Rex Krueger

Early Access Video: Smooth Curves with Straight Tools

Friends: 

Okay, this one came out pretty great. After a tough week of puking daughter and epic video editing, I've got my complete guide to cutting the most graceful, flowing curves in hardwood with nothing more than a chisel and a dovetail saw (oh, and some sandpaper.) 

Watch to the end for a special shout-out to my fantastic Patrons!

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

--Rex

Early Access Video: Pro Tips for Flea Market tool hunting.

Friends: 

I'm back from three solid days of tool hunting at the Hershey PA Antique Car Show and Flea Market. And you know I didn't come back empty-handed. Aside from a horde of tools and supplies, I also shot a pile of footage and I've prepared my ultimate guide to finding and buying tools at the flea-market. 

I know this video is a bit later than usual, so thanks for being patient. I'll have a new video for you on Saturday and some exclusive content later in the week.&n...

Early Access Video: Make your own low-angle jack

Friends: 

You saw the prototype; now meet the real deal. After a hectic week of sawing, filing, chiseling, and editing, I have it. And it's pretty great. The plane works and does most of the things a low-angle jack is supposed to do. 

Should you make one in your shop? I'll let you be the judge. 

A quick note: I'll be spending next week in Hershey, Pennsylvania attending the world's largest antique car flea market. Why? Because car people often have tools to se...

Early Access Video: Reviewing the Continental Smoother

Friends: 

I uploaded this video earlier today, but it cut out about a minute before the end. I have no idea why. I've never had a video do that before. So, I rendered it again and re-uploaded it. This one works all the way to the end. 

Sorry for the inconvenience!

--Rex

Early Access Video: Testing a "Continental" Plane

Friends: 

The Great Hand Plane Hunt continues!  This week, I'm throwing in a fascinating little Continental smoothing plane.  This one costs a mere $60 shipped and has a lot of desirable features like a great iron, a stout chip-breaker, and a high pitch. 

But is is good enough to satisfy my lust for a truly affordable bench plane for the home woodworker? 

Only one way to find out....

--Rex 

Exclusive Video: Building the Bevel-Up Plane

Friends:

Several months ago, I wrote this post about trying to make a low-angle, bevel-up plane:  https://www.patreon.com/posts/22417386 

I had a lot of ideas for making this plane a reality, and I finally got them done. Hope you enjoy this tour though the DIY Low Angle Jack, Mark I. 

Mark II (and very likely Mark III, IV and V) will be along shortly. 

--Rex

Early Access Video: Power Tools for the Hand Tool Shop

Friends: 

Today, we're trying something a little different. You know I'm all about hand-tools, but some of that work is just drudgery. There are aspects of my work that I really like to outsource to machines. 

I think even the most die-hard neanderthal might consider adding a couple of small machine tools to the shop. These tools aren't very dangerous and they can help you save time for the stuff that matters most. 

It's food for thought. 

Happy Sat...

Exclusive Video: Meet Nate! (My video editor)

Friends: 

I often say that I can't do this job alone. Well, I don't. 

I have help. 

For the last 6 months, my videos have been mostly edited by Nate. He's a talented and smart young man and I'm overjoyed to have him working with me. I think you'll like him, too. In this wide-ranging interview, I'll introduce you to this essential team-member. 

Happy Friday!

--Rex 

Free Plan Bonanza!

Friends: 

If you saw my last video, you know I'm trying something new with my plans. I'm taking 5 of my most popular plans and combining them into my Toolmaker's Bundle. That's $12 worth of plans for a mere $8 AND I'm including the brand-new rabbet plane plans. 

Of course, my Patrons don't pay $8. Heck, you don't pay one cent. You get it all for free. Attached to this post is the Toolmaker's Bundle and the Rabbet Plane plans. 

Hope you enjoy both. Thanks again...

Early Access Video: Make a Rabbet Plane for NO MONEY.

Friends: 

It's been a busy week. I just finished rebuilding my back porch (want to torture a woodworker; make him do carpentry for 2 days.)

And I've just finished this fantastic little joinery plane. All you need is a chisel and some wood scraps and this little guy lets you cut clean and crisp rabbets in any wood. It's a fun build and teaches SO much about tools. 

Happy Saturday!

--Rex

Early Access Video: No-Fuss Finishing

Friends: 

You know what's been missing from the Woodwork for Humans videos? 

Finish!!

We've done a LOT of good stuff, but it's all just sitting around waiting to get dinged or stained because it's got no protection. Our projects are naked! We better get that fixed. 

Here's a fast intro to my 3 favorite finishes. They all look great and they're very user-friendly.  I bet this will be a review for many of my Patrons, but I have my own methods for maki...

Exclusive Video: The First (Good) Thing I Ever Made

Friends: 

I wanted to go back in time and explore one of the things that got me into craft work in the first place. 

Here's an exclusive video about my lap steel guitar: the first significant thing I ever hand crafted. In a lot of ways, this is the piece that started it all. There's a lot of story here. 

Hope you enjoy!

--Rex

Early Access Video: Making the Gun-Stock War Club

Okay, I did it. 

Finally. 

Many of you saw my recent Patreon video where I talked about the hunt for perfection and the struggles I was having finishing this gun-stock club. This thing has been trouble since the word go and I have sweated every detail. 

In the middle of it, I found out that the amazing Green Beetle was going to make the blade and I rushed to finish the club and ship it off to him, but he pointed out some very real problems with the finish and ...

Early Access Video: Make a Simple Box

Friends: 

Last week's video on easy dovetails was just the start. This week, we're taking that simple frame and transforming it into a lovely storage box. This video gives me the chance to cover essential topics like thicknessing stock by hand, hand-planing round-overs and installing hinges. 

The final result is...more than I was expecting. It's a pretty nice box and it's going to lead into next week's video on easy finishing techniques. 

Oh man, did I just gi...

What would YOU add?

Friends: 

I've got a buddy who is about to get into hand-tool woodworking. He even got a little grant money to get him going. (I know, I wish I had gotten a grant to get going.) 

Anyway, I made up a list of my basic kit. This isn't the SUPER-basic, Woodwork for Humans kit; more like an average hand-tool kit for a person with a little money to spend. 

Of co...

Early Access Video: Easy Dovetails for Beginners

I don't cut dovetails. 

GASP!

I know. It's the most famous joint in all of woodwork and I don't do it. How is this possible? Easy, I mostly did custom work for years and my clients didn't even know what a dovetail was. There was no money in it, so I didn't learn it. 

But it's a new day around here and I now make content for a living. And I just wanted to learn the joint. So, let's do it together!

Here's my video on cutting your first dovetails. I've made them...

Exclusive Video: Perfect or "good enough"?

Friends: 

I'm kind of always struggling to make work that is clean and beautiful, but without driving myself crazy obsessing over details. It's a constant fight. 

Recently, the hunt for perfection got more serious than usual and it got me thinking about issues that I think all artists struggle with. 

Here's hoping my thoughts can help someone else. 

New video tomorrow!

--Rex

Early Access Video: Amazing Indian Hand-planes

Friends: 

I'm still on the hunt for the best affordable hand plane and this week, I have two impressive smoothing planes from Soba industries in Dehli, India. Both of these planes were solid, but one of them showed surprising defects that only came up after hours of testing. 

It's always an adventure around here. 

Happy Saturday!

--Rex

Free Plans: Shooting Board and Bench-Hook

Friends: 

Yet again I've forgotten your free plans. Sorry about that. They're attached here. Please enjoy this little perk of being a supporter. 

New video Saturday!

--Rex

Welcome to my new Patrons!

Friends: 

If you're a new Patron from the last week or so, this video is a special welcome, just for you. (Of course, anyone else is welcome to watch it, too). 

Hope your week is off to a great start!

--Rex

The Way Back is Dark and Narrow

  *This post is not about woodworking or craftsmanship. It’s just a personal story I feel like telling. Hope no one minds the digression. 

I grew up in rural Connecticut. “Rural” is a relative term here. My neighborhood was a cluster of Colonial farms long ago chopped up into subdivisions. Modern, two-story homes sit next to farm-houses from two centuries ago. Driveways were ploughed through the old rock walls that edged cornfields a hundred years ago. The ...

Early Access Video: Dead square cuts with hand tools

Friends: 

We're gearing up for more furniture builds in the Woodwork for Humans series. But before we get there, we need more precision in our work, especially in making perfect 90 degree ends on boards. Straight edges and sharp ends are the basis of all woodwork joinery, but they can be hard to achieve with hand tools. 

Luckily, you can build a pair of easy jigs that will make your sawing and planing much more accurate and repeatable. They're easy to build and only take...

Exclusive Video: The Search for Precision (and vlog)

Friends: 

This week, I'm tackling the problem of squarness in handtool woodworking. Cutting a straight line and making a square edge are both difficult without the precision of machines.  Luckily, you can make a couple of easy jigs that make these tasks much easier. 

Recently, I've been using the flexibility I get from Patreon to do more prototyping. Before I even turned a camera on, I made both of the jigs I'm using in this week's video. Getting all the bugs worked...

Early Access Video: Turn a bowl without a chuck

Friends: 

I often get frustrated with all the useless gear that hardware companies try to sell us. And while I wouldn't call a woodturning chuck "useless," it's certainly a convenience tool rather than a necessity. 

I've also noticed that more and more turners are under the impression that you can ONLY do bowls and hollow-forms with a chuck. That's just crazy. Chucks for wood-turning are pretty new and bowls have been turned for CENTURIES. So, here's a nice little video ...

The Last Commission

Back when I was teaching English, I made my wife a desk. By my current standards, it wasn't anything special, but it came out pretty and flat and that's all you need in a desk. 

I used to have a dream about this desk. 

It went like this: one of my colleagues would come into the living room where the desk sat and say "Gosh, what a lovely desk. Where did you get it?" 2019-07-19 12:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post

Early Access Video: Choose the Best Wood

Friends: 

This one took a lot longer than I was expecting, but I give you my (sort of) brief guide to choosing wood for furniture and DIY projects. 

As always, I want to hear what YOU think!

Happy Saturday!

--Rex

Exclusive Video: Inside the Hunt for Affordable Planes

Friends: 

The plot thickens as I scour the world for affordable tools. Here's a quick (okay, not so quick) update on what I've found and why it's interesting. Really. 

--Rex

Free Plans: The $30 Vise

Friends: 

Apologies for the late post. Y'all were supposed to get these yesterday and I just plain forgot. 

The plans are attached. Please enjoy them with my compliments. 

--Rex

Early Access Video: The $30 Dollar Vise

Friends: 

I'm especially proud of this one. This vise can be built with handtools in about a day. It costs around $30 and it works really well. After a lot of searching and experimenting, I've finally come up with a vise design that I can stand behind. 

If you've built a few of the Woodwork for Humans projects, then you can do this. You'll need a few simple metal-working tools like a hacksaw and some drill bits, but the rest of the project is straight-forward sawing, bor...

Exclusive Video: Behind the $30 vice build

Friends: 

I'm in the middle of a very involved build. I'm adding a vise to the $30 Bench. Of course, it's not that simple. Anything I add to this bench has to be cheap. It has to be accomplished with hand-tools and it needs to teach people new ideas and techniques. 

That's a tall order. 

So, I decided to stop in the middle and do a short video just for Patrons to show you where I'm at and where I'm going. 

Hope you enjoy this quick tour of the proce...