Repetition and practice are often all that are needed to bring about an improved outcome with just about any task. This includes pushing a lawnmower (my kids get better at it with each passing summer), swinging a golf club or tennis racquet, or paring & sawing right to your marked line. Practice and experience, along with a little sheer […]
In this month’s Tips column we talk about a project made from some really old pine. How old? At least 100 years. One problem that arose was swirls in the wood after sanding. Dust extractor suction turned down? Check! Not pressing down on the sander? Check! Email to Steven Johnson, The Down to Earth Woodworker, for […]
No Southern-fried Southern boy wants to be called a Yankee, but we share the characteristics of shrewdness and thrift. Thus, each month we include a money-saving tip. It’s OK if you call me “cheap.” When I first got my Festool Sander, an ETS 125, followed several months later by a 5″ Rotex RO 125 FEQ, […]
Welcome to “Tips From Sticks-In-The-Mud Woodshop.” I am a hobbyist, not a professional, someone who loves woodworking, just like you do. I have found some better ways to accomplish tasks in the workshop and look forward to sharing those with you each month, as well as hearing your problem-solving ideas. The building in which our […]
As I have said before, my wife is constantly insisting that I have three of every woodworking tool ever invented. Of course that’s not true. There are many of them that I only have two of. (However, at last count I had 37 different chisels, 28 pairs of pliers and 19 sharpening stones.) Now please understand; I’m not […]
The Festool Roadshow came through Atlanta, GA last Friday, April 15th and setup in our parking lot at Highland Woodworking for a day full of Festool demonstrations, giveaways, education and more! Several members of the Festool show staff were on hand to give demonstrations of all of the different Festool tools, as well as answer […]
For the past several years I have been forced to start using a walking stick for better balance and stability. When people ask, I tell them that I get unsteady when I drink too much. That usually stops any further questioning. The first one that I made was a salvaged branch from our backyard apricot tree that finally […]