Weekly Editorial

  • Big Chuck

    Holy cow, I finally did it. After a few years of making do with some pretty archaic workarounds, I finally closed my eyes, held my breath and made the big purchase. What I am talking about? I bought a Oneway Stronghold four-jaw chuck for my lathe. And not only that, but I got the extra #3 jaws as well.

  • Sam Maloof, 1916-2009: Tribute to a Legend

    On May 21, our craft lost a revered master and beloved friend of many: Sam Maloof passed away peacefully in his home at the age of 93.

  • Lottery Dream Shop

    A few weeks ago, a friend of mine bought a lottery ticket. Of course, by purchasing said ticket, the odds of him actually winning the lottery were only slightly better than if he had never been born. Ignoring that grim shadow of gambling reality, he began a mental exercise of what he would do with the money if he did win.

  • Sharing Good Work in our Gallery

    One of my favorite portions of this eZine is the Reader’s Project Gallery section. For me, as for other woodworkers, it’s fun,…

  • Regrets, I’ve Had a Few

    When I wrote about “the radial arm saw that got away” in my last editorial, I had no idea what a flurry of comments I would touch off about the hallowed RAS. (Stories about radial arm saws always bring out comments from admirers of that special power tool.)

  • Missed Opportunity

    One of the tools that I regret not buying from my father when he closed his cabinet shop “back in the day” was a radial arm saw. This may cause you to be a bit confused, I mean, a radial arm saw? (Rob, you could go out tomorrow and buy two or three at most flea markets!) You may taunt, but the picture you have in your mind of a radial arm saw likely does not do this machine justice.

  • April Foolishness

    I don’t know if you share my fault, but occasionally I am embarrassed by my penchant for sophomoric humor – after all, I can’t even claim middle age any longer (unless I manage to live well beyond 100 years old). But there is something to the phrase “know thyself” (for which I am pretty sure there is a cool Latin saying that I could use to impress you, but my calcifying brain just won’t pull it up).

  • A New Piece of the Puzzle

    Well, here we go again! As I mentioned recently, we are in the process of upgrading our websites. While all of these efforts may not have gone as smoothly as we had hoped, I am finding it a fun and exciting time. This week we are adding a couple of new items to the eZine – and they certainly will not be the last. First, check out the high quality, full-color downloadable woodworking plan we’ve added to our Free Plans page.

  • Winding Down the Winter

    For those of you in warmer climes, this may be a bit hard to think about: as I write this missive, a nasty winter storm is bearing down on my small corner of the world. We have been flirting with 40-degree days around here for a little while, so the impending snowstorm feels like it is adding insult to injury. Last month it would have been “ho-hum, more snow. . .” but now it feels like winter is holding on and just won’t let go.

  • Click and You Shall Find

    Hey – notice anything different? No, I don’t have a new haircut – look around your screen: it’s our website. This issue of the eZine kicks off our latest update of the site, replete with cool new features and including all of your old favorites. (And stay tuned, there is even more great stuff to come.) We’ve done away with the Premium section of the eZine but kept many of the features in place (they’re just free now). The site also includes easy navigation to the entire network of Woodworker’s Journal websites and our sister sites.