Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2022 i Woodworker's Journal

Bed Sofa Gets Built, Finally! Around 30 years ago I had an idea to build a bed sofa, and recently I finally got around to doing it! I call it a bed sofa because unlike a sofa bed, which is mostly used as a sofa and rarely used as a bed, mine is just the opposite. My initial design concept for the conversion became too complex. I resolved that by simply making the back articulate to either position. It sits and sleeps surprisingly well. Bruce KiefferEdina, Minnesota Souped-up Router Table I ran out of room to store router bits and accessories, so I’ve customized my Rockler router table with two drawers, two side-loading bit storage compartments and an illuminated, sealed compartment for my router and lift. Many of my shop…

But why might a modeler own it? Even though Paul Doman, owner of our October mystery tool (shown at far right), has been unable to determine exactly what it does, 78 respondents couldn’t wait to unanimously explain his watch crab’s purpose. “This tool is an adjustable spanner wrench for removing the watertight back on watches,” says Robert Hobday of Honeoye Falls, New York. “As a watchmaker for 40-plus years, I have used a tool like this often,” assures Jim Hill of Sudbury, Massachu-setts. Benny Bridges of Charlotte, North Carolina, Dave Knapper of Willmar, Minnesota, and Michael Walters, who all regularly work on watches, are well familiar with it, too. “I own a couple different versions of this tool, admits Rob Harrison, “as my wife thinks that I have a watch…

Bar clamps are about as integral to woodworking as the rule in your combo square. But even tried-and-true “F-style” bar clamps have an annoying problem: you need one hand to position the clamp, the other hand to slide the movable jaw into place to tighten it and often another hand or two to hold workpieces together. Sound familiar? Well, Rockler’s product development team set out to solve this three-handed conundrum with these new Spring-Loaded One-Handed Bar Clamps. They feature a patented internal spring mechanism that retracts the extendable jaw automatically when a metal trigger is depressed. Then, just one or two pumps of the pistol grip tightens the glass-reinforced jaws up to 150 lbs of clamping force. This way, the clamp can be both positioned and tensioned easily with only…

Table saws take up such a big footprint in the realm of woodworking, both figuratively and physically, so approaching the challenge of explaining their fundamental worth in a shop is more than a bit daunting. Table saws are in nearly every woodworking shop. In a Woodworker’s Journal survey, more than 96 percent of respondents said they own a table saw. (A full quarter of those woodworkers surveyed own more than one table saw.) In my last shop I had three of them, but I have to admit that was excessive. Why are table saws so prevalent? Because they are exceptionally versatile and good at what they do. Table saws are truly the core of woodworking power tools. What Do They Do? In a woodworking shop, they cut wood. Table saws…

Calabash bowls are part of the cultures of Hawaii. They have been made for centuries, and many Hawaiians have examples that have been handed down for generations. Historically, wood calabash bowls were intended for royalty while common people used ones made from calabash gourds. Because of their royal connection, Hawaiian wood bowls have always exhibited superb craftsmanship and were made from tropical woods (deemed sacred) that exhibit stunning figure, grain pattern and color. After 1819, they could be owned by anybody, so wooden calabash bowls have prevailed. Until the last quarter of the nineteenth century, Hawaiians did not have lathes, so their bowls were made by using stone and coral to shape and then pumice and shark skin to bring them to a very high polish. The calabash shape is…

Contact Information Bosch 877-267-2499 boschtools.com Milwaukee Tool 877-729-3878 milwaukeetool.com Rockler 800-279-4441 rockler.com Applying a broad, even film of glue to board faces and sheet veneer will be simpler and more consistent if you use Rockler’s 5" Glue Roller with Silicone Rest for the job. Its 1 3/4"-diameter silicone roller is ribbed in a V-groove pattern that spreads glue forward and outward for quick, even distribution with no voids and less waste. The roller detaches from the ergonomic ABS handle and slides off of a plastic core for easier cleaning when finished. A blue silicone drip tray/roller rest keeps glue application tidy, and the roller handle snaps onto its rim. A hole in the roller’s handle enables this duo to be hung up conveniently between uses. The 5" Glue Roller with Silicone…

While these sleek, versatile and user-friendly cabinet hinges are often called “European” style, they’re almost standard issue these days in mass-produced kitchen or bath cabinetry here in North America. There’s good reason for it: Euro hinges come in a wide variety of options to suit both face frame and frameless cabinets. They can accommodate door swing ranges from 95 up to 120 degrees or more, as well as complex door clearance requirements for inside-corner cabinetry. The hinges also offer easy adjustability once installed — turning a couple of screws moves the door incrementally up and down, left and right or in and out to improve its fit, reveal and operation. Some Euro hinges also offer snap- or soft-close features that make additional door catches unnecessary. There are two basic types…

Harmful Wood Dust — It’s What You Don’t See How small are the fine [wood] dust particles that can harm us? We can’t see most of them: Individual particles smaller than 100µm (0.1 mm) are invisible to the unaided eye. Particles between 10µm and 20µm tend to become trapped in the outer passages of your respiratory system (resulting in the grotty goo that you see on a clean hanky when you blow your nose after a sanding session). Minute wood particles — particularly those between 0.3µm and 10µm — easily penetrate deep into the farthest reaches of your lungs, even into the tiny air sacs called alveoli. Sandor Nagyszalanczy Woodshop Dust Control: A Complete Guide to Setting Up Your Own System The Taunton Press; ISBN: 1561584991…

Ever since I was young, I’ve always been a creative and curious person. I liked to draw, I liked photography and videography, and I especially enjoyed working with my hands. As an engineering student in college, my favorite classes were the ones where I got to go down to the lab and make things. College was where I was exposed to CAD design, 3D printing and a little welding. It’s also when I realized I loved coming up with my own designs on the computer and then turning them into physical products to help solve problems that I was facing at the time. After college, I took a job as an automotive design engineer where 95 percent of my time was spent sitting in front of a computer. It was…

Even though we’re now more than two decades into the new millennium, there’s just something about the clean lines and simple styling of Mid-century Modern furniture that appeals to me. While this walnut storage cabinet is my own design, if you were to flip through the pages of a furniture catalog from the 1950s, I think you’d agree that the look of those old stereo consoles and sideboards is not too far off from this project. And yet, my interpretation here still blends in nicely with today’s design trends. You’ll see that it’s not difficult to build, either. Whether you use this project to store an audio or gaming system and set a big flat-screen television on top of it, or park it in your dining room for tucking away…

Track saws have long been centered in Festool’s wheelhouse. The accuracy and versatility of their track saws has allowed some space-constrained woodworkers to avoid buying a table saw but still do fine woodworking with these instead. And of course, they are just part of Festool’s systematic approach to power tools. The TSC 55 K is a further refinement of their track saw offerings. Powered by two 18-volt batteries, it has sufficient torque to cut hardwood, softwood and plywood alike. You can also use the saw with one battery for lighter duty. I own the TS 55 REQ corded track saw, and while I did not use the two side by side as I checked out this new “K” cordless model, I noticed no appreciable drop in performance with the…