Friends:
Here are the blanket chest plans. I admit, these were much harder to design than I expected. The project isn't that complex, but there are a lot of steps and details.
One of my outstanding Patrons pointed out that my plans would be improved with page numbers, so I've added those and I'll put them on all future plans.
As usual, these are also up on th...
2021-02-03 16:46:35 +0000 UTC View Post
Friends:
After much anticipation, the 6-board chest video is done. This is one of my most ambitious videos ever. It contains over 150 clips of film, dozens of historical images, and WAY more research and planning than a typical video.
Now that it's all over, I think I've created a can't-miss guide to building this simple, elegant, and useful form. I hope many of you buil...
2021-01-30 12:00:02 +0000 UTC View Post
Friends:
I just finished this blanket-chest and I wanted you all to get the first look. (Really the first; my wife hasn't even seen it yet.)
There are more pictures and a discussion thread over on the Discourse: https://rexkrueger.discourse.group/t/the-iconic-six-board-ches...
2021-01-26 13:38:40 +0000 UTC View Post
Friends:
I’m close to finishing a lovely, early American blanket chest. So close, in fact, that it was almost the subject of this week’s video. But the whole project is assembled with nails, including some fairly exotic ones that you might not have seen before.
As I began describing all the different nails, their different functions, the way they’re sized and sold, I realized ...
2021-01-23 12:01:00 +0000 UTC View Post
Friends:
I'm sorry! I totally forgot to post these. They've been up on the plan archive along with all the other plans.
On another note, I think these are some of the best plans I ever drew and I'm very curious to see someone else make one of these. I think the project is ...
2021-01-16 13:14:29 +0000 UTC View Post
Friends:
This week, we're developing a new physical product: a kit for my turning saws. I'd like to sell this kit to new woodworkers so they can have access to this great tool and take part in making it.
But man, it's a long road to offering this tool!
This project took not just me, but also Quinn from the channel Blondihacks for the machining and ...
2021-01-16 12:01:02 +0000 UTC View Post
Friends:
2021 is here! Let's start it off with a low-cost tool you can makin in your shop!
People often ask me where they can find a good jointer plane for shooting edges and flattening big surfaces. These planes are pricey and the vintage ones can be hard to find.
After a LOT of research and development, I've come up with a design you can build yourself with...
2021-01-09 12:00:02 +0000 UTC View Post
(Note: this article will appear as part of my newsletter Fabrication First. As a Patron, you already get all the Fab First content, and you get it early.)
I just finished reading Zachary Dillinger’s With Saw, Plane, and Chisel: How to Build Historic American Furniture with Hand To...
2020-12-28 19:53:05 +0000 UTC View Post
Friends:
The plans are done and I'm delighted to post them for my Patrons. This is really a quick project. I had the benefit of having an original winding stick to start with, but these plans should give you everything you need to make your own.
As usual, these are also posted on the 2020-12-23 14:01:35 +0000 UTC View Post
Friends:
This week, we have a lovely little project: Andre Roubo's winding sticks. They're very different than the ones you're probably used to, but they're easy to make and they don't cost anything. Just a fun afternoon in the shop.
As I mention in the video, I'm taking a (desperately needed) two weeks off. I'll still be around. You can message me and find me on the Dis...
2020-12-19 12:00:02 +0000 UTC View Post
Friends:
People are always asking me about cheap chisels for their woodwork and I think I've found some. These might be the famous Aldi chisels that everyone loves but are never in-stock. Regardless, I found them on Amazon for a mere $18.
To really optimize them, I made all new handles in the traditional London Pattern. You can make these with a lathe or TOTALLY by hand ...
2020-12-12 12:00:02 +0000 UTC View PostFriends:
Many of you probably know Anne Briggs, who makes content under the name Anne of All Trades. Anne recently moved from Seattle to Nashville, bought land, and pretty much risked everything to build a craft school in her back yard.
Then COVID happened. Now, her bui...
2020-12-11 14:09:55 +0000 UTC View Post
Friends:
Forged From Wood Returns!!!!
My least-popular series is back for more absurd wooden weapon mayhem! I make a toy weapon for my nephew every year and this time, he asked for a morning star. His parents gave the thumbs-up, and I made it.
And man, it took some very creative problem solving.
I bet a lot of you are making gifts this year and I wish y...
2020-12-05 12:01:00 +0000 UTC View Post
(Note: this article will appear as part of my newsletter Fabrication First. As a Patron, you already get all the Fab First content, and you get it early.)
For many of us the story is the same. You want to become a woodworker, so you go down to the home improvement store and buy a table saw. Maybe you stop for a moment and look at the hand saws, ...
2020-11-30 12:50:39 +0000 UTC View Post
Friends:
Welcome to Vise Squad #3! This week, I'm looking at the twin screw vice used by the famous Dominy craftsmen of Long Island.
It's an odd beast, simple in design, but costly to make and seemingly hard to use. I made the most accurate one I could and the results were....complicated.
There are a lot of mysteries in this one and there's still more w...
2020-11-28 21:52:15 +0000 UTC View PostFriends:
As promised, I'm trying a new live-stream today at 2:30 pm EST. I'll be answering questions about Stanley planes and talking to everyone in the chat. I know it's late notice, but I had a bunch of technical issues to work out before I knew it was happening.
This stream is for everyone, but future streams will have an after-show that exclusive to Patrons and chann...
2020-11-25 17:55:27 +0000 UTC View Post
Friends:
Many of you have asked for a shop tour for some time now. I haven't done it because my shop was so messy and disorganized that I was embarrassed to have it on camera. Well, might as well just clean the shop AND do a tour all at once!
So, I cleaned and reorganized the whole thing and did a full before-and-after. I also spent some time discussing the new philosophy of m...
2020-11-21 12:00:02 +0000 UTC View Post
Friends:
A recent discussion over on the Discourse got me thinking about how to buy tools when the whole world is locked down. Many of us go to eBay, but that's a tough road. Buying tools you know nothing about with only pictures to look at? That can be a bi...
2020-11-14 12:01:00 +0000 UTC View Post
Friends:
There’s been a great deal of interest in the plastic vise. I thought the community would enjoy a more detailed picture. So, I laid the whole thing out on my scanner and took a high-resolution picture. I’ve included an imperial and metric scale and the total image size is standard 8.5x11.
Let’s be super clear here: this product might still be under patent and I have no...
2020-11-09 14:04:17 +0000 UTC View Post
Friends:
Welcome to the second installment of Vise Squad!
This week, I'm looking at the almost-forgotten plastic vise once sold by Sears and Roebuck. These vises were sold under various names and they promised to let people get started in woodwork for only a few dollars.
Sound too good to be true?
Well, come along as I try to do actual woodworkin...
2020-11-07 12:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post
Friends:
If you saw my latest video on the Advanced Shooting Board, then you know it was a collaboration with James Wright . James made a fancy and VERY impressive shooting board with all the bells and whistles.
I always give my Patrons plans for free, but just to up the ante...
2020-11-04 13:19:04 +0000 UTC View PostFriends: This article will appear as this month's issue of Fabrication First, my email newsletter. If you're already a Patron, there's no need to sign up for that; everything on the newsletter appears here first. Hope you enjoy! --Rex
I know a lot of power tool woodworkers. Sometimes one of them will say to me, “Hey Rex, I think I would like to own one hand plane...
2020-11-02 12:29:57 +0000 UTC View Post
Friends:
This week, I'm teaming up with a surprise guest to bring you a totally re-vamped shooting board design. If you're sawing boards by hand, you need a good shooting board, but they aren't easy to build.
Well, I've got a design that's sturdy, reliable, and easy to dial-in for perfect 90 degree ends. I've re-thought my own shooting board from the ground up t...
2020-10-31 11:00:02 +0000 UTC View Post
Friends:
This video has been years in the making. From the very start of my woodworking, more than 10 years ago, I had heard about the mysterious “infill planes” of Scotland and Great Britain. These tools are often discussed, but rarely seen in people’s shops. Look at the cover of Garrett Hack’s definitive _The Handpane Book_ and you’ll see a pristine Norris A5 smoother. These p...
2020-10-24 11:00:02 +0000 UTC View Post
Friends:
I recently figured something out. The cast iron face vise (what most of us think of as just a "vise") has some serious limitations. For years, this thing has been the only game in town, but there are all kinds of things it can't do.
And there are SO many other vises out there, vises that were around for centuries and allowed thousands of craftsm...
2020-10-17 11:01:01 +0000 UTC View Post
Friends:
I'm delighted to post a ton of free plans today. First up is this week's Turning Saw. This plan came out great and even has a printable template for making the arms. I'm also including the Journeyman's Plan Bundle, which is made up of previously released plans, but I figure some of you missed the older plans and would like the whole thing. The bundle had to be split into 2 ...
2020-10-14 12:28:40 +0000 UTC View Post
Friends:
Lots of people enjoyed the fancy turning saw I made with the great Uri Tuchman. Many other people have urged me to make a simpler version that anyone can make (without having access to a crazy German artist/inventor to make the parts.)
Ask and you shall receive!
I humbly present a turning saw that you can make in day with cheap, common parts. This saw is also a ...
2020-10-10 11:00:02 +0000 UTC View Post
Friends:
The book is off the the publisher (thank God), and I'm back to making videos!
For a while now, I've wanted better options for hand-tool woodworkers who want to use a brace for their drilling. The braces are easy to find, but the auger bits are rare and sometimes pricey.
This week, we're going to look at some ways to modernize your hand-drilling with a few ...
2020-10-03 11:00:02 +0000 UTC View Post
Friends:
As the whirlwind of book-writing draws to a close, I'm taking a tour of every project in my new book. After working on this book for over a year, it's fun to get everything together in one place.
I hope you enjoy this top-secret look at my new book. No one else will see this stuff until the book comes out.
We will return to regular videos next week.&...
2020-09-25 19:00:19 +0000 UTC View Post
Friends:
This is a whole new direction for the channel!
I found this 19th Century table and it's totally handmade. There's SO much to see in the tool-marks, the timber choices and the decisions the craftsman made. This thing is like a roadmap of pre-industrial country furniture.
So, let's dive into the details of this piece of history. Understanding this tab...
2020-09-19 11:01:00 +0000 UTC View Post