Hey, everyone, it’s Iggy again. I really do like that guy Tom. No, seriously. But, when the tailless wonder went up to the Big Apple to help those people who were hit by Hurricane Sandy, SOMEONE had to keep the shop up and running… and it’s a good thing he had me to do the honors.

In addition to reorganizing the shop, whittling dovetails with a frozen herring and doing all other kinds of derring-do, I also had some time to sit down and pen a few words that the folks at Wood Magazine enjoyed. They enjoyed them so much, in fact, that they published them in the December/January 2012/2013 edition of the magazine under the title of Get what you really want this holiday.

Now, I’m sure it may sound mercenary at first – after all, we should be thankful for any gifts that we do receive during the holiday season. But, you would be amazed how difficult it is to shop for someone who woodworks! Many of the uninitiated out there may spend a tremendous amount of time scratching their heads wondering where to even begin looking for gifts for the woodworker in their lives, and usually end up picking up one of the old holiday standbys – a Reindeer sweater.

The article helps you guide the gift givers in your life to make shopping for you an easy process they will enjoy.

Which is more than I can say about having to work with Tom at times. I hear he may be looking for a Santa suit to wear while working in the shop. I’m not sure how he plans on keeping the wood chips out of his beard.

Hey, everyone. It’s me, Iggy again.

Since Tom is busy looking at those swirly storm things, chasing after elephants and STILL working on tile in that bathroom (I’m afraid poor Rhonda is earning her sainthood these days), I’m going to have to write today’s post. At least it features some of my best work.

If you pick up a copy of the October edition of Wood Magazine, you can read my latest words of wisdom.  It’s an article that Tom might find useful – how to get back into your shop if you feel you have lost your zest for the craft.  Sure, a little time away from the bench is a good thing, but when it seems excessive, maybe some simple tips like visiting a hardwood store or painlessly cleaning up your shop can help you beat the doldrums and get you re-energized.

Heaven knows Tom can use some of that encouragement!

Hello again, everyone.  It’s me, Iggy the Trained Shop Monkey, and I’m stunned to announce the following…

Wood Magazine has once again chosen to print the nonsensical ramblings of Tom in their latest edition of the magazine. This time, Tom make some bad Star Trek references while talking about how is busy life affects his time in my shop. While Tom rarely makes sense, his advice about taking your time to prevent mistakes (making them is Tom’s favorite pastime, it seems) or injury really hits the mark, and his advice to slow down to enjoy your time at the bench more is borderline genius.

I have to say that so Tom feels better about himself.

Hello, everyone. Iggy again, and I just wanted to let you know that I was invited back… again… to teach woodworking at Tom’s sons’ schools again this year at the Great American Teach In. It’s this Thursday, and while Tom knew about this for a while, he neglected to tell ME, which means I’m behind the proverbial eight ball again.  You see, Tom wants me to figure out what we’re going to talk about.

Tom wanted to talk about something silly, like the history of knitting and how it affected woodworking.  I knew that the kids in the schools wouldn’t go for that. At all. Come to think of it, if I had to sit through that nonsense, I’d be perfecting my paper airplane folding skills too.

So, I decided to go with joinery.  You know, woodworking joints and how they work.  Not a bad idea, right? Of course, if I’m going to talk about that, I was going to have to cut a few sample joints to show the youngins what they look like.

I spent most of the weekend in the shop cutting a variety of joints to show the kids. It took a little effort, but I was able to cut a dowel joint, biscuit joint, pocket hole joint, dovetail,bridle joint,  splined dovetail (I just have to cut the slot and key for the spline)… Oh, I’ve got a bunch of ’em.  I didn’t glue them up, because I wanted to be able to knock them apart and show the whippersnappers how they look and work.

I’m even going to bring my dowel jig, pocket hole jig and a few other tools to show the kiddos what kind of tools it takes to build these joints.

While this is not a complete list of classic joinery, I still have a little time to cut a few more joints such as a mortise and tenon and a box joint.  I have a decently-sized piece of plywood that I can plow a dado, groove and rabbet into.

I also jointed a few pieces of pine and glued them up. My plan is to take a hammer to the joint to see how it fails – whether the wood will break or the glue will fail.

Finally, to round things out, I think it’s only natural that I talk to the kids about metal fasteners. The history of nails themselves is fascinating, especially that whole penny thing to determine their size. I’m looking forward to showing the kids about cut nails and using a gimlet to start the nail hole.  Who knows – maybe I could even get permission to have one of the little ones to drive a nail.  I think I’ll have Tom use HIS hands to hold those nails while the kids swing the hammer.

Since I like to let Tom do the talking, I’m probably going to be sitting behind the camera on Thursday, but it should be another fun day.  With any luck, we’ll have a video to bring to you next Monday.

It’s actually very scary today. Tom and his ever-suffering wife Rhonda held a big Halloween bash last night – in MY shop! While the event was a blast – and the guests were totally awesome – I think Tom went a little bit over the top. I mean, I know he loves power tools, but come on, Tom….

That’s not the proper use of a reciprocating saw! And, I don’t think the neighbors are really going to like the results…

Heck, I don’t think the pumpkin on the left is too comfortable being near your masterpiece.

Now, the shop is a mess. Halloween decorations are heaved everywhere, the bench and table saw are not where they need to be and there is the unmistakable smell of pumpkin innards wafting through the garage. Total bummer…

Fortunately, Tom has the right monkey working on the job for this one. I’ll spend most of the day getting the shop back into shape, and when the sleeping beauty wakes up, we’ll be back on track.

Now, who knows how to clean pumpkin guts out of a reciprocating saw?

Hello, everyone, Iggy here again (You’d think this blog would fall apart if I wasn’t here, right?). I just wanted to take the opportunity to do two very important things.

First, I want to give a big shout out to all of my dedicated fans and followers (Yes, Holley, this includes you). If it wasn’t for your support – and Tom’s not charging me rent – the whole Shop Monkey operation would come to a screeching halt. And, that screeching sound – it sends shivers up my spine.  Yes, shivers. In Florida. In August. Even with all this fur.

Second, and probably most importantly, if you get a chance to pick up the October, 2011 edition, you can see my latest article smack dab in the middle of the magazine. OK, well, maybe not exactly in the middle, but it is between the front and back covers.

The article calls for board hoarders across the land to embrace their inner acquisitory selves and revel in their vast collections of lovely boards. Of course, if you are going to revel, you are going to have to follow a few simple tips on how to keep the collection from taking over your shop – and your life!

As always, if you manage to get beyond my witty, insightful writing, you’ll find the magazine chock full of plans, tips and other woodworking goodies you can apply in your shop. Kudos to the folks at Wood for not being afraid to fill the rest of the magazine with outstanding content!

Now, back to the shop for more fun. I hear Tom may TRY to finish this bookshelf sometime before Christmas… of 2016. This should be good for at least a few laughs.

Hello everyone.  It’s me, Iggy the Trained Shop Monkey again because – as is always the case – Tom is taking forever to build a project I could have whipped out faster than you can say Bananas Foster.

First, he’s out there doing his silly debate on what kind of joinery to use to make the sides.  Then, after all of that prep work, he manages to lose his square and mess the assembly up.  What a dufus.  I can’t believe I still hang out with the tailless wonder.

To help speed this project along, I have noticed that his oldest son Dominic has been sitting around the house all day in this – the last week before school starts for him. He’s looking both bored AND like he’s wanting to show his old man up. So, I solicited his help.  Actually, I was able to induce the young lad with the promise of a banana split if he did a good job.  Of course, I’m going to have Tom pay for it.

We went off to the big home improvement center to pick up some new circular sanding sheets for Tom’s random orbit sander. The young lad appears to be super-thrilled to be starting a loud and obnoxious sanding job in a very hot garage instead of doing something boring like playing his favorite video games or doing that crazy Facebook thing with his buddies.

Since Tom had already flattened the boards with the belt sander, all I needed Dom to do was to start working with the coarser grit sanding pads on the random orbit sander.  I taught him a trick which – I am absolutely certain – Tom would have never thought to do. I drew a squiggly pencil line across the face of the board and instructed the strapping young lad to sand evenly until the pencil line was ‘erased’ by the sanding pad. By doing this (and, of course emphasizing the need to keep the sander’s pad flat on the board’s face), he will be able to more evenly sand the pieces, getting better results than Tom could ever hope to get on his own.

I also made sure that the boy is doing this safely.  I have the air conditioner turned on in the shop, we have the sander attached to the Fein dust collector and he’s wearing both eye and hearing protection. If I’m going to make him work in the shop, at least I have to be sure to consider his welfare.

Good boy.

Now, all that’s left to do is to ‘motivate’ the boy to do the hard, dusty work smoothing the board with the random orbit sander while I kick back on the stack of unsanded shelves with an ice cold beverage.

Supervision is a very tough job, but I’m just the monkey to do it.