https://blog.lostartpress.com/2025/11/17/2025-anarchists-gift-guide-day-2/
Hey everybody, it’s that time of year again – it’s the Anarchist’s Gift Guide. We’ve been doing this for more than a decade now, people seem to like it, so I guess we’ll keep it up. Why? Unlike some other gift guides, ours isn’t sponsored. (In fact, if somebody asked us to write about their...
https://blog.lostartpress.com/2025/11/16/2025-anarchists-gift-guide-day-1/
The Evolution of Lutherie Around the World: A Historical Overview The Evolution of Lutherie Around the World: A Historical Overview Lutherie, the art and craft of building stringed musical instruments, including both plucked and bowed instruments, has a rich and diverse history that spans across continents and centuries. From the creation of lutes […]
The post The Evolution of Lutherie Around the World: A Historical Overview appeared first on Luthiers.
https://luthiers.com/the-evolution-of-lutherie-around-the-world-a-historical-overview/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-evolution-of-lutherie-around-the-world-a-historical-overview
We always joke in classes that the collective IQ drops by at least 30 points when anyone opens a bottle of glue. But now that we’ve switched to using Fish Stick Glue for most of our glue-ups, the stress level is greatly reduced – because this stuff has an open time of 90 or so...
https://blog.lostartpress.com/2025/11/14/fish-stick-glue-no-stress-glue-ups/
Welcome to The Splinter Report, where I gather the assorted interesting and amusing things I’ve seen in the woodworking world. This week we’re looking at AI, insane drawers, and AI. Tool News Quick Bites MicroJig Releases 25th Anniversary GRR-RIPPER:…
Last spring, I talked about a new tool I’d never seen before, a handheld blower, about the size of a small travel-size hairdryer. I was intrigued so I bought one. Light, pocketable and surprisingly powerful, the little guy puts …
Saint Maud’s – a community workshop in northern Wisconsin – just started a 38-week course for 4-H kids to build the armchair in “Build a Chair from Bulls%$t.” Check out the first video here. They’ll be posting videos on Instagram of the kids as they build their chairs. We’re going to follow along. You can, too. Here’s...
https://blog.lostartpress.com/2025/11/12/watch-4h-kids-build-the-bullst-chair/
This knockdown shave horse from Amy Pate is small-shop friendly and perfect for apartment woodworkers. Learn to make this useful shop project.
Viola da Gamba: History, Characteristics and Influence Viola da Gamba: History, Characteristics and Influence The Viola da Gamba is a beautiful and unique musical instrument that has a rich history dating back several centuries. With its distinct sound and versatile playing style, the Viola da Gamba has left an indelible mark on classical […]
The post Viola da Gamba: History, Characteristics and Influence appeared first on Luthiers.
https://luthiers.com/viola-da-gamba-history-characteristics-and-influence/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=viola-da-gamba-history-characteristics-and-influence
This rustic hinged-lid box is a design traditionally used as a basic tool chest, but I thought a scaled-down version would make a great chest for stashing toys. Nails, glue and a nice long day
in the shop are all it takes.
https://www.popularwoodworking.com/projects/country_toy_chest/
I’ve just started building a new solid-body electric mandolin, haven't done one for awhile. I’ll be documenting the process in a series of YouTube videos. Here’s the first episode: hope you find it interesting.
Cheers Gary
https://guitar-maker.blogspot.com/2025/11/electric-mandolin-part-1.html
I make my own zero-clearance throat plates for my table saw to minimize exit tear-out on workpieces and to prevent narrow pieces from dropping into the saw. When raising the blade through the insert blank for the first time (using …
Mastering the basics: A guide to maintaining your luthier instrument Mastering the basics: A guide to maintaining your luthier instrument – Why regular maintenance is crucial for the longevity of your luthier instrument As a luthier instrument owner, it is essential to understand the importance of regular maintenance in order to prolong the […]
The post Mastering the basics: A guide to maintaining your luthier instrument appeared first on Luthiers.
https://luthiers.com/mastering-the-basics-a-guide-to-maintaining-your-luthier-instrument/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=mastering-the-basics-a-guide-to-maintaining-your-luthier-instrument