Using Hand Tools

with Jeff Miller

Use a plane rather than sandpaper to prepare the final surface

with Brian Boggs

Forget sanding -- a properly used scraper will create a mirror surface

by Michael Pekovich

You can use power tools all day long, but as Fine Woodworking art director Michael Pekovich has learned, you'll never know the true joy of the craft until you learn ...

by Garrett Hack

The only differences between sets of bench chisels are the quality of the steel and the shapes of the blades, says Garrett Hack, and he offers a primer here on ...

by Jeff Miller

When flushing up surfaces that meet at a right angle, Jeff Miller prefers to start with a handplane, which allows him to remove just the right amount of stock without ...

by Garrett Hack

How gracefully a piece of furniture ages has to do with many aspects of the design, not least of which is how you deal with edges. Chamfered edges are more apt ...

by John Lively

From power-tool addict to a hand-tool aficionado, John Lively traces his journey through both extremes to find a balance and love for both types of tools, for what ...

by Mario Rodriguez

Beautiful wood is often difficult to tame. There’s a way to do so using planes and sanders, and Mario Rodriguez explains how in this article. The first step is ...

by Anthony Guidice

Anthony Guidice requires his students to rip, crosscut, surface, and edge-joint boards by hand before he lets them use machines. Once your tools are sharp, you ...

by John Brown

John Brown eloquently describes his love for woodworking using hand tools and points out the benefits of following suit. Any attempt to summarize his arguments ...

by James Krenov

Don’t just be a woodworker; make something more out of it, if your heart’s in it, writes James Krenov. This short article is more philosophy than how-to, a soul-searcher ...

by Gary Rogowski

There was a time when Gary Rogowski was convinced that his jointer was possessed. Since then, he’s discovered that edge-jointing problems, though common, are almost ...

by Garrett Hack

Cock beads and incised beads add visual interest to a range of furniture styles, from Federal to Shaker-inspired, writes Garrett Hack. He finishes building and ...

by Richard Starr

Richard Starr, who teaches woodworking to middle-school students, painstakingly joints boards by hand. Edge-glued joints can be inconspicuous and stronger than ...

by William Tandy Young

William Tandy Young flattens larger panels two ways: if he has a lot of them, he takes them to a local millwork shop. If he has just a few, he gets out the hand ...