When I unpacked my two brand new mobile tool bases, I thought I’d be up and running within about 20 minutes or so. If they’d come with assembly instructions, or even a good clear picture, I’m sure that would have been the case. Nope… Trying to track down instructions online didn’t result in anything other than lots of “how do I assemble my mobile tool base” questions.
So, after plenty of head scratching, cussing, unbolting and rebolting, more cussing and then unbolting and rebolting again, I’ve come up with a set of instructions that made the second assembly go much faster. Your particular mobile tool base assembly may vary slightly, but hopefully this info will help make it somewhat easier.
One of the blogs over at FineWoodworking.com has a great video showing old-school woodworking techniques. Although the old video is in black and white and there’s no sound, the rustic handtools being used are clearly much sharper than any of the tools in my workshop…
One of the wildest memories I have of grade 10, is when my shop teacher dropped a piece of wood onto a tablesaw blade to illustrate how dangerous tablesaw kickback could be.
That memory stuck very well, and I’ve been lucky (so far) to have never experienced kickback.
If you’re going to use a tablesaw (or other big power tool) understand how to safely use the tool — especially these days, when there’s so much online info.
This idiot guy, however, demonstrates (numerous ways) how NOT to use a tablesaw…
Making custom props for your Halloween yard display can be as simple as throwing together some scraps of wood to make some creepy looking entrance columns.
For last year’s haunted cemetery display, I built two columns out of scrap plywood. To increase the spooky factor this year, I also added a flickering lantern box, also made out of scrap plywood and some cheap portfolio covers.
Here’s last year’s column. It’s a simple hollow 1/2″ plywood box mounted to a plywood base. To give it some depth, I also added 1/8″ plywood strips to the edges and used the same strips to create a cross on three sides. Dry brushing with a lighter grey helps age the column.
If you ever get to the point where you think you’ve mastered dovetail joints, think again…
Kintaro Yazawa is a woodworker in Japan. The furniture he builds is both functional and beautiful, but it’s the detail he puts into his joinery that makes his furniture a work of art.
Here’s a little trick to help make sure wood doesn’t split or crack when you’re nailing it. This trick doesn’t need special nails or equipment, and seems to work well with big nails or small nails.
Ready? Here we go.
Step 1: Take a nail, turn it upside down
Step 2: Tap the nail’s pointy end with your hammer
That’s it… Exciting, hey? You might, however, be pretty surprised at the difference that little trick makes.
Why does it work so well? With the slightly flattened end, the nail tears through the wood’s fibers rather then forcing them apart.
You can flatten each nail as you use them or, if you have kids, give them a whole box and a little hammer — hours of endless fun. Really.
Intarsia woodwork is a little bit like doing a puzzle, except you design the puzzle, cut out the pieces, shape them and paint them before you put the whole thing together.
The other difference is that intarisia lets you create depth — more of a 3D puzzle than a traditional 2D one.
I do most of my intarsia work using cedar. It’s a nice soft wood that’s easy to work and it takes stain easily. Some people also use different types of wood, resulting in amazing multi-coloured, multi-grained works of art. Adding shaped stone, plastic, metal or anything else can add to the look (and the time!)
Woodworkers probably have more tools (toys?) to choose from than any other hobby or craft. The range of jigs and tools designed for a specific need are mindboggling. They’re not cheap, either.
So, needless to say, I hummed and hawed about buying a pocket hole jig for close to a year. When I finally bought one, I wished I hadn’t waited so long.
I looked at several different pocket hole jigs, and decided on Kreg Tool’s K2000 model.
This model comes complete with everything you need to very easily and very quickly do pocket hole joinery.
This was the first time I’d ever attempted pocket hole joints, so to have the jig set up, and a cabinet face frame assembled in less than half an hour was very impressive.
Granted, pocket hole joinery is never going to replace the aesthetics of perfect dovetails or even finger / box joints, but for a solid, “behind the scenes” joint, it’s tough to beat.
And, while you don’t necessarily NEED a jig to create pocket holes, the Kreg K2000 lets you create the holes and joints extremely quickly and accurately. (And I need all the help I can get with the accuracy…)
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