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Planers are often one of the last larger tool purchases that woodworkers make. This is because it is easy to purchase "sized" wood in most places and when a lot of woodworking projects are 3/4" (2.54 cm) there is often not an immediate need for planing wood. If on the other hand you are purchasing rough lumber a planer is a must have item, and in my workshop it gets lots of use.
There is not a lot of options when it comes to using a planer but knowing a few tips and techniques can make a big difference in your outcomes of planed woods, and the first rule of thumb is to make sure you have sharp planer knives. It is not always easy to check these but it's imperative that you have good sharp knives as this will ensure you get a good cut and that there is not needless wear and tear on your wood planer.
It is recommended by all planer manufactures to space the cuts you make across the breadth of the blade, this means when you are making multiple cuts, don't make them all in the same spot as this will create more wear on one part of the cutters which can make future cutting unbalanced across the breadth of the knives.
Using a Wood Planer
One of the challenges of planers (and jointers) is wood tear-out. This occurs when the blades are forced to cut against the grain of the wood and is also enhanced by dull blades. Cutting with ...
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We get many questions about woodworking glues. There is such an array of glues available these days, it's no wonder that people can get confused on what to use. We understand that having at least a basic knowledge of what is available is important in order to get the best results we can.
Of course the other issue is that many glues overlap in their uses so often there is a variety of choices and a variety of brands to choose from as well. In this article we will deal with only some of the basic glues, when to use them and for what applications. There are many, many other glues we won't be touching on that may also be suitable for different applications and if you are in question, the internet is a rich resource for information on glues, especially if you want the details on a particular glue, where it should be used, it's cleanup requirements temperature requirements and of course it's PSI or holding strength as a glue.
How to Select Wood Glues
PVA Glues, or Polyvinyl Acetate glues are easily the most common glues used in woodworking with natural woods. The reason for this that this glue has been around for 100 years and gives consistently good results when uses as it should be. It cleans up easily with water, or you can leave it to dry and harden and clean up later, and ....
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We never really think about drill bits ... until one snaps, or we don't have the size we need, or we have so other need for hole drilling. Then, drill bits become indispensable. In this article we provide more background on drill bits than what we could provide in the 5 minute video shown here. I am always amazed at how much information there is on seemingly in smaller topics like drill bits.
All About Drill Bits
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For being one of the most versatile stationary machines in the entire workshop, the Drill Press gets very little recognition. This amazing tool has such an array of accessories and add-ons, it might be the most used tool in some shops. There are 2 versions of this tool, one that sits on the floor and stands about 6 feet high and the shorter version which is designed to sit on a work bench or some other sort of stand. The only real difference between the versions is the ability or the floor standing version to accommodate larger objects for drilling.
Often considered to be the safest tool in the shop, the drill press can be deceivingly nasty and deserves the same respect as every other tool in the shop. Just because it doesn't spin at the sames speed as a table saw or mitre saw, doesn't mean you can ignore safety, safety glasses, no loose clothing or hair are imperative. The issue with drill presses is that they are geared so low, that if something gets caught in them, they just keep on turning ... just like a winch, drill presses are very powerful.
All About The Drill Press
The first thing that needs to be done with a drill press, just like any other tool, is to check the set up and that means starting with the speed the chuck will be spinning at ...