Woodsmith August/September 2019

One aspect of woodworking that I particularly enjoy is learning the history behind a certain style or type of furniture. Sometimes, that history has a direct bearing on the way a project is constructed. For example, campaign furniture was built to be easily transported during military campaigns. Other times, the history of a project has more to do with how it was used than how it was made. The shadow boxes on page 18 of this issue are a good example of this. While we were designing and building this project, I did a little background research on the history of shadow boxes. Although their exact origin is a subject of some debate, shadow boxes were (and still are) used by retired members of the military to display their…

Expensive Tools Come on folks... $325 for a coping saw (Woodsmith No. 241, p. 14)! Blue Spruce please. RIDICULOUS! I’m severely disappointed! That’s a power tool for most people! Craig Nickles via Twitter Asst. Editor Logan Wittmer replies: Indeed, the Blue Spruce saw is top of the line and far from cheap. However, the same thing can be said of any hobby. Some people spend money on cars, horses, or Harleys. I spend mine on high-end tools. A Long-Time Reader I enjoyed reading your 40th Anniversary Sawdust note (Woodsmith No. 241, p. 2). I cannot remember when I first started subscribing to Woodsmith, but my first few issues were just two or three pages. I tried to do four or five projects per year, but my wife kept reviewing your…

Rotating Table Latch A great way to save space in my shop is to combine smaller bench tools onto a rotating platform. I use a lazy Susan bearing and plywood to create my rotating tables. Holding the table in position while I work can be an issue however. The solution I came up with is the latch seen here. SPRING-LOADED LOCK. The latch is a shop-made, spring-loaded lock. A corner spacer is made in two halves and holds a sliding bolt. Inbetween the corner spacer is a rear block that has a hole for a spring and cut off bolt (detail ‘a’ and ‘c’). The sliding bolt presses against the spring and slides between the corner spacers. A top plate with a slot caps the whole thing. A rounded off…

GO ONLINE If you have an original shop tip, we would like to hear from you and consider publishing your tip in Woodsmith. Jump online and go to: SubmitWoodsmithTips.com You’ll be able to tell us all about your tip and upload your photos and drawings. You can also mail your tips to “Woodsmith Tips” at the editorial address shown on page 3. We will pay up to $200 if we publish your tip and one tip from each issue will be selected to win a Forrest Woodworker II saw blade. THE WINNER! Congratulations to Richard Rosen, the winner of this Forrest Woodworker II.…

Blade Tension Reminder. William Collett of Bettendorf, IA attaches a block and string to his band saw blade tension arm. When he releases the tension, he puts the block on the table. This way, the next time he goes to use it, he is reminded to re-tension the blade. Using Your Noodle. Larry Renalds of Ankeny, IA found that when he was moving heavy sheets of plywood around in his shop, he tended to damage the bottom edge. Annoyed by this problem, Larry found that a pool noodle slit along the length was the perfect edge protector.…

I think the seed for my woodworking journey was planted in grade school. When we had to get supplies at the start of the school year, one of my favorites was a simple compass. It was just a pair of stamped metal legs connected by a pivot point. One leg held a sharp metal point and the other held a pencil. Friction held the legs in position (sort of) to adjust the compass for drawing an arc or circle. And I drew a lot of them! That basic compass continues to exist because kids still need to draw arcs and circles. But it probably looks more like the one you see at the upper left on the next page. It has a very small tip that’s safer to use and…