Ahhh, dovetails. How can you go wrong with such a classic joint?

Oh, wait, never mind… My efforts to hand cut them have met with disaster, ridicule and – at last count – no fewer than 14 petition drives to get me to quit woodworking entirely.

So, when I need that tried-and-true joint in my work, I turn to the router and a jig. As I had written Monday, I’m a project kind of woodworker… not a process guy. I do pay close attention to how I woodwork, but I’m not about to take weeks during a project to hand-cut dovetails when I can blast ‘em out on a jig.

For years, my go-to jig has been my Keller Journeyman. I love the heck out of it – and have abused the heck out of it as well. I’ve lifted the router out of the cut too many times, tearing up the phenolic body terribly.

My Kehoe jig is awesome, giving me great dovetail splines. Sometimes, though, they do look a little out of place on a more traditional piece, so I need another option.

That’s when David Venditto of Infinity Cutting Tools asked me if I wanted to try the new Leigh R9 jig. Always game for a challenge, I took him up on the offer. And, I have to say I was thoroughly impressed.

The jig comes flat packed with everything you need to get it working, except for the wood needed to create a beam for the jig to ride on. Accuracy when building this beam is critical. My beam has a piece of construction 2 x 6 southern yellow pine backing and an MDF two-part face. The bottom part is a permanent fixture to the piece, while the top part of the fence is a sacrificial fence for the router bit to ride into, preventing tear out.

The hardware with the kit is top-notch. It even comes with a pair of clamps you can use to secure your workpiece in place as you rout. The plate that guides the router is made of a heavy-duty aluminum etched with the necessary markings on top. It took a little time studying the manual to get an idea of what everything was used for, but, once I read up on it, things when smoothly.

Instead of a router bearing, the jig uses an eccentric guide bushing that allows you to really fine-tune the fit of your pins and tails. Those adjustments are in the order of thousandths of an inch… critical measurements when it comes to cutting this tightly-fitting joints.

Not only does the jig allow you to cut dovetails, it also comes completely equipped to cut box joints as well. All of the proper bits are included. Very handy stuff.

The manual is really where this baby shines. Leigh has spent a lot of time carefully laying out a well-written, fully-illustrated guide that will show you step-by-step how to assemble and cut with the jig. Believe me, if an ‘accuracy challenged’ guy like me can work with it, anyone can!

While I have always shied away from very expensive dovetailing jigs (some of Leigh’s offerings can really stretch the woodworking budget a lot farther than it can go), the R9 is a solid offering from Leigh that is available at a reasonable price point. And, given the cost of quality dovetail saws and chisels these days, you might just find it more economical to cut your dovetails this way instead of the old school method.

A router is the Swiss Army Knife of the workshop. It can cut dovetails and box joints. Dadoes and rabbets. It can excavate a mortise and cut the tenon to fit. And, that’s without even looking at decorative edges.

Some of these applications require a special bit. Others require the router to be mounted upside down in a table. Still others require you to remove the baseplate to replace it with another.  That’s where I sometimes have issues.

You see, when I get into woodworking, I REALLY get into woodworking. Somewhere in the flurry of activity, it happens. I knock one of the router’s baseplate screws to the ground. This requires that I stop everything and sort through the dust on the shop floor to find the screw. That’s if I notice that it was knocked over. And, in order to fit the majority of routers out there for sale, these baseplate accessories either come pockmarked with dozens of holes, requiring you to spin the plate to try to get them to line up, or require you to drill your own holes and hope you get them right the first time.

But, this isn’t always the case for router accessories, David Venditto of Infinity Tools recently sent me one of mPower Tools new CRB7 router guides. After using this, I may take all of my old baseplate-swapping guides and throw them in the trash.

Unlike those others, this guide comes with a pair of guide bars that fit through the fence holes in your router’s base. These can be adjusted for any number of different router models. Now, instead of unscrewing the baseplate when you want to use it, you simply slip the guide bars through the holes and tighten them down. Easy as pie.

What can the guide do? There are seven functions you can use it for:

Offset Base Plate – Increases overall router stability and reduces errors when edge molding. The CRB also moves the pivot hand guiding the router toward the center of the panel smoothing out the router pass action, reducing the chance of burn marks.

Circle Cutting – Rout precision circles and holes that are smaller than the base of the router – The CRB can route circles and wheels from 1½” to 17½” in diameter (38 – 450mm) using a ¼” (6mm) straight router bit.

Mortising – Allows “Centered and Off Centered” mortises plus you can control the actual width of the mortise.

Stable Foot – Most of the router’s base remains unsupported when edge routing – The CRB anti-tilt leg eliminates router tilt which is especially important when routing work-pieces with a high aspect ratio.

Straight Edge Guide – Set the clamp guide once and adjust the position of the router via the CRB7′s Micro Adjuster. The CRB increases router to clamp guide surface contact area and reduces clamp guide set up time.

Indexing – The CRB provides a simple and exceptionally quick way of accurately repeating a molded dado for production batch quality faux or false paneling.

Flush Trim Edge / Edge Kit – With virtually no set up time – quick fit the Trim Jig riser pad to accurately machine trim hard wood and iron on edge molding flush with the core board in seconds.

Ralph Bagnall put together an awesome video showing the features. Check it out here:

At first, the jig seemed intimidating, with all of the accessory parts it came with. But, after a few minutes of reading the manual and watching a great video the company produced, I was able to start putting it to the test.

I got the jig lined up with my DeWalt 618 multi-base router.  That took about ten minutes, and I was going slowly to ensure I had everything set up the right way. The router slid smoothly onto the guide rods and a few twists of the thumb screws on the base made short work of securing the router in place.

The first test – cutting circles. I have done this task before with a plywood base I cut on the band saw. This worked great, but I could never figure out how to get circles where the diameter was smaller than the diameter of the router base. The mPower jig came with a screw in pivot pin that dropped into a hole I drilled in the board. My first test cut was a larger diameter arc, which the router handled with no trouble.  The pivoting action was very smooth, and I never wondered if I had control of the router.  The next test was to cut a much smaller circle. With an adjustment to the router position, I was easily able to make the cut. No muss, no fuss.

The next test I wanted to do was to cut a mortise. I had a large, thick chunk of ash I had planed down from another project, and thought I could try my hand cutting a mortise into that. I swapped out the pivot pin from the last test and replaced it with two mortising pillars.  These mounted again with screws through predrilled holes in the baseplate. I set the jig on the board and twisted it so the router trapped each side of the board against one of the pillars.

A simple adjustment of where the router rode on the guide bars, and I fired up the router and began to plunge. Again, the control of having two positive points of contact with the board was – well – empowering. I knew I had total command of the router, and the results were on the money.

I still have other features of the mPower base to try out, but even if they didn’t work at all, I would say that this jig belongs in my router collection.  It’s a real winner in my book.

One day, I hope to have minions here at Tom’s Workbench.  You know, people to go out and do my bidding.

“Saw down that tree and bring me the choicest curly lumber from within!”

“Yes, my Svengali. Your wish is our command.”

Right now, I’ll settle for Iggy not kicking me in the forehead whenever I make a mistake on a cut. I think I may be getting a concussion.

Instead of minions, I have loyal Tom’s Workbench readers who pitch in from time to time.  You remember that guy Paul? The dude who we built the home office system for last year?   Paul has a neat new Bosch portable table saw that he’s fallen in love with.  We were talking about the blades he uses on the saw, and then the thought hit me – Why not do a test of some blades we’ve been using to see how well the cut on a saw with a small motor?  If a blade was going to cause a saw to bog down, this would be one of the saws you might expect to do that.

I loaned him a blade I had gotten from my friends at Infinity tools, he got a selection of blades he had acquired, and with his best tool evaluator’s hat on, filed this report.  Take it away Paul!

I was working on building a thin strip jig and I was doing a lot of ripping to dial it in. I had some time so I thought I would try out the blades. I tried 4 different models and ripped ¾” southern yellow pine as well as 8/4 Lyptus. All of it was done on my Bosch table saw. The blades used were:

• Stock Bosch 40T thin kerf – To be fair, I only use this blade to cut plywood and pressure treated. It cut OK but left a lot of fuzz and was slow cutting especially on the Lyptus.
• Freud 30T Glue Line Rip full kerf – This is a 4-year old blade that was sharpened about a month ago. It cuts better than the Bosch and leaves a clean edge but it left a bit of burn on the edges.
• Forrest WW II full kerf – This is an almost new blade. It cut fast, clean, and mirror smooth on the edges. There’s a reason everyone says this is a great blade.
• Infinity Super General thin kerf – This was new out of the box. It cut fast, smooth, and clean. The edges were slightly worse than the WWII but, frankly, the difference didn’t matter. This blade cuts really well. Since it fits my riving knife better, this is likely to become my “go to” blade.

The Forrest cuts better but the difference is in no way worth the money in my opinion. Wish I had known about Infinity when I bought my WWII.

There you have it, folks. Thanks for the review Paul. Oh, and he also reports that he now has an overabundance of paint stirrers, so if anyone wants to go to Paul’s house and become his painting minion for a weekend or two, I’m sure he can put you to work!

There’s nothing quite like watching the imagination of kids at work. Pull up a chair and a cup of coffee with my mom one day. She’ll tell you about the Christmas when I was a toddler and spent most of the day playing with the handle of a toy. Neither my parents, grandparents or my older brother could convince me to play with something else. I can’t recall what I was playing with that handle, but it must have been awesome.

It wasn’t because I was a simple kid.. but the simpler the toy, the bigger the role my imagination played in making my own fun. That’s the appeal of wooden blocks, Lego blocks, and those frontier-style logs you can use to build all kinds of structures. They’ve been around for a long time and are very popular because they still hold their appeal.

Well, if there’s a special young someone in your life, AND you would like to build him or her a great holiday present, why not look to build a set of frontier logs? Sure, you could buy a set, but they wouldn’t be made by you, right? And, you would be surprised just how easy they are to build.

Ralph Bagnall strikes again, releasing his second book about how to build a frontier logs play set. And, just as with his sand shading veneer book, this one is crammed with straightforward, step by step instructions on how to build a set of your own.  Ralph made his set from a pile of southern yellow pine dimensional lumber scraps, a table saw with a combination blade and a dado blade, and a router table with a convex edge router bit.

The process is very simple and repetitive, and, remember, you are building a set of logs for a child’s play set – not machining parts for the International Space Station. So, cut yourself some slack if things aren’t down to the thousandth of an inch, OK?

The best part of the plans that Ralph lays out is that it includes plans to make roof gable ends, half logs to help you build foundations and how to cut roof staves. Ralph shows you how to cut roof caps and chimneys, to add some more realism to the build. He even recommends how many of each type of piece to build so you can ensure there are plenty of pieces to work with to build a variety of buildings.

Part two of the book shows pictures of some structures you may want to help your little buckaroo build with your new set of logs. You can choose from ranches with corrals, farms or frontier forts.

Now, if you are considering building a set of frontier logs for someone in your life, you might want a copy of this book. And, as we had done with the sand shading book, Ralph would like to give away a copy to one of our readers.

So, if you would like to get your own copy, answer this question. I’ll pick a winner Tuesday night from the correct answers submitted.  Ready? here goes…

What was the first wooden toy I built for my sons?

This one should be easy for y’all!

Hey, Roger Sullivan, you are our winner!  Look for your own copy of the book coming to a mailbox near you!

There are lots of ways you can make a project look good when finishing. You can stain, dye or oil the piece to give it depth or shimmer.

But, there’s a classic technique that uses veneer, sand and heat to add depth to inlays.  Woodworker Ralph Bagnall has written his first book on the subject of sand shading, entitled Sand Shading: Mastering the hot sand method for shading inlays.  It offers very simple step by step instructions on the process that should encourage even the beginner to try their hand.

Ralph lays out the process in clear, easy to follow steps. The first piece of ‘specialized’ equipment used to be a ubiquitous piece of kitchen cookware – an electric skillet.  By using the heat control on this appliance, you can get accurate temperature control in the sand, which gives you control over the shade you impart to your inlay pieces.  Ralph observed that while you can buy a new one of these skillets for about $30 in a local mega-mart, you can probably score one at a thrift store or yard sale for uber-cheap.

The next specialized component is sand… but not just any sand. You want to pick up sand with the finest grit possible to ensure a more even shading on the inlay pieces. Ralph suggests leveling sand, used to level patio pavers.  His suggestion to thoroughly dry the sand using the electric skillet is one of those a-ha tips that you expect from a well-conceived book about a challenging technique.

As you might imagine, the shading is achieved by burying the inlay material in the sand and scorching it slightly. During each step of the process, Ralph shows the tips and tricks for shading simple fan inlay pieces all the way to fancier shell designs.  He also goes into the material selection process, showing which species of wood works the best (Ralph loves holly for this), the best way to assemble the inlay for installation into the final piece and how to get creative in designing your own projects.

Ralph’s book brings to light in great detail this classic but seemingly lost technique. Given the clear step-by-step instructions and common equipment and materials, this is going to become one very popular read.

Congratulations to Douglas Bordner who won a copy of Ralph’s book! Thanks everyone for participating!

Now, here comes the fun part.  Ralph has offered me the opportunity for one of my readers to get a free copy of his book for his or her very own.  So, let’s break out a classic game played by radio stations. Send me an e-mail at tom@tomsworkbench.com with the answer to this question:

What was the first project I built  that I ever used veneer on, and what was the species of veneer I used?

I’ll take all the correct answers I receive until 8 p.m. Eastern time today and have one of my sons randomly select from the correct answers submitted.  Good luck!

There are few things as awkward as wrestling a sheet of 4 foot by 8 foot plywood onto a table saw.

OK, maybe there was the time I asked the cutest and most popular girl in middle school to go to a dance with me. And, after a long pause, she laughed. Loudly. Now, THAT was awkward …

But, think about it.  A sheet of 3/4″ ply tips the scales at about 80 pounds, has no easy way to grab and hold and is tough to balance on a table saw’s top while keeping one edge against the rip fence.  It’s not easy at all.

That’s why when Paul and I were just starting the cabinet project, we had a brief discussion about getting our hands on one of the ‘new’ track saws to help break the sheets into more manageable sections without the need to break someone’s back or damage their shoulders. Yes, that someone is me…

So, just as the plywood delivery came to the shop and the driver and I were unloading it, Paul walked in with a long, skinny box and a plastic container.  Paul had gone out and purchased a Festool TS 55 EQ plunge cut circular saw system for us to use on this project.

Now, Festool isn’t the only company with a dog in this hunt. DeWalt has a model they introduced about two years ago, and Makita also has a track saw system. I can’t really give a comparative review of these other models, but I can tell you that if they work as well at the one we are using, they are worth their weight in gold.

If you wanted to break down some sheets of plywood without one of these track saw systems, you could make yourself a sawboard and use your circular saw on the cut.  I’ve used the finest blades possible on my little Black and Decker saw, but still found the splintering on the piece to be unacceptable. This, of course, required me to go from the circular saw cut to the table saw in order to complete the cut.  This required that I remember to cut the piece strong and take that second step to get an acceptable edge.

Given the number of cuts on this case, the Festool saved a tremendous amount of time.  The cuts came from the saw cleaner than what I could accomplish with my Forrest Woodworker II blade on my table saw. Anything that eliminates a step in the process that doesn’t sacrifice quality is a winner in my book.

The saw is pretty sophisticated. The controls are clearly marked and easy to operate.  The saw does plunge to cut and also brings a riving knife down behind the blade.  If you have ever cut a board that pinched your saw’s blade during a cut, you know how frustrating and dangerous the situation could be.  This plunging action makes inside ‘pocket cuts’ a piece of cake, not a harrowing experience like plunging a traditional circular saw.

The Festool also has an anti-splinter ‘foot’ that presses down on the material just at the front of the blade to prevent splintering along the offcut side.

The track that the saw rides along is also very well thought out. Basically, the saw’s base plate has a square notch worked into its design.  This notch mates with a square track that rises from the track to guide the saw.  The base of this track has two rubber non-skid strips adhered to it, allowing you to place the guide down and not have to clamp it.  However, clamping isn’t the worst idea when cutting a lot of pieces.  It just helps to keep the saw track from shifting if you bump into it.

On the edge of this track that guides your cut, there is another anti-splinter device that keeps the keeper half of your board from splintering. Since this is exactly where your saw is cutting, you don’t have to move it into place… it’s always there.  The cuts off the track are perfectly straight and beautiful.

The saw also comes with a dust collection port.  I was using my shop vac instead of the company’s compatible dust collector, but noticed that the amount of dust generated by the cuts was very small.

The saw’s flexibility in cutting could also lead you to trouble. By not indexing off of a fixed rip fence, you have to be sure you carefully mark the pieces you are cutting.  If you mismark and cut on a diagonal, you will get a perfectly straight diagonal. You also have to remember which side is the keeper and ensure you don’t cut it one kerf too narrow by cutting on the wrong side of the  line.  Just sayin …

Yes, a track saw like the one we picked up is more expensive than just using a sawboard and your circular saw.  However, the time you save having to make two separate cuts could really be a difference maker on a large cabinet project. And, if that time savings also happens to lead to better quality cuts, well, sounds like a winner all around.

Since I’ve been on reduced duty this week recovering from my run in with the hedge trimmers, I’ve had a lot of time to watch movies, play games with the kids and read.  And, boy, have I read.  The librarians are getting tired of seeing me.

Libraries are great places to go.  There are tens of thousands of books on the shelves on all different kind of topics.  Wine. Travel. Woodworking. Music.  You can’t go wrong…

And, there are some of those books you want to borrow again and again.

C. Keith Wilbur’s Home Building and Woodworking in Colonial America (ISBN-13: 978-1564400192) is one of those books. Lavishly illustrated throughout, Wilbur takes readers through the process of home building from the selection and felling of trees for the timber frame to the plastering and white wash on the walls.  Each step is shown in the kind of detail that will leave the history minded woodworker intrigued for a good long while.

For instance, the action starts right on page one… Wilbur begins with a one page description of how the European settlers had over harvested the trees back in the homeland and the feeling of joy they experienced when they saw the enormous tree stands in North America.  The page also explains how the Royal Navy surveyors branded with the King’s broad arrow every single white pine with a diameter of two feet or greater for use as masts on new ships.

Later pages describe how the Colonists improved on the British trade axe to design a more efficient chopping design.  The proper way to select and fell a tree while using just an axe. The tools and processes used to buck the longer logs to more manageable sizes.  Hauling them out of the forest. Squaring the timbers.  Stacking and seasoning the timbers to get them ready for construction.

And, that’s all by page 15…

I was amazed by the way Wilbur constantly illustrated how conditions in the American Colonies dictated the construction techniques and designs in order to address local climactic conditions.  For example, homes built in New England were primarily built with a central chimney stack in order to retain as much heat as possible during the brutally cold winters.  In southern colonies, it was a better idea to move the chimney stack to the outside of the house in order to better control the heat gain in the milder winters and while cooking during the summer months.

As an unexpected bonus, Wilbur throws in a chapter dedicated to the evolution of common woodworking tools.  From prehistoric times through Egyptian, Greek, Roman and medieval times until the colonial American era. Axes, adzes, chisels, planes… they are in there.

I have only scratched the surface of what’s offered in this book. If you are a fan of old school woodworking, you can do a whole lot worse than picking up a copy of this book.  And, after I change my finger dressing this morning, I will be reading more during breakfast.

By the way… In case you are counting… this makes post number

Pretty cool, eh?  I had no idea back in 2007 that I was going to get this far.  I hope that during my run so far at Tom’s Workbench that I am able to provide you with a few laughs on our journey into woodworking.  Thanks for reading!