There are some things that woodworkers always seem to not have enough of: Time for projects, space to work and clamps.
After all, the common refrain of woodworkers is there are never enough clamps in your shop when you need them. Those complicated glue-ups seem to require just about every clamp in your collection – and in your neighbors’ collections as well.
So, today, tell us about your clamp situation. Do you have enough, or, well, do you need more?
Yes, this video and article by Steve Ramsey of Woodworking for Mere Mortals is a few years old, but now is a good time to remind everyone about the problem of woodworking scams and plan priacy.
There has been a recent uptick in the number of sites offering thousands of woodworking plans for dirt cheap prices (usually bundled as 10,000+ plans for $39). While this sounds like a tremendous deal, there are a few problems. First, you don’t really get 10,000 plans. You get considerably fewer plans than that, and most are merely measured drawing with no instructions or are scans of such poor quality you can barely read them.
It is also theft.Yes. Scanned right out of the pages of woodworking magazines, taken from websites and lifted from books. The publishers of these sites don’t get permission to reproduce these plans. By supporting businesses such as these, it is a major disincentive for publishers to seek out new, talented woodworkers who pour their energy into creating new works. After all, don’t the people who work hard to produce these works deserve to get paid?
I also wrote an article a few years back in Wood Magazine called Monkey Business, which covers the experience that I had buying the package to see exactly what you got when you ordered.
I understand that many people may not be flush with cash to buy collections of professionally produced plans. That’s why it’s a much better idea for them to check with their local libraries and woodworking guilds to see if they can borrow woodworking books and magazines which may feature plans that interest them. By doing this, it will encourage libraries to expand their woodworking holdings and further the mission of the woodworking guilds to bring new people to the craft through personal connections.
***Tom’s Edit***
Steve also pointed out he did a series of videos on Ted and company. This is an education on how this multi-level marketing scam works. If you have ever considered wasting your money on one of these schemes… don’t.
This one was from April 3, 2012
This one is about the affiliate program, April 4, 2012
And, this video was from Steve on April 7, 2012.
So, a few weeks ago I mentioned that I was asked to build a little bit of a trophy case for a friend’s daughter. And, the original design I came up with was pretty simple – a bookshelf looking contrivance that would hold both trophies and ribbons…
But, a funny thing happened on the way to building that project…
You see, Kevin’s daughter swam in a big meet. International competition at the pool. It was a HUGE deal. That’s where he saw one of these things:
So, we had a little change in plans – we were doing more of a ribbon-based hanging system, and I was back to the drawing board.
Now, Kevin’s the kind of guy who knows what he likes. That’s a good thing, because I don’t have to pry it out of him. With graph paper and pencil in hand (no Sketchup for me… I have GOT to learn that sometime in the not too distant future) I set about designing a wooden case for the medals.
I was busy patting myself on the back with this one. I mean, it was COOL, right? I was going to cut a logo of a swimmer for the top of the piece, it was going to have cut out slots for dowels to set into and, well, it was going to be cool.
But, it was missing something… first, his daughter’s name. And, I don’t think that the slots were going to work out that well… remember, this is going to Yuma, so all of those cuts were going to make things a little hinky when it came to wood movement.
So, it was back to the drawing board. And, with some adjustment, I came up with this:
A little better. In this version, I put the logo up at the top and put her name up there as well. And, I put a band of walnut cut in the form of waves under her name. I scratched the notches in exchange for pairs of matched holes where the dowel could be slid it. To add more ribbons (a real probability with her), Kevin simply has to slide the dowel out, add them on, then return it to the hole.
Now, I just have to wait for Kevin to weigh in for this design. I’m hoping that we can get the design nailed down soon so I can get to work.
After all, I have another client (Rhonda) who is looking to get a job in the queue…
There are times when I believe that Albert Einstein was a woodworker. Seriously. I mean, this guy knew about the space-time continuum… which basically means that the less space a woodworker has, the longer it seems to take to get anything done…
At least I think that’s what he meant. After all, there are lots of times when I am working on a project when I run out of space on my workbench. That’s a bad thing, because I will be attempting to do too many thing on my poor overworked workbench. So, say, I’m trying to mark out the rough boards, juggle my plans, keep handy tools in easy reach… and try to keep something like my thickness planer there so I can do all of the work of getting the boards down to the right size for the project.
What I really need is more surface area, but I couldn’t fathom where I would build more bench area. After last year’s miter bench update, I’m pretty much out of room. No, what I need is some kind of portable work area I could set up, then tear down again after I am done with it.
Good thing my friends at Porta Mate sent me one of their Power Tool Workcenters. Of the work stands I have used (and, believe me, I have used lots of them), this one is the most tricked out I have ever seen. For starters, it has a stable base that supports a very generously-sized tool stand. The whole shebang supports nearly 200 pounds, so most portable power tools will easily be supported. That top is also adjustable for height, so you can jack it up for work where you need to have it closer to your eyes, or drop it for larger power tools.
The base also boasts a nicely sized tool tray. So, if you need to keep some tools handy to adjust your power tool, or you need some clamps to secure it to the stand, this is a pretty handy place to stash them.
The real fun comes in with the adjustable roller supports. You can mount a ladder-type support with telescoping arms that hold the roller assemblies in place. This allows you to get more work support for items such as your thickness planer, so the boards won’t be flopping about on the infeed or outfeed side of the tool. Pretty handy things to have for this tool, a portable drill press, a miter saw.. the works. 
The best part of this baby is that it takes less than five minutes to break down for storage. Bolts are tightened using plastic handled knobs, and by removing six of them, you can have it folded flat and ready for storage in a jif. If you are a woodworker with tons of space, maybe this isn’t the tool for you. But, if you are like the rest of us mortals who struggle to find a space for every operations, the power tool workcenter might be worth the investment.
And, you don’t have to be a genius.
Everything in woodworking has a cost. It costs to buy wood. It costs to buy glue. It costs to buy fasteners, jigs, electricity for the lights…
And, most importantly, it costs to buy tools.
Whether you have a massive, professional shop full of state-of-the-art monster tools or you have scoured the classified ads looking for ultra bargains, there is little doubt that you have made an outlay of cash to get what you need.
This week, I want to know what was the most you ever spent on ONE single tool. Maybe it was that large cabinet saw, the hand-made infill plane you had commissioned or the large cyclone dust collector to keep your shop neat. Just give us the price range you were operating in. Thanks for voting!
[For my international viewers, the values are in U.S. Dollars. To convert your currency to USD, visit this Universal Currency Converter. Thanks!]
Wood Magazine’s onlay accents made easy
When most woodworkers think about accentuating their work, they think about carving or inlays. But, did you know that you could apply decoratively cut wood onto the surface of your project and get good looking results?
That process is known as onlay, and Wood Magazine has a great how-to page on the process. From cutting the designs to attaching them to the project to accentuating the look, the process is described in detail. The page even offers a design for use on your next project.
“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet” –
William Shakespeare
When it comes to flowers, few have the beauty and smell of roses. That’s why people spend hours tending to them in their gardens, and why we spend lots of money on Valentine’s Day and anniversaries buying bouquets of them for that special someone in our lives.
And, when it comes to wood, few species stand out as beautifully as the rosewoods. Rich in color and possessing a handsome grain structure, these woods have been used for centuries for articles as mundane as plane handles all the way to expertly crafted symphony violins.
One of the most favorite of the many different rosewoods is Honduran Rosewood. This tropical hardwood grows primarily on the southern coast of Belize, formerly British Honduras, which is where the tree gets its name. Mature specimens of the tree can grow to 90 feet tall, with a slender diameter of about three feet.
The wood inside is dense, oily and has a Janka test score considerably higher than sugar maple, but not quite as hard as mesquite. This hardness gives the wood a tremendous tonal quality, making it ideal as tonewood for musical instruments from guitars to xylophones.
Heartwood of Honduran Rosewood ranges in color from a light brown to a deep brownish-purple. The majority of heartwood will appear almost brownish-mauve. Sapwood is clearly delineated and is a pale yellow. This can make for some dramatic book matches, especially on the backs of guitars.
Because it is so tough, the wood can really do a number on cutting edges, so be prepared to do more sharpening than you planned for during your project. Its grain is also frequently interlocked, so expect that your planes and planer knives to almost ‘ride over’ the wood in these cases.
Where this wood excels is in turning. With a steady hand, a turner can sculpt some incredible looking bowls, vessels and other goodies. What’s even better, once the turning is done and the piece is sanded, the work can be burnished, using the natural oils inside to build a soft luster.
These oils, of course, can cause some issues. Topcoats can frequently fail on this wood, and there have been problems reported with glue ups. Cleaning the wood well with solvent can temporarily clear the surface enough for the finish or glue to cure. And, as with other tropical hardwoods, the oils in the sawdust can cause issues with those who are allergic to them, so dust collection and dust masks are a must.
Since the wood grows in such a small area, and it is a popular wood to work with, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) has moved the wood from appendix III to Appendix II. This means that it can no longer be imported or exported without special paperwork. “This beautiful wood has been overharvested,” said Eric Poirier of Bell Forest Products. “That’s why we in the wood industry and the home woodworker needs to appreciate these precious species or they will no longer exist – and no one wants that to happen.”