I sometimes make mistakes on projects. We all do. Sometimes the mistakes are minor and easy to fix. At times, it means scrapping the project and starting over. This can all be seen as part of a bigger process.

The toolbox you lug around on the job site is usually nothing more that a container for your tools. It’s a single-purpose necessity for keeping your most-often used tools handy. A creative group of guys have set out to redefine what a toolbox should be. They call it the Coolbox.

Hands-on, technical skills aren't being taught and encouraged in U.S. public education as they once were. So it's up to parents, grandparents, and potential employers to fund and provide a basic understanding of woodworking and provide practical training.

Whether you’re trying to organize a production shop, garage shop, or your home, consider a modular cabinet design. It’s flexibility means you aren’t locked into a permanent arrangement of cabinets or their contents. It offers the most flexibility, ease of reconfiguring, and options for future expansion.

Poplar’s run of strong domestic and export demand will continue for the foreseeable future. Domestically, Poplar will remain one of the strongest selling species to millwork, moulding and furniture manufacturers.

Most viewed: Fabricating walnut into a premium iPhone docking station, Portland-based Grovemade offers just 175 copies at $149 each. Also trending, a woodshop on wheels, and a blog by Randy Maxey on routers that make you swear.

There’s been a fair amount of press lately about how difficult it is to pass the craft of woodworking down to a younger generation. High school woodworking programs are being cut in the interest of saving money, and our high-tech society doesn’t lend itself to crafts like woodworking.

I received a phone call the other day from a gentleman in his 70’s. He went into a lengthy discussion about how technology has replaced craftsmanship. To paraphrase his comments, “When I was working in the shop, we cut to fit. We didn’t need a measuring tape.”

In my previous post, I promised to provide an update on how my plan worked for using a threaded rod to anchor a newel post. Overall, my plan worked, but not without some minor nuisances that always seem to happen in a home improvement project.

I got a call from a family that needed to know how to fix a loose newel post on their stairway. This is the post at the bottom of the stairway that anchors the handrail. It’s a pretty important structural component in the handrail and baluster assembly.