For eight+ years I wrote a monthly column for Highland Woodworking’s “Wood News Online.” On these blog pages, you can read some of the very best articles from the past and keep up with new articles I write.

Whether a new woodworker or an "old hand,” here are a few rules that will help you maintain the peace with your spouse.

You might not think much about pencils, but they are important shop accessories. This pencil has a smooth-as-silk lead and a bigger-than-average eraser… and it won’t roll off your workbench. Read here about the incredible history of the Blackwing pencil.

Last winter I purchased the Festool Sysrock.  I was in the middle of building my barn, all by myself, and it seemed that a little music (or gads, even talk radio) might take my mind off the cold and give me some much needed company.  I was right about that.  The Sysrock quickly became the first tool I carried back to the job site every day, and the last one to be put away at the end of each workday.

If you need to get in close or do some detail sanding, these cleverly engineered “sticks” are just the ticket. A set will “set you back” just a bit, but comes with replacement belts enough to last a long, long time.

One day, while drinking coffee and staring out my shop window, my eyes wandered over to my marking and measuring tools.  Among all the Woodpeckers rules (too bad they don’t make a tape measure), squares, and T’s, are my two prized Starrett combination squares.  A small little LED light bulb went on above my head, and sure enough, it turns out that Starrett makes tape measures.  Who would have thought?

Need a quick pilot hole? Perfect placement mark for a hole you want to drill? A set of Auger Gimlets is the answer… and at less than 15 bucks for a set, it will be among the most used and least expensive tools in your shop.!

“The Old Magnolia Tree” is a sweet story and a sort of “homage” to my father, the best man I ever knew. This is also one of the favorite articles among readers.