WoodworkingONLINE.com

When you’re home celebrating Thanksgiving tomorrow, look around your house. If there’s one thing we can all agree on, it’s that we can use more storage - as long as we don’t have to sacrifice a lot of floor space to get it. That’s what makes this tower bookcase so useful. It takes up less than two square feet of floor space - yet gives you six deep shelves for books and collectibles.

You can download the bookcase plans for free - they’re the sample plans offered to people considering joining PlansNOW.com. So while you’re downloading the plans, be sure to check out PlansNOW’s new membership offers. That makes everything kosher (which is also nice on Thanksgiving). Have a terrific holiday!

If you’re looking to add versatility to your workbench, a patternmaker’s vise is a good way to do it.

At the turn of the 20th-century, Emmert Manufacturing produced a bench vise to help patternmakers make wood parts for castings used in manufacturing. Unlike typical vises, the Emmert vise could twist and turn in several directions and angles. This allowed patternmakers to adjust a workpiece to a comfortable position without having to loosen the vise, adjust the workpiece, and tighten it down again. Simply flip a lever here or a knob there, and position the vise (and the workpiece) right where it needs to be. While the company no longer exists, the Emmert is still a highly sought-after vise, commanding prices up to $800. Fortunately, other companies now make similar vises.

The vise shown at right is available from Highland Hardware (stock #168040). Similar vises are available from a number of manufacturer’s.

For more information on patternmaker’s vises and to learn about more great tips and techniques for updating your shop, consider subscribing to ShopNotes magazine. You can get a free preview issue of ShopNotes magazine here: ShopNotes Preview Issue

Oct 2 …Choosing the Best Workbench for Your Shop w/ Dennis Perkins

Oct 9 …Selecting Lumber: Get the Best Wood Possible for Your Projects w/ Dennis Perkins

Oct 16 …Straight, Flat, & Square: Three Tools that Make it Easy w/ Terry Zuck

Oct 23 …Mortise & Tenon Joinery: Simple Techniques for Strong Joints w/ Jim Downing

Oct 30 …Using Sheet Goods: Why “Strong, Stable, and Flat” is a Good Thing w/ Bob Zimmerman

Nov 6 …3 Solid Steps to Building a Workbench that Works w/ Phil Huber

Nov 13 …Spline & Groove Joinery: Tips for Keeping Large Pieces Aligned w/ Chris Fitch

Nov 20 …Shop Storage: Cabinet and Shelving Units w/ Carol Beronich

Dec 4 …Simple Techniques for Building Doors & Drawers w/ Dave Fremming

Dec 11 …Finishing Touches — Workbench Wrap Up w/ Vince Ancona

Get the full schedule of upcoming seminars and descriptions at WoodworkingSeminars.com

The seminars start on October 2nd and run through December 11th. Cost per seminar is $8, but the price includes a $5 $awbuck$ coupon good for any item in the Woodsmith Store (excluding seminar tickets and season tickets). Season Tickets are available for $70, a $10 savings over single tickets. Each season ticket purchase comes with ten $7 $awbuck$ coupons, which means the seminars are FREE!

Well, I’ve been hearing rumors for quite some time that Bench Dog was having financial difficulty.  It’s been confirmed from this listing in the Minneapolis/St. Paul Star Tribune.  Bench Dog filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last July:

Bench Dog Inc., 3310 NE. 5th St., Minneapolis; filed July 27, 07-42546; Chap. 11; … 

I’ve always liked Bench Dog’s products.  Though their products aimed for the “higher end” of the market, I think their designs are innovative and well thought out.

So, what’s the future of Bench Dog and their products? When I contacted Bench Dog, here is the response from Cliff Smith, former CEO:

“As you may know, on July 27, Bench Dog, Inc. filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection. On, Monday, October 1st the company emerged from bankruptcy as Bench Dog Tools, Inc. Rockler Companies is financing the reorganization and providing product development support to further the Bench Dog Brand. Bench Dog Tools will operate as a standalone entity with independent staff at the existing facility. The relationship with Rockler Companies will be transparent to our customers and consumers.

“The company will continue to design, develop, and distribute premium specialty tools and power tool accessories for the woodworking and home improvement markets. We have and will continue to fulfill orders to Lowe’s in a timely fashion.

“As you may know, I served as the CEO of Bench Dog, Inc until September 2006. Bench Dog Tools retained me to enhance customer relations, expand the Bench Dog brand and ensure consistent order fulfillment. I am once again committed to getting Bench Dog Tools on a fast track to success. Brian Kramer will continue to provide customer service support to our retailers and consumers.”

Let’s hope they can get back on their feet and carry on the tradition of great woodworking products.

I’ve always been impressed with Makita tools. My dad has always been a fan of their tools and I sort of grew up with them. He’s got an early model benchtop planer he’s had for over 15 years that’s still running strong. The quality of Makita’s tools is hard to beat.

Makita has recently announced some new tools, and you’ll be reading more about them here. The first one on the list is their new variable speed, orbital jig saw. The 4329K jig saw features a compact design, three orbital settings plus straight cutting, with a powerful 3.9 AMP motor for use in a variety of materials. The new jig saw features an ergonomically designed rubberized grip to provide more comfort and control, while the variable speed dial control (500 – 3,100 SPM) delivers optimal cutting performance in a variety of materials. The die-cast aluminum base bevel cuts 45 degrees right or left with a positive stop at 90 degrees for solid cutting performance. A through-the-body dust port provides optimal dust management with use of clear dust cover and vacuum.

The saw is ideal for professional woodworkers, cabinetry makers, and specialized residential construction workers who require a best-in-class engineered jig saw in a compact size. The saw uses Tang shank blades only, plus has an on-board hex wrench for easy blade changes. The saw includes a blade and tool case.

Read more about Makita tools here.

Sometimes there’s nothing better than tinkering in the shop and making something just for the sake of doing it. For me, it’s often making my own wood hinges. For Canadian engineer/woodworker Matthias Wandel, it’s wooden gears, geodesic spheres, and other fanciful, if not always practical contraptions. His most recent creation is a Binary Marble Adding Machine, the latest in a series of “rolling ball sculptures.”

Why build a marble machine? Well, according to Matthias, “My Marble Machines are complicated and ingenious, but utterly useless pieces of toy machinery that automate the process of playing with marbles. With toys like these, mankind is free to pursue more productive ends, while leaving the playing with marbles to his trusty automated machine servants.”

I couldn’t have said it better myself.

It seems like part of being a woodworker is repairing old furniture, whether it’s your own or someone else’s. You’re probably already aware that working on old pieces like that can present some health concerns (lead paint exposure, for example).  As it turns out, there are some other things you should be concerned about when repairing or even moving some antiques.

Discovery News is citing some info from the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) about the hazards of heavy metals in antiques.  Old mirrors may have been backed with mercury and tin. And clock pendulums or lamp bases may contain mercury. You know…it’s the stuff you used to play with when you were a kid. It’s since been found to be a health hazard.

I remember a few years ago, my wife and I found an old bottle of mercury that had belonged to my mother-in-law, a nurse.  Being the responsible citizen, I took it to our local township volunteer fire department/police station.  I was essentially told to “get it out of here…we’re not responsible if something happens…you’re on your own.”  Wow!  I explained that I had several children in the home and I didn’t want it in my house.  It didn’t matter.  They insisted I remove it from their premises immediately.  So, I took it home.  I ended up having to call the county hazardous materials department.  They sent a guy out.  Turns out he was an old classmate of mine in high school.  He laughed when I told him what my local fire department told me, but he donned heavy rubber gloves, removed the bottle from the house, wrapped it very carefully, and stored it in a well-insulated, shock-protected styrofoam cooler.

Then there was the local elementary school that had to shut down for a day when a child dropped a mercury thermometer on the front steps while returning from an outdoor science class.  You would have thought there had been a bomb blast with all the emergency vehicles and personnel.

So, the next time you need to move Aunt Sue’s antique clock, exercise caution.

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.

During my seminar on frames and panels a couple of weeks ago, I mentioned a database program developed by a member of the Des Moines Woodworkers Association, who is also a regular at the Woodsmith Woodworking Seminars. He put together a program that makes it easy to calculate the dimensions for the rails and stiles of cabinet doors. It also helps you calculate the size of your panels.

The problem is, it’s an Excel file. This is an expensive program that most of us with personal computers at home don’t have. But, there is an alternative.

Last weekend, after watching the frame and panel podcast, a viewer named Kari contacted me about a good freeware download that allows you to open Excel files without having to spend lots of money.

In the email, Kari said: “…I just wanted to bring to your attention that yes, one does need a program to read and manipulate an excel file, but it doesn’t have to be the expensive one. The office suite I use is from OpenOffice.org and it is compatible with all other major office suites. The product is free to download, use, and distribute. Thanks Kari for the heads up.

I think every home has a piece of furniture made from one of those particleboard kits in a box. I’ll admit that even though I call myself a woodworker, I had a computer desk like that for many years. But then it started to sag and chip apart, so I trashed it.

The two big manufacturers in furniture kits have been O’Sullivan Industries and Sauder Woodworking. During the last few years, O’Sullivan has apparently had some financial trouble. On Monday, it was announced on crescent-news.com that Sauder will purchase key assets, or parts, of O’Sullivan Industries.

I find it interesting that Kevin Sauder, president and CEO of Sauder Woodworking wasn’t interested in O’Sullivan’s manufacturing facilities. “I was interested in the customer base,” which includes companies such as Lowe’s, Staples, Big Lots and Wal-Mart.

Enough said.