KERFLINE · WORKSHOP GOODS
Cut to the line.
Wearable drawings for people who own a shooting board. Exploded joints, bevel geometry, and plan-sheet linework — drawn correctly, printed at premium quality. Craft literacy, not fandom.
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- A — 2026
The drawings
The slope gauge
One 1:8 for hardwood, laid out with a bevel gauge. Insiders read ratios, never degrees.
Quarter notation
Four-quarter to eight-quarter — rough thickness in quarter inches, the way the yard talks.
The bevel section
A 25° primary and a 30° micro-bevel drawn the size it really is. Scary sharp, by the numbers.
By discipline
Field guides
JOINERY · Jul 13, 2026 · 6 MIN
Dovetail Slope Ratios: Why 1:8 Isn't a Law
The 1:8 hardwood, 1:6 softwood rule is a convention with real reasons behind it, and a usable band from about 1:5 to 1:9 where the exact number barely matters. Where the ratios come from, what breaks at the extremes, and why your baseline matters more than your slope.
Read the sheet →
HAND TOOLS · Jul 13, 2026 · 15 MIN
The 12-Tool Hand Kit That Builds Almost Anything
An opinionated 12-tool hand kit that will build real furniture — the why behind each pick, what to skip, and the order to buy in. Layout, sawing, paring, planing, and the sharpening setup that makes all of it work.
LUMBER & WOOD · Jul 13, 2026 · 6 MIN
4/4, 8/4, FAS: Buying Rough Lumber Without Getting Skinned
Hardwood-dealer literacy in one page: what 4/4 and 8/4 mean, the board-foot formula, how FAS and #1 Common grades really differ, and why you always buy thicker and wider than your cut list says.
LUMBER & WOOD · Jul 13, 2026 · 6 MIN
Read the Grain Before the Grain Reads You
Tearout is the grain reading you when you didn't read it first. How to spot grain direction on a board's edge, plane uphill, sever fibers on cross-grain cuts, and why a keen edge beats every other tearout fix in the shop.
HAND TOOLS · Jul 13, 2026 · 6 MIN
The $40 Japanese Ryoba, Reviewed: Where a Pull Saw Beats Your Backsaw
At around $40, a double-edged Japanese ryoba may be the highest-leverage hand-tool buy there is: pull-stroke tracking, a fine kerf, and rip-plus-crosscut in one blade. Where it replaces a Western backsaw, and where it doesn't.
SHARPENING · Jul 13, 2026 · 6 MIN
Waterstones vs. Diamond Plates: Pick Your Mess
Waterstones and diamond plates both get you shaving-sharp — they just annoy you differently. Speed, flatness upkeep, five-year cost, and mess compared, with a clear pick for beginners, budget sharpeners, and exotic steels.
The shortlist
The tools worth gifting — see the full ranking on the best-gear sheet.
SUIZAN Japanese Ryoba Pull Saw 9.5 Inch
$42.80
Check priceNarex Bench Chisel Set
$81.99
Check priceStarrett 12-Inch Combination Square
$126.07
Check price
A note from the notes column: some links on this page are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate we may earn a commission when you buy through them — at no extra cost to you. It never changes the price you pay.
6 guides drawn
8 tools vetted
29 reader price checks
On the bench
Original drawings, printed to order.
The first sheet is at the printer.
New pieces land soon — browse the shop or join The Cut List below to hear first.