The Renaissance Woodworker

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Entries Tagged as 'Thoughts'

Bad Axe Toolworks Review

February 5th, 2010 · 1 Comment

I first used one of Mark Harrell’s new tenon saws at the hand tool olympics at the Woodworking in America design event last August in St Charles, IL. At the time my dovetailing skills were actually better than my tenoning skills because I had spent more time practicing dovetails. Needless to say I [...]

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Tags: Thoughts · hand saws

The Legacy of Tools: Gold Rush Era Molding Planes

February 1st, 2010 · 3 Comments

After my trip to Valley Forge for the 2009 Hand Tools and Techniques conference I became a little obsessed with wooden planes. I had a particular interest in molding planes.
I was lucky enough to come across several auctions on eBay from the same tool chest. Unfortunately I was sniped on one of them, [...]

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Tags: Hand Tools · Thoughts · hand planes

Jointer & Table Saw Abstinence

January 27th, 2010 · 4 Comments

Maybe it is just the circles I run in lately but there are a lot of conversations about not needing this power tool or never using this jig because it is more enjoyable and sometimes faster to use a hand tool instead.
It probably has a lot to do with my personal development as [...]

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Tags: Hand Tools · Thoughts

A Curious Little Table

January 20th, 2010 · 2 Comments

I paid a visit to the Baltimore Museum of Art this past weekend. I had heard tales of their excellent decorative arts wing that contains excellent examples of 18th century furniture with an emphasis on local cabinetmakers from Baltimore and Annapolis. Unfortunately on my way down the hall to the exhibit I was [...]

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Tags: On the road · Thoughts

The Best Investment for Your Woodworking

January 18th, 2010 · 3 Comments

It’s the time of year when resolutions are made (and broken) and we look ahead with excited expectations for the new year. What do you want to get done in your shop this year? What do you want to learn? This is when I start to think about taking classes that will [...]

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Tags: Thoughts

God Save the Queen’s Mortising Chisels

January 18th, 2010 · 6 Comments

I remember sitting in the Eight Bells pub just outside Stratford-Upon-Avon and sampling some fine sherry trifle while having a political discussion with a local about “nutter American politicians”. Our conversation eventually turned to British politics and the “royal problem”. I was very young and still really wide eyed but I remember this [...]

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Tags: Hand Tools · Thoughts

D’oh! I shouldn’t have glued up that joint yet!

January 13th, 2010 · No Comments

Hand tools allow us to work in way not possible with a machine. Have you ever glued up a part and then thought, “dang, I should have chamfered those edges at the router table first”. While you can’t run a carcase across a router table easily, you can very easily use a block [...]

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Tags: Hand Tools · Thoughts · roubo

Project Taking Longer Than Expected?

January 11th, 2010 · 4 Comments

How many times have you heard a fellow woodworker say that they are behind “schedule” on a project or, “I can’t believe how long that took to make!”
I am plagued with this all the time. I did a podcast many months ago on organizing yourself when working on multiple projects. In [...]

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Tags: Projects · Thoughts · roubo

Glue Joint Fire Test

January 5th, 2010 · No Comments

Listen!
via AudioBoo
Posted via web from renaissanceww’s posterous

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Tags: Thoughts · audioboo

Woodworking on the Brain

January 4th, 2010 · 10 Comments

These days I can’t help but examine every structure I see for design and construction hints. I find myself staring at leaves and branches and thinking about how I could incorporate those beautiful lines into an inlay or table leg. So it was no surprise to me when while sitting in a parking [...]

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Tags: Thoughts

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