Popular Woodworking Editors' Blog

I'm the smallest person in our shop, yet I inevitably gravitate toward the largest projects. For the February 2009 issue of Popular Woodworking, I built a Shaker-inspired stepback that serves as a flat-screen entertainment center. Then, I decided it looked lonely in the living room, and built a Shaker-inspired case-on-case shelving unit with two drawers in the bottom. That one will be in the December issue of Popular Woodworking (which hits newsstands in the middle of November). Both of them are 7-1/2 feet tall (which is key, because it means I don't have to dust the top – no one can see it).

But Chris is currently building a 13'-long walnut bench, which is a replica of an original from the White Water Shaker Village meeting house. The project will be featured in the Winter 2009 issue of Woodworking Magazine (on newsstands in mid-December). And after watching him wrestle with 13' boards (and serving as his outfeed table), I think I'll stick to 8' and under. Chris, the large-project title is yours.

— Megan Fitzpatrick

Thursday, October 08, 2009 2:27:30 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [4] 

Above is a brief video trailer I put together drawing from the footage found in the new DVD "Finishes That Pop."

In this DVD, Glen takes you through his entire process of creating a show-stoping finish. Not only will you learn his method, but you'll also learn the shortcuts to perform this process more efficiently. Glen teaches you what you need to know about choosing and mixing aniline dyes, when you should apply boiled linseed oil, whether or not to invest in a spray gun, the secrets of adding age to your piece, and the best ways to rub out a finish – to name just a few. Plus, there's even a bonus segment on mixing your own oil/varnish blend.

All-in-all, Glen makes his finishing procedure extremely accessible in this easy-to-view video format. So if you're wanting to take your finishing to the next level order this DVD from the Woodworker's BookShop.

– Drew DePenning

Tuesday, October 06, 2009 2:16:29 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [3] 

Among the many entertaining and informative activities at the Woodworking in America: Hand Tools & Techniques conference was the Hand Tool Olympics, run by the Society of American Period Furniture Makers. In a booth set up in the marketplace, attendees got to test their hand-tool skills against competitors – or learn a new skill. I, for example, had never ripped a piece of rough lumber until this weekend. Thanks to Dean Jansa and Mike Siemsen (who were staffing the booth at the time along with Mark Arnold), I now know how…though I need a great deal of practice. I also saw a young man of perhaps 12 years old cut his first set of dovetails, with a helping hand from Dean – and the dovetails were quite good (which goes to show what you can do when you have no fear of failure).

First, thanks to the event sponsors, who provided tools for the participants to use, and for the winners:
• Lee Valley and Veritas for the low-angle jointer planes for the Shooting Sports
• Mike Siemsen School of Woodworking for the rip saws (sharpened by Mark Harrell at Technoprimitives) for the One-Meter Dash and for the crosscut saws (also sharpened by Mr. Harrell) for the Crosscut Extravaganza event.
• Mid-West Tool Collectors Association for the 10"-sweep braces for the Brace Yourself For a Hole in One event.
• Bad Axe Tool Works for the backsaws used for Greco-Roman Tenons event.
• Di legno Woodshop Supply for the marking knives and mallets for the Pins First or Tails First event.

And now, the champions and raffle winners in each category:
One-meter Dash (a 36” rip cut through 1 x12): Champion Roger Wicks; raffle winner Jeff Hildebrand
Shooting Sports (square a ripped edge with a jointer plane): Champion Lowell Johnson; raffle winner Paul Dzioba
Crosscut Extravaganza (crosscut a piece of 1 x 12): Champion Paul Arnold; raffle winner David Gilbert
Brace Yourself for a Hole in One (bore a ¾ hole in a piece of 2 x): Champion Bryce Gardner; raffle winner Emily Bonham
Pins First or Tails First (hand-cut a 3-pin dovetail joint): Champion Warren Mickley; raffle winner Andrew Hartley
Greco-Roman Tenons (3"-long, 3/4"-thick tenon on 2x4): Champion Graham Hughes; raffle winner Howard Steier.

And yes, that's Arts & Mysteries author Adam Cherubini in the picture, trying his hand at the One-meter Dash. Even had Adam been eligible to win, Roger Wicks beat him handily.

Thanks again to our Hand Tool Olympic sponsors, and thanks to all of you who came to the conference. And for those of you who couldn't make it this time, there are more stories and pictures to come.

— Megan Fitzpatrick

Monday, October 05, 2009 12:41:35 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [4] 

When I told Christopher that I had finished making and painting my screen door, had hung it and added the hardware, he asked to see a picture. I didn't have one. "No picture? Didn't happen," he said.

Did too.

I ended up using three 3" cabinet hinges instead of traditional screen door hinges, simply because the leaves were narrow enough to fit the application. But I used 3" screws on the door frame, and 3.5" screws on the jamb. That door isn't going anywhere. I went traditional on the handle hardware, using a reproduction latch from House of Antique Hardware. I'd never installed a tube latch before, but I didn't have too much trouble (other than finding a 3/4" bit in our shop that didn't look like it had been gnawed upon).

The hardest thing was fitting the door to the frame. As you can see, the house is old. Nothing is square. Nothing is level. Nothing is easy. And, because I used 3.5" screws that I didn't feel like taking out and putting back time and again, and I don't have a bench at home, I thought it would be easier to fit with the door hanging. Sigh. But, after a little (OK, a lot) of work with my trusty block plane and a float, I got it swinging pretty.

So Chris, here's your ocular proof.

— Megan Fitzpatrick

Tuesday, September 29, 2009 7:45:53 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [6] 

If you’re a regular visitor to this blog, then you know a good thing when you see one. But if this is the only part of Popular Woodworking online that you visit, you’re missing some good things and you should check out what else we have to offer. There are also some ways you may not be aware of to automatically receive our web content. In addition to this blog, there are two more, one for Woodworking Magazine and one powered by a water wheel for Arts & Mysteries columnist Adam Cherubini.

If you prefer, our blog (and a lot of our online content) can come to you. Up and to your left are two ways to subscribe. If you enter your e-mail address, you can subscribe via Feedblitz. When you do, you’ll get an e-mail whenever a new article is posted on the blog. No ads ever. No spam ever. Just content. And, this comes in a format that makes it easy for you to print or file away an article you like.

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If you want to keep track of all these goings-on yourself, the easy way is to visit our home page. This isn’t a static page that hasn’t been updated since the Clinton administration; it’s a dynamic page that automatically shows the latest additions. It’s an easy way to keep track of all that we’re up to.

What if you’re looking for something from last month, last year or the last decade? That’s easy to find too, and there are hundreds of articles from past issues available on the web site. Like our videos, all of those articles are absolutely free. We have them categorized by topic and you can also search by a keyword or subject.

We also have a comprehensive online article index. You have to scroll down to the bottom of any page on our site to find it, but once you are there you have almost instant access to what we’ve published in the last 10 years. When you find the article you were looking for, look closely at the article description; there you will find links to any extra content that is available online, such as photos, videos, drawings or SketchUp models. Each issue also has its own page, with a link to purchase the back issue.

There are some other noteworthy links down at the bottom of the page. Customer Service will let you check on your subscription and get help if you have a problem. Writer’s Guidelines will help you put together an article query if you’d like to write for us. And the most important link is Contact Us. Hey! There are e-mail addresses and phone numbers for each staff member. Try getting in touch directly with one of the editors from any other woodworking magazine. We answer our own phones and e-mail. If you have a question about something one of us has written, or want to tell the boss what a great job you think I’m doing, it’s only a mouse click away.

We also have a book store; and we match Amazon’s prices and offer free shipping on all orders above $25. Spend more than $100 on books and videos and you earn a 10% reward on your next order.

There is a lot more online from Popular Woodworking than our blog, so I invite you to spend some time exploring and enjoying. If you usually spend a coffee break or lunch with Popular Woodworking online, let me assure you that you can easily spend an entire day or more.

Leave a comment or send an e-mail to let us know what your favorite part of our web site is, or some hidden away place I neglected to mention. And let us know what you don't like, or what you'd like to see us add.

– Robert W. Lang

Tuesday, September 29, 2009 6:08:44 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [0] 

Spoken in my best radio voice: “You can win fabulous prizes selected especially for you!” Yeah! I know. Keep the day job. But the words couldn’t be any truer.

The Woodworking in America – Hand Tools and Techniques Conference is just around the corner and one of the major portions of the conference is the Hand Tool Olympics. If you were in St. Charles, I hope you participated. I know you’ve read about the events (get more information here). And I hope you all plan to compete while in Valley Forge.

Just as in St. Charles, the top-ranked individuals in each event win a prize and the second of the two donated prizes is awarded randomly by drawing – all you need to do to be eligible to win is compete. It cannot be any easier than that.

What we won’t do this time during the banquet is cut into any primo chow time or chew up any of St. Roy’s keynote address time calling a zillion names. We’ll announce the prize awardees and they are welcome to come up and receive their prizes. (Random-drawing winners are welcome to pick up their prizes at the Olympic's booth during the Sunday portion of the show.)

Special thanks for donations go to:
•    Lee Valley and Veritas for the low-angle jointer planes for the Shooting Sports event.
•    Mike Siemsen School of Woodworking for the rip saws (sharpened by Mark Harrell at Technoprimitives) for the One-Meter Dash and for the crosscut saws (also sharpened by Mr. Harrell) for the Crosscut Extravaganza event.
•    Mid-West Tool Collectors Association for the 10"-sweep braces for the Brace Yourself For a Hole in One event.
•    Bad Axe Tool Works for the backsaws used for Greco-Roman Tenons event.
•    Di legno Woodshop Supply for the marking knives and mallets for the Pins First or Tails First event.

Practice. Practice. Practice. The events begin this week.

Additionally, this conference has Hands-on Bench Rooms where you can spend time with the seminar presenters. Stop in to get more in-depth information, get help to improve your techniques or simply to rub elbows. And we encourage you to bring your hand tools along – there’s nothing better than to get guidance using your own tools. But if that’s just not possible, we’ll have some hand tools available for you to work with.

Thank you again Lee Valley and Veritas. The company has graciously supplied the conference with a number of hand planes of all types with which to work and supplied dovetail saws for use during the conference. And to the Robert Larson Company for supplying the bench rooms with chisels used to practice dovetailing with Roy Underhill. (Anyone know a bandage supplier I can contact?).

And thanks also to Ron Herman who is not only a presenter at the conference, but who is supplying many saw vises so you can set up and sharpen your saws while attending his bench-room session. And of course, our thanks go out to Geoffery and Suzette Noden for supplying the conference with a number of the Noden Adjust-A-Bench benches.

— Glen D. Huey

Monday, September 28, 2009 1:56:23 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [0]