Articles
A handful of Articles to wet your Woodworking Appetite
JOINERY METHODS
For a beginner, one of the most daunting aspects of building a piece of furniture is deciding what joints to use. Choosing the wrong joint can complicate construction, conflict with the design, undermine its integrity, and maybe even cause premature failure of a piece. A good place to begin when faced with the task of choosing a joint for a certain application is to identify and study the most widely used joints; there literally are hundreds of them in various configurations. Then consider the joints traditionally used in a particular type of furniture and evaluate your ability to execute them. Traditional joints all have withstood the test of time-we know they work. In this article I highlight some of the most standard joints and their common applications. They all can be executed by hand or by machine.
BISCUIT JOINERY
This is the first of a two-part series on the biscuit joiner. This article provides instruction on using a biscuit joiner, along with advice on setting up your machine, choosing the correct size biscuits, proper gluing techniques, and more. Woodworkers know that there are many approaches to joining two pieces of wood together. The key is to choose the appropriate joint for the application at hand. Sometimes a project might be subjected to heavy stress during its useful life (dining chair, step stool, etc.), and under such conditions you might call upon the industrial strength of mortise and tenon joinery, dadoes or other robust mechanical connections.
ADVANCED ROUTER TECHNIQUES
Routers are one of the most versatile woodworking tools, useful not just for making trim and cutting edges, but for solving a whole range of woodworking problems. Learn how to cut curves, straighten boards, flatten bows and much more.
NEW MANUAL FOR BISCUITS
The biscuit joiner is one of those tools that promises to make life so much easier. The ability to make relatively strong joints quickly and easily makes this a tool you really must have. Yet many woodworkers find it frustrating; for some reason the joints never quite line up and in the end it doesn’t seem to save that much time.
GET THE RIGHT TABLE SAW FOR YOU
For many woodworkers; amateur, trade or professional, the table saw is often a key item in the workshop and the starting point for many projects. Having the ability to perform a multitude of different tasks such as ripping, cross cutting and sheet material preparation, the correct table saw becomes an indispensable part of the workshop. It is probably the first machine that many would contemplate purchasing. However, the most important consideration is to understand exactly what the ‘correct’ table saw should be for any given application.
PLUNGE ROUTER VS. FIXED BASE ROUTER
Routers are an absolutely fantastic addition to any garage or workshop. Many people claim that they’re the most versatile power tool in the world, and justifiably so. With the proper router, jig, androuter bits, the possibilities of what you can do with a piece (or pieces) of wood, are endless.
CIRCULAR SAW MAINTENANCE
Of all power tools, circular saws are arguably the most dangerous and most useful. The danger is obvious when you think of the large, serrated saw blade buzzing at 1,000s of rpms. Its value comes from its ability to cut most materials with speed and precision. With so much value and danger, knowing how to maintain your circular saw is very important.
HAND PLANER TIPS
If you’ve been relying on a manual hand planer to do most of your work up to now, investing in an electric version of your favorite tool will really open up your woodworking world to a whole host of new, bigger and faster projects.
BEST DUST EXTRACTOR?
Construction is a messy business and dust is one of the biggest evils in our industry. Not only can dust be destructive to personal property but is dangerous to our health. Recent OSHA regulations have highlighted how dangerous dust can be and how important it is to capture dust on the jobsite. In our latest Head-to-Head tool testing we evaluated eight of the industries top Dust Collectors in the 8 to 12 gallon capacity size. The lineup includes dust extractors from: Bosch, DEWALT, Fein, Festool, Hilti, Makita, Metabo and Milwaukee. Read on to find out who makes the Best Dust Extractors!
CARVING TOOLS YOU NEED
Wood carving іѕ а technique though which different objects, patterns оr decorative elements аrе carved оr shaped from wood. Fоr а successful wood carving project, the correct choice оf wood аѕ well аѕ carving tools іѕ essential. Different types оf carving tools аrе required fоr different wood carving styles.
BUILDING VS BUYING WORKBENCHES
The most valuable tool for a woodworker (besides his two functional hands) is widely disputed amongst furniture makers. We are of the opinion that while hand planes and chisels are the main contender for bright-eyed affection, they would be undermined with out the most important tool: a sturdy workbench.
MAINTAIN YOUR TABLE SAW
Expert woodworkers and DIYers alike love the table saw for its durability and reliability.
One thing the pros know that the novices may not however, is just how important a tight maintenance schedule is to keeping any table saw running well for a long time. The best woodworkers treasure their tools. When you take care of them, they reward you.
VERITAS BENCH PLANES ARTICLE
“Are you sure you really want me to do this?”
Martin Brown of BriMarc tools had just brought me three shiny Veritas bench planes. They had been hand-picked and sent over from Canada, so I got the idea that they were pretty serious about this. “Sure”, he said, “You are a respected authority in the field and if you have a problem with our planes we need to hear it”.
BENCH PLANES: THE SYSTEM OF THREE
Some days I think that every bench plane should come with a decoder ring to help the user understand how to use it. But while a magic ring might seem handy, it wouldn’t help explain all the different ways that bench planes can be adapted and used in the workshop.