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Tour of Jim’s Handtool-Only shop

Lot's of folks have been asking for a more in-depth look at my little backyard shop...all 196 square feet of it. So here it is. Sorry for the…

Fractions in a fraction of the time

Here’s a page from a forthcoming book I’m working on about the core geometric truths (first principles) that underlie–and led to the development of– all our layout tools,…

Sine Curves the Easy Way

  To develop the curves in the various brackets--here the support for the back fence on the lid of a correspondence desk-- I followed the ancient practice of…

Mark Marks the Spot

In the last post I showed you the layout marking tools that not only marked points and lines, but made physical indications of divots or lines in the…

X Marks the Spot

To be precise, the "pointy sticks" X-1 through X-8 marks the spot. All these layout marking tools do the job, but all in a somewhat different way to…

Hands-on Teaching Tool

Here's a page from a forthcoming pamphlet I'm working on about the geometric truths that underlie--and led to the development of-- all our layout tools, including (basically end…

Hand Tool Heaven—the Movie!

Check out Andrea's new animation work for our hand tool oriented courses at the Port Townsend School of Woodworking. Hard to believe, but everything you see in the…

Libella vs. Laser

  Been thinking about the Libella lately...the ancient leveling tool. Would it be as accurate as today's laser levels?  No, probably not. The precision of the laser would…

Special Plane from Across the Room

  A visit to a retired shop teacher/avid boatbuilder locally yielded a look at this plane. I knew from across the room that there was something special about…

Let the Log do the Talking

Here's my take on what to call the different lumber grading by end grain configuration.  In my opinion, I say let the wood and the geometry provide the…