Now that Woodworking in America is over, there is a mountain of photos, stories and other stuff I have to sort through to bring you a few decent posts. But, I do have to start off  by saying what an awesome weekend it was. Sure, a lot of folks either went to WIA west in Pasadena or stayed home because the whole gang wasn’t there, but hey, we had ourselves a blast!

Now, I saw some impressive stuff while I was there. I got to handle a Scott Meek plane. I got to watch Chris Schwarz build a saw bench in under an hour. I even got to see one of the most impressive chairs  built by Don Williams (That chair in itself is worth an entire post).

But, what impressed me most was the feat of dovetailing magic performed by Mike Siemsen, the ringleader of the Hand Tool Olympics.

You see, Mike is of the mind that you don’t need a whole bunch of expensive tools to do dovetailing. And, he proved it with this kit. A hacksaw. A screwdriver sharpened to a chisel point. A board with a screw that had a sharpened head as a marking gauge. I think he spent $12 at the local home improvement center for the whole shebang.

Using his cutting gauge, Mike marked out the baselines of the tails and pins on the board. The sharpened screw head sliced cleanly, and before you know it, he had the board in the vise. The hacksaw cut surprisingly straight and quickly, leaving a very thin kerf.

Rather than use a coping saw to cut out the majority of the waste, Mike turned to his chisel – a straight bladed screwdriver.  The model he chose – a $2 plastic handled one – did OK, but Mike was quick to point out that had he gone for the $5 model, the steel would have held a better edge. Oh, well, there’s always next time! And, the best part – his mallet was a piece of 2×4 that he had shaped into a club. Hey, it did the job!

After the tails were cut, Mike went over to the pin board, marked it and followed quickly with his cuts. A chop here, a pare there, and the results were something else to look at!

Now, I’m sure you have to be wondering how long it took him. After all, these are not high-priced beauties. I knew it wasn’t taking a long time, but wow, the final time was a real eye-popper. And that was even with me asking Mike to stop a few times so I could have him pose.

So, what’s the moral of the story?  You really don’t need to break the bank to do excellent work. Even the most expensive saws and chisels will only work as well as the operator makes them. So, get out and practice. And, if you have a spare $12 lying around, you might even want try your hand at low-budget dovetailing.

All year, I have been looking forward to the Woodworking in America Midwest event taking place this week in Cincinnati. But, I was thrown off the track by a few things… Tropical Storm Debby, Hurricane Isaac, the Republican National Convention, and most recently when Hurricane Sandy decided to make a late season rush at the northeast. Since I’m a transplanted guy from Jersey, I had a lot of folks up in the that mid-Atlantic area I was concerned about – my parents, relatives, friends… the works.

While I was relieved to see that my peeps weathered the storm surprisingly well, that’s not the case for everyone. In fact, Sandy could end up being one of the most disastrous storms to hit the United States in its history.  Many places I can remember visiting up in that neck of the woods are completely torn up, flooded and many people are going to take a long time to recover. Thoughts and prayers go out to them.

I was also glad to see that many of the woodworkers from that area who were going to attend are OK as well, and their  travel plans – while threatened – are not cancelled.  That’s why I’ll be traveling up for this year’s Midwest edition of Woodworking in America.

The fun begins at the Keystone Bar and Grill on Thursday night 8 p.m. until midnight, when we get as many people together as possible to meet up before the big event begins. Last year’s meetup was one for the history books, and there’s no reason why this year shouldn’t be a HUGE deal!  Join us starting at 8 p.m. for a little nosh, a few drinks and some great conversation.

Starting Friday, you can look me – and Dyami Plotke –  up a the Modern Woodworkers Association booth in the marketplace. We’ll be bouncing between that booth and the Hand Tool Olympics booth run by Mike Siemsen.

And, remember, we get an EXTRA HOUR for free at the Woodworking in America Midwest event this year – yup, we turn the clocks back an hour early Sunday morning…
I’m definitely looking forward to catching up with everyone… now, I’ll have to pack my thermal underwear.  November weather in Cincinnati is too chilly for this thin-blooded Floridian!

Do you know what these things are?

They are known as kettlebells. They look kinda like a cannon ball, and were invented in Russia back in the 1700s. They were used by drill instructors in the Czar’s imperial army as a strength-training device for the soldiers.

In the past decade or so, they have become popular in the United States as a personal training tool. Basically, you hold on to one while you do a prescribed series of moves, and the extra weight afforded by the kettle bell helps develop strength, improves coordination and – because you do the moves in very rapid succession – gives a great cardiovascular workout.

I call them implements of torture. This past weekend, Rhonda invited me to come out to an early Saturday morning kettle bell class at the local rec center.  “It’s a great workout,” she assured me. “You’ll love it.”

I should have known I was in trouble when the trainer handed me a 20 pound kettlebell, but everyone else in the class was holding ones half the weight.  Rhonda also commented that the instructor was pushing the participants much harder than he had done in previous classes. I can recall getting the tunnel vision thing three times during the class, and my legs were left a quivering mess after the session was over. That was until they stiffened up the next morning, leaving me looking like I had ridden a horse for too long.

Now, I’m wondering if I should go back this Saturday.

What does this have to do with woodworking? Plenty.  You see, when it comes to woodworking, there are always new skills to master. Veneering. Hand cutting mortise and tenon joints.  Sharpening. And, there are always those advanced projects we look to build – the sooner the better.  That Chippendale Highboy. That massive trestle table for our family dinners.   It’s great to want to get out there and do it all.

But, sometimes in our rush to master these tasks, we can bite off more than we can chew, and we end up frustrated – sometimes to the point where we swear off doing that task forever.

Just as with my kettlebell class, I should have recognized two things – I needed to be working with less weight, and I should have been a lot easier on myself.  In the same way, when trying a new task, think for a minute about what you are going to undertake. Maybe instead of thinking you will hand-cut the dovetails on a dozen drawers for a big chest of drawers, maybe you should be perfecting your techniques – cutting to a line, getting your chisels sharp, learning how to use a marking knife properly.  By easing into the task – and making sure you have all of the basics down cold – you will develop your skills faster than if you just throw yourself into the process headlong.

I know that this kettlebell thing isn’t going to be easy. And, while physically lifting my legs with my arms to swing them into my driver’s seat this week, the thought of giving up on these classes has crossed my mind several times. But, from what I have heard from others who have been where I am, the post-exercise pain will be considerably less after this week’s class, and soon, the major benefits of working out with these kettlebells are going to show.

Understanding that you will have difficulties in mastering new woodworking skills is a part of learning the craft. Will you ‘waste’ wood?  Of course. Will that joint be gappy?  Could be. Will that finish give the wood the depth you want?  Perhaps. But, every success, every failure, every up and every down goes into your bank of woodworking experience. And, when you add that all together, eventually, you become a very talented woodworker with a strong knowledge of the craft.

And, unless you have an accident in the shop, it probably won’t hurt nearly as much as my legs do this week.

The measurement we use to mark distances – a mile – has a very interesting history.

In some areas of Europe, the mile could have been as long as 10 Kilometers – more than six miles. There are several other lengths, some of which we still use today. A statute mile measures out at 5280 feet, yet a nautical mile equals 6076 feet. Thus, you get different measurements when looking at speeds. A boat traveling at 50 miles per hour is hitting 43 knots.   Confusing, eh?

The origin of the term came from the days when the Roman armies marched through Europe, the Middle East and Northern Africa as they built their Empire.  As those soldiers marched to far away battlefields, commanders needed a way to gauge how far they were from home base, and how much more they had to travel to get to their new posts.  So, as the solders marched, each thousandth pace was noted as one mile (think millimeter.. 1,000 of those suckers make up a meter). Since the average Roman soldier’s pace was about five feet, a mile measured out to about 5,000 feet. The Romans were also excellent record keepers, and this distance became a standard in the ancient world, helping guide travelers for the past 2,000 plus years.

Today,I am posting my thousandth post on Tom’s Workbench. What seemed like a goal waaaaaay off in the distance back in August of 2007 is now here, and I often wonder how I have made it this far.

No doubt, you have read enough of the early days of the blog. I have spent the past two months throwing bouquets to the folks who have helped make the blog what it is today.  I have meant every word of those articles. Sincerely. There were several times during the early days when I asked myself, “Why keep going?”  Each of those people at one time has helped me put one foot in front of the other, keeping the blog’s slow and steady pace.

There is another group of folks that I didn’t have a chance to thank yet – the most important ones. Each of you. Sure, if I had no readers every day, I’d still probably be out there putting up post after post for my own personal enjoyment. But, sharing this journey with each of you has helped to make this a far more enjoyable trip.  I have had folks walk up to me at woodworking shows and energetically shake my hand, happy to have met a ‘celebrity.’

In reality, it’s me who is far more excited to meet you!  I mean, you suffer through what passes for content on this site, and you do it willingly!  There’s a sainthood in it for you somewhere!

While today’s post is a big milestone, it’s not the end of anything.  I’m reminded of a question my friend Scott Morton asked me  at Allan Lindsey’s dining table near the end of Woodworking in America 2011: What are your goals for the blog?

Talk about your  loaded questions!  Of course, I would love for my blog to make a million dollars for me so I could quit my day job and woodwork full time.  Yeah.  That will happen about when Iggy gets his PhD and takes a rocket to the Moon. Instead, I want to keep offering my quirky insights into this somewhat  maddening yet incredibly rewarding craft. I’m sure I will still make mistakes. And, yes, I’ll make decisions that you will look at and wonder if I have possibly lost my mind. I might even build some nice looking furniture and have you gawk in amazement that all of the pieces actually came together.

Regardless of what the next posts have in store, I’m glad to have each of you along for the ride.

Thank you for everything you have done.

Now, what to write about for Wednesday.. 😉

There have been a bunch of folks who have had a major influence on Tom’s Workbench over the past five years. I wanted to take the time to recognize a few of the folks with which the blog would have never happened.

Today, I send a shout-out to my advertisers! These folks have taken a great chance on my site. By helping to underwrite my site, they are betting:

1. I am going to keep up the pace of four posts a week
2. My posts are going to be at least semi-lucid enough to make sense
3. I’m not going to embarrass myself by doing something incredibly stupid. Like this.

(No  chickens were hurt during the writing of this post, but a few shop monkeys could not stop laughing and may have pulled something in the process.) There, now I got that out of my system.

Without any further ado, I want to take the time to thank my sponsors each in turn:

Bell Forest Products: They have been a sponsor for several years now, coming online in November of 2008. The folks up in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan have treated me like a prince, supporting my wood junkie habit (hey, man, can you spare some tiger maple?). Eric Poirier has been my chief point of contact, and the entire organization has thrown themselves behind me and other online woodworkers. Remember – no wood, no woodworking, right?  These guys will go out of their way to pick the board you need for a project. I am most grateful for their support.

Infinity Cutting Tools: David Venditto called me out of the clear blue one day to offer to become my advertiser. Since then, David has been a great supporter of the site. Now, as I get ready to hit the 1,000 post milestone, he coincidentally is moving into his new warehouse setup.  Not sure if it’s karma or kizmet, but hey, it can’t all be bad!  🙂

Tormek: Our friends over in Sweden make what has to be the easiest sharpening system out there to master. And, the darned thing is rugged, to boot. I have been working with their United States distributor (more on him later) during our sponsorship, and I have heard from the home office is that they like my writing style (voice, humor and the like) and they want me to keep promoting their product. I send my thanks for their support and encouragement across the Atlantic.

Bora Tools: The newest member to the team is Bora, an brand sold by Affinity tool works (they also make some great work holding tools I will feature in future articles). When a mutual friend recommended that the manager – Craig Ursell – give me a call, we immediately hit it off. Craig is a very personable guy with a great vision for the future of his brands, and an imagination and an enthusiasm that knows no bounds.

A few readers have commented recently that they think the blog is becoming a little too commercial. To them, I can understand their concerns. After all, a huge chunk of my blog is about my experiences in crafting wood. However, I also want to say that these four companies offer high-quality products that I am proud to use in my shop, and I would gladly recommend to my friends without hesitation. I also want to assure you that if something comes across my bench from one of these companies that isn’t top notch, they will hear from me before I write the review to see how we can work to improve the offerings. It’s a great relationship that we have forged, and the trust level is high between us.

This is post number 997. I will have a regular link of the week this week (post 998), and Sunday (post 999), I will be announcing the winners of the Great Thousand Post giveaway instead of the quick poll for the week. I hope you join me this weekend and this coming Monday as I cross the thousand post threshold. We’ve come this far together, and I’m getting used to your company!

One of the things I have noticed while writing the blog is that readers sometimes turn to me for advice.  Now, if it’s how NOT to cut dovetails (based on my personal experience, mind you), I’m your guy.  If it’s about how not to treat your band saw, guilty as charged.  Heck, I can even advise you to steer a wide berth around tiling!

But, it’s cool when someone new to woodworking seeks advice on the first tool of a certain type they should buy. Oh, I’ve made mistakes when buying tools, and have had to later correct the situation through the expeditious use of additional funds…  So, if I can help folks get off onto the right foot, hey, I’ve done my good deed for the day.

I recently got an e-mail from Randy (the name has been changed to protect the pseudo-innocent) who asked me:

I’m about to buy my first router and have no clue which to buy. My primary reason for the purchase is to do template cuts using 1.5″ to 2″ flush bits (although I am sure once I get the machine I’ll find many more uses for it).

I was wondering if you had any advise for me which machine to buy.

Oh, can you ever find uses for a router!  It’s one of those tools you wonder if you need when you first start out, but wonder how you got along without one after you get it.   Now, my first router was given to me by my mom, and it served me very well. It just had its limitations – a 1/4″ collet and a fixed base. Now, it got me through a lot of years of routing, but, when I had the chance to upgrade, it made too much sense to not go for it. Based on my experience, I replied to Randy thusly:

Welcome to the wonderful world of routing!

You will find as many suggestions are there are woodworkers. And, that’s cool, because everyone works differently.

For my money, you definitely want to go with a combo kit. Something that gives you the ability to use the router as a plunge router or a fixed-base model. This way, you slip the motor unit from base to base, and can do just about anything with it. Heck, if you found one, a three-base router would be optimal.. you could dedicate one base (probably the two-handed fixed base) to a router table, then keep the second fixed base (a D-handle model) and a plunge base for all of your hand-held work.  That would give you most flexibility, until you can get your hands on a larger, dedicated router table model (probably the second one you will buy.)

I have the DeWalt 618 3 base model:  http://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-DW618B3-Horsepower-Plunge-Fixed/dp/B0000CCXU3

I like it a lot. DeWalt is made to use all of the Porter Cable accessories, so everything you could want to use with it (edge guides, guide bushings, etc) will work. It has the guts to use big bits, and is pretty nimble.

If I had to do it all over again, I might go with the Ridgid router kit: http://www.ridgid.com/Tools/Heavy-Duty-EVS-2-14-Peak-HP-Router-Combo/EN/index.htm

Sure, it only comes with two bases, but this one has an LED light mounted into the base, which really throws a lot of light onto what you are working on. That will make it much easier to see what you are doing, and the kit comes with a lifetime warranty – so, if seven years from now it acts up, they will fix it for you, or give you a new one.

Whatever you do, get one that has a 1/2″ collet. The DeWalt I have comes with both a 1/2″ and a 1/4″ collet. Sure, you can save some dough by going with a 1/4″ collet, but I can guarantee you that you will outgrow that router quickly. All of the cool bits come in 1/2″ shanks, and they aren’t that much more expensive. Plus, with a 1/4″ collet as well, you should be able to tackle just about anything.

I would also strongly recommend you buy a book about router basics and read it from cover to cover. There are tons of them out there, but they all offer some really good advice on how to get the most out of the tool. Look for books that feature a lot of jigs you can build… you will be surprised how much a good router can do for you.

As always, eye and ear protection are a must. The router is VERY loud, and you will appreciate a good set of ear protection. And, a dust mask is also a very good idea… there so far isn’t a perfect dust collection setup for routers – especially when used hand-held.

Remember, buy a good model, learn how to use it and get practice. Soon, you’ll be using it on just about every project. Seriously.  Heck, I use mine for mortises, tenons, dovetails, box joints, edge jointing, smoothing, profiles… it can do a lot!

Let me know how things go for you!

Will Randy take my advice?  I’m not sure, but he did seem intrigued by the idea of having the multiple bases. I asked him to stay in touch and let me know how things worked out for him.

That, my friends, is post number 993!

So, what have I been up to?

I know you really hate when I start my posts with that, especially when it’s not followed by details on a trip to a hardwood store, a woodworking school or my shop. And, you are about to hate this one as well.

Again, my day job is trumping the woodworking thing. Because I work in the realm of emergency management, I have been hard at work on two major events.

First, the Republican National Convention is coming to town. OK, maybe not our town, but the town just a little bit down the road in Tampa. Just a short eighteen months ago, the Republican party awarded the big party to Tampa, and since then, we have been working hard on planning for the big event. Training classes. Meetings. Functional exercises. I have met people from all types of government organizations. And, I’m working long nights to help ensure that if anything happens, we’ll be ready to respond.

One of the things we were concerned about during the planning was the possibility of tropical weather. As if on cue, Tropical Storm Isaac has been threatening Florida and the Tampa Bay area. So, we shifted from the RNC planning to the important business of life safety, sitting in on conference calls with the National Weather Service and local emergency managers. Fortunately for us, it seems as if the storm has passed. Unfortunately for our friends in the northern Gulf of Mexico, it’s coming your way. Batten down the hatches.

Yeah, it’s been busy.

So, when things get stressful, what do I think about? My family, of course.

My bathroom project, which I did manage to finish grouting and caulking during my down time. Maybe I can get some work in on the walls while waiting for my next shift…

And my shop.

Yes, my little oasis of enjoyment, where, right now I have a pair of projects underway. One just needs to be finished, while the other one is in need of some joinery and the preparation of a few decorative panels. Pieces have been left as they were before I went of to instruct at the Emergency Management Institute, waiting for me to get back to them.

Since I am working nights, I may try to squeeze in a little time during the days. Heck, even if I just clean up the , that would be a step in the right direction! And, when I sit in long meetings about what’s happening, it doesn’t hurt to doodle out a few ideas… maybe for upcoming holiday gifts.

There is nothing like multitasking.