Details
Hits: 2457

Sadly, not every log or bit of lumber that lays on the ground or in the forest turns into a spalted lumber candidate. There are many reasons for this and finding spalted logs or lumber takes a bit of a unique set of circumstances for it to actually occur and to become something as you can see in my video where I chose some logs that "looked" like they might have some spalting in them, but when finally cut, had very little.

Watch it on Youtube: https://youtu.be/x8QYUOQG-H0

Sometimes logs or wood can rot and not show any real signs of usable spalting ... wood gets wet and just rots so in order to get spalting it does need some ideal conditions, fortunately, I live in an area, the Pacific Northwest, where those conditions occur often, quite naturally .. but not always. 

Details
Hits: 2372

It's nice to see so many people from outside of North America sending in tips and in this episode are a couple more from European Countries, but tips are coming from all sorts of new sources and gives us all a fresh look at new ideas. 

Watch it on Youtube: https://youtu.be/W74LW1RNcRI

Sharing ideas in so many different formats means we all benefit and it enhances the community of woodworkers worldwide.

Details
Hits: 3552

I guess I am a bit of an accessory wood junkie, I love to see what's new, not just in tools, but in accessories. I am amazed at what people can come up with and I am equally amazed by things that I saw many years ago at wood shows, that I did not purchase, but now when I decide I want them they are now gone from the marketplace. 

Watch it on Youtube: https://youtu.be/a2VXspQycRo

Here are a few new items I have discovered and I decided to get in on them early ... or at least early for me, and pick up these items ... some new, some used.

Details
Hits: 3896

Many years ago I said that if you want to impress another woodworker, make a dovetail joint ... if you want to impress everyone else you can make box joints, and that is still true today. Most people cannot tell the difference and to an untrained eye, box joints and dovetail joints look pretty much the same, but box joints are much easier to make, and using a router means you can make very fine joints.

Watch it on Youtube: https://youtu.be/EzjG4bSrako

I first made this jig as a concept, I wanted to see if the same Lynn Sabin plans that created this jig well over 20 years ago, could be adapted to the router table. And it worked ... and it worked well. That jig I make many years ago worked fine so I didn't bother to make another ... until recently when I dug it out and found that some of the MDF and plywood that I used years ago, had cracked and the jig worked, but not smoothly. 

Details
Hits: 3104

Before we get started with this episode, I want to take some time here as well to acknowledge all the woodworking clubs and guilds who took me up on my offer to speak at their woodworking meeting over the past 8 months, during COVID and when most were having Zoom meetings. In all, I spoke to 23 US clubs, 2 in Canada and one in England. I did all these presentations for free, but some clubs insisted on gifting me something and I thank them all very much ... and all clubs who invited me to speak  ... I look forward to some time in the future when I may have a chance to meet in person at shows, meeting or other events.

Watch it on Youtube: https://youtu.be/6x5TkqSeu4M

This first tip, from Sylvain, is something I wished I had known about 30 years ago. I can't imagine how many times I have dropped nuts or washers when trying to fit them onto bolts that are in awkward places, and of course, the washers fall off as soon as you try to attach the nut ... 

More Articles ...

  1. 1st & 2nd Grade Schoolers at a Woodworking Summer School
  2. Saw Blade Kerf: Micro Kerf vs Thin Kerf vs Full Kerf - What You Should Know
  3. Colin's Woodworking Fail - Wooden Chair Project
  4. Subscriber Submitted Woodworking Tips & Tricks - Episode 22
  5. How to Save Money Buying Lumber