Meet Paul Sellers, winner of the “Best Hand Tool Blog” category in the 2016 WWGOA Blogger Awards! October 2016, WWGOA hosted a competition dedicated entirely to all those talented woodworkers out there who share their work with the blogosphere. We asked you to nominate and vote for your favorite bloggers, and now we’re thrilled to
The spokeshave is an interesting tool; boatbuilders, luthiers and furniture makers have utilized this humble tool for centuries to chamfer, shape and smooth all manner of parts, from cabriole legs to guitar necks. Master bowyer Tom Turgeon needs a spokeshave to ’tiller’, or shape the longbows he makes. Finding all of the commercially available spokeshaves
I would never call myself a woodworking purist. I have never flattened a broad plank of white oak with a scrub plane or hand cut a chest full of dovetails. That’s what power tools and jigs are for! But every once in a while I marvel at the efficiency of a beautifully designed hand tool.
Sometimes less really is more. This Japanese Square is perfect in so many ways. Made out of stainless steel, it is hefty enough to withstand daily use, but light enough to toss in an apron pocket. As opposed to other squares that have sliding straightedges, this square has a long, fixed foot that makes it
While I am not an avid carver, I enjoy dabbling in it occasionally, and on a whim, I recently made a first attempt at carving a spoon. While I was reasonably pleased by the results, I was frustrated by the challenge of getting a consistent shape and smooth bottom to the bowl of the spoon.
I must be honest; I don’t hand cut dovetails, but I do use a dovetail saw to make fine, straight, and very accurate cuts on other types of woodworking joints. For those cuts, nothing but a quality dovetail saw will suffice. And as long as I’m being honest, I’ll admit one more thing; this saw
I like tools, especially good-looking tools. Often I buy a tool solely based on looks. I know that’s a really bad criteria, but what can I say? I’m a sucker for a pretty tool! Some of the “cool” tools I buy never see the light of day, others I find moderately useful, and a rare few surprise the heck out of me as either being extremely useful or really well suited for a specific task. The latter is the category of tools I will share with you in this column.
These expensive woodworking tools pay for themselves in accuracy and efficiency. I’ve been building custom furniture for many years and, like most of you, I’ve acquired my woodworking tools as I can afford them. The tools in this list might seem expensive, quirky, and even redundant, but stay with me and I’ll prove their worth.
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