Steve Der-Garabedian

Steve is a worker of wood, a teacher, a writer, a photographer and the owner of Black Walnut Studio.

Articles by Steve Der-Garabedian

June 4, 2024

Reasons to choose a track saw

Track saws offer some fantastic advantages over many other saws. Whether they’re worth the expense depends on the style of work you do and the type of workshop you have.

Reasons to choose a track saw

June 4, 2024

Track saw crosscut jig

This simple jig will make your track saw even more accurate and functional in a small shop. It also allows you to make crosscuts and mitre cuts on small stock.

Track saw crosscut jig

June 4, 2024

Build track saw parallel guides

One of the tasks track saws excel at is cutting down sheet goods, but it’s often difficult to quickly and accurately align the track parallel to a workpiece’s edge, especially for repeated cuts. These simple guides solve that problem.

Build track saw parallel guides

March 3, 2024

Make a space-saving live edge coat & hat rack

Creating storage near a front door is tricky. You want enough hooks and shelves to store frequently worn items like coats and hats, but you don’t want to overwhelm an entryway with too much clutter. This coat and hat rack is the perfect solution for an already tight area.

Make a space-saving live edge coat & hat rack

May 14, 2023

Sand by hand

Random orbit sanders have improved greatly over the years. They’re now more comfortable to use and do a much better job of collecting the dust they create. However, there are plenty of times we still need to sand by hand.

Sand by hand

July 12, 2022

Make a bonsai plant stand

Whether it’s a bonsai plant or another cherished object, making a tasteful display stand for it will showcase the object nicely. This project merges eye-catching veneer and straight-grained solid wood with a timeless design.

Make a bonsai plant stand

June 17, 2022

Bessey TG series clamps

In this video Steve Der-Garabedian talks about the original Bessey TG series cast-iron bar clamps.

Bessey TG series clamps

November 15, 2021

The power of wedges

The simple yet powerful wedge has been around for more than two million years and is still useful in the world of woodworking.

The power of wedges

November 10, 2021

Veritas compact router table

Compact routers are so versatile that manufacturers have started to create a whole range of accessories to harness this usefulness.

Veritas compact router table

February 28, 2021

A spoon carver’s toolbox

It’s important to have a place to store your tools. While this toolbox was specifically designed to hold spoon-carving tools, there’s no reason you couldn’t design it to hold other tools, whether for traveling storage or for shop storage.

A spoon carver’s toolbox