For a lot of people, the introduction to Fine Woodworking came sometime in the late 1970s or early 1980s, when they stumbled upon a fledgling issue of the magazine in their local library or bookstore. For them, already competent in at least the basics of the craft, discovering Fine Woodworking was like being handed a key to a room where all this new potential knowledge was locked away.

My path was different because I wasn’t even born when Fine Woodworking was first published, and despite my grandpa having a full basement workshop, and a full bookshelf of Fine Woodworking magazines, I was too young to appreciate either before he died. I was drawn to building things when I was a kid, but it was always with whatever scraps were lying around, a workbench that swayed back and forth like a pendulum, and a cheap tablesaw that, in hindsight, was just downright dangerous. I didn’t know I was woodworking; I was just making stuff. It took me a good 20 years to start channeling that desire to build things into projects that had a purpose beyond just creating for the sake of creating, and by then, Fine Woodworking was 170 issues deep.

And to make things worse, I dove in while working across the hall from the Fine Woodworking staff as an editorial intern at Fine Homebuilding. Picture me, fresh out of college, with a portfolio of past woodworking projects that included such dazzling accomplishments as a box made from 2 1/4-in. oak flooring that was cut with a dull handsaw and fastened together with an assortment of finish nails, many of which were bent over in the process. Along with my internship I then had access to a shop full of high end, industrial-grade power tools, operating in the shadow of some of the best woodworkers in the country. I quickly learned to use the shop at night when nobody was around, and hide my in-progress projects to avoid unwanted attention from the Fine Woodworking editors. Meanwhile, I read every Fine Woodworking article and book I could get my hands on, lurked in the shop asking questions and watching how the editors worked, the way they held a handplane, which clamps they used for what, and how they adjusted the tension on the bandsaw blade. I would hit roadblock after roadblock in my nighttime sessions, then go back home to my stash of books and magazines and find the answer in a past article. The whole experience felt like trying to assemble this great body of woodworking knowledge one little piece at a time. This was my education in woodworking, and my textbook was Fine Woodworking.

Fast forward another 15 years and what feels like 500 projects later, and I still feel like I’m learning every day that I’m in the shop. I also still treat Fine Woodworking as my textbook. Even if one of the articles in an issue doesn’t particularly interest me, I read the whole thing anyway. I’m always glad I did, and walk away with one or two new tricks, if not a whole different perspective.

For me, the articles that nudged me along on my journey included a wide variety of subjects, such as projects from heavy hitters like Christian Becksvoort and Mike Pekovich, technical content like testing glues and joinery methods, finishing know-how from Peter Gedrys, and discovering new ways to think about tool selection with the help of Chris Gochnour. The list goes on and on, and that’s what I love about Fine Woodworking; there’s always something to surprise me and add to my toolbox.

​Editorial Director,
Fine Homebuilding and Green Building Advisor

	Build a Shaker Lap Desk Celebrate pen and ink with this quintessential case Christian Becksvoort
	Tool Test: Waterstones They’re the best choice for honing sharp edges Chris Gochnour
	Joinery Shootout We push 18 popular frame joints to the breaking point Douglas Moore, Thomas McKenna
	How Strong is Your Glue? We take six types to the breaking point, shattering some common wisdom in the process Mark Schofield
	Cherry Chest of Drawers Dovetail joinery decorates this Shaker-inspired case piece. Michael Pekovich