WoodWorkWeb - Woodworking Community

How to Make Finger Joints: Finger Joint Router Bits

Read Time: 4 mins

I have never had a chance to use a finger joint bit on the router, and since I picked one up some time ago, I would like to know how it works. It was on special at a tool store I deal with and being sold "as is" because the box was open and of course there were no instructions with it, and I don't even know if it even comes with instructions, or like most router bits you figure it out on your own. The one I got was the Freud Finger joint #99-037 I had it in my mind that this must be a simple bit to use so my first idea was to have 2 pieces of wood of exactly the same width and run them through the bit one face up, the other face down and see what that would do.

Watch it on Youtube: https://youtu.be/hrxftlIpqBI

Well ... as it turns out, nope, that wasn't how this bit worked, then I wondered if it was the height that I had the bit at, maybe that had something to do with it so I raised the bit slightly to expose more of the base ...

Table Saw Inserts: Tear-Out Test on Natural Woods!

Read Time: 5 mins

A short time ago, I made a video to see if using a Zero Clearance Insert in a table saw would give cleaner cuts with less tear out than a non-zero clearance insert. The results that I came up with using double sided melamine doing this test, was clear that making and using zero clearance inserts made no difference to the quality of the cuts. That test used double sided melamine as the cutting medium and many people wondered if there would be a difference if I ran the same test, but this time using natural wood or even plywood. I was not sure if the results would be different, but I suspected they would be very similar to the melamine tests, but that was a guess and the only real way of knowing is to run the test.

Watch it on Youtube: https://youtu.be/38pU_LVtfb4

I decided to use three different kinds of wood for this test, Oak, Pine and a good, cabinet quality 3/4" plywood. I would to both a ripping and a cross-cutting test on all these wood with both zero clearance and non-zero clearance throat plates then compare the differences ...

5 Quick Cordless Drill Hacks - Woodworking Tips and Tricks

Read Time: 5 mins

I can't believe how many cordless drills and drill drivers I gone through in the past 10 years. Would you believe 6. But in fairness, I still have 3 of them so that helps ease the pain. I guess what this tells me is that I do use my cordless drills a LOT. I know with some of my last pairs that only had one battery, when that battery was low or dead, it really constricted my woodworking so that also tells me how valuable drills and drill drivers are ... no wonder there are so many tips and tricks and accessories for the humble but irreplaceable cordless drill.

Watch it on Youtube: https://youtu.be/2YCcwFohdVE

And what has made these drills even more valuable is invention of the Lithium batteries that have so many advantages over the old NiCad batteries, they disappeared almost overnight ...

Buying Lumber Direct From the Sawmill - Money Saving Hacks for Woodworking Part 3

Read Time: 9 mins

Buying wood directly from a mill is not something everyone can do, even if you have sawmills in your vicinity, but it is available for many woodworkers and for those who belong to clubs and associations, it's even possible to get together and do "group purchases". Not all mills will sell to the general public, Often the large sawmills are wholesale only, but many of medium and smaller independent mills are happy to sell smaller quantities of wood. Do NOT show up at a mill and expect to buy one or 2 boards. These people make their living selling volumes, and just the way they store and stack their wood, it's not really an option for them in most cases. When you do show up at a mill, they will ask you that right away ... "How much wood are you looking for?" So you will need to be prepared with an answer in either board feet, or a number of boards, truckload, 1/2 truckload etc.

Watch it on Youtube: https://youtu.be/FCqAHAcevCk

There are basically 3 sizes of mills, Small, Medium and Large. Small mills are normally one person operations, often part-time and they will have a small gas driven, probably portable bandsaw mill. Medium size mills may have a larger circular saw and/or a bandsaw and probably operate full time or at least season full time. Large mills will often have a multitude of saws and will be driving truckloads of lumber through their mill on a full-time basis. They probably will also have a kiln to dry the wood they are cutting and often these do not sell to the public, but you can still ask them, some do ...

Woodworking Fact or Fiction: Does Tape on Wood Gives Cleaner Cuts / Less Tear-Outs

Read Time: 6 mins

I have received many comments and even a few emails telling me that if I want to get better quality cuts with my table saw, jig saw or even my sliding mitre that if I use masking tape, and cut through that tape, it reduces tear out, which is what causes that fuzzy edge when crosscutting boards.
Well ... I heard the same thing well over 20 years ago and I tried it then a couple of times and it didn't work so I have never tried it since. I guess it's time to try this again with some of the newer tapes and see if it makes a difference and to be honest ... I was skeptical at best that using something a flimsy as tape would really work as a solid backer on wood and give better cuts ... but ... I am always up for having my mind changed and this wouldn't be the first time that would happen.

Watch it on Youtube: https://youtu.be/_9nPFox_n5Q

I armed myself with 2 good quality tapes that I already use in my workshop for a variety of things, first 3M Blue Painters Tape and secondly, a newer tape I have only just started to use Frog Tape ...

Woodworking Jig Upgrades: Table Saw Miter Jig & Drill Press Fence

Read Time: 6 mins

Jigs in woodworking can help us accomplish a lot of different things but some jigs can be improved upon, but the improvements aren't alway obvious unless you have used the jig for a time and I am going to tackle 2 of those jigs in this episode.

Drill Press Magswitch Fence Modification
The first and one of the handiest jigs I have is the Magswitch fence for my drill press. This is easily the best fence system I have ever made for my drill press, it's quick, easy and not complicated and can be taken of in a heart beat. I can't say enough about this jig.

Watch it on Youtube: https://youtu.be/4krLJWELogQ

The first version of this jig works well, but I didn't think about one thing, and that was that I really like to use a 3/4 inch thick backer board on my drill press which in this case also happens to be the height of the magswich fence so doesn't work the way it could. I like to use the 3/4 inch backer board to help prevent the drill bits from bumping into the metal base and making them duller quicker, and because using a backer board helps to reduce tear-out on boards being drill ... well, sometimes it does ...

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