Workshop Projects and Honest Tool Reviews
Garrett Dunn Garrett Dunn · July 17, 2026
Over in the corner of my shop where the hand tools live — past the vise bench, on the shelf next to my stone collection — there’s a wooden paddle with a dark leather surface worn smooth from five years of use. That strop has transformed more mediocre edges into genuinely dangerous ones than anything … Read more
Garrett Dunn · July 16, 2026
When a structural joint fails under load, cheap glue was likely the culprit. That walnut stool I built gave way at the leg seams because I’d grabbed whatever bottle sat closest on the shelf — a decision that cost me a perfectly good piece and taught me that wood adhesive selection isn’t something to half-think. … Read more
Garrett Dunn · July 15, 2026
Sitting on my workbench right now is a mortise chisel with an edge that holds sharp through three hours of serious work. Six months ago, that same tool would go dull in under an hour. The only thing that changed wasn’t the chisel—it was how I learned to sharpen it. That difference is visible in … Read more
Garrett Dunn · July 15, 2026
My neighbor stopped by the garage last month and asked why I was spending ten minutes touching up a chisel when I could just grab a sharper one from the bin. It’s a fair question—one I would’ve asked myself years ago. But the answer is exactly why I built a dedicated sharpening station, even though … Read more
Garrett Dunn · July 14, 2026
Grab my safety glasses and I haven’t even looked at what I’m about to grind yet. The angle grinder’s sitting on the bench, a strip of rusted steel clamped in the vise, and my hand’s already reaching for the eyewear before my brain catches up. That’s the honest reality of workshop PPE what to actually … Read more
Garrett Dunn · July 13, 2026
Popular wisdom suggests that file steel makes a poor knife blank — too brittle, too unpredictable, not worth the effort. That’s backwards. In reality, most mill bastard files contain exactly the carbon percentage and alloy balance that bladesmiths have chased for centuries. My first three attempts went sideways not because the material failed, but because … Read more
Garrett Dunn · July 12, 2026
At $110 on sale, I walked out of Harbor Freight thinking I’d grabbed a disposable tool for one quick project. Twelve months of gate repairs, furniture joinery, trailer patches, and one ill-conceived steel sculpture later, that “temporary” machine is still hanging on the wall. If you’re hunting for boots-on-the-ground perspective about running a budget-tier Harbor … Read more
Garrett Dunn · July 11, 2026
What’s actually holding you back from setting up a workshop right now? Not someday — right now. I’d guess it’s the same thing that stopped me for years: the belief that you need a pristine 1,200-square-foot detached space, a five-figure budget, and a licensed electrician on speed dial before you can build anything meaningful. I … Read more
Garrett Dunn · July 9, 2026
I own two angle grinders that cost roughly the same story but ended up in completely different places in my shop. One lives on the pegboard within arm’s reach. The other sits in a drawer, and I have to talk myself into grabbing it. After twelve years of daily garage work, that gap between “the … Read more
Garrett Dunn · July 8, 2026
Conflicting advice about tool priorities floods woodworking forums: some veterans insist you absolutely need a full power tool setup before attempting serious projects, while others claim hand tools alone will get you 95% of the way there. The first camp is wrong. I know this because I arrived at woodworking as a metalworker with a … Read more