Rex Krueger

Exclusive Video: Big projects coming up!

Friends: 

Do you have kids? Are they starting school during this pandemic? I do and boy, it's crazy in my house. Things are so crazy that I didn't finish a "normal" video this week. 

But don't worry, I have a video just for my Patrons where I'm going to tell you what coming and share some BIG news. There are great things on the horizon and you all are going to be a part of everything I do. 

Happy Saturday!

--Rex

Early Access Video: The TRUTH about saws.

Friends: 

Do you ever get confused about saws? Do you hear descriptions of saws and get flustered? Well, I can take some of the mystery out of these tools with this week's video. 

I'll explain which saws you sharpen and which ones you throw out and why. And I'll finish up with a buying guide so you can get started buying the saws that are right for YOU. 

Happy Saturday!

--Rex

Early Access Video: Make a Traditional Milking Stool

Friends: 

I've been having such fun getting outside and doing simple builds that I decided to build a traditional milking stool outside with just the Chopping Block and the Low Japanese Sawhorses. 

This seemed like a great way to put the Chopping Block to the test and see what it's really capable of. 

Do you have a milking stool yet? You really have to build one. Not only is it a great skill-builder, but these light-weight stools are handy and comfortable. The...

Early Access Video: Make a Chopping Block Bench

Friends: 

This week, we're continuing on with our back-to-basics projects. I'm always thinking about work-surfaces and this week, I got the idea to make a chopping-block for the shop. But then, I thought of some simple hacks to turn this simple device into a solid and portable bench. 

The final results are very promising and this thing doesn't take up much room. If you've been struggling with a tiny workspace, this might be just the thing. 

Happy Saturday!

Early Access Video: Fixing a Premium Plane

Friends: 

A few weeks ago, a viewer emailed me to say that he'd bought a Lie Nielsen handplane and it wouldn't cut. This seemed odd, to say the least, but he also wanted to send me the plane to diagnose. 

I could not say no. 

What follows is a deep dive into the mechanics of this tool. It's a longer video, but I promise it's worth looking at. There are so many details in plane making; so many things to go wrong. The results of all this testing and tweaking are...

Free Plans: Japanese Sawhorses

Friends: 

I almost forgot to put up the Japanese Sawhorse plans. They're attached to this post and all the plans are in the Plan Archive:  https://rexkrueger.discourse.group/c/plans-archive/11 

Hope everyone is having a great day!

--Rex

Have YOU done the Community Project?

Friends:

Our brother in the craft A1BASE has been hosting some exciting community challenge projects over on the Discourse Forum. His first was a handy single dovetail and the community responded with some excellent examples of this useful joint.

Last month, he challenged us all to make the pinned bridal joint. The rules stipulated that the joint had to be held together with no glue; only the pin to lock everything in place. Again, the community came out in forc...

Early Access Video: Japanese Sawhorses (Limited tool build).

Friends: 

I'm a bit nostalgic for the early days of Woodwork for Humans. You know, back when we used to take a hatchet and a saw and make something cool. Well, let's get back to it!

This week, we're making super-handy Japanese sawhorses. These things are amazing with a Japanese Ryoba saw and they're easy to make. We'll do the whole build with a hatchet, a knife, and a saw. 

Hope you enjoy a little trip back ultra-basic tools and techniques!

--Rex 2020-08-08 11:01:00 +0000 UTC View Post

Early Access Video: Freehand Sharpening Now!

Friends: 

You know what I don't cover enough? Sharpening. It's a core skill, but it's not as fun or interesting as a lot of other topics. 

I finally decided to make a sharpening video because I see so many people struggling with it. One of my Patrons referred to sharpening as their "Rubicon." Strong words. 

I also see so many people making sharpening more complicated than it needs to be. Everybody has expensive stones or 17 kinds of abrasive paper and don't ev...

Early Access Video: Make Custom Tool Handles

Friends: 

When you're buying, making, and restoring tools, you are going to need to replace some handles. Axes, hatchets, and hammers often come with great heads and terrible handles. Luckily, making handles isn't hard. If you understand a few basic ideas, you can make a handle that's much BETTER than what you can buy in a store. 

And, you can customize that handle to the way you work and your own hands. Handle-making opens up a new world of ergonomics and effic...

Early Access Video: Every Stanley Plane Explained

Friends: 

I've made a lot of videos about planes, but you know what I still get the most questions about? Yup; planes. 

You know why? Stanley made too many of the darn things! Even if you just look at the Bailey Pattern bench planes, there are still ELEVEN models. This many models can confuse even an experienced woodworker.  If you just want a smoothing plane, there are FIVE models to choose from. 

So, I've made a video that runs through each model and sh...

Free Plans: Early American Cupboard

Friends: 

Here are the free plans for the Early American Cupboard. I think this is the biggest and most ambitious set of plans I've ever done for a single piece. I hope you enjoy them. YOU all make things like this possible. 

--Rex

Early Access Video: Design and Build a Big Piece

Friends: 

You've all followed the odyssey of my kitchen cupboard; the 2-week project that got stretched over 5 ridiculous weeks because of Covid and a million other things. I was watching over the videos for that build and I realized that they to a terrible job of showing the big picture of designing and building a big piece that you're really going to use. 

So, I've distilled the whole thing into one video. This is WAY more than just a summary of what you're al...

The Turning Saw is up for Sale!

Friends: 

The turning saw auction has begun!  All proceeds will benefit St. Jude Children's Hospital. 

Patrons get the first shot at this charity auction. 

 https://www.ebay.com/itm/274421761050 

Thanks for all your support!

 --Rex (and Uri). 

Early Access Video: Turning Saw with Uri!

Friends: 

This was a rough one!  There were mistakes and setbacks and my own damn insecurities getting in my way, but I pushed through and the end result really is something. I'll keep it brief here because the story is in the video. 

Thanks for all your AMAZING support as I worked through this build. 

Happy 4th of July!

--Rex

The gauntlet has been thrown!!!

 Friends:

A couple of months ago, I arranged a collaboration with the amazing Uri Tuchman. If you haven’t seen his work, I insist you go check out his channel immediately. Uri combines top notch craftsmanship with an incredible sense of humor and outstanding filmmaking. He’s really one of my favorite creators and I was super-excited that he wanted to work with me.

…Until I g...

Early Access Video: Make your own paint!

Friends: 

I am BACK from vacation and I'm totally rested....actually, I'm still pretty tired, but the work keeps me going. 

This week, I finished the kitchen cabinet that's been in my videos for the last 6 or 7 weeks. To top it off, I made my own paint. I mixed pigment with oil and with curdled milk. I tried several ways of making paint, both from scratch and from pre-made mixes. How'd it turn out? 

That's a looooooong story. 

Watch the video; it's ...

Early Access Video: 5 Tips for Woodworking Confidence

Friends: 

I know I said I was taking a week off, but this one's been in the works for a while. It's not a regular video; it's more like a little welcome for people who sign up for Fabrication First, my newsletter. When you sign up, this is the thank you gift you get. 

But this video covers my real tips for quickly gaining confidence as a new woodworker. The video mentions a web page with several other videos and you can see that page here: 

 2020-06-20 11:01:00 +0000 UTC View Post

Free Plans: Japanese Marking Gauge

Friends: 

I have the best Patrons. Not one of you asked me about these plans, even though they were done yesterday and should have been posted. I just got busy and forgot. 

The plans are attached to this post and they're also on the plan archive:  https://rexkrueger.discourse.group/c/plans-archive/11 

Hope you're having a great week!

--Rex

Early Access Video: Japanese Cutting Gauge

Friends: 

This week, we're expanding our collection of homemade tools with this Japanese cutting gauge. This handy little tool lets you mark a line AND cut it deeply at the same time, eliminating the need for a second knife cut. It's a great little time-saver and a great skill-building project that costs pretty much nothing. 

I love making tools like these because they're every bit as good as the tools you would buy, but they're cheaper and you learn a lot. 

A...

Early Access Video: Are Bedrock Planes Really Better?

Friends: 

If you've bought ANY old woodwork tools, you've heard the name Bedrock. It was Stanley's premium line and the basis for some of today's most expensive planes. The Bedrock name is spoken in hushed and reverent tones....except when it comes to price. Then, tool dealers speak up loud as they demand $200 or more for these planes, even in mediocre condition. 

Despite owning a lot of planes, I'd never had one...until last week when I shelled out good money to finally...

There's no such thing as "Woodworking."

(*This feature article will appear in my newsletter, Fabrication First, but Patrons get it before everyone else. This is basically the whole newsletter, so if you're a Patron, there isn't much reason to subscribe to Fab First.)

Old crafts make good hobbies. I know a bunch of blacksmiths, glass-blowers, spinners and weavers. It seems like I would fit right in with these ancient crafts, but historically, there’s actually no such thing as a woodworker. Woodwork is 2020-06-01 13:19:43 +0000 UTC View Post

Early Access Video: Make moldings with basic tools.

Friends: 

Many of us want to cap off our furniture projects with decorative moldings, but these can be expensive to buy or difficult to make. Whether you're a hand-tool or a machine-tool person, you're going to need a lot of specialized tools. 

Or not!

In this video, I'm going to show you how to make 7 lovely molding profiles with just our basic Woodwork for Humans kit. Once you've got the basic techniques down, you might discover even more shapes. I'm sure I didn'...

Free Plans: Miterbox and Shooting Board

Friends: 

Here are your free plans for the miter box and shooting board from this week's video. You make them possible so I hope you enjoy them!

On another note, please excuse me if I'm late responding to comments and messages. Getting weekly videos out while also helping to home-school my daughter is just an insane time-crunch and I'll admit I'm struggling a bit. None of you ever puts any pressure on me to produce, but I do put a bit of pressure on myself. Anyway, I might ta...

Early Access Video: Perfect Miters by Hand

Friends: 

I'll admit, things went a little sideways this week. I set out to make trim for my cupboard project, but part-way through, I got sidetracked by the need to make good mitered corners. This leg to jig-making and jig-refining and a whole bunch of miter-box madness that I was totally not expecting. 

It's all in the video. 

Hope you enjoy!

--Rex

A quick note on taxes

Friends: 

Patreon was recently ordered to start collecting local sales tax in some jurisdictions for some benefits. There's no way to avoid this, but Patreon does allow creators to adjust settings to make the tax burden as low as possible. 

Since I don't give away tangible stuff, any taxes you get charged should be minimal (and will be totally based on your physical location.)  Additionally, Patreon has added the category "General Support" as a benefit. This benefit...

Early Access Video: Hot-Rod Tenon Saw!

Friends: 

I promised it and now it's time to deliver! 

When I reviewed the cheap Spear and Jackson tenon saw a few weeks ago, I was unimpressed (to put it mildly), but I had a feeling we could re-make this tool into something special. All the elements were there; they just needed refining. 

I'll admit, this was a bigger challenge than I was expecting, but the rewards were bigger, too. The new tool is so much....hold on!  I'm about to go and spoil it.

Sneak Peek/Free Plans: Hot-Rod Tenon Saw

Friends: 

Sometimes, I just want to mess with tools and not even bother actually making furniture. I love the adventure of a good build or restoration: the setbacks, the sudden surprising wins. It's all a thrill. 

I'm already done with this week's plans: a paste-on template that will let you carve the nightmarish S+J handle into something elegant and comfortable. I'm trying to do a lot of free plans during the pandemic, so I won't be charging for these, but you all get t...

Early Access Video: Cabinet Doors in One Day

Friends: 

Are you having trouble keeping up with projects AND homeschooling your kids? I am! Some days, it's all I can do to get into the shop and knock out an hour of work.  I've learned to be efficient in ways I never imagined. 

But we're all adapting to this new world and some things need to just get done fast. I was thinking about that as I designed and built these cabinet doors for my kitchen cupboard. They're in a simple but lovely Country Furniture style and ...

Early Access Video: Affordable Tenon Saw Shootout!

Friends: 

If you read my most recent post on the "Mother Tools," then you know I'm looking to expand the Woodwork for Humans toolkit by finding 4 or 5 affordable tools that can be used to make furniture AND make other tools. 

Today, I'm looking at backsaws and man, did I find some good ones!  I've always been into vintage saws, so I had no idea how good and how affordable some of these modern saws have gotten. You can go on Amazon right now and find a saw that will ...