GREAT CORDLESS CIRCULAR SAW
Written by wood on November 13, 2008 – 4:42 pm -Are you starting to assemble your own Christmas gift list? Or maybe you’re looking for a power-tool idea for a loved one. You can’t have too many circular saws in my opinion. When I was still in the field building things, I always had three working circular saws in case one broke down. If you’re a serious project hound, you’ll discover having two circular saws has distinct advantages. I just tested a fantastic circular saw kit. It’s the Milwaukee 6.5-inch cordless saw powered by an 18-volt lithium-ion battery. This thing is a beauty. It came as a kit with the saw, a charger, two batteries, a soft-sided carrying case and a blade. I was amazed at how well balanced the saw is and its overall weight. The blade spins... more
Tags: circular saw, cordless circular saw
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Pocket-Hole Joinery Without a Jig
Written by wood on November 7, 2008 – 8:08 am -If you don’t have enough pocket holes to drill to justify buying a jig, try this method for securing joints. First, drill the shank and screwhead holes Select a twist bit — those with pilot points work best — that matches, or is just slightly larger than, the diameter of the screw you will be using. In this example, we used a #8×1-1/2″ screw requiring a 5/32″ shank hole. Chuck the bit into a handheld drill. On the end grain of the piece of wood that will be drilled for a pocket hole, mark the exit point of the screw. As shown in photo at left, we marked the exit point 1/4″ from the edge of a 3/4″-thick workpiece. Then, mark a line on the edge of the piece that angles 25 degrees... more
Tags: assembly, pocket-hole drilling
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Inexpensive Workbench Pipe-Clamp Vise
Written by wood on November 7, 2008 – 7:56 am -If you can’t afford the $100 or more price tag for a workbench vise try my economical solution shown below. It costs less than $25 and offers the reliability and holding power of a good old pipe clamp. I mounted the business end of a 3/4″ pipe clamp to the front of my bench, using a cut-off floor flange and a short length of pipe. (The top of the jaw is about 1″ higher than the benchtop.) Next, I drilled two rows of evenly spaced 3/8″ holes into the benchtop to accept the dog’s 3/8″ bolts. The bolts don’t thread into these holes; they just pin the dog in place in whatever pair of holes best suits the size of my workpiece. To distribute the clamping pressure over a wider area than the narrow face of... more
Tags: workbench vise
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A Woodworker’s Basic Tool Kit
Written by wood on November 7, 2008 – 7:42 am -A Woodworker’s Basic Tool Kit As you read the list, you’ll notice we don’t mention stationary power tools—the tablesaws, drill presses, bandsaws, and jointers that professional woodworkers and serious amateurs depend on. We left them out because this is a basic tool kit. You will add them as your needs and skills develop. Plan Ahead Equip your shop a few tools at a time. As your skills improve, so will your tool inventory. In the basic kit, we list the tools that we find indispensable in bold-face type. They’re the items you’re likely to find most useful and use most often, so think about purchasing them first.. Can you sidestep any processes for which you’re not well equipped? Some retail wood outlets will joint, rip, plane,... more
Tags: Add new tag, hand tools, power tools, woodworking tools
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Avoiding Warp in a Glued-Up Panel
Written by wood on October 20, 2008 – 1:15 am -When gluing multiple boards together to make a panel you may run into the problem of the panel warping. If you alternate the boards, so the growth rings visible in the end grain arc up on one board and down on the next your panel should remain flat across its overall width, as each board cups in the opposite direction. But the panel surface may feel wavy. On the other hand, if you glue-up the boards with the growth rings all oriented in the same direction, the whole panel may cup in one direction. The surface remains smooth to the touch, but the entire panel may take on an arched shape. I pay attention to the growth ring patterns, and try to alternate every other board. But I pay more attention to each board’s face grain appearance.... more
Tags: glue-up, gluing
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Stain Prevention During Glue-Up
Written by wood on October 20, 2008 – 12:58 am -To prevent pipe clamps from staining the wood during glue-up apply a strip of masking tape to the pipe. It prevents the iron from reacting with the water in the glue and staining the wood. Read More →
Tags: glue-up, gluing
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Staining Problems: Fast Fix for Glue Smudges
Written by wood on October 20, 2008 – 12:53 am -If you notice stain not taking in a particular spot, the key is to address the problem quickly before the stain sets. A dried glue smudge won’t allow stain or finish to penetrate the surface of the wood. Fortunately, there is an easy fix to this dilemma if you act fast. Quick Fix: After wiping the smudged area, take a scraper and rake it gently over the area to remove glue residue. If you are working in a tight space, then use a sharp chisel to scrape the wood fibers. Just hold the chisel with the bevel facing away from you, and gently pull it toward you. After scraping, use 180-grit sandpaper to sand the area. Then, gently sand a small portion of the stained wood around that area. This creates a seamless transition between stained and unstained... more
Tags: glue-up, gluing
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Keeping Panels Flush While Gluing
Written by wood on October 20, 2008 – 12:48 am -When gluing up a panel, the boards sometimes shift up or down as you tighten the clamp. To prevent this movement and assure yourself of a flat panel, try tightening a bar clamp across the ends of a joint lines to draw the surface of the boards flush. Read More →
Tags: glue-up, gluing
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Simple Glue Table Clean-up
Written by wood on October 16, 2008 – 9:05 pm -The other day I was working on a project reguiring a lot of gluing. I don’t have a table I use for gluing only and must use my workbench. Not wanting to damage the workbench by scraping or sanding off the dried glue I knew I must come up with a solution. I first thought of using a piece of particle board I had laying around to lay under the work to be glued. That of course would have worked. I then noticed an old plastic table cloth I had previously used as a drop cloth when painting. I used it and it worked great. The dried glue brushes off and it can be used over and over again. So, if you have any piece of plastic just put it over the workspace where you are gluing and you are good to go. Read More →
Tags: gluing
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Making Identical Parts with a Router
Written by wood on October 10, 2008 – 3:18 pm -One of the simplest ways to duplicate curved parts is to use a template and a flush trim bit. It’s quicker and more accurate than roughing out the shape on a band saw and sanding up to a layout line — especially when you’re making multiples. To start, make an exact template of the part (we use ¼”-thick Masonite). Then trace the template onto the workpiece and rough cut the shape to within 1/16″ of the layout line. Once the part is roughed out, attache the template to the workpiece with double-sided carpet tape. To rout the final shape, adjust the flush trim bit to the bearing rides against the template. Feed the workpiece into the bit is a right-to-left direction — on the left side of the bearing. Read More →
Tags: Router tips
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