SHEET · FIELD GUIDES
The field guides
Everything we have worked out at the bench — researched properly, written plainly, revised when the wood proves us wrong.
JOINERY · Jul 13, 2026 · 6 MIN
Dovetail Slope Ratios: Why 1:8 Isn't a Law
The 1:8 hardwood, 1:6 softwood rule is a convention with real reasons behind it, and a usable band from about 1:5 to 1:9 where the exact number barely matters. Where the ratios come from, what breaks at the extremes, and why your baseline matters more than your slope.
Read the sheet →
HAND TOOLS · Jul 13, 2026 · 15 MIN
The 12-Tool Hand Kit That Builds Almost Anything
An opinionated 12-tool hand kit that will build real furniture — the why behind each pick, what to skip, and the order to buy in. Layout, sawing, paring, planing, and the sharpening setup that makes all of it work.
LUMBER & WOOD · Jul 13, 2026 · 6 MIN
4/4, 8/4, FAS: Buying Rough Lumber Without Getting Skinned
Hardwood-dealer literacy in one page: what 4/4 and 8/4 mean, the board-foot formula, how FAS and #1 Common grades really differ, and why you always buy thicker and wider than your cut list says.
LUMBER & WOOD · Jul 13, 2026 · 6 MIN
Read the Grain Before the Grain Reads You
Tearout is the grain reading you when you didn't read it first. How to spot grain direction on a board's edge, plane uphill, sever fibers on cross-grain cuts, and why a keen edge beats every other tearout fix in the shop.
HAND TOOLS · Jul 13, 2026 · 6 MIN
The $40 Japanese Ryoba, Reviewed: Where a Pull Saw Beats Your Backsaw
At around $40, a double-edged Japanese ryoba may be the highest-leverage hand-tool buy there is: pull-stroke tracking, a fine kerf, and rip-plus-crosscut in one blade. Where it replaces a Western backsaw, and where it doesn't.
SHARPENING · Jul 13, 2026 · 6 MIN
Waterstones vs. Diamond Plates: Pick Your Mess
Waterstones and diamond plates both get you shaving-sharp — they just annoy you differently. Speed, flatness upkeep, five-year cost, and mess compared, with a clear pick for beginners, budget sharpeners, and exotic steels.
The shortlist
The tools worth gifting — see the full ranking on the best-gear sheet.
SUIZAN Japanese Ryoba Pull Saw 9.5 Inch
$42.80
Check priceNarex Bench Chisel Set
$81.99
Check priceStarrett 12-Inch Combination Square
$126.07
Check price
A note from the notes column: some links on this page are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate we may earn a commission when you buy through them — at no extra cost to you. It never changes the price you pay.
6 guides drawn
8 tools vetted
29 reader price checks
On the bench
Original drawings, printed to order.
