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.

Make no bones about it… woodworkers love woodworking. A simple bookshelf. A dining table that a family would gather around. A complex chair with challenging joinery.

Just as every shop is different and every project is different, what motivates every woodworker is unique. Yes, there are as many stories about how woodworkers got their starts as there are woodworkers. And there are all different kinds of woodworkers. Cabinetmakers. Turners. Chair builders. Luthiers. The works.

Ultimately, though, you can break woodworkers into two broad groups. Those who enjoy the product of woodworking, and those who enjoy the process.

I think the vast majority of woodworkers start off as product woodworkers.  The first move into woodworking is usually to satisfy a need for a piece of furniture. I wanted to build a blanket chest for my wife. I’ve spoken with woodworkers who started off with a side table. A picture frame. Something to make their spouse happy. A special gift for a child.

You’ll typically find product woodworkers using non-traditional ways of making joints. Dominos. Biscuits. Dowels. Router-jig cut dovetails. Believe me, there’s nothing wrong at all with this type of woodworking. This does not mean that we want to build cheaply or anything less than brutishly strong. It’s just that we see the steps involved in the process as milestones to pass on the journey toward completion.

Heck, I know I’m still a project-based woodworker, and I’m totally cool with that. For me, the big charge comes from moving that project into place at the end of the build and listening to the sounds of delight from the recipients.

Process based woodworkers, on the other hand, find that the journey is the most enjoyable part of woodworking.  You can find process woodworkers reveling in the thought of enjoying the challenge of traditional methods. Want to make a board four-square?  Hand planes are the way to go.  Hand cut dovetails?  Even on utility cabinetry?  If it was good enough for the masters, it’s good enough for them. Mortises by the dozen cut with hyper-sharp mortising chisels?  You bet.

Process woodworkers tend to fall into the rhythm of the most mundane tasks. Hone a plane iron to razor sharpness? While it’s not the most enjoyable task in the shop, they’ll tackle it willingly. Build a hand-rubbed finish on a completed piece?  You betcha.

That doesn’t mean that process woodworkers are exclusively hand tool woodworkers.  Sam Maloof was definitely a process woodworker who was one with his bandsaw. You can add Michael Fortune to that list as well.

Process woodworkers tend to evolve into their role. I don’t normally run into woodworkers who started out saying, “Gosh, darnit, I always wanted to cut three dozen dovetails by hand.” But, once they see the amount of skill required to do accomplish feats such as these, the time put in working like this is seen as a wise investment.

Oh, and at the end, they get a beautiful piece of furniture.

Why make this observation? I dunno…  But, I am sure I’m gonna get a few comments on this one!

People love to classify things.  Speak to a biologist and you’ll learn a boatload of Latin in when talking about an animal’s classification.  Chemists classify the elements as metals, non-metals, noble gasses…  the list continues.

Pastry chefs will classify ingredients as wet goods or dry goods, and it’s not as easy as it seems. Sugar is considered to be a wet ingredient.

When it comes to woodworkers, we also tend to classify ourselves into categories based on our abilities and knowledge of the craft.

This week, I’m looking to see how you classify yourself as a woodworker at this moment.  Don’t be bashful – be as honest as possible.  Remember, no one has to know you you voted.

Well, you’ll know….

The segmented turner

If you turn pieces on your lathe, you know that you can make some gorgeous looking pieces from a single piece of wood. But, if you want to add more visual interest while using up smaller pieces of wood, you should check out segmented turnings.

By gluing up these smaller bits of wood, you can create pieces with tremendous visual interest. The process is quite simple to accomplish, but it takes some care to get the smaller pieces lined up and arranged properly so the final piece is just as you planned it to be.

This site serves as an excellent jumping-off point, offering segmented turning tips, plans and links to other sites featuring more segmented turning advice. Why not take it for a spin yourself?

There are three things we really need to get through life…

A family that loves you. A strong belief in yourself and your deity – if you so choose. And, great friends.

That’s why I like the folks I hang out with. I’ve met many fellow woodworkers in person (and, I know we’ve shared a few libations at places such as the Hofbrauhaus in Newport, Kentucky), and I’ve enjoyed the opportunity to get to know you. I also have a bunch of friends in my neighborhood, and those I have met in my professional career.  One of the people who I have forged a great bond with is my friend Bob. This guy is a public information officer at another agency here in the Tampa Bay area, and we always work closely on projects – especially hurricane preparedness.

Bob, his wonderful wife Pam and their daughter Caroline are always a ball to hang out with. We’ve gone to the beach together, bowling – heck, Bob has even rented a boat and taken us out on it.  Lots of fun.

The best fun, however, happens at Bob’s house. Once a year (it’s actually coming up soon), Pam makes the ultimate Italian feast – a Timpano.  Never heard of it?  You should.  It’s a delicious concoction of goodness – meatballs, sausage, pasta, gravy, cheeses.. the works – wrapped in a crust and baked. Even better, rent the movie the Big Night and check out the last half hour of the movie.. and don’t do it on an empty stomach.. you will be very hungry after!  While Pam is out in the kitchen riding herd on the food, Bob is the man in charge of the wine.

No, not THAT wine… good stuff. Amarones from Italy. California Zinfandels. Delicious stuff.  In order to make the ambiance complete, Pam has sewn the obligatory red and white checked  Italian restaurant tablecloth, and Bob has obtained a pair of candle holders shaped in the form of wine bottles.  That, unfortunately, is where the trouble came in.

You see, they are shaped like wine bottles with no bottoms. When you put them over lit candles, there’s not enough air flow to keep them burning.  Bob was puzzled as to how to keep them burning, when he hit on an idea. He asked me for some advice, and I told him to go ahead with the plan.

Basically, he picked up a piece of maple and cut some short pieces. Not bad for using a circular saw… Using only glue, he built a bit of a grid as a stand for each of the holders to provide some airflow.  He wiped on a little bit of polyurethane to seal the wood, and at last year’s timpano night, they made their big debut.  The candles burned like a champ, and the ambiance was nothing short of fantastic.

As we ate the delicious – and copious amounts of – food, I told Bob, “You know I have to take pictures of this and post it on my blog.”

He smiled and said, “Come on, man. What are friends for?”

I am king of my space in my shop.  Well, almost king of my shop.

After all, I do have to accommodate a washer and dryer. And, I have to store various picnic implements. And, there’s always that overflow of household products from the run to the wholesale store. But, other than that, I am king of the shop.

Yup. All 24 x 22 feet of it. Wait a minute… that’s not that big of a space after all.  By golly, I had better be able to use the space in my shop effectively, or I am going to be in a world of hurt.

That’s exactly where I am right now. My shop is a great place to stop and work a spell. There is my bench, a front bench area where I can stage materials and a side bench area where my plane till hangs out and I have storage underneath. I’ve built lots of great stuff out there, but one place has always presented a challenge for me – the area behind my bench.

Yeah, this is not the place I am most proud of.  I have always had trouble with this area – it’s cut off from the main work area and you have to round the bench to get there.  It used to hold wood in a big stack behind the bench, now it seems to just hold a crapload of stuff I’m not sure where to put. The shop vac. A rolling stand I built for my portable drill press. Saw horses. The works.

While I’m thinking about this, I also realize that there is another tool I would love to get more use out of – my miter saw. That baby has been sitting under the workbench between the spindle sander and the recycling bin for years now, just collecting dust until I am ready to use it.  But, what I would really love to use it for is cutting long boards down to size. Maybe set it up someplace where I can set up a fence with a siding stop on a measuring tape…

Wait a minute… I’m getting a picture… how about building a miter saw bench/work station. With storage underneath and shelves above. Someplace I can keep the miter saw set up, maybe drag out a few pieces of tooling and use them there as well… I like it.  Of course, this means I’m going to have to get rid of the shelves that I have already built, but that won’t be a problem. In fact, I would be able to cannibalize some of the parts of the existing shelves to build the new unit.

The shelves are built with these Simpson Strong Tie connectors and common 2 x 4 studs, with a few strips of 3/4″ plywood.  And screws. Lots of screws.  But, if I was able to pull these shelves apart, I could easily reuse the wood to build my miter station.  And, of course, the ties could be used in the new storage/workspace area to help build a solid unit that could take a lot of abuse.

There are lots of plans out there using those Simpson Strong Tie connectors, and I’ll spend the next few weeks drawing up some plans for the new station. I’ll want to make sure that my new work area has all of the bells and whistles I’ll need to get the best use out of the saw, and I’ll move my bench a little farther into the room to gain access to the area between the bench. Heck, I’ll throw in some more storage shelves and a ‘garage’ area underneath the work station to hold my shop vac.

Yes, it’s looking like a new project may be in the works here.

When you think about woodworking shows on TV, there are a few that immediately spring to mind. Norm Abram and the New Yankee Workshop. David Marks and Woodworks. Tommy Mac and Rough Cut. Roy Underhill and the Woodwright’s shop.

But, there’s a show that doesn’t normally get a lot of discussion -the American Woodshop.

It’s a glaring omission, considering that the show has been on the air for 19 seasons, and host Scott Phillips has been an institution on the show. He’s been out there at woodworking shows, demonstrating tools. Over the years, viewers have watched him build a shop and turn out some sweet looking projects.

But, there has also been a number of woodworkers who call his work amateurish and question why he has been on television for as long as he has.

Today, tell us what you think about Scott Phillips and the American Woodshop.