Woodzone’s Shop Tips, Tricks and Jigs

Buying new tools and purchased accessories is great.  They can give you increased capability, improved assembly and flawless finishing results.

However, with the stock market tumbling, the threat of layoffs looming and pay freezes across many companies, woodworkers need to find ways to get more out of the tools they own.

That’s what makes Woodzone’s Shop Tips, Tricks and Jigs page so sweet.  These free gems of advice  can help make your power and hand tools more productive, prevent wasting of valuable hardwood and lead you to an outstanding finished piece.

These tips can apply to beginner, intermediate and advanced woodworkers.  A must see…

The Windsor Institute

One thing I have never built in my decade as a woodworker is a chair.  Sure, I’ve built lots of stuff in my shop, but the challenge of chair building has always stopped me cold in my tracks.

However, the day I decide to build one, most likely it will be a Windsor chair.  Those beautiful hand-crafted babies take us back centuries when all fine furniture was built with exceptional care and skill.

At the Windsor Institute in Hampton, New Hampshire, Michael and Sue Dunbar instruct the traditional crafting methods of these simple yet ornate chairs.  From the selection of the woods to the seat shaping right down to the final fitting of the back spindles and  crest rails, students learn the ins and outs of classical chair construction in several different forms.

Classes are offered throughout the year and space in these classes is limted to 18 students to ensure enough hands-on instruction can be offered.

Grizzly’s Workshop Planner

Where should you put your table saw?  Would the band saw work better in one corner of your shop or another?  Do you have enough room to build that miter saw bench along the back wall?

Setting up your shop can be a royal pain in the rear.  Discovering the ideal layout without dragging your tools back and forth is almost enough to make you want to just chuck them in the middle of the floor and be done with them.

You wanna know a secret?  The people over at Grizzly Industrial feel your pain.  To help save your backs, they have developed their free workshop planner feature at their website.

After you enter the size of your shop, you can use the sample templates for doors, windows, benches, tools and other items you might find in a typical woodshop.  By dragging them around, you can see what works best where and how you can develop a good flow of work.

Granted, the tool templates are the footprints of the Grizzly tool line.  Hey, their site, their rules.  But, I think that you will still find this feature handy regardless of whose tools you purchase.

The Gamble House

The Gamble House in Pasadena, California, is an outstanding example of American Arts and Crafts style architecture. The house and furnishings were designed by Charles and Henry Greene in 1908 for David and Mary Gamble of the Procter and Gamble Company. The house, a National Historic Landmark, is owned by the City of Pasadena and operated by the University of Southern California and is open for public tours.

The home is an exquisite example of the Greene and Greene style withing the Craftsman aestheitc.

While I haven’t been there yet, this is high on my list of woodworking places to see before I die.

Build Cabinets with Pocket Screws

The pocket screw has proven to be a fast and convenient way to build case construction.  From face frames to box assembly, this system gives very good results in short order.

This article, published by Readers Digest:  The Home Handyman, not only demonstrates the proper way to build with pocket screws, but also provides a materials list for the reader to build their own ‘coat locker’ cabinet.

Clear step-by-step instructions show how the project can be planned and built – all the way down to the drawers, face frames an trim pieces.

If you are undecided as to whether or not to buy a pocket hole joinery system, or you have one but have yet to give it a real workout, this article is a good orientation to the method and a valuable read, even though it is ten years old.

Toxic Woods List

Exotic woods are some of the most beautiful timbers in the world. There presence in a woodworking project can take the most ordinary piece and turn it into a work of art.

While they are beautiful, these woods can cause some woodworkers develop lung, skin or eye irritations.  The oils, resins and other chemicals that give these woods their beautiful colors and working properties can be pretty potent, leading to allergic reactions and other health concerns.

Which woods are most likely to cause these kinds of reactions?  This list from the musical instrument makers forum lists dozens of wood species, and the likelihood they will cause eye and skin irritation, respiratory problems, nausea and cancer.

While there is a potential for these kinds of reactions, proactive dust control and personal safety precautions can help to significantly reduce the risk of a reaction.

The Artisans’ Program

On the tough streets of Washington, DC, many young men and women believe they have very few choices available to them.  Poverty and violence are widespread, and a life of drug dealing and crime is often seen as the only way to success.

However, there are organizations staffed with volunteers who are working hard to show that there is a better way.  One of these organizations is the Covenant House.  In addition to providing shelter, food, drug counseling and other services to these at-risk kids, they put a major emphasis on vocational training – including woodworking.

The Artisans’ Workshop is a woodworking program run through Covenant House.  Troubled kids who show the dedication to learning and are serious about staying out of trouble can enter this program and learn the necessary skills to build projects.

This isn’t merely some program to keep these kids occupied.  It’s an intensive course which teaches these budding craftsmen valuable vocational skills and offers job placement assistance.  Their success stories are impressive, with graduates going to land positions with home builders and other finish carpentry companies.

The students help fund the program through the sale of items they build.  The projects are impressive, with tight joinery and an outstanding choice of hardwoods.