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Router TableMany people consider routers "scary tools", this is probably because they can spin at such a high rate of speed, but truthfully, routers are among the safer tools in the workshop. Not that they should be taken for granted, ANY tool can do serious harm even a router. The thing that I like most about routers is they can be used to make entire projects. If the only tool you have is a router, you can make many projects with only a router.If you are new to routing, you will soon discover that the most of the things that you can do with a router involve using a router table. Routers with tables are useful too, but having a router table opens a whole new world of projects and woodworking elements.

If you are about to invest in a router, make sure you choose a good brand name like Porter Cable, Freud, Milwaukee, DeWalt or similar. If you are also investing in a router table do NOT purchase an inexpensive table based on price. You will soon find out that your money was wasted and now you still need to go out and purchase decent table. Most bench top tables are not worth bringing home, although there are exceptions, even some of the floor standing models are sketchy, so take your time and buy a decent table.

 

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In hundreds of garage sales, thrift shops, basements and store rooms around the country are sitting ... tens of thousands of older vinyl records. Vintage artifacts from the 50s, 60s, and 70s and many of them with some astoundingly wonderful art work. This project will bring out those old albums and give them a new life and decor in your home. The design of these frames makes them easy to change album covers, no need for clips or nails to hold the albums in the frame, a simple, innovative slot system designed by the maker allows easy changing of album covers. The wood used for this project was western or broad leaf maple (somewhat softer than the hard or eastern maple) but you could also use many other woods. We found cedar and pine to be a bit soft for this project. The beauty of this project is that it uses standard 3/4" material.

 

Watch the video, then click below to read more details on how these frames are made. 

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I'm always amazed in this world of high technology and all it's whizz bangs, that someone ... somewhere never forgets about the simple things in life. The small things that often frustrate us to death but that we never seem to overcome. Enter the new "Bench Cookies from Rockler. These are simple little discs with non skid material applied that not only allows them to stand off the workbench, thus giving the worker some room underneath the project ... these little things stick like crazy, even when grit and sawdust tries to confound them.

At first I wondered how many times I would really need to lift my work piece off the workbech top, but I soon discovered that was not the real issue, the real issue was all the stuff that always seemed to accumulate under my work piece, like nails, screws, bits of wood, tools, pencils ... the list goes on and and on. The real problem with thes is that in some cases I don't want the back to get scratched and marred, I want it to be clean, which doesn happen when a screw rolls under and all of a sudden your piece now has a dint or scratch in it.

I also like the fact that I can use them for painting and staining, simply by moving them in from the side of the piece. To me, the that is the best part of these accessories, when you want to paint, stain or varnish all sides of a piece, when it is small it often moves around on you.
      

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For many woodworkers today, scapers are a bit of a mystery. Many of us have heard other woodworkers extoling the virtures of scrapers and how wonderful they are. Well, we decided that it was high time to spend some time on scrapers and explain how and where to use them ... and most of all how to keep them sharp. I can tell you the absolute most useless tool you will ever have in your workshop is a dull scaper. On the flip ... a sharp scraper is irreplaceable.

Before sandpaper became popular, scapers were the item that woodworkers used to put a fine finish on their woodworking projects. In fact, scrapers were so useful and popular that there were people who circulated the woodworking shops with the sole purpose of sharpening scrapers for woodworkers. Because of the sound they made when sharpening scrapers they were called "clickers".

As it turns out, scapers are a VERY useful tool in finishing wood, and in many cases, especially with highly figured woods, particularly those with open grain, sandpaper can actually supress that three dimensional aspect of highly figured wood ... but scrapers can restore the look.

 

Click the Read More button to see more about scrapers.

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OK, Now that you know how to cut picture frame material and make the angle cuts, now you need to put it all together. Gluing up smaller picture frames can be done with something a simple as black electrical tape wrapped around the picture frame after glue-up. The pressure of the tape will keep the corners together long enough to allow the frame to become rigid. Larger picture frames are another story ... the black electrical tape trick doesn't work so well.

In this case it is better to have some sort of a picture framing glue-up jig. The one shown in the video can be made quite easily, the plans are easy to find on the Internet and it doesn't take long to put it together. As usual ... there are some tricks. I decided to offset the center block so it makes it easier to use, AND I added wing-nuts to the ready bar so that the whole jig can be tightened up around the frame quickly and easily ... you don't want to fussing around too much glues like Titebond lll, it will start harding up on you (especially in warm weather) in minutes.

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There is one thing you should keep in mind, if you are planning on staining your wooden frames, the staining shoulld be done BEFORE the glue-up. The reason for this is that ofen glue will squeeze out of the joints and onto the face of the frames. No matter what you do there always seems to be a bit of glue on the face of the frames. When this glue dries it is often hard to to see as it is translucent and a will not allow stains to penetrate the wood. This means you get nicely stained frames with blotches of natural wood showing through at some corners.

If you are painting the frames, it doesn't matter if a bit of glues gets on to the face of the frames.

Other than that .. it's all good, give it a try and you will be making excellent picture frames for cheap in no time!!!

copyright - Colin Knecht
woodworkweb.com

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