Megan Fitzpatrick

I am Megan Fitzpatrick, a.k.a. @1snugthejoiner. I’m a woodworker, the publisher and editor at Rude Mechanicals Press, incoming editor (Autumn 2018) of the Early American Industries Association’s The Chronicle quarterly journal, and a freelance editor for Lost Art Press and Mortise & Tenon Magazine. I am short one dissertation of a Ph.D. in English literature (focused on early modern drama), and am a former editor of Popular Woodworking Magazine. You’ll often find me building furniture alongside another former PWM editor, Christopher Schwarz, at the Lost Art Press shop.

In addition to woodworking (inquiries about which are welcome), teaching woodworking, writing about woodworking and editing other people’s writing about woodworking, I’m in the midst of restoring a 1906 home in the Northside neighborhood of Cincinnati … and living in it amidst the chaos.

An (almost) foolproof method for hand-cut dadoes

December 1, 2020

A straight piece of scrap, a backsaw or handsaw, and you'll be cutting straight dadoes in no time.
Pine(ing) for perfection

October 27, 2020

Save the walnut and cherry for blanket chests and other fine furniture projects that will end up in the house; don’t waste them on a shop project.
On nails

September 30, 2020

Nails sometimes get a bad rap from modern woodworkers – Megan Fitzpatrick thinks that’s because most of the naysayers are using the wrong nails.
Time-Tested Finishes that Just Work

August 24, 2020

Megan Fitzpatrick prefers finishes that are easy, fast, and foolproof. In her experience, these six check all three boxes.
The woodworking clamps you need

July 30, 2020

It’s true that you can’t have too many, but you can have too many useless ones. So here’s Megan Fitzpatrick's take on what clamps you need, in the order that she uses them most.
Benchmarks: Megan Fitzpatrick — I learned the words, and then the craft

July 3, 2020

When I was hired as managing editor for a woodworking magazine in 2005, I knew only a little bit about antiques, and had built barely more than a bookcase or…
Grind and get back to work – fast

June 30, 2020

For Megan Fitzpatrick, there is simply no faster way to remove a chip from a blade or erase a too-large secondary bevel than a high-speed wheel grinder.
How to Choose a Smoothing Plane

May 26, 2020

With so many choices, Megan Fitzpatrick encourages folks to try out a few different smoothing planes before they buy one. But if pushed, she'll tell you to get a No. 3 with a 45° frog.
Good woodworking reads

April 28, 2020

To help you soak up some woodworking knowledge at home, here are 10 books that Megan Fitzpatrick thinks should be in every woodworking library.
‘You WILL obey the triangle’

March 24, 2020

Unique marking systems are fine – if you're working alone. But in a class setting, Megan Fitzpatrick makes everyone use the marriage marks, for good reason.