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Woodworking is not immune to myths and misinformation and some of it is shared unknowingly among the enthusiastic newbies to woodworking. What amazes me is some of this stuff has been around for years and years it keeps showing up in books and magazines.

Watch it on Youtube: https://youtu.be/W4FaoSJD6Mg

At first blush, some of these things appear like they are good ideas, and some people who try them will often tell others how well some little tip worked, not even knowing what it compared to ... 

Read more: Woodworking Myths and Useless Woodworking Hacks

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Colin Knecht writes ... I had the good fortune to have a truly dedicated high school shop teacher. A person who not only had the foresight to be innovative in his lessons, but also the dedication to teaching teenage students not only the craft of woodworking but also the safety. His lessons and techniques have stuck with me my entire life and I am eternally grateful for his teachings and patience.

My first year with Mr. Whittaker was grade 10 and while most others in the class had the benefit of the previous year of wood working, this was my first year in actual school learning. When Mr. Whittaker found out I was new to woodworking he told me, and a couple of others, we would be given a “quiz” to see what we knew. I immediately thought “great, my first day of school and already I have a test to take”. The class carried on for a week or so, and still no test, so I asked Mr. Whittaker when the test would be, his reply was “Oh I gave you that the first day, remember our conversation? that was the quiz, you passed” and he just turned and walked away.

That first year was pretty amazing ......

Read more: Charles Whittaker - Woodwork Shop Teacher

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Magnets in the woodworking shop have become commonplace for me and it probably all started when I purchased my first pair of magswitches. I remember it vividly. It was at a wood show many years ago and they were brand new on the market at the time. The vendor was showing them off and how they worked, but most people had little interest as they saw little or no real use for them.

Watch it on Youtube: https://youtu.be/kzMbqO9OYB4

When I first looked at magswitches at the show, I was intrigued ... but gave them a pass. By the end of the day, I had in my mind 2 or 3 great ways of using them and I knew there would be more ... so back I went and purchased them ...  

Read more: Woodworking Jigs & Workholding Tips w/ Magswitches - Featherboards and more!

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I think it's a good thing I have a few close-by neighbors because that is all that prevents me from making a full-size log milling machine for my back yard. I just love milling wood, and I can see why the people who collect logs and mill them, either full time or even just as a part-time job ... love their work. Every log you open up is a mystery until you see what's in it. I always liken it to opening a present ... you never really know what's inside until you open it and everyone is different.

Watch it on Youtube: https://youtu.be/pFF3vhdJ76Y

It's even more fun when you can find special logs that "might" contain special features like figure or spalting, and even if the longs are short, I still get that same thrill ... and the wood is every bit as useful, you just use it for smaller projects, or for feature wood on larger projects ....

Read more: Milling Spalted Logs with a Bandsaw Mill Jig

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One of the nice things about wood is that it comes in so many different varieties and because it's organic, all of those varieties can be further modified in structure by heat, fungi, and various other elements. In this video, I took my electric bike into the forest to harvest, what I hoped would be some spalted wood.

Watch it on Youtube: https://youtu.be/BkjjVNQL7u4

The one thing I was counting on was that even if the wood was not fully spalted, it would still be modified in its coloration and therefore would be another interesting wood to work with ...

Read more: Finding Spalted Wood for Woodworking / Free Lumber

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