Category Archives: tools

Design aids

Might be your lucky day

Posted on May 7, 2015 by walkerg

On the fence about attending Handworks next week? Allow me to nudge you past the tipping point. Many of the exhibitors are contributing tools for prizes that are handed out throughout the day on Friday and Saturday. I’ve been busy this … Continue reading →

Posted in tools, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Tools that inspire

Posted on August 17, 2014 by walkerg

I’m a tool user – not a tool collector. However, I do have a soft spot for antique dividers and drawing tools. When some old buzzard moans,  ” They don’t make em like they used to”  it’s hard to find … Continue reading →

Posted in tools | 4 Comments

What’s in your Tool Kit?

Posted on February 17, 2014 by walkerg

I enjoy a trip to an art museum. It’s more than a chance to examine great furniture on display, but to see the interplay between art, architecture, and furniture.  There is a craft element of art that applies directly to … Continue reading →

Posted in Design Basics, tools | 1 Comment

Rally in the Heartland

Posted on October 2, 2012 by walkerg

We are smack in the middle of it. A rebirth of handwork fueled by a new breed of toolmakers turning out superbly crafted and functional tools. So a few of these toolmakers put their heads together and came up with an idea. Let’s rent a big … Continue reading →

Posted in tools, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Designer’s Alphabet D is for ……

Posted on August 21, 2012 by walkerg

is for dividers, aptly called the tool of the imagination. At it’s simplest it’s a pair of sticks joined at a fulcrum, but this simple tool is one of the most profound of human inventions. Dividers give us the ability … Continue reading →

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Inch or Metric?

Posted on August 2, 2012 by walkerg

Machinists are spinning in their graves at what I’m about to share and I can’t quite believe it myself. It’s hard to explain the attachment one gets to a measuring system when you’ve made a living dodging hot steel chips … Continue reading →

Posted in Design Basics, Design Book, proportions, tools | 7 Comments

Jim Tolpin’s “The New Traditional Woodworker”

Posted on May 28, 2011 by walkerg

I don’t often read a woodworking book cover to cover. Usually it’s just one or two sections that interest me enough to add to my library. Tolpin’s new book “The New Traditional Woodworker” is an exception. Reading it felt like … Continue reading →

Posted in Resources, tools | 5 Comments

Spoiled…in a good way

Posted on July 21, 2010 by walkerg

Back in the mid 70’s just out of high school I took off for Montana on a teenage lark. My brother helped me land a job on a sprawling cattle ranch. Can’t say I was much of an asset on … Continue reading →

Posted in tools | 4 Comments

Tool Event

Posted on June 7, 2010 by walkerg

If you haven’t been able to break free to attend one of the Lie-Nielsen hand tool events, here’s what you’re missing out on. I spent the weekend in Cincinnati at the tool event at the Popular Woodworking headquarters. Notice the … Continue reading →

Posted in Design Basics, tools | 2 Comments

Tight joinery made simpler

Posted on May 10, 2010 by walkerg

A few years ago I was teaching a class at Marc Adams and a student who shall remain nameless chided me for choosing hand tools over powered versions. He argued that power tools were more accurate. I had to scrape … Continue reading →

Posted in tools | 2 Comments