No, this is not wood related. At all. However, if you live in the area potentially affected by Hurricane Ike - please heed all evacuation orders and leave immediately.
Leave your tools behind. Leave your prized timbers behind. Leave your big screen tv and all that other stuff behind. All of that stuff can be replaced, but you can’t.
The National Hurricane Center is carefully monitoring the situation, and local emergency managers will be giving you instructions. This storm has the capability of killing hundreds - possibly thousands - if people do not evacuate.
Remember, hurricane season runs through November 30 - please pay attention to the threat!
Since the Japanese word for carpenter is Daiku, and the word Dojo means hall for training, it’s easy to get an idea of what this site is about. It is a community organization designed to help provide the education and skills necessary for the use of Japanese style hand tools in woodworking.
This association’s members are exceptionally talented when it comes to cutting the complex and artistic joinery traditionally found in Japanese style joinery. The San Francisco based guild offers classes and organizes group projects to help hone the skills of its members and other students.
Links to companies who deal in high quality Japanese tools, skilled craftspeople and museums allow visitors to the site a convenient starting point for their exploration of the craft. And, there’s even a forum where you can find answers to your toughest questions.
While most western woodworkers work primarily with familiar joinery methods, a visit to the Daiku Dojo will open your eyes to the traditional techniques used by Japanese woodworkers.
OK, so the name is kinda suggestive, but I promise you this is a link worth following. At Talarico Hardwoods in Mohnton, Pennsylvania, the sawyers get very excited about what they find when they cut open exotic and highly figured logs.
Just like kids who can’t wait to unwrap their presents at their birthday parties, the crew salivates at the chance to cut these green logs and unveil some interesting and incredible figure. You’ll be stunned to see the variety and quality of the lumber these guys get their hands on.
Sure, this is a commercial wood supplier’s site, but it appears that the owners on this particular page are really just interested in showing off their spectacular finds.
Some guys have all the luck…
Do you, or does someone you know, want to get started in woodworking, but you aren’t sure you can do it?
Never fear! The editors at Popular Woodworking magazine have put together this interesting site for those just getting into the craft with a limited set of skills and tools.
First of all, I highly recommend downloading the .PDF of their user’s manual that gives woodworking novices the basics on which tools to buy, instructions on basic joints and how to get accuracy in their projects.
Once familiar with the basics, the magazine’s editors have put together an interesting collection of projects for the beginner to tackle. From simple knick-knack shelves to more ambitious projects, there are plans that can help set the aspiring woodworker on his or her way in short order.
Even if you are not a novice, it doesn’t hurt to pay the site a visit, since Popular Woodworking’s staff has given quite a collection of advice that even some old hands at woodworking could find useful.
Established in 1997, the WWA is one of the oldest continuously running woodworking forums on the Internet. The site is the brainchild of the late Kip Yeager, Jim Mattson and Chuck Ring - some of the pioneers of bringing high quality woodworking information to the web.
At the site, you can participate at the Information Exchage forum, check out scanned images of different wood species or look at tool reviews written by some of the more than 6,000 members. There’s even a friendly Wednesday night chat where you can discuss woodworking with other enthusiasts.
The site does not accept advertising funds, and it is member supported through donations. Whether or not you choose to contribute, all material is available to all users free of charge.
In Auburn, Maine, noted woodworking author and furniture maker Thomas Moser runs his custom-built furniture shop. Nearly 100 employees carefully craft beds, chairs, chests and tables from cherry, maple, walnut and other hardwoods harvested from the forests of the northeastern United States.
From the company’s humble first offerings of predominantly Shaker designs in the early 1970’s, their portfolio has grown to include Asian, Mission and other historically-inspired forms. The Moser works are famous and notable, with pieces featured in design magazines, TV shows and craft museums. The company’s web site also mentions that President George W. Bush and Pope Benedict XVI held a meeting while seated in their Harpswell arm chairs this past April.
The site offers an interesting glimpse into the company’s humble beginnings and a very impressive shop tour which focuses on the materials, method and - most importantly - people who make this outstanding furniture.
While most of us won’t be able to afford a Moser original in our homes, the furniture forms and materials the company uses can certainly serve as a point of inspiration for your own works.
Outstanding woodworking relies on several key steps to ensure a beautiful finished product. Wood selection, properly tuned tools and careful attention to the finishing process are all critical skills to master.
One of the most essential steps is accurately measuring and marking to cut flawless joints. This article, written by Ian Kirby in Woodworker’s Journal, takes readers through the bewildering selection of marking gauges and other marking guides. From the lowly pencil to the most complicated mortising gauge, Kirby not only describes the pros and cons, but gives clear instruction on how to use them to their best advantage.
And, the article is not just for hand tool users - Galoots as they are affectionately known. Power tool enthusiasts can improve their work through the careful use of these marking guides.
Give the article a read and see how it measures up!
