§ by Joel Hess on May 13th, 2008
You can sharpen your woodworking skills with helpful tips and techniques from the editors of Woodsmith and ShopNotes magazines. Get a FREE tips sent to your email address each week! Got to Woodworking Tips.com and sign up today.
Here’s last week’s tip from Woodsmith online editor Ted Raife:
When gluing up a mitered assembly, I often rely on band clamps to pull the joints together. They’re easy to apply and provide the even clamping pressure needed to keep things square.
The only catch is that the sharp mitered corners of the assembly have to be protected from the pressure exerted by the band. My clamps came with metal corners meant for this purpose, but they often damage the corners they’re supposed to protect.
My simple solution was to substitute more forgiving, corrugated cardboard pads for the hard metal corners, as shown at right. The cardboard pads provide plenty of protection without leaving any unwanted evidence of their use.
You’ll find more great project tips, techniques, and plans at PlansNOW.
Good Woodworking,
Ted Raife
Online Editor, Woodsmith
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Filed under Woodsmith, WoodNet.net, WoodworkingTips.com, Clamping.
§ by Joel Hess on May 7th, 2008
If there is one power tool that lends itself perfectly to accessories it’s the table saw. Things like push sticks and stop blocks can make using a table saw more efficient and safe. And, auxiliary fences for the miter gauge and the rip fence prevent chip out and protect the factory fence from being damaged.
Best of all, each of these accessories can easily be made in the shop. This week’s Woodsmith Woodworking Seminar focuses on seven accessories that are “must-haves.”
You’ll find a few pieces of hardware, that can be used for building jigs, for sale at the Woodsmith Podcast Store, plus a link to the seminar guide.
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§ by Joel Hess on May 1st, 2008
You can sharpen your woodworking skills with helpful tips and techniques from the editors of Woodsmith and ShopNotes magazines. Get a FREE tip sent to your email address each week! Go to WoodworkingTips.com and sign up today.
Here’s last week’s tip from ShopNotes online editor Phil Huber:
A block plane makes quick work of chamfering the edge of a workpiece. To ensure a constant width and angle, I built the base shown in the photo above. It slips over the plane to make ¼″ chamfers and doesn’t require any setup.
The base is simply two triangular-shaped runners glued to a pair of side pieces. Then cross supports are glued into notches in the front and back to hold the sides together.
Two rare-earth magnets glued into recesses in the runners hold the plane securely in place. A shallow dado is cut in the top of the runners at the mouth of the plane for the exposed iron.
The base is easy to use. With your block plane in the base, position the V-shaped groove formed by the runners over the edge of the workpiece. Then plane the workpiece until both runners sit flush. It worked so well I made a second one for 1/8″ chamfers.
You can learn even more simple shop techniques, just go to PlansNOW.
Good Woodworking,
Phil Huber
Online Editor, ShopNotes
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Filed under Hand Tools, WoodNet.net, ShopNotes Magazine, Hand Planes, WoodworkingTips.com.
§ by Joel Hess on April 25th, 2008
You can sharpen your woodworking skills with helpful tips and techniques from the editors of Woodsmith and ShopNotes magazines. Get a FREE tips sent to your email address each week! Got to Woodworking Tips.com and sign up today.
Here’s last week’s tip from Woodsmith online editor Ted Raife:
It always breaks my heart when a project gets its first scratch. But I know that even with the best of care, it’s bound to happen. So rather than stew over a minor blemish, I came up with an easy way to make it disappear.
My repair system started with an investment in an assortment of touch-up markers. You can get these from many woodworking and finishing supply companies. My set includes about a dozen different colors and this gives me a good shot at finding a close match to the project. But the trick is finding the best color match without relying on a lucky guess.
To help make a more informed choice, I created a sample sheet on a piece of clear acetate. The sheet contains a small, labeled swatch from each marker. As you see in the photo, I simply hold the sheet up to the project to find a good match. After choosing a marker and performing a quick touchup, the project looks as good as new and I feel a whole lot better.
For more helpful project tips, techniques, and plans, visit PlansNOW.
Good Woodworking,
Ted Raife
Online Editor, Woodsmith
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Filed under Woodsmith, WoodNet.net, WoodworkingTips.com, Finishing.
§ by Joel Hess on April 18th, 2008
You can sharpen your woodworking skills with helpful tips and techniques from the editors of Woodsmith and ShopNotes magazines. Get a FREE tip sent to your email address each week! Go to WoodworkingTips.com and sign up today.
Here’s last week’s tip from ShopNotes online editor Phil Huber:
My workshop shares space with the family car. So it’s important that all of my power tools be portable and take up as little space as possible. So I made the fold-up router table you see here.
I made a simple router table top and attached it to a pair of 2×4’s with screws. Then, after removing the top of an adjustable clamping table, I mounted the router table to the clamping table stand, as shown in the left photo above. The table is firmly supported by the clamping table base.
The nice thing about the table is it can be raised and lowered to match the task at hand. Best of all, I can remove the router and quickly fold the table up to store it against the wall whenever it’s not in use (right photo).
If you’d like to see other router table plans, just go to PlansNOW.
Good Woodworking,
Phil Huber
Online Editor, ShopNotes
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Filed under WoodNet.net, ShopNotes Magazine, Router Tables, WoodworkingTips.com.
§ by Joel Hess on April 8th, 2008
You can sharpen your woodworking skills with helpful tips and techniques from the editors of Woodsmith and ShopNotes magazines. Get a FREE tip sent to your email address each week! Go to WoodworkingTips.com and sign up today.Here’s last week’s tip from ShopNotes online editor Phil Huber:
Drilling a centered hole in a dowel can be a challenge. It’s hard to get the drill bit centered and keep the dowel from turning as the hole is drilled. To make it easier, I built the jig shown below.
Build the jig by first drilling a hole the diameter of the dowel in a piece of hardwood. Then just cut a saw kerf through the hole from the end to make a clamp.
Using the jig is simple. Begin by centering the dowel under the bit. To do this, clamp a piece of scrap wood to the table and drill a hole to fit the dowel. Then change out the bit to the size needed.
Next, slip the dowel into the hole in the scrap wood. Then slip the clamping jig over the dowel and squeeze the kerf together with a small clamp. Now you can clamp the jig in place and drill the hole in the center of the dowel.
To learn more essential woodworking tips and techniques, just go to: http://www.plansnow.com/basics.html.
Good Woodworking,
Phil Huber
Online Editor, ShopNotes
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Filed under WoodNet.net, ShopNotes Magazine, WoodworkingTips.com.
§ by Joel Hess on March 28th, 2008
You can sharpen your woodworking skills with helpful tips and techniques from the editors of Woodsmith and ShopNotes magazines. Get a FREE tips sent to your email address each week! Got to Woodworking Tips.com and sign up today.
Here’s last week’s tip from Woodsmith online editor Ted Raife:
Whenever I use screws to assemble a project, I hide them under wood plugs. Cutting the plugs and gluing them in place is the easy part of the job. The bigger challenge comes once the glue dries — trimming the plugs flush to the surface.
For me, this is a two-step process. First, I use a small back saw to trim off the bulk of the protruding plug. Then I sand or plane the remaining portion flush to the surface. But my lack of care with the back saw often led to problems. If I tried to cut the plug too close, I would scratch or gouge the surface, making more work for myself.
But as is usually the case, a small problem had a simple solution. I dug up a scrap of plastic laminate and made a flush cut shield. The laminate shield has a hole drilled through it slightly larger than the diameter of the plugs. You place the shield over the plug flush to the surface and then saw away without worry (Figure 1). The thin shield allows you to give the plug a very close trim and all that’s needed to finish the job is a little sanding (Figure 2).
For more helpful project tips, techniques, and plans, visit Plansnow.com.
Good Woodworking,
Ted Raife
Online Editor, Woodsmith
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Filed under Woodsmith, WoodNet.net, WoodworkingTips.com.
§ by Joel Hess on March 26th, 2008
If I had the time, I’d build every project with hand-cut mortise and tenon or dovetail joinery. But that’s not a very realistic goal, nor is it necessary. There are plenty of joinery methods out there that can be made both quickly and easily. During the seminar podcast, I’ll talk about three of my favorite “quick and easy” joinery methods.
One of the most “traditional” methods is the lap joint. It’s easy to cut with just one setup on the table saw. And it provides plenty of face grain gluing surface as well as a good amount of mechanical strength.
For a couple of “modern” joinery techniques that are especially quick and easy, you’ll have to purchase specialized machinery to produce them. I’m talking about biscuit joints and pocket hole joinery. Both of these methods get their mechanical strength from distinctive fastener’s — biscuits or pocket screws. But the best part is that each can be setup and cut in seconds.
Be sure to check out the Woodsmith Podcast Store for links to a few products that I used during this seminar.
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§ by Joel Hess on March 21st, 2008
You can sharpen your woodworking skills with helpful tips and techniques from the editors of Woodsmith and ShopNotes magazines. Get a FREE tip sent to your email address each week! Go to WoodworkingTips.com and sign up today.
Here’s last week’s tip from ShopNotes online editor Phil Huber:
I wanted to add an auxiliary table and fence to my drill press. But I didn’t want to spend a lot of money. So I built the simple drill press table and fence with a replaceable insert you see in the photo above. The fence is adjustable and has a sliding stop.
Table
The table is two layers of ¾″ plywood that are glued together. A dado on the top side at each end holds T-tracks for attaching the fence. Two bottom-mounted T-tracks attach the table to the drill press, as you can see in detail ‘b’ and the photo at right.
Fence
The fence is nothing more than a length of aluminum angle. A slotted hole at each end accepts a flange bolt from the table so you can quickly mount and adjust the fence to meet almost any drilling challenge.
Stop Block
To help position and hold the workpiece, I added a stop block to the fence. It’s simply a block of wood attached to an aluminum bracket. A knob and T-nut, are used for adjusting the block and securing it in position on the fence (detail ‘a’).
You can find even more ways to upgrade your power tools, just go to: http://plansnow.com/toolstandplans.html.
Good Woodworking,
Phil Huber
Online Editor, ShopNotes
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Filed under WoodNet.net, ShopNotes Magazine, Drill Press, WoodworkingTips.com.
§ by Joel Hess on March 15th, 2008
You can sharpen your woodworking skills with helpful tips and techniques from the editors of Woodsmith and ShopNotes magazines. Get a FREE tips sent to your email address each week! Got to Woodworking Tips.com and sign up today.
Here’s last week’s tip from Woodsmith online editor Ted Raife:
The easiest way to make a lidded box is to build the box and lid as one piece and then cut them apart on the table saw. This guarantees that the lid will be a perfect fit to the box. With a little modification, this same technique can be used to make a box and lid that mate with interlocking lips, as shown in the photo at right.
This technique for making a box lid is a little different in that you do part of the job before the box is assembled. A look at the two drawings will explain. To create the lip, you’ll need to cut halfway through the sides from both the inside and the outside. As shown in Figure 1, the inside cuts are made while the box is still in pieces. Remember that this first cut will form the “high” side of the lip.
Once the box is assembled, you complete the job with a second series “halfway” cuts that are offset a blade’s width (1/8″) from the first (Figure 2). These cuts are positioned below the first cuts. If you hit it right, the lid will separate cleanly and after a little sanding, you’ll have a snug-fitting, lipped lid.
For more helpful table saw tips and techniques, visit Plansnow.com.
Good Woodworking,
Ted Raife
Online Editor, Woodsmith
Send for a preview issue of Woodsmith magazine
Leave a Comment.
Filed under Table Saw, Woodsmith, WoodNet.net, WoodworkingTips.com.
