I have got to hand it to my primate shop partner Tom… he’s been keeping this baby chugging along for the week (with a little bit of my help).  Maybe I have been wrong about him – hey may not be totally worthless.  At least, sometimes, he can serve as a bad example.

Today, I want to share another tip with you – one that I can’t seem to pound through Tom’s thick skull.

You can have a bunch of great tools in your shop. And, in some cases, you may have had to drop more than a few bananas to buy them. There’s nothing wrong with that. I mean, if  you can get the right tool for the right job – I mean, come on – that makes your time in the shop that much more enjoyable.

And, I can remember the day when my pal bought this.  Now, this is a really cool tool. It’s called a Mortise Pal, and about four years ago.  And, when he bought it, he thought it was better than two banana daiquiris…  I mean, easily cutting properly sized mortises in projects in the right place the first time… without having to buy a mortising machine… man.

When he got it back to the shop, that guy woke me from a nap and asked me to set up the router.  So, with a few grumbles, I headed to the shop to set things up and get a few test boards. And, ya know what?  That tool worked like advertised.

That’s when the big lunkhead threw it into a drawer where he promptly forgot about it…  What a shame.

If he had it handy, he could do a few more projects with it. Maybe get some practice with it. Maybe build something worth hanging on to for a few decades…

Yet, it sits in its box.

So, what I had to do was organize his shop. I even took the time to write on the outside of the box which tool resides within. I even put it where the lovable lunkhead can see it.

Will he use it more?  Who knows. But, at least I made it a little bit easier for him to find it. Let’s see if you really can teach an old woodworker some new tricks…

Oh, and I can’t believe how good the articles are from the rest of the blogging community this year.. some awesome stuff.  Here are some more:

•  Mike Lingenfelter – The Inquisitive Woodworker: Get Woodworking Week 2013
• Kari Hultman – The Village Carpenter: We all have a first project
• Steve Ramsey – Woodworking for Mere Mortals: Get Woodworking!
• Rob Rozaieski – Logan Cabinet Shop: Quick Tip #13: Don’t Fear the Hide Glue
• Rob Rozaieski – Logan Cabinet Shop: Quick Tip#14: Choosing Chisels
• 2Sand:  Woodworking NOT for dummies
• Popular Woodworking: My first woodworking project?

Oh, and here’s another video done for this week. This time, it’s  from Bill Akins.  I think you will enjoy…

Oh, and don’t forget … we have a few give aways for some very lucky new woodworkers.  They are:

Infinity Cutting Tools: A kit of the six most essential router bits as recommended by Wood Magazine in issue #151.  Two round overs, a rabbeting bit with seven different diameters of bearings, a flush trim bit, a chamfer bit and a 1/2″ straight cutting bit. With these babies, your router can go from an expensive electric paperweight to a true heavyweight in your shop. They are a mix of 1/2″ and 1/4″ shanks, so keep that in mind.

Bessey Clamps: Two kits (one for each of two winners) – each featuring:

• Bessey Tool Bag
• 5 x LM2.004  –  light duty bar clamp
• 10 x XM5  –  spring clamps
• 2 x BPC-H34  –  ¾” pipe clamp H-style
• 1 x VAS-23 – Variable angle strap clamp
• 2 x UK3.012  –  UniKlamp parallel clamps
• 2 x TGJ2.506+TK  – profiled rail malleable cast bar clamps

Bora Tools: A set of English squares and a marking gauge.

Lou Quallenberg Studios: This is a new addition from our new friend Lou (in Llano, Texas… home to some of the best barbecue in the Lone Star State). To be eligible you must do each of the following (Most of this is on Faeebook): #1 comment on a blog post in Mesquite Musings #2″Like” our Mesquite Furniture Page on Facebook #3 Friend or Subscribe to Lou Quallenberg on Facebook #4 “Like” Barney the Woodshop Wonder Dog on Facebook #5 Post a photo of a wood project that you made, want to make or are making to the Mesquite Furniture page on facebook – It does not have to be made from mesquite. (You cannot be a regular woodworking hobbyist or pro – this is for newbies people!)  Check out Lou’s site to find out more about the contest.

Highland Woodworking: And, we are looking for a school/group/organization who works with kids in the 1st through 4th grade range to win four of their Kid’s Toolbox Sets, each featuring a smaller sized hand saw, hammer, screwdriver, tool belt and the ever-important safety glasses.  Additionally, they are also throwing in eight of their kids catapult woodworking kits, where young woodworkers (and those very young at heart) will end up with a great project that can fling items across the room.

Back when I was in college, we used to have really heady discussions.  Did Shakespeare’s older plays capture his voice better than his later works? Did Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales really create modern English literature?  What bar had the cheapest beer?

One discussion I recall having with a professor happened during a class about modern English literature… We were studying Orwell, and the professor told us that our literary history was made more poor by –  of all things – the devastation brought by World War I. “Think of the authors who wrote during and after the war. Tolkien. Orwell. Fitzgerald. Faulkner.   They wrote many of the classics we read and cherish to this very day. Now, how many other gifted authors died during these battles- the voices we have never heard from? What did they have to tell us?”

It was an interesting point. How many people never had the chance to write for us because of their ultimate  sacrifice?

I recently recalled this discussion while interviewing Megan Fitzpatrick, the new Editor of Popular Woodworking, during a recent podcast of the Modern Woodworkers Association.  She casually mentioned that she believes she is one of the first women to hold such a position in the woodworking community. While she wasn’t making a big deal about it, it did spark a follow up line of conversation.

Follow me here for a minute.

When I was back in middle school up in Bloomingdale, New Jersey, we had both shop class and home economics. We were probably one of the last groups of kids to go through these vocational classes. We shifted between the two classes: one for the fall semester, and one for the spring semester. While in home ec, it was not so subtly expressed to me that I should relax, because soon I would be in the ‘guy’ class at the woodshop. And, once spring rolled around, the shop teacher had to explain to more than a few upset girls that no, they didn’t have to do too much in shop class, because he understood women were more of a natural fit for home ec.

I can vividly remember building Pinewood Derby cars as a Cub Scout, but I haven’t heard of a parallel event for Brownies.  That event was a fun introduction to the craft and helped me get interested.

Today, when I walk into a woodworking store, the vast majority of customers are men, with just a smattering of women. And, many of them are there with their husbands/boyfriends/fathers while they shop.

That’s an interesting observation, especially given the fact that in the 2010 U.S. Census, females made up 50.8% of the population.

This got me wondering… how many women with the aptitude, skill and desire are not woodworking because it has been portrayed as a ‘male’ pastime?

Now, the purpose of this post isn’t to advocate that there be one female woodworker for each male woodworker. Nor is it to lobby for ‘equality in the shop’.  There are no legal or moral barriers that prevent women from getting into a workshop.  All that is required is the desire and the commitment to learn.

But, I do have to wonder: How many women have the itch to try their hand at woodworking, but feel it’s not appropriate for them to get into it? When I look at the work being turned out by people such as Mary May,  Kari Hultman and Gail O’Rourke,  I want to see more.  I can only imagine the ideas, the skill, the vision that more woodworkers can bring to the craft, but it’s locked away due to a negative external influence or self imposed internal barriers to participation.

That’s why I’m thinking that this Get Woodworking Week is an excellent time to introduce a girl or woman in your life to the craft. Who knows? Just as my wife Rhonda took an interest in the project this past summer, you might find an eager student who will become so excited about the possibilities offered by woodworking, she will add her voice to the body of work we enjoy so tremendously.

And, there are even more articles for Get Woodworking Week. Check them out here:

• Steve Ramsey – Woodworking for Mere Mortals:  Get Woodworking
• Wilbur Pan – Giant Cypress: What you need to get a kid into woodworking
• Ron Hock – The Sharpening Blog:  How to Make a Board by Dave Barry
• Matt Vanderlist – Matt’s Basement Workshop:  Jointer or Thickness Planer First?
• Fine Woodworking: 7 lessons for aspiring furniture makers
  
• Popular Woodworking: Some beginner hand tool instruction
• Highland Woodworking: Teaching a friend to turn
• Highland Woodworking: Getting started with woodturning
• Chris Landy – The Lighthearted Woodworker: Pay it forward
• Andy Brownell – Brownell Furniture: South African Biltong Maker
• Chris Wong – Flair Woodworks: Don’t listen to them (Listen to me – at least this one time!)

By the way, Wood Magazine is also making a series of plans available for free during Get Woodworking Week.  Here’s what’s out so far:

• Planter box and trellis plan
• Bench with storage plan
• Shaker side table plan

You know, last year as I approached my thousandth post, I was totally bowled over by the generosity of folks who wanted to offer prizes for you guys. Now, for Get Woodworking Week 2013, well, they aren’t letting up one bit!

I would like to thank David Venditto of Infinity Cutting Tools for stepping to the plate to offer a most generous gift – a kit of the six most essential router bits as recommended by Wood Magazine in issue #151.  Two round overs, a rabbeting bit with seven different diameters of bearings, a flush trim bit, a chamfer bit and a 1/2″ straight cutting bit. With these babies, your router can go from an expensive electric paperweight to a true heavyweight in your shop. They are a mix of 1/2″ and 1/4″ shanks, so keep that in mind.

Another offer that came in was from Highland Woodworking. This prize is going to be done a little differently, because it is definitely geared towards the younger woodworker.  They are offering four of their Kid’s Toolbox Sets, each featuring a smaller sized hand saw, hammer, screwdriver, tool belt and the ever-important safety glasses.  Additionally, they are also throwing in eight of their kids catapult woodworking kits, where young woodworkers (and those very young at heart) will end up with a great project that can fling items across the room.

For this part of the give away, I am going to call an audible here.  If you know of a group that does – or is looking to do – woodworking for kids between the ages of 6 to 12, submit their information my way, and I’ll have a random drawing for the lucky group to get the entire shebang.  It doesn’t matter if it’s a scout troop, church group, school program… as long as it gets kids involved in woodworking, I’m in.

When added to the prizes being offered for new woodworkers, hey, we’re creating quite an exciting event here!