Woodworking is high on the list of industries that are experiencing a shortage of skilled employees. With unemployment rates at the lowest level in decades and wages at their highest, the lack of skilled people is becoming more and more obvious.
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.
Over the years I’ve found myself repeating certain phrases that apply to various situations. I call these phrases “rules” because they are almost always true. Here are ten of the most common.
As professional woodworkers, making our product is the easy part; marketing and selling it is the hard part.
I have always preferred to order things I need and have them delivered rather than have to go shopping.
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.”
Every time I see a video or read a tutorial about how to do something, I think again about what it takes to really master a process. There are two parts to learning. One is the acquisition of knowledge. The other is the acquisition of skill.
Safety is paramount when woodworking. But some of the safety warnings in tool manuals leave me scratching my head.
Every woodworker has been inspired by something that steered us into this work.
I’ve ruined a lot of projects by not leaving well enough alone, but sometimes tweaking really does improve something.
Most of us work most efficiently in a well-organized environment. Things just go more smoothly when whatever is needed at the moment is easily accessed.
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.
We all have protocols. Whether it’s a construction method or payment schedule, for example, these protocols are communicated to our customers in the hope that we will have a smooth, trouble free relationship through the course of a project.
I’m a big believer in buying woodworking machinery that provides support from the manufacturer.
Dean Mattson likes to dream big, and then follow through.
In the March 2017 issue of Woodshop News, I wrote about the efforts of the EPA to eliminate paint and coatings removers that contain methylene chloride or n-methyl pyrrolidone (NMP) from the consumer market.
Say the word “free” to a group of woodworkers and they will come straight at you like a moth to a light.
Johnny Shines played the blues. He was good and he knew it. At one performance, he began a song with a causally played rif of great complexity, then paused, smiled at the audience and said “It’s easy, if ya know how.”
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.