Years later, his son came home with a handmade wooden pen, and that stirred Louis’s emotions to get back into this craft. Shortly after, his wife Marcia bought him his first lathe, a full-size Delta, at Christmas. These machines help create and mold beautiful wood and acrylic pieces.

As Louis said, “I have a tremendous love affair with wood, and I want it to be fun. But, I also want to have instant gratification as well. The grains of wood intrigue me, and I can make stunning objects, which creates fascinating finishes.”

He gets this fulfillment from a hobby he considers, in and of itself, basically inexpensive, unless you make high-end pieces. “I can usually make a pen in less than an hour,” said Louis. For finishing purposes, Louis will often use cyanoacrylate “super glue” to give the pens some texture.

The tools that Louis employs are various skews, chisels and detailers, some made out of carbide steel. His wood choices include cocobolo; olive wood from Bethlehem, Israel; and snakewood (Brosimum guianense), which comes from a small tree in the forests of Central and South America. It is also known as one of the world’s most expensive woods in the world. For example, a one inch by nine inch piece of snake wood can cost anywhere from 30 to 40 dollars.

Some of the items that Louis has created are: flatware, pepper mills, cheese slicers, pens, bowls, toothbrush handles, oil lamps, wine glasses and many other items. He enjoys giving these items to family and friends as gifts.

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Click Here to Download the Plan.

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The container and drawers are made of high quality ABS 757 plastic for durability and to ensure that carbide blade teeth won’t be chipped when the container is carried. Each drawer will hold a 10-in. blade in the top recess, 8- and 7-1/4-in. blades in the next two deeper recesses and a 4- to 5-in. blade in the bottom recess — an efficient way to stack and store up to a dozen blades. A latching mechanism ensures that individual drawers won’t open accidentally.

BladeBuddy’s top handle makes it easy to carry up to 20 pounds of blades, and it folds down flat when not needed. Available now, BladeBuddy sells for $69.95.

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– Kirk Evans
Parkton, Maryland

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I angle-cut their ends so I would have point-to-point accuracy. Now my pinch sticks fit together and stay in line while I spread them apart or measure their setting. They work so well that I’ve made three more sets.

– David Wiseley
Waters, Michigan

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“I am totally a mortise-and-tenon afficionado – I use it on all my projects.” –  Ed Burtenshaw

“I use butt joints with biscuits.” – Brian Leavy

“Since buying a Domino several years ago, the Domino is my favorite joinery method of all time. It is possibly the most versatile tool I’ve used: fast, easy and allows good, solid joints where other methods would be much more difficult to cut.” – Randy Heinemann

“I notice you didn’t mention pocket holes, though it is just a type of butt joint. I often build prototypes of new projects, and I’ve found this technique extremely useful for that.” – Bill McGeehan

“I love my Oregon pocket-hole jig. Quick, strong and easy.” – John van Veen

“While no single method is always the best choice, I most commonly use the Dowelmax device to precisely locate the joint and produce a strong and durable union.” – Steven Schwid

“Join the corners at a 90 degree angle and nail them together. Glue optional.” – Bernie Lasiewicz

While others, even if they had a favorite, spiced things up with some variety. – Editor

“I guess my go-to is biscuits, but I’ve done half-laps, dowel pins, Kreg screws, and I’m currently working on a scarf joint in 4X6’s for the beams that support the floor joists in my 1909 Craftsman.” – J. Eric Pennestri

“My Number One go-to joinery is the biscuit joint for cabinets and furniture. I have a Porter-Cable biscuit jointer machine which is very versatile. I also use machine-cut dovetails for drawers and occasionally use pocket holes when appropriate.” – Dennis Grant

“I favor through tenons with wedges to hold them in place as well as to add beauty to the finished product. Some other times I like to use tenons held in place with pins.” – Lee Ohmart

Sometimes, the choice depends on production time – or on the desire to learn new skills. – Editor

“I like them all. Depends on what I am working on and how much time I have on my hands: with plenty of time, love dovetails cut with my Keller Jig. Lots to do and want to make progress? Biscuits, Kreg pocket holes.” – Bob Trento

“As a beginner, my choice is whatever I can do with the tools on hand and my current skill level. That means no Domino. Integral tenons, loose tenons/splines/dowels, screws (rarely pocket hole so far, though I have a basic jig), glue and hope. Domino looks great for folks with higher production. At my speed, the cost isn’t really justified — and I need the practice anyway.” – Jospeh Kesselman

“I have set a rule for myself that each new project will involve my having to learn some new technique, which often means a new joinery method. I find that this approach not only expands my woodworking knowledge, but also helps to maintain interest and challenge. Maybe someday I will have a ‘go-to technique, but for now I am having fun trying something new each time.” – Roger Anderson

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