Owning a Marking Gauge
If you want to do woodworking then you will need to have a marking gauge on your tool list of things to own. But what kind of making gauge should you own? Well let’s talk about the types available and you can decide which one is best for your work. Marking Gauge types. Essentially there […]
Keeping the Passion
In the 24 years of professionally building furniture, I’ve had the pleasure of teaching classes, giving lectures, doing demonstrations, and sitting on a board of panelists discussing the topic of woodworking. In each of those settings, I’ve been able to talk to hundreds of people at any given time. It’s fair to say, I’ve probably […]
Making History
When you think of a historical person, who comes to mind? Abraham Lincoln, Louis Pasteur, or maybe Henry Ford? All of them are historical people because of the passion they had and the advancements they made for us all. But I think of another name, Noah Blake. He’s not remembered because of any historical event […]
Craft and trade show considerations!
by John Kaczynski Craft shows and trade shows are a great way to showcase your woodworking. It provides a different avenue for exposure to new customers to see your hard work and passion; it gets you out of the shop and in front of people so you can network and potentially sell your items. When […]
The Future of Woodworking
Back in 2015, Yuval Noah Harari wrote in his book titled, Homo Deus. In that book, he mentions by the year 2033 so many things of today will be replaced by computers. Jobs such as truck drivers, pilots, doctors, and even carpenters will be replaced by computers. He believes the only jobs that will be […]
The Evolution of a Shop Set-Up
by John Kaczynski Setting up a new woodworking space can be super exciting. All the new projects you can do or possibly more space you will have in the new shop is a wonderful thought. Even just having a dedicated space that’s not shared with the other home items ( a car, yard equipment, other […]
Choosing the Right Stain
After spending hours, days, and sometimes weeks building a project, it comes that time I fear the most. Applying the stain. As we all know, the right color can make or break a project. Your countless hours of designing and building can make a beautifully crafted piece of furniture look like trash if the stain […]
Ignoring the Rules
As a teenager, I didn’t like following the rules. It didn’t matter what the rule was, I didn’t like it. I felt restricted by following them. I used to think, “Rules were meant to be broken.” However, now as an adult, I can see the value and wisdom in following some rules. I realize the […]
Health Benefits of Woodworking
Typically when I think of health benefits the first thing that comes to my mind is eating properly, exercising, and getting plenty of rest. Woodworking is not the first thing on that list. But looking back over the last two decades, I can see the health benefits to it. The first and obvious thought most […]
Enough is Enough
We all want something. Everyone has “wants” in life. Maybe our wants are very simple like a glass of water, a slice of pie, or a walk in the park. But when a “want” is bigger and an individual has to work for it, now it becomes a goal. Some of these goals are simple. […]
Are They Educated?
Before I get into my topic I want to thank all of you for subscribing to this newsletter. It proves this wonderful trade of woodworking we all enjoy is not a dying craft. I also want to thank the contributors to this newsletter. Each month they freely give us content to continually learn and improve. […]
The Cost of Doing Business
I’m sure I don’t have to tell anyone that the past couple of years have been strange. Normally, for me, business is steady during spring and summer. It gets busier in the fall just before the holidays. Then the day after Christmas, work seems to stop until springtime. This has been the trend for years […]