Pragmatic Woodworker

The year of 2020 is definitely a memorable one.  Plagues, economic ruin, riots encouraged by government officials, and other interesting (in the Chinese proverb sense) events.  If we can't find...

http://blog.greatlakeswoodshop.com/2020/10/happy-jacob-arend-day-2020.html

The blog does not reflect it, but I did manage some shop time through the year.  The title is a comment on the bland blurry year in the shop I've had. The bulk of my free time has been spent o...

http://blog.greatlakeswoodshop.com/2019/01/2018-year.html

It has been my custom since starting this blog to list every (most?) vendor that sucked the yearly woodworking budget.  Even though I have not posted since February 2017, a lot has actually happ...

http://blog.greatlakeswoodshop.com/2017/12/2017-tale-of-two-cities-and-all-stuff-i.html

I'm part of Rustoleums Creator's Studio .  A recent challenge consisted of volunteering to test some Testor's products in a Valentine's Day themed craft.  Above is my humble submission:  The...

http://blog.greatlakeswoodshop.com/2017/02/it-still-counts-as-woodworking-dammit.html

Last Spring I did a post about how the blog was not all I naively hoped it would be.  I have done a lot of woodworking and other stuff since then, even though the blog does not reflect it. Ab...

http://blog.greatlakeswoodshop.com/2017/01/nearly-year-in-making.html

First, I must apologize for the title.  It will (somewhat) make sense by the end of this post.  The purpose was to confuse Google to see if I'll ever be indexed in a scholarly article search. �...

http://blog.greatlakeswoodshop.com/2017/01/start-before-stop-against-stop-before.html

Every year I make a post about where I spent my woodworking money for the year.  This is just a list, sometimes with comments; it is not meant to be a budget report, or purchase advice.  Simply...

http://blog.greatlakeswoodshop.com/2017/01/2016-damage-control.html

The following is basically a reply made to a post entitled Crucible Dividers on the Lost Art Press forums.  Why waste a good bit of writing?  EDIT:  Lost Art Press discontinued their forums th...

http://blog.greatlakeswoodshop.com/2016/09/a-night-playing-free-mason.html

I spent a brief time at Woodworking in America last week.  I plan my attendance like anyone else: location, presenters, and budget.  This year the location was close enough (Cincinatti-ish).  ...

http://blog.greatlakeswoodshop.com/2016/09/wia-2016-short-course.html

I have blogged for years without posting any pictures of myself.  I always figured that there was enough narcissism in the mere presence of the blog.  Pictures of myself would only be grandstan...

http://blog.greatlakeswoodshop.com/2016/08/first-time-for-everything_13.html

I have been on the Internet since the early days.  By luck of birth and predilection, I get to say, "I was there when..."  The woodworking thing came many years later. This post is on the dif...

http://blog.greatlakeswoodshop.com/2016/04/on-vast-silent-majority.html

Sometimes I wonder why I stick with this woodworking thing.  I'm working on a very large crosscut sled for the table saw.  This beast is nothing fancy, just 24"X40" of sliding plywood and two f...

http://blog.greatlakeswoodshop.com/2016/04/heavy-sigh.html

I attended the Lie-Nielsen event in Chicago recently.  I have not decided if I'm going to write up my experience yet.  However, I am going to talk about the single item I purchased at the show...

http://blog.greatlakeswoodshop.com/2016/03/sharp-shop-appliance.html

Cover The much anticipated new addition to the print woodworking community has finally shipped.  It is the brain child of Joshua A. Klein and Mortise & Tenon Magazine is his labor of love....

http://blog.greatlakeswoodshop.com/2016/03/book-review-mortise-tenon-magazine.html

Now I leave the shop to sleep I pray the Lord my tools to keep If they should rust before I wake I pray the Lord the oxide to take

http://blog.greatlakeswoodshop.com/2016/03/prayer-for-shop.html

Not long ago the folks over at Lost Art Press offered up a graphic with limited permission for personal use.  The graphic is a French marriage mark that graces the cover of the Anarchist Design ...

http://blog.greatlakeswoodshop.com/2016/02/free-rein.html

Every year I publish a list of where all my woodworking hobby money was spent.  This year saw purchases from three continents as well as the more mundane domestic suppliers.  Through Etsy I sou...

http://blog.greatlakeswoodshop.com/2015/12/2015-hobo-hobby.html

A while ago , I built my first Dutch Tool Chest.  I have been working out of that chest ever since.  That may sound impressive, but two successive shoulder surgeries have REALLY curtailed my p...

http://blog.greatlakeswoodshop.com/2015/11/dutch-goes-digital.html

...pictures must tell the tale. One of the highlights of my year was attending Handworks 2015 in Amana, Iowa.  I'm late to the party as far as writing about Handworks is concerned.  If you ha...

http://blog.greatlakeswoodshop.com/2015/07/handworks-2015-where-rhetoric-fails.html

In January I attended my first ever The Wood Working Shows in Indianapolis, Indiana (USA).  Before now my woodworking show experience has been confined to Woodworking in America (WIA).  Even ...

http://blog.greatlakeswoodshop.com/2015/04/first-visit-to-wood-working-shows.html

I am not a woodworking scholar by any means.  I do not have an extensive collection of woodworking tomes.  Generally, if I can't find an answer, or a lead, to whatever question is being res...

http://blog.greatlakeswoodshop.com/2014/12/the-ultimate-leather-tool-roll-that.html

Another year has gone by and that means another list of vendors is in order.  All of these folks I have satisfactorily purchased tools, supplies, or other woodworking paraphernalia from in the p...

http://blog.greatlakeswoodshop.com/2014/12/2014-woodworking-tolls.html

I received The Book Of Plates today; one of the new titles from Lost Art Press .  The word 'plate' in the title refers to the original copper engravings used to create the images some two cen...

http://blog.greatlakeswoodshop.com/2014/12/christmas-present-presentation.html

I know the blog has suffered in the posting department lately.  The problem is actually one of excess--I have too much stuff to say! Highland woodworking has picked up some things I wrote whic...

http://blog.greatlakeswoodshop.com/2014/11/practice-makes-mess.html

I haven't done any serious planing in over a year--since I hurt my shoulder at work.  I got the go-ahead last week from the doc to resume normal activity as tolerated.  Somehow I figured that m...

http://blog.greatlakeswoodshop.com/2014/10/so-thats-what-pitch-is.html