Innholdsfortegnelse for February/March 2021 i Woodsmith

Dull Edges. Larry Hilton of Green Bay, WI was having a problem remembering which edges of his carbide turning tools he had used. To leave himself a reminder, Larry now colors the dull edge of the carbide tool before he rotates it. That way, when he needs a fresh, sharp edge, he knows which edges he’s already used. Power Strip Mounting. Sarah Vallient of Princeton, MO found it frustrating to get screws correctly spaced for the slots on the back of power strips. As a simple solution, Sarah discovered that she could cover the strip with a piece of masking tape and use a marker to mark the slot locations. Then, she can peel the tape off and put it on the mounting surface. The marks on the tape make…

Joe, cuppa, java, brew — coffee. If there’s one thing that transcends generations, countries, and people from all walks of life, it’s coffee. Many people, myself included, savor that morning cup of rich, roasted goodness. And with other things in our lives, why not enrich the coffee experience with a few small items you can make in your shop? THREE AMIGOS. As you can see in the photo, the three coffee accessories span the coffee experience — from roasting to sipping. First up is a turned coffee mug. A stainless steel insert alleviates any moisture concerns, and the aluminum and wood handle makes it a pleasure to hold. Up next is a combination bag clip and scoop. Its duty is to keep your bag closed and beans fresh, while doubling…

Dedicated, production-style joinery machines fascinate me. The precise control, smooth cuts, and ease of setup set the bar pretty high. Of course, mortising machines, slot mortisers, and other similar tools have a price tag that goes with the performance. I’ve been bugging creative director Chris Fitch enough to come up a shop-made machine that can hold its ground with the commercial models. What he came up with makes my heart beat fast. In our talks, one of the primary goals was simplicity. He wanted to avoid a complicated contraption. I wanted a way to rout mortises in the edges and ends of my workpieces. Layered plywood assembled with screws makes up most of the construction. A minimized hardware list avoids “Unobtainium” items and keeps the cost down. At the core…

When I first started woodworking, I didn’t have a router and created “identical” parts one at a time, measuring, cutting, and shaping them one by one. I kept my fingers crossed that they’d match. After getting my first router and bit set, I was able to create identical parts by making a template and trimming my rough-cut workpieces with a flush-trim bit. Over the years I learned a few tips and techniques for getting the best results. These tips don’t require any specialized bits. For the majority of my work, I use the three basic bits you see at left. My workhorse bit is the flush-trim bit at the top. Its bearing is attached at the end of the bit and I use it in my router table, so I…

The history of pub signs in England goes way back. By way back I mean that the Romans brought the novel idea of signage to the British isles during their “visit.” Signs with strong, clear, visual references helped the largely illiterate population navigate the needs of daily life. Like, “let’s meet at the green dragon, they have the best happy hour.” Once the British convinced the Romans that their welcome was worn out, they sent them packing. But, they kept the marketing tool of pub signs, along with other cultural trappings. OPTIONS. The three examples you see here were each created using different methods. The dragon is crafted mostly with woodcarving tools (and a little help from your router to get the ball rolling). The horse is assembled in built-up…

If Thomas Jefferson had an Instagram account, you can bet there would be a picture of this chair ’s ancestor proudly displayed there. He loved the easy nature of this piece of furniture. This strong, lightweight chair by legend hails from the port town Campeche, located on Mexico’s gulf side. Right out of the gate, you can see that this is not a conventional project. To build a chair out of eight pieces of wood (20 if you count the wedges) is a testament to good design. Other iterations sport a wide variety of seating options, from tooled leather to humble wood slats. Dillon Baker, the designer behind this project, has streamlined the look of his version. He chose rugged duck canvas for the seat. Mahogany is a Caribbean commodity…

When it comes to wood working , nothing beats a solid set of plans. And here at Woodsmith, we’ve prided ourselves on our plans. But, like most woodworkers, I often build things “off the cuff.” Sometimes it’s from a picture someone sends me and says “Here, can you build this?” or it’s something that’s been in my head and is trying to break free. But there are times, especially when designing a commission piece or working through a complex project, that you need to flesh out the napkin sketches that so many of us often work from. SKETCHUP. I’m sure by now you’ve heard of SketchUp. Formerly, it was powered by Google, but has since been under a company by the name of Trimble. Regardless of the company that owns…

Squaring the Shapes. Match the profiles of your woodcarving chisels to the contours of the letters. Use a V-parting tool to define where the letters meet the background. Background & Letters. Carving the scalloped pattern in the background of the sign requires a variety of gouges. Follow this with scalloping the surface of the letters. The Wing. The last step starts with gluing on extra wood to the top of the sign. Finally, carving it enhances the form of the dragon by adding a bit of dynamic depth.…

What can I say — the year 2020 has been an interesting one. Among the many challenges this year has presented, one of the largest was learning to work remotely. To compound this “work from home” model, many parents found their children migrating to online learning as well. While I was amazed how well most of the school districts handled the remote learning, I was vastly unprepared to have my children learning from home. All of a sudden, many parents, myself included, were forced to put together a “learning area” for our kids. In a response to this, Chris Fitch designed the desk and shelf you see here. SLEEK DESIGN. Looking at the desk, you can see that not only is it the perfect place for a student to learn…

One of the best aspects of woodworking is noodling out a process to accomplish a task. In my experience though, I then look for a different approach that offers a simpler way of getting the same result. The obstacle this time was cutting angled tenons. A couple of recent projects illustrate this. ROCKING CHAIR. First up is a rocking chair. The design calls for the seat to be wider at the front and narrower at the back. This means the side rails angle from front to back. So I needed a way to cut an angled tenon on each end to fit the front and back legs, as shown in the photo at left. My usual approach to straight and square tenons is to use a dado blade in the…