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When it comes right down to it, most cabinets are just boxes made out of plywood. Add a drawer and a slab door and you’ve got utilitarian storage for a garage or workshop. But if you’re building cabinets for your kitchen or bath, chances are you’ll want something sturdy that also looks good. That’s when you’ll want to build a door using frame and raised panel construction.

So get out the router table, during this week’s Woodsmith Woodworking Seminar podcast, Joel Hess shows you how to build a frame and raised panel door using three highly specialized router bits.

After the podcast is finished, stop by the Woodsmith Podcast Store. You’ll find links to project plans, the seminar guide, and a few of the tools and accessories that Joel used during the seminar.

 

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Is the jointer fence square to the table? How long has it been since the knives in the thickness planer have been sharpened? How about the table saw, is it due for a tune up?

You’ll need all three of these tools (or their hand tool equivalents) in good working order, if you want to end up with a perfect workpiece. Bryan Nelson shows us how to square up lumber during this Woodsmith Woodworking Seminar podcast.

When you’re done watching, be sure to check out the Woodsmith Podcast Store. You’ll find links to project plans, the seminar guide, and a few of the tools and accessories that Bryan used during the seminar.

 

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The challenge is this — build an elegant accent table with curved stretchers. Would you use bent laminations to make the stretchers? Or is steam bending the answer? Chris Fitch will demonstrate both during this week’s Woodsmith Seminar Podcast.

During the seminar, Chris talks about a couple of projects that feature curved pieces made from bent laminations. Both of the projects were taken from recent issues of Woodsmith magazine. If you’d like to subscribe to Woodsmith, or simply purchase plans for these projects, click here: Woodsmith Podcast Store. You’ll also find a link to the seminar guide provided during the seminar and a great article on choosing the right glue for your projects.

 

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In an effort to improve the podcasts, we’d like to get some feedback from you. To do this, we’ve put together a short survey. If you’re interested in taking the survey, your name will be entered in drawing for a FREE one-year subscription to Woodsmith magazine. We’ll also have a few other prizes to give away, like Woodsmith Store caps and coffee mugs.

To take the survey, watch the short video below. There’s a clickable link in the video that will open up your browser to the survey. Or, you can click here: Podcast Survey

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If there is one thing that really sets apart a beautiful set of cabinets or a fine piece of furniture from work that’s just plain Jane — it’s the panels. We’ve all seen the inexpensive cabinets at the big box stores. Yuck! The door panels usually have one board with wild grain going every which way right next to a board with grain straight as an arrow! It just doesn’t look right.

That’s why Craig Ruegsegger has gone to a lot of trouble to show us how to make eye-catching panels during this week’s Woodsmith Woodworking Seminar podcast. His seminar takes into account arranging boards for grain pattern, preparing the boards so they’re flat, straight and square, plus glue-up and clamping techniques.

A 15-page seminar guide, just like the one used during the seminar podcast is available for immediate download at PlansNow. It’s priced at $4.95 and includes several great acticles on making panels.

Seminar Guide: Secrets to Making Perfect Panels

 

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During this week’s Woodsmith Woodworking Seminar podcast — Router Inlays: Adding Decorative Details — Dennis Perkins, an assistant editor for Woodsmith and ShopNotes magazines, will show us how to use a router inlay kit. During the seminar, he uses a router fitted with a simple kit that includes a bushing, a removable sleeve, and a down-cut spiral bit (click thumbnail at left). He also used his own home-made template. With the kit, he can rout out both the inlay and the matching recess using only one template.

Note: The router inlay kits (Rockler #83642) are available from The Woodsmith Store. Call 800-835-5084 to order. Mention this online coupon code: Seminars to receive free freight.

Another way to add inlay to a project is to use color-tinted epoxy. During the seminar, Dennis demonstrates an easy way to do it. Woodsmith magazine also used the process to add a decorative detail to an end table project that was featured in the magazine.

During the seminars, the presenters often mention a seminar guide or handout. The guide is now available for download in .pdf form from PlansNow.com. If you’d like to follow along during this week’s seminar, you can purchase the guide for only $4.95. The 12-page guide includes a two-page article from Woodsmith No. 166: “Using a Router Inlay Kit.” There’s also the six-page project plan: “Curved-Leg End Table.” It’s a Designer Series article from Woodsmith No. 168 (mentioned above). In addition to the project plan, there’s also a two-page technique article: “Adding An Epoxy Inlay,” and a one-page article on how to build a router trammel: “Router Trammel Jig.”

 

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When I think about it, probably 80% of my routing is done on a router table. A router table makes my work more accurate. It handles multiple (or repeat) cuts easily. And it’s definitely best for routing small parts safely, not to mention, large bits that would be unsafe (or impossible) to use in a hand-held router. And with the right accessories, like the Feather-Loc featherboards shown in the photo above, it becomes even safer.

Phil Huber took the usual tips, tricks and techniques seminar and went a step further. During his seminar, which is the subject of this weeks Woodsmith Woodworking Seminar podcast, he shows us some practical uses for a router table like routing joinery for drawers using a 1/4″ straight bit. Plus, he gives us some great pointers for perfect rails and stiles with just one router bit — a slot-cutting bit. You’ll be surprised at just how easy it is to rout stub tenon and groove joints with this bit.

If you’d like to follow along in the seminar guide, it’s available from PlansNow for only $4.95. It has a lot of great information and is 18 pages long! Guides from previous (and upcoming) seminars are also available here.

 

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Doug Hicks is a power tool guy. His table saw is right in the middle of his shop where he can get at it easily. He uses it to make quick rip cuts, for rough cutting a board to length, and to cut accurate joinery for a project.

One of the reason’s his table saw is so versatile though is because of all the simple “shop-built” jigs and accessories that he’s accumulated over the years. These accessories allow him to do more with the table saw and do it faster, better, safer, and with a lot less effort.

You’ll learn all about 10 of his “Favorite Shop-Built Table Saw Jigs” when you download and watch this week’s Woodsmith Woodworking Seminar podcast. He’ll even show you how to build a few of them. If you want to know how to build all of them, make sure to visit PlansNow and order a copy of the seminar guide for download. It costs only $5.95 and includes an outline of the seminar (you can follow along as you watch the podcasts!) and detailed plans for his ten favorite table saw jigs and accessories.

 

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Bringing home and setting up a new tool, especially one that gets used as often as the table saw, provides the average woodworker with several opportunities to CYOM.

Don’t know what CYOM means? Well, let’s just say that we’ve all done it at one time or another. Since few stationary power tools are shipped completely set up and ready to use right out of the crate, the first thing you’re likely to do is CYOM — “Consult Your Owner’s Manual.”

The owner’s manual will help you with several things, like removing backlash from the raising and tilt mechanisms and adjusting the trunnion. But there are lots of tune up tips that are left to the imagination (or aren’t required until after you’ve used the saw for several weeks). That’s where Craig Ruegsegger can help. Read the rest of this article »

 

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Whether you’re setting up shop for the first time or looking for more space in an existing shop, you’ll get some valuable tips from this seminar. Jim Downing doesn’t just show you how to arrange your tools. That’s going to be different for every person and every space. He also explains the strategies for getting the most efficient use of whatever space you have. Learn about things like maintaining zones for handling materials, leaving room for assembly work and how to double up equipment to save space.

Toward the end of the seminar, Jim uses some resources on the Workbench magazine web site, including an interactive shop planner. Using this, you can set up a space the same size as your shop, then move tools around to customize your shop’s layout. You can also watch a video of Workbench’s space-saving shop and download the accompanying article.

The guide for this seminar is now available for download. It’s a 10-page pdf and the cost to you is $2.95. You can download it by clicking here.

 

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