A.J. Hamler

Tool instructions today couldn’t be more confusing. I’m here to make everything a lot simpler.

I like using just about any hand-held power tool, except one: a trim router. Actually, routers scare the bejabbers out of me in general, and while I give utmost respect to every power tool in my shop, routers top my respect list.

Once upon a time, off-white was a common paint color for decorators. You can’t find it now.

When it comes to cheap, mass-produced furniture, for the life of me I can’t figure out why they do some of the things they do.

Without even trying, we found a match for a piece of furniture. It needs some work, of course.

I’ve spoken often about my love for both woodworking and cooking – it’s no joke when I refer to the kitchen as “my other workshop.”

As years go by, you learn more. So, for my woodworking tastes to change drastically over time is only natural.

When you typically go all-out for your own projects, it’s sometimes difficult to do only what’s been requested for someone else.

I like to do things myself, but when time and circumstances don’t allow I sometimes take shortcuts I wouldn’t normally take.

Ever spend half a day trying to find one seemingly simple piece of hardware, only to be met with frustration?

Working in the modern woodshop is a colorful experience.

This year’s tax returns for all of us are going to be … interesting.

I’ve never made a full-sized, functional prototype before. Until now.

My wife calls it “your new toy,” but I know it’s a serious tool. That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.

Hello, and welcome to another edition of “Woodshop Inefficiency Caused by Stupid Procrastination!”

I finally bought something I’ve been wanted for years: a router lift for my router table.

As concerned as I already was about the Emerald Ash Borer, you just don’t really feel the impact until it touches you personally.

Accuracy is essential for woodworking. But there’s also such a thing as too much accuracy.

If you had to guess, what would you say is the one thing about woodworking I don’t like?

I got extremely lucky with my shop heating issue, and hopefully what I ended up doing will be helpful to some of you, too.

I gotta do something about the temperature of my shop.

It’s holiday time. Know how you can tell? Well, if you’re a normal person, clues are obvious.

I love big, involved projects, but the smaller ones around this time of year are often the most rewarding.

After more than three years, I’ve finally unpacked the last boxes leftover from our move. And there were a few surprises.

Sometimes, the hardest part of making a wooden reproduction isn’t the woodworking.

There are multiple ways to achieve a single result, and in woodworking that means favoring one method while others go unused.

Here’s another one you can add to my list of bad woodshop habits.

Build it permanent, or make movable? Sometimes the answer isn’t clear.

Few things are worse than really being on a roll in your woodshop, and having to come to a grinding halt to wait for something.

My long-distance table repair project turned out fine, despite my diagnosis not being quite on the money.

Nothing feels better at the end of a woodworking day than a sense of accomplishment.

Of all the shop habits I wish I could change, there’s one that leads the rest.

Diagnosing a wobbly table is a cinch. Unless, of course, that table happens to be 175 miles away.

I’m a pretty gregarious guy when it comes to shop sharing. But I do have a few rules.

Hyperbole is great for blockbuster movies, but the best way to boast about a woodworking product is to back it up with results.

Tool manuals are getting out of hand. And I mean that literally, since it now takes three hands to read one.

As hard as it is to believe, there’s been an upside to COVID-19 social distancing – and it’s woodworking related.

For the first time ever, I plan to build something up to about 95 percent complete – and then just stop.

I love Torx exterior screws, especially for interior projects.

Been a long, long time since I’ve had to think about childproofing things. But as soon as I finish this, I’ll be doing exactly that to my woodshop.

It’s rare, but sometimes work projects lead to fun projects. I love when that happens.

It doesn’t happen often, but every once in a while I try a tool I’ve never used before. This time, it was a pneumatic sander.

My wife got her first major glass-working tool, and the parallels to woodworking are both notable and enjoyable.

I have a very healthy respect for experts in fields I’m not so good at. Electricians top that list.

It’s unwelcome news, but not totally unexpected: IWF 2020 has been canceled.

My wife wanted me to build yet another decorative project for her. I told her to do it herself.

When it comes to woodshop accidents, you don’t want close calls. However, a close call is always better than the real thing.