Giving Up!
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]I’ve been doing this for years now, but I think it was time for me to stop. It’s been nothing but a constant struggle and I’m tired of it. I gave it my best shot, but I just wasn’t good enough. So finally it was time to give up. I’m talking about a Mulberry tree […]
Drawboring
Today we can get a strong mortise and tenon joint by gluing and clamping it together. Our modern day glue and crushing strength of today’s clamp will see to that. But centuries ago they don’t have those luxuries. They used an ancient method called drawboring. At first glance it looks as if the joint is […]
Tenonitis
I am suffering from tenonitis. No not tendonitis, in which i would have a condition where the tissue connecting muscle to bone becomes inflamed. No, but rather tenonitis. For those of you who might be Web MD addicts, you won’t find it listed there. Tenonitis is the condition of the mind getting inflamed by continuous […]
Door of Opportunity
Being a licensed contractor and furniture maker has certain opportunities over others. For example, I know that many people want to remodel their kitchen. But doing a complete overhaul can be in a price range of over $20,000. But what about a new facelift for the kitchen? Many times a contractor will talk the homeowner […]
Jointer Hand Planes
The jointer plane is the biggest battleship in the fleet. It’s range is from 18” on up and it has a flat blade. Some call it a a trying plane, others a jointer plane. The traditionalists will tell you that a jointer plane was one that the coopers used to help shape the curves for […]
Bench Planes
Warning– the following blog may make your head explode. Here in America, you probably have heard hand planes called various terms such as the try plane, jack plane , and fore plane. You may have had confusion deciphering them and which ones are what. To add even more to the mix, if you go just […]
Block Planes
The history of the block plane may not be as old as some of the other hand planes out there, but it certainly has earned the respect of the others. This little plane was widely used by carpenters. Back in my Grandfathers day, every carpenter on a job site had this in their apron or […]
Essential hand planes for the workshop
I love hand planes! I use them and collect them. I believe I have over 70 hand planes in my collection. But despite what you might think, I am not an ALL “hand tools woodworker”. I make my living producing furniture and I use many power tools every day. But I still feel for the […]
Razee Hand Plane
Most wooden hand planes body are solid thickness from front to back. But a few breads out there have the material of the body relieved or narrowed from the middle section to the back. These types of hand planes are called Razee Planes. The term razee is believed to come from the french word past […]
A Journeyman’s Story
I made this box a few years ago for two reasons. The first reason, simple enough, was i needed a box for my tools. The other reason was I wanted to experience the task of making a project from start to finish with just hand tools. But on this project i learned more than just […]
Monoxylon
Monoxylon. The word sounds as if could be a musical instrument or one of those mystery ingredients you read on the side of your ice cream carton, like polysorbate 80. In actuality it’s a term referring to the ancient way of boat building. Webster’s Dictionary defines it as, Mo·nox’y·lonnoun [ New Latin , from Greek […]
Turning 100
Well, here it is. Wood Choppin’ Time has reached it’s 100th episode. It’s surprising to me that we’ve made it this far. In the beginning, I had an idea of sharing woodworking tips to help others avoid the mistake I made.That was over 6 years ago. I remember many years ago, woodworking videos were typically […]