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LouB says he wants his oak to be dark…real dark. He’s getting lots of suggestions for how to do it.

How to Get a Dark Stain on Oak?

Chuck1945 wanted to build a mobile bench and asked for ideas from WoodNet’s resident experts.

Rolling Bench

One of the responses to Chuck1945′s question provided a link to the New Yankee Workshop web site. Whenever I visit this site I like to check out the “New Yankees At Work” gallery. It’s a little difficult to navigate, but you’ll see some fine work by woodworkers from all of the world.

New Yankees At Work Gallery

Finally, I saw this the other day and thought it was kind of inspiring. Check it out.

Woodworker Creates Beautiful Pieces Despite Blindness

Joel Tille, a woodworker from Humboldt, Iowa is in the market for a cyclone dust collector. Joel has spent a lot of time researching the subject, attending seminars and exploring all the options. He makes a point of getting the right information. Read the rest of this article »

Last week, I began a discussion with Paul Sellers, director of the School of Woodworking at Homestead Heritage Craft Village near Waco, Texas. The Foundational course, in which Paul teaches hand tool usage at the school, is growing in popularity and his answer to last weeks question touches on how we need to get young people involved again in woodworking.

This week, I asked his opinions about craftsmanship.

Joel: Inexpensive, mass-produced furniture is everywhere these days. Is there still a need for the kind of craftsmanship your school promotes?

Paul: What you say is true. Today, most furniture is mass-produced in factories. All too often a mass-produced piece sells for a price similar to what most individuals might pay for the wood alone. Read the rest of this article »

There are tons of sources online for our woodworking dollars. As you know, I’ve bought a lot of vintage tools through ebay. I’ve also bought tools online from Rockler, Lee Valley, and even Amazon/Tool Crib. But, there’s one thing I haven’t ordered online — lumber.

I’d like to know your experiences. Have you ever bought lumber online? Was it S4S or rough? Did you have any problems? Were there shipping issues? What was the quality?

I’ve got a poll going on WoodNet.net. Check it out and tell me about your experiences.

Buying Wood Online

Occasionally, I’ll find a topic on the WoodNet forums that’s….well….topical. Considering I just featured Paul Sellers yesterday, I thought this post would be of interest: Homestead Heritage.

Sometimes the posts on the WoodNet forums are shameless attempts by woodworkers to elicit a compliment or two on recently completed projects. This guys waste bin though is a good example of when the compliments are well deserved.

Finally, this is the hottest item on the Tools Swap n’ Sell that I’ve seen in a long time! Get yours now, before they’re all gone.

A few years ago I wanted to take a woodworking class on using hand tools. The Des Moines Woodworkers Association had just hosted a weekend seminar by Marc Adams at the Woodsmith Store in Des Moines and he got me really psyched up about taking a class at his school. Unfortunately, his hand tool classes were already filled up. So I did a seach online and found out about a woodworking school in Texas. It turned out to be a great experience and I’ve become good friends with Paul Sellers, the director of the School of Woodworking at the Homestead Heritage Craft Village, near Waco.

Paul is also a published woodworking author and is working on a book about hand tools and how to use them. He builds custom furniture for sale and some of his most distinctive pieces, like the Rocking Chair, sell for thousands of dollars.

Paul trained as an apprentice in England as a young man. He gained valuable experience using a combination of hand tools and power machinery, that he feels is sorely lacking today. In fact, Paul feels so strongly about the lack of educational opportunities for young people, especially in the woodworking field, that he thinks it has had an adverse effect on our lives. As he says, “… we’ve reached a crisis point in woodworking for children that sometimes I think it is irreversible.”

I used hand tools exclusively during my class at the John C. Campbell Folk School, and firmly believe that without the week-long hand tool foundational class that I took a few years ago at Homestead Heritage, I would not have gotten nearly as much from the chairmaking class as I did.

Paul and I were trading emails recently and got to talking about how most woodworking schools are all about power tools. I asked him why he felt that laying a foundation for learning to use hand tools was so important? He has strong feelings about hand tools that go beyond his desire to teach their usage, or his ability to attract students to his woodworking school. The following is his thoughtful response to my question: Read the rest of this article »

Cabinetmakers use a “story stick” (or story pole) to record dimensions for a project on site, then the dimensions are used in the shop to build the project. Two sticks are made, usually from a piece of scrap plywood or particle board, one for the horizontal layout and one for vertical. Read the rest of this article »

In 2004, Woodsmith magazine expanded to 52 pages, adding several new departments and features to the magazine. That’s 52 pages of woodworking content — and no advertising. Instead, you’ll find lots of step-by-step project plans and how-to departments with information on tools, jigs and accessories, suggestions for setting up shop, and helpful hints on finishing. Read the rest of this article »

I have some issues with my home shop. It’s not large enough for one thing. Plus, the ceilings are too low, and there aren’t any windows. In spite of all this, I still manage to build 2 or 3 major projects per year and a couple of smaller ones, so I guess I can’t complain.
Read the rest of this article »

I’m either lucky or just easy to please. I keep thinking I’ll have to spend a few hours trying to find this week’s “best” forum thread, and for the second week in a row I find it right away — in fact, this was the first one I opened.

If you’re having problems with blade drift when using your band saw, you’ll get a ton of great insight if you wade through this forum discussion.

This Week’s Best WoodNet Forum Thread