Est. 1998 — 27 years of woodworking knowledge
As many of our regular visitors know, Woodworker West magazine published a regular column of excerpts from surveys we conducted on our WoodCentral forums, usually on the “ides” (15th) of every other month. We harvested your responses, edited them and send them off to our friends at Woodworker West for publication in their next issue. Everyone was most welcome to participate, though no attribution was given and readers could count on editorial brutality of the highest order.
Woodworkers are a pretty diverse bunch, to put it mildly. But, one thing we have in common is the capacity–no, the propensity–to dream, of projects that we would like to make, if skills and resources were no object. Tapping Into this theme, I asked our visitors the open-ended question, “What is your dream project?” The … Read more
Every year as the holidays draw near, there is a lot of discussion about Christmas gifts for friends and loved ones. This year, I put the question to our visitors directly: “What are you making for the people on your gift list this year?” The replies collected here are probably too late to be of … Read more
In the September-October issue, we printed–in this column–the first set of responses to my query of WoodCentral.com visitors: What was your dumbest woodworking mistake? There was no shortage of confessions. So, in the spirit of helping others avoid some of the classic bonehead moves, I present you with a second set of tales from which … Read more
Whether we’re happy about it or not, most of us learn life’s lessons the hard way: by doing things wrong the first time. Sometimes the results are comical; sometimes not funny at all. But, we usually end up learning something useful from them. So, in the spirit of helping others avoid some of the classic … Read more
Many woodworkers dream of making the jump from hobbyist to professional, but they have no idea of how to price their work. Others just want to build an occasional piece for sale and not lose their shirts in the bargain. And, of course, professionals had better have their pricing formulas figured out, because their livelihood … Read more
Woodworkers are a thrifty and innovative bunch. When the need arises for a new tool or fixture or specialty jig, many prefer to make it from scratch if possible, not only to save money but also for the satisfaction that goes along with creative problem solving. When one of our regular visitors asked what kinds … Read more
Tools are at the intersection of the woodworker and his or her materials. Because woodworking is a subtractive process, practically everything we do with wood involves cutting it or subtracting from it in some way. No wonder power and hand tools are such perennial hot topics on the WoodCentral messageboards. Over the years, I’ve noticed … Read more
After our recent discussion about sustainable forestry and ways to protect endangered species of hardwoods around the world, I was curious to know which, if any, of the so called “lesser known species” that our visitors had used instead of the over-harvested ones. The fact that we had far fewer responses than usual leads me … Read more
As most woodworkers are aware, the world is losing its tropical rain forests at an staggering rate. The primary causes are intensive logging and inefficient slash-and-burn agriculture in the overpopulated Third World countries, where most of these forests are located. This alarming situation has sparked a decades-long debate about what woodworkers can do to help … Read more
The global reach of the Internet came home to WoodCentral recently when a visitor from the University of New South Wales in Australia dropped by our messageboards to conduct some research on the topic of tool sharing. Apparently, around the world, many communities pool their resources by maintaining “tool libraries.” Our guest was interested to … Read more
In a recent and spirited debate, one of WoodCentral’s regular visitors suggested that “price is something of a badge authenticating the plece.”Red flags went up for Barbara Siddiqui, WoodCentral’s book reviewer and editorial assistant. “What about intrinsic art value?” she asked. Over the next few days or so, our messageboard racked up 56 repiles on … Read more
There’s an old joke that goes, “How do you make a million bucks as a professional woodworker?” The answer, of course, is, “Start with two million.” Despite the occasional cynicism of hard-bitten professionals, “going pro” still holds endless fascination for many amateur woodworkers. I asked WoodCentral visitors: How do you feel about the idea of … Read more
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