Popular Woodworking

Small Scraps and Simple Pleasures

Chris Schwarz — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 19:13:34 GMT

Last Friday afternoon I was paid a surprise visit by my girlfriend. She had the day off, so it was nice to have her see a day in the life of an Associate Editor for the Web.

Unfortunately, watching me edit the BookShop News newsletter isn't as exciting as she thought, and pretty soon thumb twiddling ensued.

Not wanting to bore her to tears I finished up my work, looked up and said "Wanna go make something?"

Her eyes lit up, and I saw the wheels churning as she thought about the endless possibilities.

"What could we make?" she asked.

Being the good boyfriend, I replied "Let's go make some jewelry."

I ushered her into the shop and we headed straight to the scrap bin. "Ooh, this is pretty – what's this?" she inquired.

"That's cherry," I said, "and this is oak, and this is walnut." I held up a nice size off-cut from a Bible box project to be featured in the October issue.

"I like that one!" she said. Apparently that wasn't the only scrap she liked – her arms were already full of strips of cherry and oak.

What she doesn't know is at this time I was furiously thinking about what in the world we could make with this piece of walnut that she could be proud of making and I wouldn't have to lose fingers. Remembering a conversation she and I had the other day I suggested we make a ring.

Bob Lang was in the shop with us so I asked him what he thought. Apparently, because rings are circular, grain direction wouldn't matter too much (it would be weak at least on two points). Knowing my girlfriend's jewelry preference, I knew she'd design something huge and chunky – so grain strength was no longer a worry.

With that reassurance in mind, my girlfriend busted out her art school skills and drafted a design on the block using Bob's compass. Then it was off to the drill press. At first excited about our speed of progress, I soon found myself dumbfounded with the realization that I have no clue how to size this ring. Staring into the box of Forstner bits I began pondering about ring size conversion charts when my girlfriend broke my trance – she took off her silver ring, grabbed a few bits and handed me the one that fit inside.

"Here," she said, "use this one."

She's a keeper.

I quickly drilled the hole and then headed to the band saw to cut out the shape. That was my favorite part. With my work done, I could now teach my girlfriend about how to use a rasp. In no time we were back in my cubicle, with her joyfully shaping her ring. She even wrote a song about it:

"Oh tiny rasp, why are you so tiny? Because I help you get into small spaces."

With her work nearly completed, we went back into the shop for some final sanding. In no time she had a beautiful ring entirely of her own design, entirely homemade.

Although this was a very simple project compared to a dovetailed Bible box, it was nice to share with my girlfriend how you can make something yourself that you'll love and cherish.

I need to get into the shop more often.

– Drew DePenning

Some Assembly Required

Chris Schwarz — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:49:30 GMT

You’d think I’d know better. But being in desperate need of one place where I could store and easily access all my music CDs, I was seduced by the clearance price and vintage look of a CD cabinet in an on-line catalog. I grabbed my credit card, punched the keys and my order was quickly on its way. It was after I placed my order that I saw the phrase “some assembly required” in the product description.

A week later, a soft, flat cardboard box arrived with both ends barely held together with packing tape. Apparently there was going to be more than “some” assembly necessary for this cabinet. But I pushed the dining room table and chairs to the wall and in a storm of Styrofoam, pulled out all the pieces. Both doors were damaged. The instructions said that the company would be happy to send replacements, so a week later I received another set of doors — in oak. My cabinet was cherry (well, cherry-colored). So one more week later another set of doors arrived, and I excitedly began assembly. With the cabinet standing, and only the doors laid out on the dining room rug, I was mentally envisioning my CDs standing smartly on shelves behind glass-paneled doors in a matter of minutes. And my dining room would once more become a place to enjoy dinner. I carefully placed the glass panes behind the lattice on the doors. They were too long by an eighth of an inch.

OK, I thought. A lunch-hour trip to the hardware store to have the glass cut down will take care of this. But the glass cutter was unsure if it was tempered glass, and he wasn’t willing to do the job. I had to find someone who was familiar with working with tempered glass. Another lunch-hour trip the next day led me to Andrew at Oakley Paint & Glass, who miraculously made my glass panels the right size in short order.

That evening, it all came together at last. I gathered all my CDs and organized them neatly on the shelves (by category and alphabetically, of course). I sighed happily as I closed the doors — and they wouldn’t quite close all the way. Arrrrrgggggghhhh! What could be wrong now? A couple of the little plastic thingies that held the glass in the door were positioned in just the right place for the screws to dig into the shelf behind them.

Those two thingies are now gone, the doors are completely closed and my CD collection is together once more. The cabinet serves its purpose and fits nicely into my almost 80-year-old home. But I’ve learned my lesson. Note to self: Read product description carefully before hitting the “send” button, and don’t believe everything you read. They weren’t exactly untruthful. The lattice was already stapled into the doors.

Maybe I need to take a lesson from Megan and get serious about learning the craft of woodworking.

— Linda Watts, art director

Own a Piece of The Schwarz

Chris Schwarz — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 19:55:54 GMT

Those of you who follow Editor Christopher Schwarz's writing on the Woodworking Magazine blog may recall the sad, sad day that Chris was forced to kill off his companion of more than a decade. His beloved lubricant-soaked Woobie was traded in for a younger and cleaner model, with no implants...of sawdust and swarf (you can read the post here).

I rescued Woobie from the trash bin. And today we were looking for amusing ways in which to avoid work (a rarity, of course). So we pulled out a grotty photograhy sweep, shot a few representative photos, and wrote an item description. Yes – Woobie is for sale on eBay. I just hope we get back the 95 cents it cost me to post it.

— Megan Fitzpatrick

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How to Scale Furniture

Chris Schwarz — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:06:20 GMT

If you have come to this post looking for an easy, no-hard-work method to scale furniture, I’m afraid you’re going to be disappointed. There is no magic bullet. No simple number that can be used as a multiplier to arrive at the final sizes needed to enlarge or scale down a plan. However, there are a couple ways that work if you put in the time and effort.

The easiest, most simplistic method to scale furniture is to take a scaled drawing to your local copy shop and have them enlarge the piece to the size you are after. The drawings on the blanket chest in our August 2009 issue are to scale, so you would need to take the drawings to your copy shop and have them enlarge the plans by a certain percentage. To adjust the plan from a box size of 32” to the larger box size of 42”, you should ask that the plan be enlarged by 31.25 percent (32” x 1.3125 percent = 42”). In turn, the other measurements would also adjust accordingly. The overall height adjusts from 20” to 26-1/4” and the feet go to 5” from 3-3/4”.

While this option allows you to work from a drawing, I find it much more helpful to learn how to scale from photos – photos that are shown with full, mostly front-on views and not necessarily shown from angles. To do this, I use ratios of measurements taken off the photo.

As an example, the blanket chest photo I’m using measures 6-3/4” wide and in the description of the chest the actual width is 53”. To find other measurements along the width of the chest such as the width of one drawer, I’ll set up a ratio of 6.75/53. I can use this ratio to find the width of any other part of the chest so long as I take all my measurements from the same photo.

If the width of one of the long drawers in my photo equals 2-1/4”, then I would set up the following where X is the actual width of the drawer front:

6.75/53 – 2.25/X
(Read as 6.75 is to 53 as 2.25 is to X)

Solve for x with cross-multiplication

2.25 x 53 = 6.75X
119.25 = 6.75X
119.25/6.75 = X
17.666 = X

So the actual measurement of the drawer front, based on the photo, is 17-5/8”.

I would find another ratio for any measurements of height. Using my example, the photo measurement of the height of the chest is 3-7/16” while the height of the actual chest is listed at 29”. My ratio is 3.4375/29. Measuring the drawer height in the photo at 9/16” and solving for X in the ratio finds the actual drawer height.

3.4375/29 – .5625/x
(Read as 3.4375 is to 29 as .5625 is to X)

.5625 x 29 = 3.4375X
16.3125 = 3.4375X
16.3125/3.4375 = X
4.745 = X

The drawer height is 4.75 or 4-3/4”.

This process, along with a general knowledge about furniture construction, should give you a way to scale furniture from photos. I would use this ratio information to establish the sizes of the box of the blanket chest, and any interior-piece sizes would be determined off the actual box – as it should be. Begin with the main structure, be it a box for a blanket chest or the case for a chest of drawers, then fit any parts to that structure.

Additionally, there are ways to manipulate the drawings in SketchUp that allow the sizes to be scaled up and/or down – use the scale tool. But in doing so, the thicknesses of the parts also change and there might be other issues of which I’m not aware. If you scale in SketchUp, I would suggest you work only with the elevations of the drawings. And work on a copy of the project. That way you can compare your changes to that of the original.

— Glen D. Huey

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New Handplane Book From Christopher Schwarz on Sale

Chris Schwarz — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 18:04:01 GMT

Look around your neighborhood. The next time you see a truck belonging to a contractor or cabinetmaker, there’s a good chance that the company uses a handplane in its logo.

Though the image of a plane is the mark of the craftsman, there are few craftsmen who really know how to use the tool. Has this knowledge been lost? Are the tools simply obsolete?

The truth is that neither statement is true. The handplane is the most advanced and cunning wood-cutting tool ever invented, and it has yet to be surpassed by anything with a power cord. After World War II, handplanes began to disappear from shops because we traded speed for skill and expediency for quality.

But now the pendulum is swinging the other way. Modern toolmakers have revived the planemaking industry and are turning out quality tools the like of which haven’t been sold for 100 years. Woodworkers are discovering that these tools are fast, satisfying to use and produce remarkably crisp work.

"Handplane Essentials" aims to get you started. Inside these pages is the knowledge you need to choose the right handplanes for your shop, set them up correctly and put them to use building furniture for a lifetime. “Handplane Essentials” contains everything you need to choose the right tool for your budget and project, take it out of the box, sharpen it and use it successfully. The chapters in this book have been compiled from more than 10 years of my writings on the subject of handplanes in magazines, trade journals and blogs.

And it's a sizable book – 312 pages – and printed on high-quality paper. The hundreds of photos in the book have been sepia-toned, just like the photos in Woodworking Magazine (our sister publication). The book is hardbound, covered in black cloth with a copper embossing and a heavy full-color dust jacket. And – best of all – the book is produced and printed entirely in the United States. Here's what you'll find inside:

Basics
Learn what the different handplanes are used for. Decode their crazy numbering system so you can focus instead on what each tool does. And figure out what specific planes you need in your shop.

Sharpening
Learning to hone your cutters to a keen edge is the secret to getting your planes to work. “Handplane Essentials” shows you how to get this done no matter what sort of sharpening system you use now.

Techniques
Learn how to flatten individual boards, panels and even enormous tabletops with just a few bench planes. Learn to use specialty planes to cut grooves, rabbets and other joints.

History & Philosophy
If you understand historical practice, you’ll be a better handplane user – even if you choose to reject the traditional methods. Learn to pick a well-made old tool based on how it is made.

Reviews
Find out who makes the best high-quality tool, whether it’s a $50 plane from India or a $5,000 plane custom-made by a machinist in Scotland. I've tried them all.

The book is at the printer now and will be in stock during the first week of August. If you order before July 31, you'll receive a discount of 20 percent off the regular price of $34.99. That means the book will be $27.99 – plus free shipping.

After July 31, the book will be $34.99 (though shipping will still be free).

To read more or place your order, click here. To download an excerpt of the book in pdf format, the link below.

2-CoarseMediumFine.pdf (3.16 MB)

— Christopher Schwarz

Woodworking With SketchUp: Start at the End

Chris Schwarz — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 17:11:24 GMT

Even if you're experienced with using a computer, learning a new software program presents two problems. The first is learning how to get around the program; the second is learning how to make the program do what you want it to do. We're excited about what SketchUp can do to make woodworking easier and better, and I've been working on developing methods to help folks learn it. I've come to realize that instead of starting at the beginning by making simple models, you can dramatically shorten the learning curve by starting at the end.

The real value of SketchUp is the amount of information within the model, and the ease with which you can retrieve it. Even if you never draw a line with SketchUp, you can better understand projects before you head to the shop. If you start with an existing model, you can learn how to orbit, zoom and pan without the pressure of creating something. You can learn how to move components of a project around, get a better look, and take them apart without the fear of messing something up. The image above is Roy Underhill's Tool Chest from our June 2009 issue. It's a good example because some of the joinery is tricky, and that can be hard to describe with printed words and pictures. But it is easy to understand if you take it apart and look at it from any angle or distance you want.

To get started, you need to download and install SketchUp on your computer. The software is free from Google, and information about getting it can be found on the Popular Woodworking SketchUp Page. There, you can also find most of the models we have made available (also absolutely free). You'll find all of our models on our 3D Warehouse collection, accessible through our SketchUp page. Browse the collection and download something you're interested in.

Spend some time just looking at the model from different points of view, using the Orbit, Zoom and Pan tools. There's a lot of help available within the program, and one of the best helpers is the Instructor window. You can find it under the Windows menu in the program; when you have it open, it will show you the basic moves of each of the available tools. Click on a tool and the Instructor window will tell you how to use it. When you're able to move around the model without getting lost or bumping into things, start using the Move tool to take the model apart. In the image above, I clicked on the top of the chest and moved it vertically. Notice that the top moves as one piece and the entire top is highlighted in blue.

That lets you know that SketchUp thinks of the top as a single unit – a component. If you click to highlight it, right click, then select Explode from the pop up menu, you'll be able to move the individual parts around. All of the parts of the model can be found in the Components window. A good SketchUp model is organized this way. When you draw things in SketchUp you draw lines and connected lines will form faces. When you have enough lines and faces for something to look like a piece of wood, make it into a component and it will behave like a piece of wood. Here we have a good look at how the joints of the frame work with each other and with the panel.

Down at the base of the tool chest we can see what St. Roy was talking about in the article. Again, all I did was orbit and zoom to the area I wanted to look at. Then, using the Move tool, I disassembled the base. Putting it back together will give me a good idea of the sequence of moves to make in the shop when working on the real thing.

When I was a kid, I learned a lot about how things work by taking them apart. And unlike the telephone in the kitchen that always sounded tinny after I put it back together, you can take things apart in SketchUp fearlessly. If you mess things up you won't have to run away from home; you can download a fresh version of the model. And in the process, you'll learn a lot about the program before you start to draw.

-- Robert W. Lang

p.s. I'll be teaching several SketchUp classes, and we'll have a "drop-in" clinic available for additional hands-on training, at the Woodworking in America: Furniture Construction and Design conference, August 14-16 in St. Charles, Ill. There's still time to register.

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Turning Basics DVD: Pre-sale Discount Ends June 30

Chris Schwarz — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:14:58 GMT

Recently you got to learn a little about our publisher and resident turner, Steve Shanesy. I had a great opportunity to get to know Steve and learn a lot about turning while filming his new DVD "Turning Basics for Furniture Makers."

Throughout the filming and editing of this project (I shot more than 10 hours of footage) I started to grasp the nuances of turning: how you hold the tools, rubbing the bevel, moving your body with the cut, always cutting "downhill." These concepts didn't ingrain themselves in me the first time I watched Steve turn, but rather after reviewing the video several times – and that's the coolest thing about this DVD. This instructional DVD is so packed with information that you'll want to watch it over and over again, and the repetition of the turning motions is the easiest way to learn proper technique.

According to Steve, almost 50 percent of our readers own lathes.

"But when you ask them how many turning projects they actually make, less than 30 percent said they did," Steve says. "That leads me to conclude there are a lot of lathes out there just gathering dust in the shop. Hopefully this video will get you busy."

As an amateur woodworker with no turning experience, I now find myself having the confidence to turn on a lathe. I honestly think that after watching this DVD, you will, too.

Below is a free video preview I put together of the DVD. I basically reduced all 100 minutes of the DVD into 100 seconds. Also, I wanted to let you know that now through June 30 we're offering this DVD at a special introductory price of $19.99 – that's 20 percent off the original price. So if you enjoy the trailer below, visit the Woodworker's BookShop and purchase this DVD for $19.99. It's in stock now and available for immediate delivery.

– Drew DePenning

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SawStop Tackles Table Saw Issue #2

Chris Schwarz — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 17:20:51 GMT

SawStop has done it again. First, the company developed and integrated a safety system to keep woodworkers from being maimed by a spinning saw blade. Now the group at SawStop has tackled the second most crucial safety issue of table saws – sawdust.

New shroud designs under the table and above the table (the blade guard) have improved dust collection on the yet-to-be-released SawStop Professional Cabinet Saw. According to the company, dust collection on the newest member of the SawStop fleet is 99 percent. And to accomplish that you need only a 120CFM dust collector.

How did they do it? In laymen’s terms, engineers found a way to transform the normally turbulent air surrounding the saw blade into laminar air that travels like a jet stream. In other words, SawStop molded the blade guard and manipulated the lower dust shroud to move the air – and the corresponding wood dust – directly toward and into a hose connection in rear of the blade guard (shown above).

Information is just beginning to trickle out about the blade guard design and the fact that it increases the overall dust collection on the saw by four additional percentage points. (As this entry posted, SawStop had yet to update it's website with the new information.) You can bet everyone will be all over SawStop’s new Professional Cabinet Saw and the new dust-collection designs in Las Vegas at the AWFS (Association of Woodworking and Furnishings Suppliers) show come mid-July.

— Glen D. Huey

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Hand Tool Olympics at Woodworking in America

Chris Schwarz — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 18:24:06 GMT

Announcing the 'Hand Tool Olympics' at Woodworking in America

In sports, you need to compete against a superior player to improve your own game.

So to make you a more skilled tool user, we're holding a "Hand Tool Olympics" at our Woodworking in America conference in St. Charles, Ill., this August. During these friendly competitions, you'll get to show off your skills in a variety of hand-tool basics. And you could win prizes just for competing.

(Need a coach? Competition staff will be on hand to provide training, tips and strategies.)

Here are the details:

The Olympics will be held on Friday, Aug. 14 and Saturday, Aug. 15 (with recreational and fun events on Sunday, Aug. 16) in the Society of American Period Furniture Makers (SAPFM) booth. Three events will be held each day with the winners announced and awards bestowed during the Saturday dinner. The Grand-prize winner will receive Free Admission to a Future Woodworking in America Conference. The "medalists" in each event will win one of the tools used for that event. Plus, randomly selected participants will also be awarded prizes. (Prizes are limited to one per attendee.)

Plus we'll be giving away DVDs, CDs, books and magazines to participants throughout the two days of competition.

The Minnesota chapter of SAPFM, headed by Mike Siemsen, will conduct the Olympics. Plus, SAPFM will hold workshops and provide tutorials for those who would like to participate but need a little last-minute coaching on proper use of a given hand tool. (And who knows – a prodigy might be discovered!) Participants must use the tools provided (don’t worry – we’ll have the necessary tools – and they’re good ones!).

The events are as follows:

1. One Meter Dash – Step away from your table saw and venture back into the 1800s. Each contestant is required to accurately rip a 36" piece of 2 x 12 stock using a handsaw. We hope you practiced the pointers doled out in Popular Woodworking magazine’s "Arts & Mysteries" column. This event is judged mainly on time, with points deducted for going way off the line. (A kinked saw will result in immediate disqualification.)

2. Shooting Sports – Use a jointer plane to straighten and square the edge created during the One Meter Dash. That’s right – you have to do it completely by hand. Crazy. Judging, with a test bar of aluminum, a feeler gauge and an engineer’s square is for straightness and accuracy.

3. Crosscut Extravaganza – Hold your finger straight to sight down the saw (or simply channel your inner square) to accurately crosscut a piece of 2 x 12 lumber. This event is judged mainly for time with points deducted for going way off the line. (A kinked saw will result in immediate disqualification.)

4. Brace Yourself For a Hole in One – Before the advent of electric and battery-powered drill/drivers, carpenters and woodworkers used a brace and auger bits to bore holes. The challenge: Bore a 3/4" hole in a plank, straight and square to surface of plank (no squares or other aids allowed). It’s not as boring as you might think! Judged for speed. Points off for major blowouts on the backside and any degrees out of square.

5. Pins First or Tails First – You make the call on which method you prefer; we’ll track the numbers to see which is more popular. Either way, you have to complete a well-fit three-pin dovetail joint on a 1x4, using hand tools. Goodbye jig. Judging is subjective – but we know it when we see it. If the competition gets close, we may call in a jury.

6. Greco-Roman Tenons – Produce a 3"-long, 3/4"-thick tenon on the end of a piece of 2x4 stock. Your attempt has to fit into a provided test mortise. This event is judged for time and quality – with some latitude allowed if the tenon is a bit tight, as most are hand planed to final fit.

Prize Tools

* Rip Saws –Donated by Mike Siemsen’s School of Woodworking (vintage saws sharpened by Mark Harrell at Technoprimitives.com).
*Crosscut Saws – Donated by Mike Siemsen’s School of Woodworking (vintage saws sharpened by Mark Harrell).
*Back Saws – Donated by Bad Axe Tool Works – Mark Harrell
*Jointer Planes – Donated by Lee Valley & Veritas
*Dovetail Mallets – Donated by Blue Spruce Toolworks
*Brace and Bit – Donated by Popular Woodworking and Woodworking Magazine

— Glen D. Huey

Click Here For Conference Information

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Sifting Through History to Find the Facts

Chris Schwarz — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 18:44:38 GMT

Why is it called a Bible Box?

Here at the Popular Woodworking office, it doesn't take much to get a lively discussion started. We are a curious bunch, and none of us like to take answers at face value. Ask a question around here and you'll get at least as many opinions as there are people in the room, and theories from every possible direction. And when the conversation trails off the participants start Googling and digging through old books in order to be prepared when the bell rings for the start of round two. It doesn't matter what the subject is, and matters that aren't settled immediately can drag on for months. We may well have settled the question of William Wallace vs. Shaka Zulu, but we don't really know why a Bible Box bears that name.

The picture above is a Bible Box made by Senior Editor Glen D. Huey that will be featured in an upcoming issue. As we were preparing for the photo shoot, the question arose about the object's name. It isn't quite the right size or shape for storing a Bible, and why would one need to keep the Good Book under lock and key?

One of the theories put forth in the ensuing discussion, (from the editor who likes to use the longest possible word with the most obscure meaning while building large-scale furniture) was that perhaps Bible Box was a corruption of the French term bibelot. (I believe Biblelot could be a character from "The Hobbit"). My search to prove that theory led to a dead end.

This isn't unusual; it happens to us a lot when we try to track down the history of some tool or woodworking technique. You never know if the first guy to write something down knew what he was talking about, or if he just made it up. The Bible Box issue bubbled to the surface this weekend when I was at the Marc Adams School of Woodworking, teaching a class on SketchUp. Also teaching was Graham Blackburn.

As fate would have it, Graham was giving a workshop on building a Bible Box. Here was my chance to consult an in-the-flesh knowledgeable resource, and it would be a feather in my cap at our Monday morning meeting if I would be the one to settle this matter. So at lunch on Sunday I asked him what he knew, and proposed my pleonastic coworker's theory of a corrupt French word.

I didn't agree with Megan's theory in the first place, but I felt a little sting as Blackburn dismissed it with a very British tut, tut. Then he reinforced the argument that the name is suspicious and concluded with, "I think Wallace Nutting just made it up."

Blackburn's research led him to believe that Nutting was likely the first to use the term "Bible Box" for this form of wooden container used to store valuable papers. On page 98 of Furniture of the Pilgrim Century Nutting uses the term then explains that it really isn't accurate. But like the practice of ripping wide boards into narrow ones and gluing them back together, the term stuck, and to impose a better one would be a herculean task.

Nutting was a tastemaker of the early 20th century, practically the Martha Stewart of the era. His work carried an authority that remains to this day, and is largely responsible for the idealized Colonial Revival that followed World War I. So I urge my readers not to believe everything they read, and to consider the source.

– Bob Lang

A Day With Milwaukee Tools

Chris Schwarz — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 16:01:20 GMT

Milwaukee Tools invited magazine and newspaper editors to its headquarters in Brookfield, Wis., on June 10 to unveil a number of new tools – 48 during the next 18 months – and a complete new line for the company. The buzzwords around Milwaukee Tools are "Disruptive Innovation." The company is not looking to embellish a product with a unique switch or a larger over-molded grip; it’s looking to introduce products with such new innovation that we re-think how we use those tools. And Milwaukee is OK if it cannibalizes it’s own product in the process.

Also, Milwaukee Tools reinforced the company focus. Milwaukee made no bones about where the company plans to focus its attention in the coming years. It plans to return to its core customers – the trades. Electricians, plumbers, HVAC and other similar groups are in the headlights of the 85-year-old company. And the headlights are set to high beam.

A big part of the new focus is a new line of "Test and Measure" equipment. Seven new products from this area are released or about to be released. Most of these tools are for electricians, HVAC and the building trades – clamp meters, open-jaw testers and laser temperature guns – and not so much for woodworkers. Noticeably absent were distance-measuring tools. When asked about those, the response was to be patient; those are in the pipeline.

Of the corded tools introduced at the event, angle grinders stood out the most. Milwaukee is releasing many new grinders. There are large angle grinders (7" and 9" examples), small grinders (4-1/2" to 6" 12-amp tools) and a couple cordless designs, too. And, the company has a cut-off grinder coming out. Again, for woodworking, even though some woodworkers sculpt with grinders, this doesn’t knock our socks off.

With the discussion turning to cordless tools, the event shifted closer to the interest of woodworkers. Milwaukee has three tool platforms – M12, M18 and V28. Tool introductions were made in each platform with the majority of the releases coming in the M12 and M18 platform.

The majority of the new cordless introductions from Milwaukee are hammer and/or impact tools. The largest tool is a 3/4" High-torque Impact Wrench (0764-22) from the V28 lineup and the smallest introduction is a M12 3/8" impact wrench (2451-22). While the range in tool size is huge, the choices are even larger.

Also in the mix of cordless tools is the M12, 3/8" drill/driver. The two-speed 2410-22 drill/driver, according to the company, is the only tool in its class with a metal locking chuck and it can deliver 25 percent more torque and drill 35 percent faster than the competition. For me, it’s small and feels great in the hand. It’s a great choice for all-day-long work or maneuvering in tight spaces. In the hands-on portion of the event, I compared the 3/8" drill/driver to Milwaukee’s 1/4"-Hex Compact Impact Driver (2650-21) while driving a handful of screws into 2" material. Both tools did the job.

Because both small drivers did the job, I wonder if woodworkers need impact tools. More than a few companies have introduced impact drivers – a couple companies are set to introduce a full line of accessories developed just for impact drivers – and I’ve found impact drivers mentioned on a couple woodworking forums. But I want to hear from you. Do woodworkers need this tool?

It’s time for a poll. Please take a minute to register your response, then click comment to see more detailed information.

If you are planning to purchase or if you use an impact driver consistently, please leave a comment explaining how you use the driver.

— Glen D. Huey

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Update on Porter-Cable Batteries and Tools

Chris Schwarz — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 18:07:13 GMT

Back on December 23rd, I posted an entry (read it here) about Porter-Cable’s handling of a battery issue with the new line of “Tradesman” tools. PC took the bull by the horns to make sure word got out and consumers weren't left in the dark if they had battery issues.

At this time, Porter-Cable has cleared up any problems with the 18-volt Lithium-ion batteries and has the drill/drivers and batteries back out in the stores and available to consumers – look for PCL180DRK-2 to make sure you have the corrected-battery tool.

In addition, PC has delivered two new battery designs for use with the Tradesman tools. The PC18BLX ($69.97) is a 1.3 amp hour Lithium-ion battery and the PC18BLEX ($89.97) is a second Lithium-ion battery, but with a double amp-hour rating of 2.6. Use the LX battery on your tool when you’re after a lighter feel and smaller profile. And turn to an EX battery if you’re looking for extended run times.

Tradesman Drill/Drivers are not the only tools these batteries work in. Porter-Cable has pushed out the second phase of the Tradesman line. At this time, Porter-Cable has a three-tool combo kit and a four-tool combo kit – complete with batteries and chargers (the four-tool kit includes the EX and LX batteries). Also available are "expansion tools" – tools sold without batteries – including an impact driver, 6-1/2" circular saw, a jigsaw, a reciprocating saw, a rotary saw, a detail sander, a hand vacuum and an area light; all of them use the 18-volt Lithium-ion batteries.

Oh. If you hooked up with the Ni-cad line of Tradesman tools, no worries. The expansion tools work equally as well with your battery design.

— Glen D. Huey

How Much Glue Is Enough?

Chris Schwarz — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 11:55:22 GMT

The Classic Huntboard article in Popular Woodworking June 2009 (issue #176) includes traditional and non-traditional construction methods. The traditional methods involve mortise-and-tenon construction where the case back and sides meet the legs. That’s cross-grain construction.

The photo on page 45 (shown above) shows how the joint is divided and the caption explains why. In the text, when the time comes to assemble the case, I write, “First, add glue to the leg mortises for the back, then spread glue on the tenons and slip the back into the mortises.” If you read this to assume that I add glue to all the mortises and tenons before I slip the joint together, you read it correctly. However, there are many woodworkers who don’t agree with that method. A synopsis of friendly e-mail exchange is posted below.

A reader wrote: "It's entirely possible that I missed it, but I didn't see any comments by Glen as to whether a reader should glue all three mortises on the case sides, or glue the bottom and let the top two float, or glue the top mortise, pin the bottom one (and elongate the hole in the tenon for the pin), and let the middle one float (this last option would be my choice). Obviously, this affects how the piece will age - if all three mortises are glued, it's likely that the case sides will crack. While historically accurate, that result might greatly disturb some readers, especially newbies."

My response was: "I’ve built many pieces of furniture (from huntboards to highboys and lowboys) that have case sides mortised into the legs. As a novice woodworker, I glued the sides securely into the legs without any thought of wood movement. You would think the case sides would or could crack given that arrangement. However, I have yet to see this happen to any of the pieces. Today I practice the same method – I fully glue the tenons and do not worry about wood movement issues and the possibility of cracks.

If you calculate the total movement of the sides of the huntboard, you’ll arrive at a maximum potential movement of around a 1/8". It is my contention that the glues we use and the "give" of the woods are forgiving enough to counteract any movement. Add in the idea that most homes do not experience extreme changes in humidity and I don’t see this as an issue."

OK, here are my thoughts on this issue. A board moves from the center outward when affected by seasonal changes. The middle mortise-and-tenon joint on the huntboard will not lose its hold. The top and bottom joints are the ones under stress as the wood expands and contracts. In accordance, the wood movement of 1/8" overall is reduced to half – 1/16" from the center of the board to the top and a 1/16" from the center to the bottom. I believe the wood is resilient enough to handle this movement.

On a 36" or wider tabletop that has breadboard ends, I work differently. I know the top is going to move. I’ve seen it happen over the course of a day or two, let alone during seasonal changes. In this scenario, I glue the center tenon joint and peg the remaining mortise and tenons after I enlarge the holes to allow for movement.

I asked Chuck Bender – a fellow woodworker with 30 years of furniture construction behind him – for his take on this issue. His answer was "In all these years, having made plenty of sideboards and huntboards, I can't recall any that seriously cracked." He glues the mortise-and-tenon joint fully and has experienced no major problems.

Chuck did correct me on one item though. His wrote, "During the 'period' the humidity levels ranged pretty widely but the change from the low to the high was rather gradual. In today's homes, we can go from open windows and doors on an early October day with a reasonably high humidity to the next morning having the forced hot air system making the house 90° Fahrenheit with virtually no humidity. It's that kind of nonsense that kills furniture."

I have to agree.

Additionally, I think a bigger problem – and possibly the cause of case side cracks over and above the glue question – is how tenons are fit. If tenons are fit too tightly from top to bottom and, as a result, there isn't enough room for expansion and contraction, your work is much more prone to issues such as cracks. As the wood moves and the glues creep, stresses build and something has to give.

Do you agree? Disagree? Let’s hear your take on this issue. Leave a comment. Also, if you a photo of a project you’ve built that has developed a crack, send me the photo and I’ll post it. There’s no better way to learn than from experience.

— Glen D. Huey

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Use SketchUp for Full Size Patterns

Chris Schwarz — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 21:39:32 GMT

SketchUp is a great free program for planning your work. But there is a tremendous amount of value to it even if you never draw a line. Printing out full size patterns is but one example. We've assembled a collection of models on Google's 3D Warehouse, and have the same collection categorized on our SketchUp Page. Anyone can download and use any of these models absolutely free. Here's an example of how I made a pattern for an ogee bracket foot from one of the latest additions to our collection.

This is a blanket chest made by Glen Huey that graces the cover of our August 2009 issue (on its way to subscribers as I write this). After downloading the model, I went to the Window menu in SketchUp and opened the window named Components. I scrolled down the list until I found the foot I wanted, and dragged it into an empty space in the model window. Sometimes dragging your feet can be a good thing. Then I zoomed in until the foot filled the screen.

I wanted a dead on view from the front, and there are a couple of ways to get it. I added the Standard Views toolbar to my installation, so I simply clicked on the front facing little house. You can also get this view from the Camera menu in SketchUp under Standard Views/Front. Then I went back to the Camera menu and checked Parallel Projection instead of Perspective. Then I picked a style from the Styles window to make the model simply black lines with no background colors.

The next settings I needed are under the File Menu/Document Setup window. Uncheck Fit View to Page and type in the number 1 in both windows under Print Scale. My machine can be a little fussy on this, and I need to highlight both windows before I hit the OK button.

You might need to fiddle with the Print Setup and Printer settings on your computer. Different computers and printers do this a little differently, but the idea is you want the printer to print at 100% and not scale the image to fit the page. If you're trying to print something that won't fit a single page, SketchUp will tile the images on as many pages as it takes. I snapped in a dimension within the model to make checking the scale easier. With the full size pattern in hand I can stick the pattern to a piece of wood with some spray adhesive and start cutting.

This is an incredible time saver and a simple way to transfer outlines from the pages of our magazine to your hunk of wood. If you haven't looked at SketchUp because you don't do your own design work, I urge you to check it out. This is only one of the many things you can do in addition to drawing. If you have a favorite "after the drawing is done" task for SketchUp, share it by leaving a comment below.

– Robert W. Lang