1. To draw a line parallel to the edge of a board quickly, set the blade of a combination square to the desired distance. Position the flat side of the square against the edge of the board, and place a pencil at the end of the blade. Pull the square and the pencil toward you to draw the line.

2. To measure the diameter of a round object make a simple gauge with a ruler and two squared pieces of wood. Place the round object between the two blocks of wood and then measure the distances between the two blocks.

3. Wrap a piece of sandpaper around and old deck of playing cards to make a handy contour sander. The deck of cards will shape itself to the contours of the workpiece.

4. An old phonebook makes a great renewable work surface for small painting and gluing projects. Simply tear out the dirty pages to provide a clean work surface.

5. Although tack cloths are fairly inexpensive you can make your own by moistening a lint free cloth with equal parts of turpentine and oil-based varnish. Store homemade tack cloths in an airtight container.

These are just a few tips that I picked up over this past week. They come from a variety of sources including books, magazines, newsletters, online and some from personal experience.

There are more Woodworking Tips and Tidbits located here.

Back to the shop…

Last night I turned a handle for a spindle gouge. The handle is made of maple and 12″ long and it was left unfinished for better gripping. I turned a large bead at the end and a smaller bead at the gouge end to accent the plain, sweeping curve of the tool.

The gouge itself is a 10mm (3/8″) spindle gouge made by Patience & Nicholson (P&N) of Australia. Their turning tools are made of hard-wearing, M2 high-speed steel and valued for their robust construction and ability to hold an edge.

I started with a piece of maple approximately 2″ square and 14″ long and mounted this between centers:

Continue reading 'Turned Spindle Gouge Tool Handle'

Last night’s meeting of the Atlantic Woodworkers Association was a bit of a road trip where we visited two facilities of interest to woodworkers. First, we visited a Habitat For Humanity ReStore location and from there we went to Mill Supply, a local tool distributor.

The Habitat For Humanity ReStore is a home renovation center that accepts and resells quality new and used building materials from retailers, manufacturers, contractors and the general public. The proceeds from these goods goes towards local HFH home builds, while reducing the amount of material headed for the landfill.

Habitat For Humanity, of course, mobilizes volunteers and community partners in building affordable housing and promoting homeownership as a means of breaking the cycle of poverty.

Continue reading 'The AWA Goes On The Road'

I just finished a couple of more picture frames. These ones are made out of a bit of scrap pine I had and they are finished with a brown stain and beeswax. The shadow box style is simply accented with a 45 degree chamfer.

Here they are stained:

Continue reading 'A Pretty Pair Of Pine Picture Frames'

Here’s a video of one amazing table! Have company coming over for dinner? Do not despair! With a flick of the wrist, a push and a pull this table expands to fill the room, and fill your guests with wonder! The geometric design is fascinating to watch too! It reminds me of a kaleidoscope!

Called a Fletcher Capstan Table and created by David Fletcher it is based on a nineteenth century design by Robert Jupe. More information and videos are available here.

Back to the shop…

1. If you have a moisture problem in your shop keep your cast-iron tools like your tablesaw and lathe bed covered with heavy cotton bath towels when not in use. This will keep rust at bay and save you countless hours removing rust.

2. The strongest wooden tool handles have wood grain that runs parallel to tool head. Handles with grain running perpendicular to the tool head are more likely to break.

3. Hold a saw at 90 degrees to the workpiece for fast cuts. This leaves a rough edge. Hold a saw at 45 degrees to the workpiece for most cuts. This produces a fairly smooth cut. Hold a saw at a 20 degree angle to the workpiece to make very smooth cuts.

4. On the tablesaw cut boards that are too wide for the miter gauge in its normal position by turning it around so that the gauge precedes the workpiece.

5. Checking for square is crucial when building frames, boxes, cabinets, drawers, etc. To check for square quickly measure the distance of the diagonal corners. The measurements should be identical if the workpiece is square.

These are just a few tips that I picked up over this past week. They come from a variety of sources including books, magazines, newsletters, online and some from personal experience.

There are more Woodworking Tips and Tidbits located here.

Back to the shop…

I had a great evening last night turning my first wine bottle stopper! This was a fun project allowing me to work on my spindle turning skills as well as learning the creation process. It is made of Cocobolo and turned from a piece of wood approximately 1/2″ square and 3″ long. I believe the Cocobolo really added to the finished product.

This was a project that I wanted to do since I started woodturning. But like a lot of things getting started is the hardest thing to do so I went to a woodturning course at Lee Valley and received instruction on how to turn one. These courses are always great.

Here are the steps I took to turn the stopper:

Continue reading 'Cocobolo Wine Bottle Stopper Topper'