The Renaissance Woodworker

Let the Shape of the Shaving Be Your Guide

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Keep the Plane Mouth Clear

Certainly keeping the mouth of the plane clear will prevent it from clogging.  But it also allows you to observe the shape of the shaving.  The location of the shaving in the mouth as well as it's shape tells you a lot about the pass you just took.  It tell you about the topography of the board and how to adjust your plane strokes when flattening.  It tells you where the plane just cut which can be super useful when squaring the edge of a board.  Mostly it is just observing the feedback the plane gives you so that you get to flatter boards and smoother surface faster without just planing away blindly.  Hand plane work is only slow when we don't pay attention and take too many passes then have to take more passes to fix what we just over planed.  Let the shape of the shaving be your guide!

Master Hand Sawing

Forget this hand planing junk! 

THE MOST IMPORTANT skill to master that will make all your other woodworking go smoother.

The post Let the Shape of the Shaving Be Your Guide appeared first on The Renaissance Woodworker.

Sawing Outside Your Knife Line

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Frame & Panel and Bridle Joints Benefit from Leaving the Line

I'm back with another tease from The Hand Tool School vault of lessons.  This is an excerpt from a series I call "Apprentice Sessions" where we take a focused look at a particular shop solution or problem.  This is a highly specific one that comes up with frame and panel joinery where you plow a groove first then saw the tenons.  But also it is essential making bridles joints.  Since you saw both sides of the joint, you have to leave the line in order to prevent a loose fitting joint.  So whether this is a specific situation or not, being able to saw this precisely to leave, split, or take the line (pencil or knife) is essential for great joinery.  

Master Hand Sawing

THE MOST IMPORTANT skill to master that will make all your other woodworking go smoother.

The post Sawing Outside Your Knife Line appeared first on The Renaissance Woodworker.

The Physics of Woodworking

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Understand the Why and the Woodworking is the Easy Part

I'm back with another tease from The Hand Tool School vault of lessons.  This is an excerpt from an "Office Hours" live broadcast where I take a deep dive into how a blade cuts wood.  How you can tweak certain aspects of the cut to get different results.  This understanding can really open up a lot of possibilities for problem solving.  Not just in obvious things like controlling tearout but actually how to make a cut or what tool to use for the cut.  

Master Mortise and Tenons

THE MOST IMPORTANT joint you can learn when it comes to most

furniture projects.  Check out this comprehensive skill path.

The post The Physics of Woodworking appeared first on The Renaissance Woodworker.

The Physics of Woodworking

Click to play

Understand the Why and the Woodworking is the Easy Part

I'm back with another tease from The Hand Tool School vault of lessons.  This is an excerpt from an "Office Hours" live broadcast where I take a deep dive into how a blade cuts wood.  How you can tweak certain aspects of the cut to get different results.  This understanding can really open up a lot of possibilities for problem solving.  Not just in obvious things like controlling tearout but actually how to make a cut or what tool to use for the cut.  

Master Mortise and Tenons

THE MOST IMPORTANT joint you can learn when it comes to most

furniture projects.  Check out this comprehensive skill path.

The post The Physics of Woodworking appeared first on The Renaissance Woodworker.

The Physics of Woodworking

Click to play

Understand the Why and the Woodworking is the Easy Part

I'm back with another tease from The Hand Tool School vault of lessons.  This is an excerpt from an "Office Hours" live broadcast where I take a deep dive into how a blade cuts wood.  How you can tweak certain aspects of the cut to get different results.  This understanding can really open up a lot of possibilities for problem solving.  Not just in obvious things like controlling tearout but actually how to make a cut or what tool to use for the cut.  

Master Mortise and Tenons

THE MOST IMPORTANT joint you can learn when it comes to most

furniture projects.  Check out this comprehensive skill path.

The post The Physics of Woodworking appeared first on The Renaissance Woodworker.

The 3 Principles of Hand Sawing

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Follow these 3 Things to Improve EVERY saw cut

I love hand sawing.  I think it is THE MOST IMPORTANT hand skill to master.  But it freaks a lot of woodworkers out and creates frustration.  The thing is when the cuts go well, everything goes well.  All the work gets easier and faster.  

I've been teaching how to saw for more than a decade now and watching the change is makes for woodworkers is so rewarding.  The joy that results from a perfect cut and how it raise the level of craftsmanship throughout a project.  Not to mention the confidence that comes from being able to split a line.  So I've thought long and hard about how to boil down all the elements of sawing into as simple an approach as possible.  

This "3 Principles" presentation has been given to more than 20 woodworking guilds around the country and I've taught it to thousands of people in The Hand Tool School.  The feedback I've gotten from it is phenomenal.  So enjoy this look at this lesson and next time you encounter an issue with your hand sawing, think about these 3 principles, address it and I bet you it will fix your problem.

Master Hand Sawing

THE MOST IMPORTANT hand skill

New skill path course is now available at

The Hand Tool School 

The post The 3 Principles of Hand Sawing appeared first on The Renaissance Woodworker.

The 3 Principles of Hand Sawing

Click to play

Follow these 3 Things to Improve EVERY saw cut

I love hand sawing.  I think it is THE MOST IMPORTANT hand skill to master.  But it freaks a lot of woodworkers out and creates frustration.  The thing is when the cuts go well, everything goes well.  All the work gets easier and faster.  

I've been teaching how to saw for more than a decade now and watching the change is makes for woodworkers is so rewarding.  The joy that results from a perfect cut and how it raise the level of craftsmanship throughout a project.  Not to mention the confidence that comes from being able to split a line.  So I've thought long and hard about how to boil down all the elements of sawing into as simple an approach as possible.  

This "3 Principles" presentation has been given to more than 20 woodworking guilds around the country and I've taught it to thousands of people in The Hand Tool School.  The feedback I've gotten from it is phenomenal.  So enjoy this look at this lesson and next time you encounter an issue with your hand sawing, think about these 3 principles, address it and I bet you it will fix your problem.

Master Hand Sawing

THE MOST IMPORTANT hand skill

New skill path course is now available at

The Hand Tool School 

The post The 3 Principles of Hand Sawing appeared first on The Renaissance Woodworker.

The 3 Principles of Hand Sawing

Click to play

Follow these 3 Things to Improve EVERY saw cut

I love hand sawing.  I think it is THE MOST IMPORTANT hand skill to master.  But it freaks a lot of woodworkers out and creates frustration.  The thing is when the cuts go well, everything goes well.  All the work gets easier and faster.  

I've been teaching how to saw for more than a decade now and watching the change is makes for woodworkers is so rewarding.  The joy that results from a perfect cut and how it raise the level of craftsmanship throughout a project.  Not to mention the confidence that comes from being able to split a line.  So I've thought long and hard about how to boil down all the elements of sawing into as simple an approach as possible.  

This "3 Principles" presentation has been given to more than 20 woodworking guilds around the country and I've taught it to thousands of people in The Hand Tool School.  The feedback I've gotten from it is phenomenal.  So enjoy this look at this lesson and next time you encounter an issue with your hand sawing, think about these 3 principles, address it and I bet you it will fix your problem.

Master Hand Sawing

THE MOST IMPORTANT hand skill

New skill path course is now available at

The Hand Tool School 

The post The 3 Principles of Hand Sawing appeared first on The Renaissance Woodworker.