you want to cut a groove. a stopped groove. awesome. it’s a fundamental skill but often becomes one you start getting into specialty tools and complex approaches to make happen. but none of those things is necessary or, in many cases, even wise. there have been so many discussions online… Read More »(stop) getting groovy with it

you know i love paring guides. this isn’t news if you’ve read any of my articles about sawing or chiseling basics. my view is simply this — if you pick up a tool and you’re not using a guide, you’re risking an imperfect result. if the result doesn’t matter (if… Read More »a dovetail in a pair tree

one of the most frequent questions i get as a teacher is “what should i read?” and i always have an answer. that might be why they ask me. i’m always reading at least a dozen books at any time (yes, simultaneously), usually closer to thirty or forty. while this… Read More »a hundred books (part 1)

nearly six hundred years before time restarted itself at 0 (the beginning of the common era), a child was born. many children were born, of course. but one in particular we’re interested in. his name was, loosely, as it wasn’t either in english or a latin alphabet, siddhartha gautama and… Read More »charting the middle path

perhaps the most common question i’ve encountered other than “what handsaw should i buy?” is “should i get a tablesaw?” — and this question has always confused me a little. isn’t the answer obvious? i mean, unless you’re a handtool-only woodworker or simply don’t have a workshop to put it… Read More »one tool to rule them all

when i tell people i’m a buddhist, i get three questions — is that a religion (i thought you said you were against religion!)? what’s enlightenment? do you meditate? the answer to the first is a resounding no. it’s not a religion. not even close. a religion has beliefs. it… Read More »breathing enlightenment