Back to Woodworking Basics: Smart Bit Storage
You invest a lot of money in your router bits. Even buying inexpensive ones, the money adds up quick. That's why I hope your bit storage does not look like this!
Back to Basics: Offset Tracing
Making curved parts from templates often requires re-tracing the template in a larger size. You may need to bandsaw a cutting board to rough shape before flush trimming it to a template. Or you want to trace off a curved table top to create a wood edging for it. Accurately reproducing the shape in a larger size is nearly impossible freehand, but a basic set of washers can make the task easy.
Guest Blogger Barbara Howell on The Gift of Grip
Editor's note: Our guest blogger today is Barbara Howell: woodworker, business owner, and author of the 2009 book ''Splinters: The Pain, The Passion, The Point''.
Hands come in all sizes and shapes!
But if you are a woodworker there have probably been times you wished your hands could do more. Good grip is a major requirement.
Back to Basics — Starter Pin on the Router Table
The router table is the ideal way to rout parts to shape using a template. A flush trimming bit, the proper template and you are off! But getting the cut started can be a bit tricky. As the bit begins to cut the wood, the cutting edge wants to pull the bit into the stock. The bearing will keep the bit from cutting too deep, but until contact is made, there is real risk of tearout and dangerous kickback.
Back to Woodworking Basics
In a world of whizz-bang gadgets and high tech tools, a recent thread on a woodworking forum reminded me that sometimes we need to stop, rewind and get back to the basics. The poster was lamenting that he had no idea how to drive a screw. This may seem silly, but it really is an honest question.
As a cabinet maker I use high tech, square drive, self drilling screws with nibs under the head that help them sink without dimpling the plywood. Just drive it and move on to the next.
But as a builder of reproduction furniture, I often need to assemble hardwood pieces using (gasp!) old fashioned, flat head wood screws, like this one holding the top of a small, two drawer table.
Top Ten New Year’s Woodworking Resolutions from Our Readers
In Ralph's post last week on his woodworking resolutions for the New Year, we invited you, our readers, to tell us your own goals for the coming year. There were many great responses, and we've chosen our "top ten" to share with you (in no particular order). Some of the resolutions are uber-ambitious; some are quite simple. They're all interesting, and might give you some ideas for your own woodworking goals in 2010. You can read all of the comments here).
This list is the ten most common themes from our readers' woodworking resolutions.
Power Tools vs. Hand Tools: Can’t We All Just Get Along?
If you have been at all in touch with woodworking blogs, forums and such, you have come to realize that there are those who advocate "more power", and those that tend toward hand tool snobbery. I am here to help get us all holding hands around the (sawdust and plane curl) campfire singing "kumbya".
The hand tool purists will go on about how the "masters" did everything by hand, and the purity of the hand work. The marks left by the tools and the slight imperfections are the mark of a handmade piece.
Where do you get all those ideas?
Note from the Blogmaster: Today we introduce to you a new contributor to Buzz Saw, Ralph Bagnall of ConsultingWoodworker.com. Ralph is a consultant and a woodworker, and he has written pieces for Woodworker's Journal and other publications. Many of you will also recognize Ralph from woodworking communities on various websites, most notably as Consultingwood on Twitter. He maintains a very active online presence, and we're very pleased to have him join the blog. Welcome, Ralph!
Like many of you, I need to come up with creative gift ideas for family and friends every year. Weddings, housewarmings, birthdays and Christmas can tax even the most creative minds.
Short on Pen Blanks? Try These Pen Turning Kits
Did you know that there are certain styles of pen turning kits that use less than a "full" length pen blank? The Carbara or the Sierra-style kits both take less than a full blank, and there are several reasons why using them might be to your advantage. (And check out your chance to win two of these kits below!)
Do you have pen blanks or remainders that are less than the proper size? The Carbara kit uses a blank less than three inches long.
Sharpen up your tools, sharpen up your mind!
How can woodworking help you as you grow older? Well, we know that as we age, our minds change. For most people, the ability to process information gradually slows down. You hear a lot about how important it is for older people to engage in brain-healthy activities like crossword puzzles, reading, and playing games.
Interestingly, more and more people are coming to realize the mental benefits of woodworking as a pasttime. A hobby like woodworking, that stimulates the mind through complex measurements, visualization and creative problem solving, can have significant positive effects on the aging brain.
