There are few tools as basic, ancient and effective as chisels.  A stout metal body with one end ground to a seriously sharp edge, connected to a wooden or plastic handle.  No fuss, no muss.

While chisels may seem so basic and elementary, they are frequently used on just about every project.  Trimming tenons to fit.  Mortising out for hinges.  Squaring rabbets to accept a crisply cut back panel.

The only problem with chisels is that they seem to reproduce when you aren’t looking.  Soon, you can end up with a huge collection of bench chisels, butt chisels, paring chisels, mortisting chisels, Japanese chisels and other models in a wide variety of sizes.

This week, I want to know how you store the chisels you use most frequently. In the wooden box you bought them in?  Loose in a drawer in a rolling tool chest?  Organized by size in a custom built chisel rack?

Now, I know you may have a set of special chisels you have tucked away somewhere, but I want to know about your most frequently used set.

[poll id=”80″]

Of all the woodworking skills you can learn, turning has got to be one of the most interesting.  You can take a square piece of stock and – quite literally – ‘turn’ it into a graceful, flowing shape. Some people have described is as hypnotic, something they can do for hours while fragrant curls of wood fly from the work.

However, there are also some practical considerations as well. Should the workpiece come free from the lathe, it could fly quickly and injure you if you are not wearing a full face shield.  Then, there’s the challenge of turning identical parts for – say – the four legs of a table.

Finally, there’s the cost.  The lathe, the tools, the right kinds of chucks… well, you could run into quite an expense before you get to put skew chisel or bowl gouge to a workpiece.

This week, I want to know what you think about wood turning…

[poll id=”79″]

Getting involved in electronics can be tricky business.  Every time a new technology is invented, processor speed increased or new storage medium is heralded as the next great thing, your computer, stereo or television is one step closer to needing to be upgraded.

Fortunately, this isn’t the case when it comes to woodworking tools.  Power tools built in the 1950’s still slice through lumber and planes and chisels more than a century old still slice and dice joinery as well as they day they were made.  And, they can still do their work despite the fact that many of these babies sat languishing in some cellar or out building for decades before being brought back to life.

This week, let us know how old the oldest tool is in your collection.  Power or hand tool – it doesn’t matter. The one caveat is that the tool still has to do work for you in a your shop – no living room display case models are allowed.

[poll id=”78″]

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In the nearly two years I have been blogging, I have seen a great number of projects built by you, the readers of Tom’s Workbench.  Some are modern, others are traditional.  Some are elaborate, others have strong, clean lines.

But, the one thing I have always wondered is when these creations were built?

Some of us are early birds, grabbing shop time when the sun is on the rise.  Others are night owls, working well into the wee hours of the morning.  Your time preference may be dictated by work or family situations, when you can access your shop or just a personal preference.  Heck, you might enjoy using daylight to give you a consistent light source in a hand tool shop.

So, where do you fall?  What is your favorite time of the day to grab some shop time?

[poll id=”77″]

It never fails.  You get through the final assembly of your project and it looks absolutely gorgeous.  Then, it hits you like a ton of bricks – how are you supposed to get your hand holding a piece of sandpaper inside those tiny and intricate openings to get a good smooth surface, and how are you expected to get a smooth finish in those nooks and crannies?

The ideal situation would be to have finish the pieces before you got to this point in the project, but how were you expected to quell your excitement during the assembly process?

And, then there’s the concern of getting finish on areas you need to glue up… will the glue stick to that kind of finish, or will the project fall apart?

This week, I want to know your thoughts on prefinishing project pieces before you get to the point of final assembly.  Is this a routine practice or not for you?

[poll id=”76″]

Sam Maloof was an inspiration to many woodworkers.  Whether citing his humble beginnings, the organic lines of his projects or the joy he felt while in the shop, woodworkers have found few better examples to emulate than Sam.

His rocking chairs, regular chairs, tables and other pieces have caught the attention of collectors and museums around the world.

While his works are absoutley gorgeous, some woodworkers might see his projects as too involved, too challenging or just not their style.

This week, in honor of Sam, I’d like to know if you have ever built a Sam Maloof inspired project, and what you thought about the piece and the process.

[poll id=”75″]

It’s any woodworker’s worst nightmare – an injury while working in the shop.  Whether a kickback from a table saw, a slip of a chisel, a router bit gone wild or something much worse, a woodworking injury can make you sit up and take notice.

Since the nature of the injuries can run from the slight nip to the catastrophic, the memory of every injury is branded deep into your memory.

This week, I want to know how bad your worst woodworking injury was.  While you may have had many accidents, please just vote about the worst you have gotten.

[poll id=”74″]