In 1989, my father-in-law taught me to smoke meats and cheeses. I was a timber frame builder—I have my own company, called OakBridge Timber Framing—and I wanted a home project to help me unwind in the ...

POP Projects is a collection of new and classic projects from more than a century of Popular Mechanics. Master skills, get tool recommendations, and, most importantly, build something of your very own ...

"Anybody can nail sticks together," Jonathan Taylor said. He doesn't have anything against nails, he just doesn't use them much. Taylor, 48, of Phillips, Maine, is building a log shed, mostly without ...

PITTSFIELD — In May 1965, John Sobon, piloting a 60-foot crane, ripped into a North Adams apartment building, bringing a century-old timber frame structure to the ground. In a period marked by postwar ...