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 Friday, June 22, 2007
Videos, Interviews and Techniques
Whenever I meet with a new woodworking group for a seminar or an event of some kind, I give them background on my early days in woodworking and me. One area I touch on is how I learn from my Dad (I should have written this column last week, prior to Father’s Day).
Dad has the ability to read something in a book, anything in a book, and instantly he can do whatever he reads. Well, maybe not anything – he’s not part The Matrix. But, he picks up most things very quickly.
He wired his first home when he decided to start building houses, he’s restored a number of antique cars by the book and he has picked up a tremendous amount of woodworking knowledge by reading articles by some of the finest furniture builders. Lucky him!
I, on the other hand, have this innate ability to read most things four to five times and not remember what I’ve read. I guess it’s a blessing at times. I can read a birthday card a week later and it’s as funny as it was the first time. A good book has a never-ending spot on my “best seller” list.
 Now before you start shaking your head, let me tell you what I am good at. If you show me something I get it right away. I see how someone does the carving of a fan and I can do it; of course I’ll need to practice to make it better. Show me how create a specific type of woodworking joint and I’m there. I’m a watcher, not a reader.
What type are you? I’m betting that the majority of us woodworkers are the “see it –do it” type. You’ll pick up woodworking much faster if you can see it being done. I know you’ve watched the weekend PBS shows. I learned plenty from Norm Abram, Roy Underhill and the rest. You have as well. Admit it. When I first started woodworking these guys were what we watched.
What’s the point of all of this? Popular Woodworking has redesigned our web site, but I’m sure you’ve noticed that already. Right? Along with making past articles and some new articles available for you to read, we’ve added video to the site. Now you can watch new techniques and information online instead of waiting for the reruns of those weekend shows.
Right now, we have a few videos up and running – with plenty more coming down the pipeline. You can watch and learn how to make tapered legs at the jointer, gather some information and history behind Editor Chris Schwarz’s new Holtzapffel workbench, or check out how to make half columns for the Shaker Tall Clock that is the cover project of the August 2007 issue.
 Also, you can see the first in a series of “Interviews,” a collection of interviews with woodworking-related people, delivered in a “60 Minutes” format (but don't worry – ours aren't quite that long). The first video has Bob Lang, Popular Woodworking senior editor, interviewing John Economaki, owner of Bridge City Tool Works.
Now here’s where you need to do your part. Aside from watching the videos, how about putting your idea into the mix? If you have a woodworking topic that you’d like to see instead of read, let us know. If there's someone that you’d like to see Popular Woodworking interview, pass it along. Simply add your comment here or drop an e-mail to me (link right from this blog). I’ll keep a running list and will make it a point to film worthy ideas – then you can say, “I gave them that idea.”
Click here for the Holtzapffel Workbench Video
Click here for the Tapering Legs Video
Click here for the Interview Video
Click her for the Split Turnings Video
– Glen Huey
Read other entries by Glen D. Huey
Friday, June 22, 2007 7:48:37 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) 
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Thursday, June 21, 2007
Shaker Tall Clock Video & Plans
 Have you checked out the article on the Erastus Rude Shaker Clock in the current issue of Popular Woodworking magazine? I had a great time working with Bob Casey on building our interpretation of the clock. I think it turned out great. The best part is that the clock – in all its finished glory – sits directly behind me here in the office.
If you studied the article and looked at the plans, you’re probably wondering about the hood columns. Here they are. It’s a simple turning project. The front two columns are made according to the plan, tenons and all. The actual turning part is a 10-minute job per column.
The back columns are half columns that are split from one turning. That profile doesn’t have the tenons at the top or bottom, but the balance of the turning matches the plan. How do you get those half columns looking like the front columns? That’s the subject of the video we have on our web site. Check it out, too.
Click to download the PDF of the column plan. Shaker Clock Column.pdf (26.79 KB) Click to view the video. – Glen D. Huey
Read other entries by Glen D. Huey
Thursday, June 21, 2007 3:59:51 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Think it Can’t Happen to You?
We’ve all read the advice: Always spread out your oily rags on a table to dry, or drape them over the edge of a trash can, making sure they don’t overlap. Why? Because oxygen absorption generates heat as a by-product. If you leave your oily rags in a pile, the heat can’t dissipate and a fire may result. But how often do we ignore that advice? After all, the odds are small a fire is actually going to happen – right? Well, it happened. Oil-soaked rags sparked a June 20 fire in Arroyo Grande, Calif., that destroyed a brand-new home and resulted in $2 million in damage, reported the San Luis Obispo Tribune. So follow the advice religiously; spread your rags out to dry. Once they are dry and hard, you can safely throw them in the trash. But not a moment sooner. — Megan Fitzpatrick
Read other entries by Megan Fitzpatrick
Thursday, June 21, 2007 3:59:29 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Monday, June 18, 2007
Lie-Nielsen Large Router Plane
For years I used my Stanley 71 router plane in blissful ignorance. I was happy that it was easy to adjust and maneuver. But in the last couple years my affection for the No. 71 has been shaken, first by the Veritas Router Plane, and now by the new Lie-Nielsen Large Router Plane. Both tools kick the old 71 in the teeth, particularly in the depth-stop department. But should you buy a new router plane? And if so which one?
First: Here’s the answer to the first question: If you’ve ever been stymied by the ability of your router plane to hit a mark over and over, then sell the sucker on eBay and come on over to the Ductile Side of things.
Both the Veritas and Lie-Nielsen are made of unbreakable ductile iron, which isn’t quite reason enough to buy them, but it is one of the few traits that both tools share.
You see, Veritas and Lie-Nielsen have gone down divergent paths when designing their router planes. So they are hard to compare directly. For more detail on the Veritas, check out my article from the Fine Tool Journal at WKFineTools.com.
The Veritas is a closed-throat router. The Lie-Nielsen is an open-throat one. What’s the difference? An open throat offers better visibility ahead of the cut. A closed throat offer more support when working on narrow edges, such as cleaning out a groove on a door’s stile.
Another significant difference is how you set the depth stop on the tool. Stanley’s is a cruel joke. An afterthought. A jerry-rig. The Veritas’s depth stop is like a drill press’s jam-nut system. It locks down tighter than any other system I’ve ever used, but making quick adjustments is not in the cards. You spin the jam nuts up and down the post quite a lot. But when you’re locked, you're locked.
The Lie-Nielsen depth stop is far faster. It’s a collar that surrounds the blade. You turn a thumbscrew to lock in the final depth adjustment and then you work in small steps to that setting. If you monkey the depth-adjust wheel you can make the depth stop slip, but the stop is more than robust for most woodworkers.
Another difference is in the blades offered. The Veritas offers three (a 1/2" straight, a 1/2" V-shape and a 1/4" straight). The Lie-Nielsen has a 3/8" straight blade. Lie-Nielsen plans to offer a full range of blades for its tool, but for now, the Veritas has the upper hand in this department.
The pointed blade is particularly helpful when cleaning out recesses with acute corners, such as a dovetail socket in casework. Vintage instruction manuals for router planes play up the fact that the pointed blade is better for producing a “show” surface. I think this is mostly bunk. The pointed blade is handy for getting into tight corners, sort of like the way pointy shoes are good for squashing insects in the corners of rooms.
Also worth noting: The two 1/2"-wide Veritas blades disassemble for easier honing. This is indeed easier than honing a one-piece blade, but the difference isn’t a deal-killer; it’s mostly a friendly touch and a nod to the woodworker.
Ergonomically, the Veritas looks nicer to drive with its rakish handles, but I found I like the classic straight-up knobs from the Stanley No. 71 that Lie-Nielsen has adopted. But this is a personal thing. I know some people prefer the canted handles. I think it depends on how you hold the tool. The straight knobs are good for an overhand grip (palms resting on top of the knobs); the rakish handles feel better when you grip them with your pinky fingers at the base of the tool (palms on the sides of the knobs). Both feel fine and work fine.
As to fit and finish, both tools are over the top. The castings and knurlings are first rate. I think things are a draw on this issue.
So which tool should you buy? If you do a lot of edge work, cleaning up stopped grooves and the like, I’d go with the Veritas. If your work requires you to hit a varying depths time and time again, I’d go with the Lie-Nielsen.
But most of you already know which one you’re going to buy. And I’m glad I don’t have to make the choice. I have both.
The Veritas (with three blades and a fence) is $139. The Lie-Nielsen (with one blade and a fence) is $125.
— Christopher Schwarz
Read other entries by Christopher Schwarz
Monday, June 18, 2007 7:35:19 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Sunday, June 17, 2007
Creole Table: The Builder’s Cut
Last summer I spent a week in Columbus, Ohio, with my best friend from high school. He was there for a conference. I was there to write the text for my story on building an 18th-century walnut Creole Table.
The article was intended for Woodworking Magazine, our sister publication, and so I was free to turn the verbosity knob up to 11. I wrote more than 5,300 words, which would make this a 10-page article – easy. When I got back to Cincinnati, it was obvious that this project would be better off in Popular Woodworking. So I trimmed the length of the story. I cut it again. Then again. By the time I was done, it was about one-third of its former size.
All the important data is in the published article, which appeared in the February 2007 issue, but when I stumbled on the original manuscript last week I was struck that some people building this table might want the full, unedited text. So here it is. Note that this is the raw construction information. There isn’t any introduction to ease you into it. It just begins. If you want to read even more (you glutton), check out my entries on this project on my blog at Woodworking Magazine.
The text is in Microsoft Word format, so it should be easy to open for most.
— Christopher Schwarz
Creole Side Table.doc (53 KB)
Read other entries by Christopher Schwarz
Sunday, June 17, 2007 11:38:53 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Friday, June 15, 2007
The Anvil Test: Taking Requests
Dusting Off the Anvil
One of my favorite books is "The Magic Christian." It's about an eccentric billionaire who likes to play practical jokes. In one scene, a man busts up a section of sidewalk with a sledgehammer while another man stands by wearing a white lab coat, holding a clipboard. When a policeman comes along to question them, the man in the lab coat says "This is a test." So the policeman leaves. My best friend in high school maintained that a person could go anywhere in the world without being questioned as long as he was wearing a white lab coat and carrying a clipboard. I've never tried it, but I have been tempted. You can get away with a lot of nonsense when you pretend you're a scientist.
 When woodworking magazines publish " scientific" tests that claim to prove the best or strongest joint, glue or whatever, I think about white lab coats and sledgehammers. These things are interesting, but they don't prove much. We try to keep this in mind when we get tempted to pretend we work for Underwriter's Laboratory, so instead of conning real scientists into letting us use their instron machine, we dust off our collection of anvils. We're feeling the urge to smash some stuff, now that we have a video camera and a Festool Domino. We'd like to invite our readers to suggest other joints they would like to see tested. We have a few in mind: We'd like to look at mortise-and-tenon joints that are poorly proportioned or pegged with oversized dowels to see how they compare to those same joints done properly. Maybe we should test bridle joints glued with reactive polyurethane and see if clamping makes a difference. Leave a comment (just click on the blue line that says "Comments" below right, or send me an e-mail with your pick). I'll tally the votes and we'll drop the anvil in the next couple of weeks. — Bob Lang
Read other entries by Robert W. Lang
Friday, June 15, 2007 4:10:11 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Thursday, June 14, 2007
Free Slideshow of the Sindelar Tool Collection
John Sindelar stands in front of a door at the back of his thriving cabinet and millwork shop in Edwardsburg, Mich. The door opens into blackness and Sindelar turns around for a moment before entering.
“This room,” he says with a sly grin, “is like church to me.”
He flips on the light and walks into the small paneled room. The room is filled with antique tools. No, strike that last sentence. The room is filled with tools that you never thought existed or that you would see in person. Tools that you have only heard about, seen in auction catalogs or drooled over in Sandor Nagyszalanczy’s books “The Art of Fine Tools” or “Tools Rare and Ingenious” (Taunton).
And not just a few tools. Hundreds and hundreds of vintage tools lined up on tables, shelves and a display case made from a harness for an elephant. Few of the tools are under glass. In addition to the tools, there are two comfortable chairs against one wall and under a panel of stained glass. And that is a good thing because I have to sit down.
This is just one of the five rooms filled with tools. Sindelar has so many tools (“Probably, tens of thousands,” he guesses) that he keeps a significant number in storage. In one adjoining room there is a wheelbarrow filled with a stack of plow planes. In another room there’s a wall of rare infill miter planes. In the front room – the biggest room – the walls are lined with vintage workbenches. Tools cover the benches, axes cover the walls, the floor is covered in boxes (that are filled with tools).
That this collection exists is remarkable. Getting to see it is something else. And what Sindelar has planned for it just might change your vacation plans someday. Sindelar is actively making plans to build a 30,000-square-foot public museum and woodworking school that will show off his collection and teach woodworking skills.
He has three locations in mind – near Williamsburg, Va., Harrisburg, Pa., or perhaps in North Carolina. He sketched up plans for the building, which would look like a French castle, and turned them over to an architect to develop. He wants the museum open for business by 2010.
Opening a tool museum on this scale sounds like an unlikely feat for anyone. But once you meet Sindelar and hear his story, you are unlikely to doubt that it could happen. Read the complete story on our web site. Download a short slideshow tour of the collection: SindelarSlideshow5.pdf (1.71 MB) — Christopher Schwarz
Read other entries by Christopher Schwarz
Thursday, June 14, 2007 10:59:47 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Tool Test - Last Minute Gifts for Dad
Father’s Day is Sunday, June 17, and I know there are family members trying to figure out any last-minute gifts for dear old Dad. We are a woodworking magazine – I’m sure we’re your Dad’s favorite magazine – so we would be remiss if we didn’t offer up a few tools for that special day. Here goes.
Lee Valley Tape Tips @ Leevalley.com
I’m sure by now you have seen this workshop helper. These pieces are
used in conjunction with a tape measure to assist in diagonal
measurements. It’s like having a second set of hands working with you.
One of two rare earth magnets attaches to the tape, depending on what
job you’ve engaged it to do. If you’re measuring the outside corner of
a project, checking for square when assembling a case, the Tape Tip
hooks over the outside of the box and you get a direct read from the
tape. If you’re using the tip on the inside of the box, from corner to
corner, nudge the point of the tip into the corner, read the
measurement from the tape and add 1". Bingo.
There are additional uses explained in the instructions that accompany the Tape Tip.
Tape Tips are $3.95 each.
Striker Pencils @ strikerone.com
This is the next generation in carpenter pencils. What do you do in a woodworking shop with a carpenter’s pencil? I’ll tell you what I do. I lay out the cut lines in rough lumber. Breaking down longer boards into shorter, workable sections that are easily milled is the first operation for my projects.
This new pencil is made from ABS plastic and has few moving parts. It won’t fill with sawdust or shop grime. Just press the cap and the jaws open to allow the lead to extend for drawing, and to retract so as not to break when not in use (and for installation of new lead).
Replacement lead is available in packs of five sticks each, in black for common woodworking and odd jobs around the shop, in red for marking on concrete or masonry or in white if you mark on iron or black pipe (pipe clamps?). I wonder if the white draws on dark woods such as walnut or mahogany?
Striker pencils are priced at $3.69 for the pencil and 5 leads, or $1.99 – $2.69 for lead-only purchases.
Husky 45-piece Stubby Set @ Homedepot.com
This is a great set of tools to have around the shop. They’ll fit into most drawers and spring into action if you need them to tighten a bolt or assemble a new table saw. The “Stubby” part comes from their size. The handles are a short – 3-1/2" or less.
What’s included? A pivoting-head ratchet that handles both 1/4" and 3/8" drive sockets, 13 sockets (SAE) that range from 5/16" to 3/4", 14 metric sockets from 4mm to 17mm in size and a ratcheting screwdriver with 10 different bit tips (different is size and variety). There’s also an adjustable wrench and a few other parts. Is that 45 pieces?
This set is from Husky and is backed by their guarantee. And, here’s the great news – the cost of this set is only $15. It’s available only at Home Depot.
That’s three ideas. If you know of something special that we should note, or if you get a cool tool for Dad’s Day and want to share it with others, add your comment to this page.
– Glen D. Huey
Read other entries by Glen D. Huey
Wednesday, June 13, 2007 2:10:01 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Monday, June 11, 2007
Download a Free Slideshow of the Holtzapffel Workbench
As a child, nothing put me to sleep faster than one of my father's slideshows. Sure, they were of his fascinating time in Vietnam, but there's something about a couch, a darkened room and a root beer that would put me under fast.
So with that caveat, I've prepared a 3-1/2-minute slideshow of the construction process for the Holtzapffel Workbench, which will be the cover project for the fall issue of Woodworking Magazine. There's no audio to the slideshow or plans available yet, but it is a fair overview of how this bench goes together.
The slideshow is in pdf format, so just about anyone should be able to view it. Out of a possible five Ambien, I'll give this slideshow a "four."
— Christopher Schwarz
BuildingtheHoltzapffel.pdf (1.64 MB)
Read other entries by Christopher Schwarz
Monday, June 11, 2007 3:11:25 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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And the Winner of the PM2000 Saw is….
Michael A. Whittemore Sr. of Signal Mountain, Tenn., is the lucky winner of the Powermatic PM2000 cabinet saw from our online contest. Whittemore said he was "drooling over his laptop" when he entered the contest.
The good news is he won the saw. The bad news is that it's going to be a challenge to get it to him. Apparently Signal Mountain is indeed on a mountain and has some tough switchbacks. We're working on it, however. He'll get his saw.
Whittemore does remodeling and home improvement work and is going to retire in a couple years, and he's setting up his shop right now. So the PM2000 couldn't have come at a better time.
Our thanks to Powermatic for supplying the saw for this contest. Keep your eyes open for our next contest. It's a good one….
— Christopher Schwarz
Read other entries by Christopher Schwarz
Monday, June 11, 2007 2:36:30 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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