A.J. Hamler

I love when wood is combined with high-tech gadgetry. I love it even more when the wood makes the technology better.

It’s a new year, but no new resolutions. Instead, I’m just digging out last year’s and dusting it off, and when I do I’m gonna …

Those who understand the subject can always answer the question, “What’s wrong with this picture?”, if a photo is set up by someone who doesn’t. That’s especially true with woodworking.

I recently talked about making a cutting board for the first time after decades of woodworking. Turns out I was wrong.

Glue is a staple of what we do in the woodshop, but you might be surprised at how many kinds you have. I know I was.

Any longtime woodworker would have a hard time thinking of something they’ve never made, including me. Well, I just thought of something.

Since Sally and I recently observed our anniversary, I thought it might be fun to celebrate some shop anniversaries, too.

Some things are so simple that they’re impossible – in my shop, anyway – to remember.

Welcome to Pet Peeve Friday™! In the crosshairs today: “slotted screwdriver.”

Safety is paramount when woodworking. But some of the safety warnings in tool manuals leave me scratching my head.

I’ve ruined a lot of projects by not leaving well enough alone, but sometimes tweaking really does improve something.

My new basement shop’s been fully operational for some time, but a lot of things remain undone. I moved one of those items over to the “done” list this week.

I’m a pretty handy guy, but I don’t know anything about electricity.

I’ve decided that the biggest factor in working off-site isn’t tools, materials or something you forgot. It’s inadequate lighting.

That table lamination project is now history. While I had my doubts, it came out pretty nice. Of course, there were some ups and downs.

Confession time: Wood imperfections don’t always bother me. In fact, I sometimes embrace them.

I have a lot of shop work coming up, but none of it will take place in my shop. So, I have to take my shop with me.

You can call this a rant, plain and simple, but sometimes the way they size tools makes no sense to me.

There are the plans you make, and then there’s reality. I hate reality.

Creating plans for a completed project is easy. Doing it the other way around – for me – is harder.

There are lots of expenses in woodworking (or any other business), but the most onerous are those that accomplish only to get you back where you already were.

Woodworkers tend to buy things they don’t need. I do it all the time and – admit it – so do you.

We’ve talked before about the most important (or favorite) tool in the woodshop. But which one is the most essential?

When you have bad news about a project issue, it’s sometimes better for the customer to hear it from someone besides you.

Measure twice; cut once. Good advice, but it leaves out an important part: Do the math.

Ever take a walk around your shop just to look at it? Not work, just look? You should.

I hate scams and the scammers who scam you. This particular scam isn’t new, but it deserves an update.

How do you measure things in your woodshop? Your results depend on how you do it.

Power woodworking vs. hand tools, while a hot debate for some, is just a matter of practicality for me.

How do you create a junk drawer? Trick question: You don’t.

Having a bigger shop is awesome, but increasing the size also increased the distance between everything. Hadn’t counted on that.

Slow, excruciatingly hot holiday week. Perfect time for a quick session of show-and-tell with my new miter saw station.

I was recently undercharged for some unfinished cabinets at a Big Box store, but despite an honest effort to make it right still ended up with a deal.

Ever need to buy a single piece of cabinet hardware that typically comes in a set? Do you hate doing that as much as I do?

It’s not always a case of, “You can’t have enough clamps.” Sometimes it’s just about finding the clamps you already have.

It’s a fact of life – both everyday life and woodworking life – that stuff wears out, not matter how well made it is.

When you make/fix/create/solve something, you want it to last as long as possible, right? Sometimes, that’s not always the best idea.

I love when tools are improved and upgraded, but sometimes the simplest enhancements resonate the most with me.

For those of you who’ve ever dreamed of stepping into my shoes, now’s your chance! Grab your arbor wrench, and let’s change table saw blades!

Remember me telling you a local school is getting rid of their industrial arts programs, including woodshop? I have some good news.

How do you deal with an error in a project? To my way of thinking, there are three things you can (try to) do.

I’d like you to meet my two best helpers, without whom I’d probably never get anything done.

Industrial arts education, often including woodshop, has been disappearing from high schools at an alarming rate. It just happened where I live.

Even when you do it right the very first time, it’s amazing how much you learn about everything that can be wrong.

I have a bad habit that I know a lot of other woodworkers share: Endlessly obsessing over flaws and errors in perfectly good work.