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My shop is only 400 square feet. Things are always underfoot and I’m constantly having to move one machine so that I can get to another. The lathe is stored in an adjacent (finished) room, the miter saw and stand are out in the garage, and I have to set up a couple of sawhorses out there just to cut a sheet of plywood down to size. Boy, what I wouldn’t give for a big addition to my house for a new shop!

The problem is, I don’t have an extra 25 grand laying around to spend on fixing up my home. But I could. And so could you.

That’s because Home Depot is giving away a $25,000 gift card (and many more prizes) to the best YouTube video entry showcasing the projects Home Depot customers would like to tackle around the house. You can submit your video from November 10 to December 15, 2007, and the winners will be announced sometime just before Christmas.

Think about it, you could finally add that gourmet kitchen you’ve always wanted…or put on a new roof…or add a backyard getaway…replace all the flooring…the list goes on and on. Or if you need some really great ideas for your video, pick up a free preview issue of Workbench. It’s full of practical ideas for your improving home.

Are you feeling creative? Then get to it.

To keep track of everyone’s videos, log in to YouTube and join the Home Depot “Gift Card” group.

Garrett French is at it again over at the ToolCrib.com blog. He’s compiled a list of the “5 Most Influential Woodworkers” based on input from folks at a couple of forums, including the WoodNet forum. Like any list, it may be more interesting for who was left off, than who was included. I’d like to mention a couple of people who weren’t on the list, but in my opinion, should be placed right near the top.

Don Peschke and Paul Roman.

If those two names aren’t so familiar to you, it’s because they’ve both worked more behind the scenes as the pioneering editors and publishers of Woodsmith and Fine Woodworking magazines, respectively. Each has probably influenced more people to get into the shop and actually build something than just about anyone else on Garrett’s list.

Neither Don nor Paul’s name is as familiar perhaps as Norm Abram, but to me their magazines were groundbreaking. Woodsmith, published by August Home Publishing (they also put out ShopNotes, Workbench, Garden Gate, and Cuisine at home), is unique in that it doesn’t just show you a pretty project, it helps you build the project with detailed step-by-step instructions and clear, concise drawings and photos. I remember the first time I picked up Woodsmith magazine, my very first thought was “I can do that!”

(As you may know, Don owns the company I work for, so this is not a completely unbiased post! But the fact is, I’ve been an editor for Woodsmith for 7 years, but I’ve been reading the magazine for over twenty-five years.)

Paul Roman, and his wife Jan, started Fine Woodworking in 1975 and it eventually expanded into a publishing empire that includes magazines for woodworking, home building, cooking, and gardening. Paul’s goal was to have a woodworking magazine that not only informed, but also inspired its readers. There’s no arguing with that, it’s an awesome magazine.

I suppose we’ll always be more influenced by TV personalities. And this is not a knock on Norm, but I’d rather read about woodworking and then go do it myself, than watch it being done on TV anyday.

If you’d like to subscribe to Woodsmith to find out exactly what I mean, click here.

Chris Snider bought his first home in the spring of 2006 after living for several years in an apartment. Chris writes a blog for first-time homeowners on the Des Moines Register’s Juice website. Juice is a supplement of the daily newspaper geared toward singles in Des Moines.

He attended a woodworking seminar recently at the Woodsmith Store and liked what he saw. Now, he’s

become a fan of Workbench magazine. Read the rest of this article »

Our latest slate of woodworking seminars at the Woodsmith Store starts in just 10 days with Jim Downing, a senior design editor for Workbench magazine, presenting “Tips for Setting Up a Great Home Shop.” Jim has given this seminar a couple of times before, but it’s always an interesting seminar because it’s constantly evolving. The last time Jim gave this seminar, he offered some great ideas for a space-saving home shop (see the photo above).

As it turns out, most of his ideas were featured on the cover (and inside) of the October 2006 Workbench magazine. The cool thing about his design for the shop is that it includes set up space for 5 major tool stations — in just 50 square feet!

The full schedule will be posted soon on the Woodsmith Store website. We’ve combined the schedule for both the Winter and Spring 2007 seminars in a single brochure. Plus, we’re offering 4 ways to pay for the seminars — single passes, Winter Season passes, Spring Season passes, and a new Gold pass — good for all 19 seminars. As usual, each paid $8 admission receives a $5 Sawbuck that can be used toward any purchase in the Woodsmith Store. If you’re planning on attending all the seminars, the Gold pass is the best deal because it saves you up to $27.

The slogan for Workbench magazine is “Practical Ideas for Your Home.” And as editor Tim Robertson describes in the February 2007 issue, “It’s a magazine that DIY’ers have come to depend on … for practical projects that they (can) build using basic tools, techniques, and materials.” Read the rest of this article »

I had an interesting day last week visiting on-site during construction and filming of the ABC-TV show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. This is the first home they have built in Iowa, so my wife, Cathy, and I decided to drive the hour and a half north of Des Moines on a sunny, autumn day and check out the action.

Read the rest of this article »

Until recently, interest in the SawStop Table Saw mostly centered around how cool the flesh-sensing magic of the safety device was. The SawStop Table Saw works by sensing the electrical capacitance of human flesh to stop a spinning saw blade instantly when the blade senses a drop in voltage. Not exactly magic, but cool nonetheless! Workbench magazine reviewed the saw in its June 2006 issue, and you can see a video of the SawStop in action here.

Now, it seems that a recent ruling in favor of inventor Stephen Gass’ technology by the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission will turn the debate into one of economics rather than safety. You can read more about the ruling here.

The problem is, manufacturer’s of woodworking machinery are not embracing the technology. And the ruling has led the U.S. government to agree with the recommendations of the CPSC, that mandatory safety standards for table saws be raised to include the SawStop technology.

That’s where money comes in. According to Charles Murray, technical writer for Design News, woodworking tool manufacturers face the prospect of investing millions of dollars to re-tool existing production lines. And inventor Gass agrees, “… there’s a huge product liability problem for any manufacturer who doesn’t have this. People will ask, ‘Why didn’t you have this on the saw you sold to us?’”

So now thanks to this ruling, and as is often the case when lawyers get involved, it comes down to one thing — money. (By the way, Stephen Gass was a patent attorney and a woodworker, when he came up with the SawStop.) If manufacturers of table saws are faced with adding safety features that will potentially cost them millions, who do you think will pay for it in the end? You guessed it — woodworkers!

Our friends at The Woodworking Channel are running a poll on their website. It asks what woodworking magazine you read the most. The choices are listed as follows:

American Router
American Woodturner
American Woodworker
Fine Woodworking
Furniture & Cabinetmaking
Popular Woodworking
Wood Magazine
Woodcarving
Woodcraft Magazine
Woodturning
Woodwork
Woodworker’s Journal
and Other

Several of the ones that are listed are specialty magazines (American Router and American Woodturner), focusing on a single aspect of our hobby, such as turning or routing. Three of the magazines — Furniture and Cabinetmaking, Woodturning, and Woodcarving — are published in the UK and may be hard (or expensive) to get here in the US. I didn’t even know they existed until just recently. (And I’ve been subscribing to anywhere from 4 to 10 woodworking magazines since about 1995.)

Woodwork is good magazine that appeals to woodworkers who have an artistic bent, and Woodcraft Magazine, even though it’s only been around for a couple of years, is starting to gain some readers.

The rest of them (American Woodworker, Fine Woodworking, Popular Woodworking, Wood Magazine, and Woodworker’s Journal) are all fine magazines, and I subscribe to all except one.

A few magazines not on the list include Woodshop News, Woodworking and Popular Mechanics. Woodshop News, from Sounding Publications, is a great source of information for consumers, as well as the professional trade. I don’t subscribe, but I always look at it when I’m at the Woodsmith Store in Des Moines. Woodworking, a no-ads limited circulation publication from Popular Woodworking, has started to gain a real foothold with woodworkers interested in hand tools and learning about craftsmanship. Finally, Popular Mechanics has included at least one woodworking article in every issue for many, many years. And every November, they dedicate the entire issue to woodworking. Some of my favorite plans for Arts & Crafts furniture come from PM.

But most odd of all is the absence of any of the woodworking magazines from August Home Publishing. That’s because two of the top four woodworking magazines are Woodsmith and Workbench. According to the last published figures from ABC (Audit Bureau Circulation, 2006)* that I know of, Workbench is number two and Woodsmith is number four. Then there’s ShopNotes. Although its subscription base is smaller than its sister publications, ShopNotes is a one-of-a-kind magazine for woodworkers who are looking at solutions for building shop jigs and storage projects for the shop.

I don’t have the capability to do a poll here, but I’m interested in your comments or feelings. What is your favorite woodworking magazine?

(* According to ABC, Wood Magazine is first in paid subscribers and American Woodworker is #3.)

If you were to sit down and try to redesign any tool so that it’s exactly what you’d want as a woodworker, what tool would it be?

Two of the first tools to come to my mind are the drill press and a contractor’s-style table saw. Most drill presses are made for the metalworker first and foremost. Features that a woodworker would find beneficial are an after-thought, if they’re thought of at all. And the contractor’s table saw, with its motor sticking out the back, is the price you paid for an affordable saw that supposedly is light enough to lug around to the job site.

But, a few manufacturer’s are starting to come around to offer tools with wood shop features. I’m talking in particular about the Powermatic® 2800 VS Drill Press, and the Jet® Pro-Shop line of contractor style table saws. I got a quick look at both of these new tools at IWF — 2006 in Atlanta last week, and are they impressive.

The Powermatic 2800 VS Drill Press has so many features that are great for woodworkers it’s hard to list them all. But I’ll try!

* Single handle variable speed adjustment (with a digital readout)
* A 5/8″ keyless chuck
* Twin LED lights
* And, a new dual laser guide system.

These are all welcome features that provide ease of use and accuracy that is rare on a standard drill press.Best of all is the extra-large table (it has dual extension wings to provide additional support for long work pieces). The table also tilts 90° and has a positive stop at 0°. Its large adjustment handle makes lowering and raising the table quick and easy.But that isn’t all, twin T-slot grooves for a miter gauge, hold-downs or shop-made jigs are milled right into the table top and an adjustable split fence with dust collection port is included.Finally, it doesn’t matter if you’re right or left-handed, because the feed handles can be mounted on either side of the drill press. Whew, that’s a lot of great features!

One of the more impressive new tools I saw at IWF is the Jet Pro-Shop Contractor Style Table Saw.

This table saw has a couple of features more commonly found on cabinet (or hybrid) style table saws. First, is the enclosed cabinet with a 4″ dust port for improved dust collection. The stand makes assembly of this saw significantly easier than a regular contractor’s-style table saw.The Pro-Shop saw has a new Pro-Shop fence with extruded aluminum side boards with T-slots and either 30″ or 50″ rails. The saw below is shown with steel wings, but cast iron wings are also available. A large paddle-style switch is also a nice safety feature on this saw. Once again, you can turn to Workbench Magazine for reviews and much more on these new tools and lots of others in future issues.

Every Thursday night this fall you can learn from the experts at the Woodsmith Store and Woodsmith, ShopNotes, and Workbench magazines. We’ll walk you through the basics of woodworking, tool techniques, safety, terminology, and everything you need to know to build great projects in your home shop. Reference handouts are provided. All questions are welcome.

Click here for more details including a calendar, seminar topics, and how to sign up!