If you think of your tablesaw as a mchine simply for ripping
or crosscutting, you’re selling it short. To give you a
fresh perspective, we mined the minds of the WOOD magazine
shop guys and unearthed their favorite time- and work-saving
tablesaw tips. here’s a mother lode of helpful hints you can
put to work in your shop today.
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Your benchtop planer takes a beating in normal use. Give it
routine maintenance for glassy-smooth results board after
board.
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Make your planer more effective at doing its main job—planing
boards to thickness—and multiply its usefulness by putting
it to work in ways you never have considered before.
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Form this classic-styled leg in just one hour using four
tools and a super-simple process. |
We pack all of the necessary steps into every WOOD magazine
project article, but we always wish we had more room to talk
about the best methods for achieving those steps. So here
are our top 10 keys to good woodworking based on our project
builders’ many years of experience. |
Occasional splinters in your hand may be a fact of life in
woodworking, but splintered wood is easy to avoid at your
tablesaw, router, and drill press. Just make prevention of
tear-out gremlins part of your common woodworking routine.
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When first introduced, four-jaw chucks were viewed by many
as a luxury just for professional turners. But they offer so
many advantages that anyone from novice level on up would
benefit from owning one.
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To learn caning basics, we called upon Joanna Schanz, of
West Amana, Amana Colonies, Iowa. Patience, practice, and
orderly mindset bring satisfying results. |
If you make your own frames, why not do the mounting, too?
Here’s all you need to know to get started. |
You don’t have to have a shop to make great-looking baskets,
and cleanup is a snap. |
Some say the scraper is difficult to sharpen and tricky to
use. Nonsense. Here’s how to bend this little gem to your
advantage. |
Well-built outdoor projects start with accurate layout of
post locations. A few 1x2s, a length of mason’s string, and
simple arithmetic will get you to that goal. |
Just as with your car, a few minutes of regular maintenance
on your bandsaw can save you time and money over the long
haul. Take ten minutes to ensure your tool’s in top-top
shape and running true. Here’s how. |
It’s great stuff for jigs and projects, but you need the
right approach for the best results. Here we’ll focus on
three types of plastics—acrylic, polycarbonate, and phenolic
laminate—and how to machine them.
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There’s more than one way to cut and assemble air-tight
miters; we’ll show you how. |
To help avoid tool catches, torn grain, and other turning
snafus, it’s essential that your tools be properly
sharpened. So how do you get that? We asked three
professional turners, and their answer was unanimous: “Get a
Wolverine Grinding Jig.” Next, we asked out pros how to put
the Wolverine jig to best use. Here’s what they told us.
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It rips, crosscuts, makes dadoes, and more—the tablesaw
serves as the key tool for most woodworking projects. So,
you need to make sure that your machine puts out straight,
square, smooth results every time. |
Add an impressive detail to your finest work, using a router
and these tips. |
Tips and Tricks for Success!
Building with this softwood calls for extra care and the
right finishing techniques. |
You already have the tools; Now here's the know how.
A few things you can make with plastics, acrylic
router-table insert, phenolic laminate router-table insert,
acrylic waterstone pond, polycarbonate router-table guard
and dust hood, acrylic reindeer. |
Use this technique and jig to put a razor-sharp edge on your
chisels, plane irons, jointer knives, and lathe chisels.
Measures aproximately 16" long. |
You just purchased the woodworking machine of your dreams,
unpacked its pieces, and bolted everything together. Now
you’re ready to put this latest addition to your shop
through its paces. Well, not quite. In testing thousands of
power tools, we’ve found only a few that come to us
accurately set. Some components cannot be aligned until the
tool is assembled, and shipping can knock even a finely
tuned machine out of adjustment.
That’s why we always tune up a new tool before using it. We
also recheck all of its settings periodically, especially if
the machine has been moved or starts turning out inaccurate
work. True, tune-up procedures can be tedious, at least
until you get the hang of them. But an untuned power tool
won’t perform any better than an untuned piano.
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When your car acts up, you know it’s time to open the hood
and make some adjustments. Likewise, if you don’t keep your
power tools in tune, the quality of your woodworking almost
certainly will suffer. Or worse yet, you may be setting the
stage for a nasty accident. To prevent such occurrences and
to maximize precision performance from your tools, we’ve
developed a trustworthy guide to keep your major power tools
in tip-top shape. Here, we look at three shop stalwarts: the
tablesaw, jointer, and planer. |
Learn how we make thin stock from thick in the WOOD®
magazine shop
Wouldn’t it be great if you could go to a specialty hardwood
store or a home center and just order whatever thicknesses
of wood you need for a project? It sure would save a lot of
time. But we all know it’s not that simple. That’s why
knowing how to resaw lumber is such a valuable woodworking
skill. First off, slicing your own stock saves you big
bucks; you don’t waste a lot of pricey material. And by
resawing your own material, you can lay your hands on it
when you need it. Fortunately, there’s nothing difficult
about learning to resaw. And once you’re set up to do
it—with either a tablesaw or a bandsaw—you’ve got it made.
We even include plans to build the jig shown left. |
When you’re woodworking for fun, it’s all right to take your
sweet time building projects. In fact, stepping back
occasionally to admire your handiwork, or carefully working
through a new technique, can be among the most enjoyable
parts of your hobby. But if you like making multiples of the
same project, or if you’re in the business of woodworking,
speed and efficiency count. Working smart is one of the
things Schlabaugh & Sons prides itself on. These Kalona,
Iowa, woodworking pros specialize in building
distinctive-looking clocks and other wooden accessories. And
fortunately for us, they allowed us to spend a day with them
recently to absorb some of their woodworking wisdom
firsthand. Here’s hoping you can put some of these clever
ideas to good use in your shop.
Jigs include:
1) Arch-Cutting Jig
2) Positive-Stop Sanding Jig
3) Glue-Up Fixture Jig
4) Radial-Arm Saw Auxiliary Table Jig
5) Small-Part Bevel Jig |
Choosing bandsaw blades with added information on bandsaw
safety
If you want one general rule for choosing the correct
bandsaw blade, remember this: Use the widest blade with the
coarsest teeth that will make an acceptably smooth cut in
your material. Here's the information you need to apply this
simple rule effectively.
The versatile bandsaw fits into the picture virtually
everywhere in woodworking. From carving to furnituremaking,
you'll find tasks that a bandsaw does best. But, to get the
most out of your machine, you're going to have to pick the
best blade for the job. Here's how. |
When we decided to pull together our best collection of
scrollsawing tips, we made a beeline to Rick Hutcheson's
shop in Grimes, Iowa. We figured anyone who spends thousands
of hours every year cutting scrollsaw designs has to know a
lot about the craft.
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Fine furniture and elegant accessories shine brightest in a
proper setting, so give them the rich wood surroundings they
deserve.
That drab, fake-wood paneling looked outdated about a month
after somebody nailed it to your family room walls. Never
fear, it won’t happen this time. When you wrap a room with
hardwood plywood panels, separated by solid-wood mullions
and topped by a handsome plate rail, you not only add
quality materials, you invest in a classic, time-honored
style. |
The photos show key wood-selection strategies. Then, read on
for tips on why the appearance of wood varies, how to match
grain figure, and how to combine species to achieve striking
effects. |
You don’t need fancy equipment to turn away from straight
lines. In this article, we’ll show you how to mark curves
and arcs with a trammel, string and pins, compass, flexible
curve, and French curve.
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Save money making your own thin stock and veneer. We show
you how to get top-notch bandsaw results. |
With sandpaper and our simple jig, you’re only minutes
away from razor-fine cutting edges. Article includes plans
for a sturdy maple sharpening jig. |
Got nicks in your nooks? Facing a cranny crises? Take a
look at these simple sander stand-ins. |
