All posts by Tom

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Quick Polls

Quick Poll

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While you may not think it’s true, just about everyone is an avid reader.  Sure, maybe you aren’t leafing through Faulkner, Shakespeare or Poe… but woodworkers have collections of woodworking magazines and books, wannabe chefs have their cookbooks, gear heads have their auto repair manuals…

So, needless to day, one of the most important pieces of furniture in any house is a bookcase – somewhere to stash all those books!  Book cases can run the gamut from fancy to plain, difficult to build or easy afternoon projects… take your pick.

At least one of these shelves – the bottom one – is typically fixed in place. After all, a bookcase is typically a large box that needs all four sides and a back.  The other shelves are usually adjustable to allow different sizes of books – tall photo albums vs. paperback novels.

This week’s question – when you build a bookcase, what kind of system do you use for making the adjustable support system for these movable shelves?


Link of the week

Link of the week

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Barb S Woodworks

Up in Washington state, surrounded by some of the most beautiful forests in the world, Barb Siddiqui turns (literally and figuratively) out some beautiful woodworking projects from locally-harvested woods and choice bits of more exotic species from other sources.

A beautiful tea box crafted by Barb

Her work is elegant, carefully using wood color and grain to create visual harmony in her boxes, vases, pens and other items. Spend some time at her site and check out what she has for sale as well.

 

Experiences

It’s a summit

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One week from today, I’ll have my bags packed, and I’ll be watching the time crawl by at work. One week from now, I’ll be trying to remember if I have to head to the red or blue airside at Tampa International Airport. One week from now, I’ll have to make sure I have clean socks and underwear… because, one week from now, I’m going to the summit.

Tenzing Norgay on the summit of Mt. EverestNo, not THAT kind of summit… A summit meeting. Kinda like those big meetings that used to take place between the United States and the old Soviet Union.

Gorbachev and ReaganThat’s more like it, only it’s a summit meeting of woodworkers. That’s right, one week from today, I’ll be getting ready for the big trip up to Covington, Kentucky (just south of the Ohio River from Cincinnati) for the 2013 edition of Woodworking in America.

This annual event is a great opportunity to get together with the woodworkers I know virtually through the online woodworking community. In many cases, I feel as if many of these folks are neighbors living just a few houses down the street from me. In reality, they come from around the country – and from beyond its borders – to get together, take a few classes, drink a few beers and swap some tall woodworking tales.

The Hand Tool OlympicsThere are so many highlights of the weekend. The Hand Tool Olympics – the brain child of Mike Siemsen – test participants for two straight days of challenging woodworking tasks. There’s a lot of bluster (Cutting that tenon will be a piece of cake!), a lot of excuses (I am only used to my saw. This test is unfair!) and a lot of laughs, especially when I show my dovetails…

When Dovetails cry

Who could ever forget that train wreck…

This year will also be a big time for meet ups.  When folks get into town on Thursday night (Oct. 17), me and my fellow members of the Modern Woodworkers Association would be honored if you would join us for a few beers and some great food at the Keystone Bar and Grill in Covington.  This will also be the first time I have met fellow podcaster Chris Adkins… and, I will be able to see Dyami Plotke again, the first time since I deployed to NYC after Hurricane Sandy.  This should be fun.

Woodworking zaniness at the Keystone...

We’ll also be back at the Keystone on Saturday night at 6:30 as Marc Spagnuolo, Matt Vanderlist and Shannon Rogers will be recording an episode of Wood Talk Online Radio for broadcast.  Be sure to come by and say ‘hey’ (or heckle, your choice) while the three amigos make audio magic.

There are so many other things I am looking forward to, but I don’t have the space to list them all. If you are going to be in the area.. please stop by!

 

Last Minute Elf

More Elves are on board

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The best thing about being a woodworker is that we work with some of the most generous folks.  Once I put the notice out last week, we have had a few more folks come to the table to offer awesome prizes.

The Last Minute ElfRight now, the current prize list stands at (With the newest ones on top):

A gorgeous ribbon boxSince we have more prizes, that means there will be more chances to win!  So I have added a few more categories..

  1. Best Turned project
  2. Greenest project (using recycled materials)
  3. Best project that will fit inside a large USPS flat rate shipping box (12 inches x 12 inches x 5 1/2 inches)
  4. Best gift for a younger child (ages to birth 12 years old)
  5. Best gift for a Teenager (ages 13 – 20)
  6. Best gift for an adult (20 or above)

So, get out into those shops and come up with some sweet inspiration to help those who may be waiting until the very last minute.

 

Quick Polls

Quick Poll

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There are so many different kinds of woodworking out there. Cabinetry. Scroll sawing. Furniture making. And turning…

turning on a big proportionTurning… the spinning vortex that sucks woodworkers into it. I have heard many woodworkers say that they may just go out to the shop to futz around for a little while, and seven hours later, their family considers sending out a search-and-rescue team to look for them.

This week, tell us if you have ever turned a project, and what your level of interest is.


Link of the week

Link of the week

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The Modern Woodworkers Association

Gosh, I know this is sort of a self-serving post, but for those of you who don’t know, I’m a part of an online woodworking movement. The Modern Woodworkers Association is a group of local groups and a large online community whose purpose is to spread the word about woodworking.

The Modern Woodworkers AssociationIf you haven’t been to the website recently, you will discover our latest post highlighting a milestone in our growth. Our 40th podcast is now online, and our special guest is none other than Roy Underhill. If you have never heard Roy go on about woodworking, this is not to be missed. The interview was full of great insight into the craft and moments of off-the-wall humor.

I hope you’ll stop by and check it out!

Last Minute Elf

The Last Minute Elf gets serious

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It was just a short month ago when I announced the latest woodworking event for everyone to participate in – the Last Minute Elf. And, so far, the response has been great. I have been sent a lot of small project ideas, and things are starting to pick up some steam. Heck, we even have a Facebook page.

The Last Minute Elf

To help get things moving even faster, we’re upping the ante when it comes to the event. That’s right, we’re going big time here – with the Last Minute Elf project contest.

Hey, I know I’m not the first person to think of building easy holiday projects. Over the years, I have seen lots of beautiful, clever and easy to build projects that were thought of mere days before they were due to be delivered, but made the deadline. That’s why I’m turning to you for your inspiration for this event.

Me and Iggy working hard in the shop

The rules should be easy enough to follow … Build a simple gift project that can be completed in a weekend in an average hobby workshop, and the design needs to be your own (not pulled directly from a commercially-produced plan). I’m thinking we can break this into a few categories…

  1. Best Turned project
  2. Greenest project (using recycled materials)
  3. Best project that will fit inside a large USPS flat rate shipping box (12 inches x 12 inches x 5 1/2 inches)

And, of course, we will also have a special prize for the best of show. How will those winners be picked? Well, I’m looking to assemble a panel of judges who can weigh in on this and help me select the winner. In order to do the judging right, we’ll need to have pictures and plans of those projects in no later than November 24. That gives us some time before the Thanksgiving holiday here in the states to get them judged.

And, what will those winners get? I’m working with the folks I know to see if we can get prizes for this event, and so far, the generosity has been awesome…

There are definitely more to come, but I’d say this is a pretty awesome start!  I’ll keep you updated as they come in.

I’m looking forward to seeing what comes in.