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Here’s something you’ll want to put on your calendar. PBS will be airing a show entitled, “Craft in America: A Journey to the Artists, Origins, and Techniques of American Craft.” It will air in three episodes beginning on May 30. The most notable artist to be featured—as far as woodworkers are concerned—is Sam Maloof. You can see a list of other artists to be featured here. The web site has a cool virtual exhibit that will show you some of the work of the artisans.

To find out when Craft in America airs in your local area, click here.

Gun cabinets seem to be a popular project among woodworkers.  Gun owners like to show off their collections.  The problem is, most gun cabinets are nothing more than a cabinet with a glass door.  That make’s it easy for thieves to “smash and grab” the contents.

Nestled in the heart of an Amish community is a small shop that makes high-end gun cabinets. But these aren’t your standard cabinets.  They use an exclusive locking mechanism that makes it very difficult, if not impossible, to steal the guns. 

The cabinets are made using traditional woodworking tools, but with a unique power source.  The Amish don’t use electricity. So there’s a complete cottage industry in the Amish communities that converts power tools to alternative forms of power.

You can get the whole story here.  It’s worth the read.

A while back, in a previous post, I talked about the news that Shopsmith was in financial trouble. The news today confirms it. Robert Folkerth, the president was quoted as saying,

“…the company ’significantly reduced’ its reliance on sales representatives who often travel to shows to sell Shopsmith’s tools and accessories.” 

Wait a minute. Did he say they cut their sales force? What that tells me is that they don’t see much hope for the Shopmith product that we’ve known and loved since the mid-70’s.  Has the competition for lower-priced standalone woodworking machinery pushed the Shopsmith out of the market? Sadly, I think it’s just a matter of time before Shopsmith goes the way of other woodworking machine manufacturers. Soon, the only place you’ll be able to read about them will be on the Old Woodworking Machines web site.

Tapering, pattern cutting, coves, kerf bending, and raised panels. Those are just 5 of the things you may not have realized you could do with your table saw. During the Woodsmith Woodworking Seminar podcast, Ted Raife, associate editor for Woodsmith and ShopNotes, gives us safe, fast, and efficient tips on completing all five techniques.

Be sure to check out the Woodsmith Podcast Store. If you’re interested in picking up a downloadable copy of the seminar guide, so you can follow along during the podcast, you’ll find it there. Plus, there’s a link to a good deal on the Forrest Woodworker II Premium table saw blade that Ted used during the seminar.

 Flash Version [104 MB]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 MP4 Video [140 MB]: Download

 WMV Video [121 MB]: Download

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New to podcasting? Read our Podcast FAQ.

John Singley of Tucson, Arizona sent us a reader’s tip for ShopNotes magazine. In his letter, he mentioned that he volunteers for the Old Pueblo Trolley Museum.  John says,

“The trolley I am working on is the Lisbon/Aspen P&MU. It was taken down to the frame and we are replacing most of the woodwork. We have been working on it for 2 years and expect to have it complete and in operation in about another year.”

Needless to say, there is a lot of woodworking that has to take place to restore these vehicles to their former glory. Check out some of the restoration work at the museum’s web site.

As I was stepping out to do a seminar on hand planes and scrapers at the Woodsmith Store last week, I noticed a couple of new items on Randy’s desk. He had just received two new planes from the Blum Tool Company, a small firm in Walnut, Iowa. The owner, Gary Blum, was kind enough to send Randy a smoother and a jack plane. They were strikingly beautiful with their all wood bodies of maple and cherry. And they had a very unusual blade and adjustment arrangement, But I’ve seen good-looking wooden planes before and been a little disappointed. For a lark (and because I thought they’d at least make good window dressing at the seminar) I took them both with me to the store.

After setting everything up for the seminar, I had a little time to spare. So I dug out the instructions on the Blum planes and gave them a quick glance. I wasn’t planning on doing an extensive setup or anything, but I wanted to at least see how they worked. After all, they had a different design from anything I’d ever tried before.

You see, they don’t have a conventional plane iron. Instead they use a small blade which is attached to a massive (¾”-thick) adjustable, frog-like device. Sounds complicated, right? Not at all. A star knob on the back loosens to allow adjustments of the blade depth. You just set the depth and angle of the blade with two knurled screws, tighten the star knob and you’re off. 

After five minutes of tweaking the smoother, I was taking whisper-thin shavings off a birdseye maple board. Okay, now they had my full attention. I already liked the way they felt in my hand (very light weight with a comfortable tote), and clearly they were serious tools—not just eye candy.

Gary makes only four designs at this time, the smoother and the jack that I tried out and a fore plane and jointer. Prices are more than reasonable, ranging from $199 for the smoother to $245 for the jointer. (Although Gary charges a little more for rosewood versions of these designs.)

To find out more about Blum Tools, check out Gary’s website.

I attended a “press event” at Leigh Industries near beautiful Vancouver, British Columbia last week. They’re excited about some new products for this year, and I can see why. They are coming out with a new line of Leigh jigs and accessories. The new Super Jigs maintain the high quality that Leigh is known for. But they come in at a lower price point than previous models. They were able to redesign the jigs to lower the cost of production, providing great value in a top-notch product. I’ve seen the pre-production prototypes, and I think that the quality, capabilities, and pricing of these new jigs far surpass their competition.

Here are just a few of the things you can do with the Super Jigs:

• Variably Spaced Half-blind Dovetails
• Variably Spaced Through Dovetails
• Sliding Dovetails
• 5/16” and 5/8” Box Joints….that fit!
• Single Pass Half-blind dovetails – multiple sizes  

You won’t see the new Super Jigs on their web site just yet.  They don’t expect to start shipping them until mid-July. And the one you see here is shown with the optional $69 VRS vacuum attachment (available now). By the way, you’ll want to purchase the VRS — it’s available for ALL of Leigh’s jigs (even their original and older models). And it’s so practical for eliminating dust and chips. It’s amazing how it works. And the great thing is, it also provides a resting platform for your router.

There will be a 12″ ($199), 18″ ($259), and 24″ ($329) version of the Super Jig.  Street prices are expected to be lower. 

TRIVIA:  Do you know where the name “Leigh” comes from?  The founder of Leigh Industries, Ken Grisley, was born in “Leigh-on-Sea” in England.  Now you know.

This is just a quick post in honor of one of the more prolific inventors in the tool world. The life of Leonard Bailey is a storied one, but one full of innovation and contribution to the woodworking world. To get a real understanding of Leonard Bailey, you really need to study the history of the Stanley Toolworks company. Most of Mr. Bailey’s patents were eventually bought out by Stanley. Most of his patents were for features found on hand planes. Many of these features are still found on modern hand planes.

Happy Birthday, Leonard.  Here’s one woodworker that’s grateful for your contributions to the world.

Any day of the week, and at almost any time of the day, you can find a couple of hundred people comparing notes, exchanging ideas, swapping tall-tales and generally sharing their love of woodworking with each other on the WoodNet Forums.

Around since 1993, the original WoodNet BBS was a way for Woodsmith magazine to further support their customer base. The BBS evolved into what is now WoodNet.net and it not only includes the forums, but you’ll also find project plans, woodworking tools and kits, tool reviews, and tips and techniques that are sent direct to your email address each week. Read the rest of this article »