A.J. Hamler

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.

I don’t like buying ready-to-assemble furniture, but I have to admit I was recently impressed by some.

The furniture polish people have a fine product as long as they tout it as polish. It’s when they hype benefits to the wood that they stray into PR-speak nonsense.

I hated to do it, but I just ordered some ready-to-assemble furniture. Do I feel guilty? Nope, because it’s saving me valuable time.

I’ve long maintained that stain is a pain. I now realize that kind of thinking was, well, inane.

Not everything made in the woodshop has to be related to work. In fact, sometimes the whole point of making something is to have fun.

Imagining a perfect woodworking world only takes a bit of imagination.

Our governor has allowed certain construction jobs to resume. From the few examples I can see, it’s going well.

I’ve worked with some machines for decades, and while I’ve grown confident in their use, I’ve never grown comfortable with some of them.

Isolation tends to make folks a bit antsy. I’d say that woodworkers are no different. At least, not this one.

It took cutting my wife’s hair to get a whole new appreciation for the tools of other people’s professions.

I’ve been making the most of self-isolation, and so far, so good.

Planning shop layout doesn’t always work. But when it does, it’s awesome.

Even the simplest of tool upgrades can make a difference.

I have a whole shop full of new tools. Or, at least it seems like it.

Sometimes, old neglected tools don’t work so well when you dig them out. Sometimes they work fine… but you should still get rid of them.

You just never know when you might need rarely used tools. Of course, you still have to keep them in working order…

At some point in every project I make, I include something personal that, most likely, no one will ever see.

There’s an old saying about doing as I say, not as I do. Good advice.

Of all the things woodworkers buy, use and accumulate in the woodshop, drill bits have to be at the top of the list for sheer volume.

Contractors, woodworkers or anyone else who installs furniture or cabinets try to contain their mess, but there’s something they almost always miss.

“You can never have enough clamps” may be a cliché, but it’s true. You can say the same thing about light.

Sadness, remembrance, appreciation, connection – just some of the things you feel when a gift project comes back into your life.

A recent experience with contractors taught me something about the importance of working as a team.

Ever have a one-off project unexpectedly become a series? It’s usually a surprise and, for me, a pleasant one.

What drives a woodworker or DIYer nuts? It’s listening to other people working, but not being able to join them.

It’s amazing how, after considering a woodshop problem for a long time, you find the solution was right in front of you all along.

I’ve stated categorically before that there’s no such thing as scrap. Here’s proof.

I love talking to kids about what I do, and even more so when some of them turn out to already be working with wood.

I’m technically capable of doing a lot of things, but sometimes I just don’t want to.

Taking care of pest infestations threatening forests is a state job, right? Yeah, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t things the little guy can do.

I don’t always like it when tool companies “improve” their offerings, but I find a recent trend to be both welcome and useful.

Cordless tools? I absolutely love them! Batteries and chargers? Not so much.

Woodworkers know only too well how addictive it is to lust after new tools. I think my wife is finally beginning to understand.

I don’t often ask for a favor – in fact, I don’t think I ever have – but I have a favor to ask.

I talked last year about how little attention the checkouts at Big Box stores pay to what they’re actually ringing up. In the earlier case, the guy paid no attention to the fact that I had two cabinets on a dolly, not one long one, and only charged me for one. I noted at the time that even though this was a small thing, it’s still indicative of issues affecting the economy. How can you possibly succeed when you’re letting free stuff go out the door?

In spite of the fact that I think I know everything, clearly, there’s a lot out there I’m clueless about.

Just when it looks like we’re catching a break with tree-killing predators, another comes along that’s even worse.

I’ve never stated before that there’s not a species of wood I won’t work with. Well, I take it back.

Just how little wood can there be in a project, and still consider it woodworking?

Sometimes – too often, it seems – woodworking gives you two choices that force you to make a tough decision.

Two things happened this week that helped me regain a sense of balance in the way I look at things.