Steve Maxwell

If you’ve split wood, you’ve been there: small logs that are full of knots and fibres that feel as if they are glued together, even after an assault with the sharpest axe. Or maybe you have several cords of round logs piled...

Milling rough lumber for workshop projects saves money, and it also opens up more creative possibilities than standard, pre-dressed wood. That’s why Art Mulder designed his block set around rough lumber. Success, however,...

I've spent almost half my life writing Toolbox columns for every issue of Canadian Home Workshop since 1992, and although I’ve enjoyed creating every one of them, a handful of topics are special. They cover the most important...

Wood screws offer strong, fast ways to join project parts, and they can be made virtually invisible too. Tapered wooden plugs make it happen. Typically 1/2" in diameter on their large ends, tapered wooden plugs can be bought from...

Cut some wood, then put it back together again in new ways. This is woodworking described most simply, and the “put back together” part sometimes needs mechanical help. Dowels, biscuits and floating tenons all create...

If I had to choose just one method to connect project parts for the rest of my woodworking career, the dowel joint would be it. Strong, precise, hidden and versatile—the only danger is that dowel joints seem so simple at first...

Problem #1: Joint doesn't come together tightly, even under clamping pressure. Cause: Holes are too shallow. Remedy: Shorten the dowel pins or deepen the holes and reassemble the joint.   Problem #2: Wood splits under...

One of our top 10 projects of all time! There has definitely been a strong interest in this bat house project throughout the past five years. It seems folks are trying to help out the poor flying mammals, which are under siege by...

If you’ve considered upgrading your existing system or adding air conditioning to your home, you’ve probably realized there’s a large gap in the available options for home cooling. At one end of the spectrum are the small,...