June marks the 4th anniversary of the completion of my new workshop. Prior to that, I worked in a basement shop with concrete floors, 6 foot ceilings, exposed lightbulbs, and exposed knob & tube wiring. Dungeon-like.

Yet it was still my favorite place in the house.

I dreamed for 10 years of having an above-ground shop and when I finally decided to have one built, I spent a full year researching heating systems, insulation, material, lighting....everything.

I even built a to-scale model of the shop, complete with all my equipment, just to make sure that everything would fit and that I would be able to tell my builder where to put the outlets. I determined where to put the 18" bandsaw in relation to the back window, so that long boards could stick outside and rest on the sill while I ran them through the blade. The model also helped my builder work up pricing.

The first design had a second story and a finishing room closed off by a sliding door. After my builder told me how much it would cost, reality set in, and both those luxuries were crossed off the list.

The model itself was built hurriedly?just plywood tacked together with brads?but it helped immeasurably when I was able to tell my builder where to put my 300 pound band saw and 400 pound table saw, as he and his helper carried them out of my basement shop and into the new one. They were able to plop them down exactly where I wanted them. I doubt they would have appreciated some lady telling them to "Move the table saw to this wall. Nah, that's not right?move it to that wall instead. A little to the left, no right."

The next sound I would have heard would have been my contractor and his helper slamming the door shut behind them, leaving a trail of expletives in their wake.

Planning for and designing my shop was an exciting journey, and I ended up with a cute little woodworker's dollhouse in the process.

My head is still spinning after adding the new site posting rules. Everything seems to be clear, there is only one rule that is already generating lots of controversy and questions (I got few only by PMs). Current version of the rule says:

“Don’t advertise your business or the business you are affiliated with. If you have a product or service that you would like to advertise contact our advertising department. Note that labeling projects as “for sale” as well as adding your business website to your profile and signature is allowed. Premium business features will be added in the future.”

Our site is still relatively young and this is the first community site I’m behind so this advertising policy issue is very tricky to me. However we need to solve it and have clear policy in place so I’m requesting discussion as constructive as possible about this issue. Share your opinion and support it with facts please. This will help me better understand your positions.

The most important fact is that last year I decided to sell advertising space at LJ.com. Our revamped advertising plans are very affordable but the companies are still paying real money for their banners. It’s not for free.

The second thing is that I’m leaning toward dividing the pros/businesses into two groups when thinking about next steps:

1. those selling to lumberjocks/woodworkers (tool manufacturers etc)
2. woodworkers selling to non-woodworkers (think projects for sale, commissioned woodworking, carpenters…)

Plus there is very thin line between advertising and non-advertising. Consider following examples and post your opinion on each of them if possible. Important note: posting rules are only one week old so if I’m pointing to an existing post I’m not saying it’s breaking the rules – there were none before.

• We’re having projects labeled as “for sale”. This is also included in the rule exceptions. However I consider projects with the extended commercial-like stories as something that doesn’t belong to the current projects are. Project stories should communicate the message to other woodworkers not to potential buyers.
• Odie is posting excellent So you want to go pro blog series. Obviously we want and need this kind of top quality posts/tutorials. What if he adds one-two links to his business website in each article? Should we consider this as breaking the rule? I don’t think so.. you?
• Al Navas sent me following PM question: “I just posted on my blog an announcement to the first monthly drawing to be held in May, for router bit sets provided by one of my sponsors. Please let me know if it is OK for me to post on Lumberjocks, to announce the drawing and to request people to submit their names to register to win.” Should this be allowed? I’d love to let Al post this to his blog but there is risk of other companies posting same contest/giveaways announcements on the site for free. Plus we have sponsors who sell router bits and they may be ?upset? knowing that LJ has condoned the posting for free. What do you think?
• Lee was posting lots of blog journals about his Ezee-Feed business development. Again quality information and posts. But it’s Lee’s business so it’s getting controversial again (by the way Lee is also one of our advertisers, thanks). If Lee would be allowed to continue this kind of posts then maybe DeWalt could register and blog about their tools with links to their business website. Again, it’s so hard to tell where the line is ;)

So are we going to be 100% strict or use common sense? If common sense then how we can decide what’s ok and what’s crossing the line?

As I mentioned before I’m considering creating some sort of small fee-based pro membership. Right now I’m thinking about following additional features for the pro members:

• virtual business card with, title, location, contact info and slogan that would be displayed together with the pro member’s author card on each page and would be expandable
• directory of the business cards by location and category
• one business announcement per week – this would be displayed on the member’s profile page as well as in the pros directory
• marking the project as “for sale” – then it would get clear for sale badge near the business card
• ???

With the for sale projects we could even have LJ Pros Gallery listing only for sale work with the special commercial project descriptions. This section could feature slightly different design and be separated from the main site.

And I’m having hard time deciding if this special pro membership should include only woodworkers/lumberjocks selling to public market or companies selling to lumberjocks as well. Maybe we should have separate Yelow Pages directory for the businesses targeting woodworkers.

Long post, tough calls ;)
Feedback is appreciated!

Popular Woodworking Magazine is hosting a woodworking conference this November devoted exclusively to hand tools, called Woodworking in America. The list of speakers is an all-star line up of hand tool experts and the 3-day weekend will be filled with 40 short classes, a marketplace for toolmakers to display and sell their wares, and social events with demonstrators and toolmakers.

Registration begins in June, but I wanted to give you a heads-up on what will most certainly be an awesome weekend.....and I hope, an annual event!

Read more about it here.

The Wood Whisperer has recently announced the first annual Woodworker's Safety Week: May 5 – May 9. He’d like to think of this week as “a refresher course on safety”.

Many woodworking sites have decided to participate in this event and LumberJocks are joining with another cool challenge prepared in cooperation with Marc. And since Marc is the famous video star, this challenge is about your own videos again. Remember the success of our first LJ/TWW workshop video challenge? The expectations are even higher this time ;)

Your task is to record your own woodworking safety video and post it on your personal LumberJocks Blog. The video may present your personal safety tip(s), review of some safety equipment, top ten donts in the workshop etc. You get the idea.

Prizes

• 3 random winners will get LJ shirt, TWW shirt and TWW Finishing DVD each

How to Enter and Official Rules

1. Just add your entry as the regular blog entry and tag it with challenge05 (of course you may add any additional tags too):
   
   Note that you don’t need to use ‘challenge05’ in your blog entry title (use the meaningful title instead).
2. Enter the video overview plus embed the video into the entry.
3. Valid video must be at least 3 minutes long.
4. The videos must be posted from May 5 to May 9.
5. Winners will be announced online at LumberJocks.com and TheWoodWhisperer.com on May 11.

Marc has prepared easy to follow video tutorial in which you can see how to post your final video to your LumberJocks blog and enter it into challenge. Note that you can use any of the popular video hosting sites like Youtube, Blip etc. to host your video.

Here's the page listing all of the submitted entries.

So get your camcorder ready and have fun!

This was veeeery fast – we were at 100,000 comments only 150 days ago and now we have crossed 200,000! Note that the number of comments includes also the number of forum replies since they are de facto same thing.

After doing quick calculations we’re averaging well over 50 posts per LumberJock (including projects, blog entries, forum topics, reviews) and this is something to be proud of. You will not find many community/forum sites with this kind of activity. Only those reviews are still slightly behind ;)

Keep posting, discussing and sharing! LumberJocks are the best.

Alan Turner and Mario Rodriguez*, two well-known and talented woodworkers, were the guest speakers at our most recent woodworking club meeting, a combined meeting with another club. Alan started his own woodworking school several years ago, The Philadelphia Furniture Workshop, where both he and Mario are instructors.

Mario demonstrated mitered through-dovetails and Alan demonstrated how to sharpen a scraper. Alan sharpens them a little differently than I do, so I decided to have a showdown between his technique and mine. I used the same scraper, a Sandvik, and sharpened one edge with my technique and the other edge with Alan's.

Here?s my process:

Chuck the scraper in a vise, and using a smooth file, square each edge 90º to the sides. Switching to an 8,000 grit waterstone, hone the edge. Skew the scraper as you hone, so you don't plow a groove in the waterstone. Next, hone 1/2" of the face of both flat sides. Put some oil on a burnisher (some people use the handle of a screwdriver, but I have better luck with a burnisher), hold the scraper in your hand** and, using a fair amount of downward pressure, slide the burnisher 3-5º along both sides of each long edge, 5 or 6 times. The idea is to create a hook on both sides of the edge so you can use both sides to scrape.

Here?s Alan?s process:

First, he oiled the scraper and the burnisher. Then he laid the scraper flat on the workbench near the edge and used the burnisher to draw the metal out along each long edge on both sides of the scraper, creating a ?U? shape of metal along each edge. Then he chucked the scraper in a vise and filed the edges to 90º. He added more oil to the scraper and burnisher, then he drew the metal out once more on the workbench. Back to the vise, he burnished each side of each long edge 2-5º.

To use the scraper, flex the blade between your thumbs and hold the scraper at 45º to the work surface. The moment of truth....

They looked the same to me. I was surprised because I thought Alan's would work much better. I still think his is a better sharpening technique that will produce more consistent results. But, take your pick!















*Photos of Alan and Mario courtesy of Robert Aspey.
**It's possible to cut yourself by holding the scraper in your hand while using the burnisher, so to be totally safe, you can secure it in a vise instead.

LumberJocks raised the bar again with over 50 entries in our Bookcase Challenge. You proved that it’s possible to be very creative even with such a common project and you made the judging process extremely tough for the editors of the Popular Woodworking.

Here’s the summary of the event as well as the announcement of the winner and runner-ups by Glen Huey, Senior Editor of PW:

“Congratulations everyone. The LumberJocks excelled at designing great looking, buildable bookcases and we were certainly impressed with the group as a whole. This became a difficult task for the Popular Woodworking editors. We individually studied the entries to arrive at our own favorites, then brought those to a group meeting hoping we might see a consensus winner. Instead, we had 11 bookcases to work with to try and determine a winning design. Each design had aspects that we both liked and disliked (editors can be particular when it comes to projects for articles, you know). Even the top entries have design or possible construction techniques we would like to see tweaked, but here goes the list.”

“At the top of our list, after much discussion, is Ryan’s Shoji Screen Inspired Bookcase. This is a very nice design and will be a great article in our magazine. We look forward to working with Ryan as his bookcase comes to life in the pages of PW. Congratulations on his upcoming or recent family addition, too.”

“Close behind Ryan’s bookcase was Daniel’s A&C Bookcase with Magazine Drawers. This piece was very close to the top and had strong support from each editor. In the end, we felt that Daniel’s bookcase displayed too strong of a mixture of many A&C designs. And, the magazine drawers, when fully loaded, would be extremely heavy to access.”

“Also a strong contender was Charlie’s Sliding Dovetails Bookcase. What slowed our enthusiasm for this design was the difficulty of sliding dovetails, but when discussed further and a few suggestions were made in how this might become an easier project with a simple adjustment in joinery, Charlie’s design gained momentum, but was just nosed out by Ryan’s design.”

And here are three random winners of the LJ shirt:

• Jeff
• RLS
• MsDebbieP

Congratulations!

You can sharpen your woodworking skills with helpful tips and techniques from the editors of Woodsmith and ShopNotes magazines. Get a FREE tips sent to your email address each week! Got to Woodworking Tips.com and sign up today.

Here?s last week?s tip from Woodsmith online editor Ted Raife:

It always breaks my heart when a project gets its first scratch. But I know that even with the best of care, it?s bound to happen. So rather than stew over a minor blemish, I came up with an easy way to make it disappear.

My repair system started with an investment in an assortment of touch-up markers. You can get these from many woodworking and finishing supply companies. My set includes about a dozen different colors and this gives me a good shot at finding a close match to the project. But the trick is finding the best color match without relying on a lucky guess.

To help make a more informed choice, I created a sample sheet on a piece of clear acetate. The sheet contains a small, labeled swatch from each marker. As you see in the photo, I simply hold the sheet up to the project to find a good match. After choosing a marker and performing a quick touchup, the project looks as good as new and I feel a whole lot better.

For more helpful project tips, techniques, and plans, visit PlansNOW.

Good Woodworking,

Ted Raife
Online Editor, Woodsmith

This past week I got to play with metal.  Wow, this is cool stuff when it doesn’t burn/cut/poke/shoot sparks at you. 

More on that in a bit. 

Just when you get your head ready to do something, it’s helpful to stop said head and scratch it.  Is there anything that Must Happen before this process?  In the case of installing the deck, the answer is, “yes, yes there is.”  Here we’ve got the beams faired, the covering boards are on, the decking is cut and varnished on one side… seems like all systems are go.  But wait, after the deck is on, we’ll put canvas on.  And where does the canvas go?  Into a little dado along the covering board.  And how will that dado get there?  We’ll rout it in, using a fence running along the inner face of the covering board.  So, since the decking gets installed starting from that same edge of the covering board … gotta do the dado first before the decking gets in the way.  But wait, there’s more!

We’ve been getting some updates from the folks who are designing the rig for Madcap and one of the things that they wanted was a pair of running back stays.  These require some serious fastening in the aft end of the boat, and luckily, we haven’t put the deck on yet.  Installing these suckers would have been impossible if the deck was in the way.

So, let’s get the dado done.

There we go.  One long groove carefully routed into our beautiful covering board.  This was a bit nerve wracking because one slip with the router and the covering board is seriously hosed.  An electric tool can make mistakes much faster and nastier than most hand tools ya know.

The limitation of the router setup is that we have to stop for obstacles. 

The chain plate, for example.  Can’t fit a router next to that puppy.

Or the corner at the transom.  The solution of course, is to batten out the path of the dado and cut the missing segments in by hand. 

That light strip of wood being clamped down is a batten that will be used to connect the dados in a nice, fair line.  Do that for both sides of the dado, and you now know where to cut your dado.  Chisels and a saw should do the trick.

The dado is there to hold the edge of the canvas decking by the way.  We make a T-shaped toe rail that traps the canvas in the slot.  Here’s a mock up.

The toe rail will be low with a slight rounded surface on top.  The original boat just had a strip of wood holding the canvas down that was flush with the covering board as far as we can tell.  We’ve decided that a toe rail is better.  It gives a more finished looking edge I think.

So, metal smithing.  This was a blast, and I want to do it more.

The task was to take the designer’s drawing of a metal plate called a Swallowtail, and fabricate it so that it fit snugly to the frames and sheer clamp.  The running backstays need a lot of support, and this distributes the load across 2 frames and the sheer clamp. 

The process of fabricating this was pretty simple really.  I scaled up the swallowtail from the design plan, and made a paper template.  Then I fit the template onto the frames to make sure that it would actually fit the real boat (as opposed to the ideal boat drawn in the designer’s computer).   Once I tweaked the template to where I thought it would fit, I xeroxed 2 copies of it, cut them out, and spray glued them to some sheet steel we had in the shop.  This way I had a perfect pattern right on my piece to guide me when cutting it out on the metal-cutting band saw.  Easy, yes?  Of course.

Next step was to bend the cut out parts to fit up against the frames.  I patterned out the the frame shapes and used these to guide me as I bent the steel.  Bending the steel?  Yes, with my teeth, like any good bodybuilder.  Yaaah!  More Steroids!!!

Ok, not true.  No steroids.  But this thing is a bottle jack on steroids.

This jack presses Down, instead of up. Ok ok, it pushes both Up AND Down at the same time, but it only can move in a downward direction so the net effect is that it pushes down.  Lord.

My silver sheet metal is being pressed down by the rod welded to the vertical steel plate there.  You can just see that the sheet is resting on one edge on a thick piece of copper stock in the back.  When the rod presses down in front of that copper, the sheet metal bends up.  This gives it a little curve.  Do this along the face and you get a nice curve to your piece.

Here’s the plate with the paper template still glued on, and a curved tempate of the frame next to it.  If you get too much curve, just hammer the plate out flatter on the anvil.  Wear your hearing protection… yow!

There it is getting flattened out a bit.

So, the process is simple.  Bend, check, flatten or rebend… use a ball peen hammer to ease any sharp bends, and voila!   Check your fit to the actual frames until it’s just right.

Next, we weld a couple of side pieces to either leg of the swallowtail.  This stiffens and strengthens the piece.

We used a mig welder similar to this one.

It’s way cool.  The welder uses electric current to make the super bright/hot arc that melts your metal.  At the same time it feeds a thin wire into the weld site to add metal to the weld.  It also blows an inert gas on the weld site to force oxygen away and stop the metal from oxidizing as you heat it. 

Let me just say, I bite at welding.  Sure, I can make welds that are strong, but they look like hell. 

A good weld looks like an even series of tiny ripples that run right down the seam.  Mine look like a lava flow.  Still, it’s my first few times and I expect that practicing a few thousand times will yield some improvement. 

Another thing that’s cool about welding?  The mask.  I thought the little window you look through while you’re welding was just very dark glass.  In the old days, that’s exactly what it was.  But these are modern days, bucko, and everything modern is better. 

Nowadays, the glass you look through is electrically powered and light sensitive.  When you look through it in normal light, it’s like looking through dark green sunglasses.  As soon as a bright light hits the lens, it darkens almost instantly to a level that allows you to look at your arc safely.  When you stop using the arc, it lightens up again.  Way way cool.  The fancier helmets even allow you to adjust how much light triggers the lens and how dark it gets. Nice.

So, now we’ve got this part that fits over the frame with side braces to stiffen it.

 
That’s all well and good, but we still don’t have a way to attach this thing to the running back stays.  Right now, all this is good for is sitting on top of the frames.  We need to weld a plate across the top of this piece that will go underneath the sheer clamp.  The back stays will bolt down through the covering board and sheer clamp and into that plate.  The trick is to get the angle of the plate just right, so that the swallowtail is flush against both the sheer clamp and the frames.  We get that angle simply enough by placing the swallowtail up against the frames and measuring the angle directly.  Now, the tricky part is holding the plate in place at this exact angle while we weld it.

Not so tricky if Lew is your teacher. 

One of the cool things about working with steel is that it’s iron-based.  That means you can use magnets to clamp it in place.

The big red magnets hold the plate in place.  The plate is identified with the blue arrow.  You can see that the top of the plate is up against the magnet, but the bottom of the plate is held away from the magnet by a piece of scrap steel (green arrow).  The scrap transfers the magnetic attraction, so it holds the bottom of the plate away at just the right angle.  The vise grips (behind the blue arrow) then clamp the whole thing down tight.  A couple of spot welds and you can remove all this stuff and just weld away. 

This is easier than woodworking.  Sort of.

Once it’s all welded up, I grind down the welds to make them look pretty and fit it in the boat.

Not too shabby! 

Next trick is to drill holes for the running back stays.  The back stays are a pair of U-shaped bolts that go down from the covering board through the sheer clamp (with blue tape on it above) and into that plate we just welded.  The task is to drill them very precisely so that the legs of the U are parallel, they start in exactly the place you want them to up top, and they end in exactly the place you want them to under the sheer clamp.  Sounds hard.

Jig Time!!  Thank you Warren, thank you Lew.

Once again, a good jig makes a hard thing easy.  This little jig allows you to drill a hole to a precise location. 

Here’s how it works.  I attached 3 chunks of oak to this scrap cedar board, and drilled a 3/8″ hole straight through the 2 chunks on the left there.  These 2 holes now guide my drill bit towards the 3rd chunk, protruding right below the cut-out in the cedar. 

I drilled down to that 3rd chunk and just touched it with the drill bit to make a dimple.  Now I know exactly where my drill will end up when I guide them with the 2 holes.  I then put a little nail in that exact location, clipped off the head, and sharpened it to a point. 

The cut out is there to allow this jig to go around the thing you’re drilling through.

Now, all I need to drill exactly the hole that I want is the location of the entry and exit points.  I know that if I put the nail in the center of the exit point and start the drill at the entry point, the drill will go exactly to the tip of the nail.  How cool is that? 

Yes, very cool.  I know.  Yes, it’s cooler even than wearing your boxers way out above your low low pants.

I worked out the entry and exit points for the U bolts, and it turned out that they’d go right into the dado we made earlier.  This was actually pretty handy.  I made a stick that fit snugly into the dado, marked the entry locations, and drilled small starter holes in the stick. 

You can see it there below my hand.  I copied the spacing of the holes to a strip of blue tape (remember that tape that was on the sheer clamp above?) and stuck it to the lower edge of the sheer clamp.  This gave me the location of the exit fore and aft.  I knew I wanted the holes to end up in the middle of the metal plate, and the plate was 1 1/2″ wide.  So, I set the exit hole back 3/4″, and now I had the inboard-outboard dimension to locate my pin.  Stick the pin in that location, start drilling in those entry holes, and zowie!  A perfectly aligned hole. 

[See why the deck couldn’t be installed by the way?  I made the opening in this jig extra large in case I wasn’t able to start this until a few strips of decking had been installed.  You can see the first strip of cedar decking, in fact, installed just to the left of the mahogany covering board.]

The nice thing about having the stick with the holes in it is that I can then take it over to the other side of the boat and place it in the dado there, and voila!  I have a perfectly matched set of holes for my back stays on the other side of the boat.  So simple, so precise. 

To mark the holes locations on the top plate of the swallowtail, just hold the swallowtail against the frames and sheer clamp, take the drill out of the jig, and drill down through the nice holes you just made.  This puts little dimples in exactly the right locations on the top of the swallowtail.  You can then drill these out more easily outside of the boat.

Now, you may be saying to yourself… why are you using steel here?  Steel rusts!  And if you knew that the U bolts were bronze, you might be appalled.  Everyone knows that electrolysis is a big problem when you put dissimilar metals in contact with each other.  That’s what I thought anyway. 

The answer is… yes electrolysis is a big problem, but only when there’s something to act as an electrolyte.  Like salt water.  These parts will be high up in the stern of the boat and should not get very wet.  As a precaution though, we’ll be painting the swallowtails with epoxy paint to protect them from the elements.  The knees in the boat are steel, and they’ve been there since 1924.  As long as they’re not constantly wet with salt water, and protected from corrosion, they should be fine. 

Next up, making the nifty little U bolts.  Stay tuned, same boat time, same boat channel.

When it comes to essential reads in the world of woodworking, I consider "Choosing and Using Hand Tools" by Andy Rae as one of the most important. 

Andy does a great job of presenting an amazing amount of information about a large number of tools both traditional and non-traditional to the woodshop.

This book isn't just filled with a few pictures and a couple of little descriptions of each tool, but instead Andy does a great job of making sure the reader has a good understanding of the limitations and capabilities of each tool and to which family they belong.

Copies of "Choosing and Using Hand Tools" can be found at both Sterling Publishing and also at Amazon.com.

Hendrik has agreed to come back in May to talk about starting a woodworking business.  So remember to get your questions in as soon as possible.

Also, Hendrik is starting his annual three part finishing seminars: 
Part 1 "Preparing the Surface and Staining" - April 26th or May 3rd. 
Part 2 "Hand Finishing and Rubbing Out"    - May 10th or 24th.
Part 3"Antique Restoration Techniques"      - May 31st or June 7th.
So if you live in the Toronto area or feel like visiting it, and you want more information about Hendrik's finishing seminars, send an email to info@passionforwood.com

Of course you can always drop me a line with your questions, comments, suggestions and schwag entries anytime.  Just send them to mattsbasementworkshop@gmail.com.

 Listen to today's show by clicking on the player below

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This is another entry from John who is referring to his previous post Titled "First Class Practice"

As you recall I am making the base of the Trestle Table and am in the process of making notches in two members so when they are glued together I will have a mortise.  After sawing into the waste a number of times, I removed it by hitting it with a hammer.  A good Maydole hammer no doubt, but any hammer will do.  Here is what the joint looked like.  Not only doesn't this look nice but I don't think I am going to get a good glue joint.

So I took out my Stanley vintage router plane and went to work.  Here is the result!




See how much tearout there is on the near-right side?  And this was one of the best examples.  I was planing directly across the grain and boy did I make a mess.  I learned that I could avoid this by canting the plane and paying close attention to the wood that made contact with the iron.  It was kind of like saddling an Elm chair seat with an Inshave.  If I continued to make angle adjustments I could get a good result.  I also used the two top sides of the work as a reference for the sole of the router plane.

I had to adjust the depth a bit deeper than intended but this is the final result.  You can still see where  big area of tearout was, but this will make a good glue joint.




For explanation purposes here is how I used the sole of the router plane on the work.




John

Its been a busy month. Too much to type so here is a quick video update. Topics include: Festool grand opening, visit to the offices of Popular Woodworking, The Woodwerks Store, our new DVD cover (designed by our friend Langly, the FesCool Giveaway, safety week, new project with Fine Woodworking, a Live WTO experiment, new coffee table project, the new Festool routers, and birthday wishes for Nicole.

Lie Nielsen now carries tools to create string inlay* (pictured at right) based on Steve Latta's innovative designs.

I took Steve's inlay class a year ago at Olde Mill Cabinet Shoppe, where we made simpler versions of the tools (pictured below).

While I won't show you how to make the tools since they are Steve's original designs, I will tell you that they are simple to use, if you're thinking about taking Steve's class, buying the L-N set, or making your own. I practiced for only about an hour before starting a Chester County line and berry design for a spice box door. It only took about 3-5 hours to do all of the inlay for this panel, although the "berries" aren't finished yet, nor has the surface been finish-sanded. It's far from perfect, but hopefully people won't inspect it too closely once it's done (which may be never, since it's been sitting in this state of incompletion for almost a year....)

The radius cutter pivots on a point while little teeth plow a groove for the inlay. You can see a close-up of the teeth configuration on the L-N website. In Steve's class, we also made a tool that plows a straight line and a thicknessing gauge that ensures the veneer strips are consistent in width. To use the gauge, you pull the veneer strip through a kerf in a block of wood. One side of the kerf is wood. The other side has a little scraper attached to it.

L-N also offers a dvd featuring Steve Latta creating the line and berry technique. I have not seen this video, but I can vouch for Steve's excellent teaching skills.

It's easier than you might think to add decorative string inlay to your projects.

*I do not sell for Lie-Nielsen (or Steve Latta), nor have I used their inlay tools, so I cannot comment on their performance.

The windows are one of the focal points found within the home, which is why people do just about anything they can to accessorize it. Blinds home brand window treatments are being done in such a way that home visitors will get to appreciate windows and the way they complement the internal part of the house.

Things to Consider In Window Treatments

Window treatments are important more than just for aesthetic purposes. Keep in mind that windows should not be heavily accessorized in such a way that proper lighting becomes almost impossible inside the home. The main purpose of doing window treatments is to first and foremost moderate just how much lighting is let inside the home. The purposes of aesthetics, such as providing a cozy and elegant ambience, only come in second because this is purely for style.

A Step by Step Procedure

The first thing you have to remember when choosing blinds home brand window treatment is the accessories you do have at present which are attached onto your window. If you are using curtains, you might want to opt for a window blinds instead because it is easier to keep up with and definitely easier to clean up as well. While curtains are usually much preferred because of its cozy appeal, there are already various types of window blinds which can help create the similar cozy atmosphere.

The next thing you have to think about is the lighting mode you want for your home. Remember that applying a window treatment will inevitably affect the way in which natural light enters your home through the windows. From deciding upon the right amount of lighting you deem is necessary inside your home, you will then base your decisions when it comes to purchasing your window treatments.

Types of Blinds Home Brand Window Treatments

Shutters are one of the most popular types of window treatments. They provide the room with the best of two things-lighting moderation and additional design. Moreover, shutters are also known for their ability to affect the dimensions of a room. It can help make a room appear more spacious if used smartly. Shutters also come in various designs.

Shades are different from shutters because they often come in fabric form. They are also popular for having intricately designed pleats which can be lowered and raised but not moved horizontally on the window. This is often used in Mediterranean styled homes looking for some Spanish or colonial touches inside the home. Blinds are among the most important variant which can either come in horizontal or vertical form. Blinds home brand window treatments are considered to be the most affordable as well since they are fairly easy to find as well as setup on the window sill.

Where to find quality discount roman shades by visiting http://www.mywoodenwindowblinds.com, a popular window blind website that specializes in window blind reviews and the practicality of vinyl mini blinds that are kid durable.

Window blinds are very popular because of their provided benefits for users. Included to these basic benefits is their ability to be closed or opened. An open window blind has a lot of benefits like letting the air flow into the room or getting off the heat from the house. Close window blinds also have lots of benefits.

Actually, all types of blinds can be closed but this ability still varies depending on the type of window blind.

Types of Blinds

Venetian blinds are still the most popular window blind type. But there are still other types of window blinds like the mini blinds, vertical blinds, solid blinds, Holland blinds, pleated binds, and honeycomb blinds. Each of these window blind types is distinguished by their structure and each of these can be close in a different way.

Venetian blinds are constructed with special slats which are usually made out of metal or plastic. The width of slats composing the Venetian blinds varies in sizes. The common width, however, is 50mm. Some wider slats are better put on for larger windows. Some blinds may look like a Venetian blind but they are not really this type of blind. When they are made out of bamboo or wood, but with same structure as the Venetian blinds, they are still called as bamboo or wooden blinds.

Venetian blinds are closed by rotating the stick connected to the window blind roll. The slat will rise up until the window blind forms like a flat fabric on the window. Mini blinds, on the other hand, are just like the Venetian blind but the slats composing them are no more than 19mm. These are closed just the same way as the Venetian blinds.

Vertical Blinds are significant since their slats hang vertically, not horizontally. This window blind type is commonly made out of a hardened fabric. It is closed just like the Venetian blind, only that the slats will move sideways instead of rising up. Solid blinds, on the other hand, don't have any slats. They are composed of solid materials which can be closed by pushing or pulling. Holland blinds are made out of woven wood. These can be closed by rolling up the attached string.

Moreover, the pleated blinds are made out of pleated fabrics and can be closed by pulling it down. Meanwhile, the honeycomb blinds are made with fabrics that are connected to one another. This can be closed by pulling the material down.

Blinds were primarily created to provide you with privacy and prevent sun light from entering through the window. These are still the major benefits you can get from closing your window covering. This way, you can have the feel of fresh air while having your needed privacy or you can have the feel of summer while not suffering so much from severe heat of the sun.

With these benefits and capabilities of closing the blinds, anyone can be grateful of having close window blinds. Anyway, you can always open them whenever you want or need to.

Finding the best vertical blinds online by visiting http://www.mywoodenwindowblinds.com, a popular window blind website that specializes in window blind reviews and the sensibleness of roller window shades for homes with small children.

The reasons behind installing a Vinyl Sided Window

Apart from the fact that you want to give your home an extra boost look-wise, there are umpteen reasons behind a person looking forward to vinyl window replacements.

That could be as simple as saving on heating/air-conditioning bills, yet without unpacking the put-away load of quilts and blankets; it can be because you want to go for a window that's made-to-fit or because you want to save the maintenance costs; whatever it is, there is no doubt regarding the fact that a vinyl window replacement is an option way ahead than getting fixed a normal glass pane.

Getting started with the Vinyl window replacement method

That sounds easier than getting the thing done; it's because exact measurements regarding the width and height of every existing window are paramount. Masking tapes work wonder in these cases and so does the identification symbols/numbers for every window getting replaced. It's better if the window manufacturer puts them on each new window replacement unit; it shall provide for an easier identification.

* Taking note of the dimensions: A framing square allows making out the square-ness of every window opening. For example, if an opening differs by 1/5th inch that can be deducted from the corresponding measurement.

* Level and Plumb: A short level shall do fine. But in case an opening is out of square despite being level, i>t's the side jambs that are to be blamed; it happens when the are usually out-of-plumb. This is something that should always be mentioned to a window manufacturer; this shall make him send along a pre-printed sheet with all the measurements and product guidelines to adjust the movable tops and side moldings of the new windows accordingly.

* Onwards to installation: The first and foremost requisite here is a helping hand; unless someone holds the window replacement units in place, dreams regarding an accurate installation may turn just sour. After that, the following steps are to be followed:

- With a flat prying bar, pry the stop moldings off.

- The bottom sash must be pulled out in one piece before chopping the window-holding ropes off, with adequate care taken so as not to drop off the heavy, iron counter-weights inside the wall. The same method holds while removing the top sash unit. The loose dust and paint chips must then be cleaned.

- The new set of vinyl window replacement is then put into place to check the fit. If things seem all right, do up the opening by squeezing a thick caulk bead on both the sides and the sill. Now, the new unit is slid into the caulked opening and pushed towards the stop moldings on the outside.

- The level needs to be checked then; if not satisfied, wood and/or vinyl shims can be used for adjustments. The modern vinyl window replacements come with side jambs that have holes drilled in; this helps for easy mounting with mounting screws. However, the shimming should be accurate everywhere a screw goes in to stop the window replacement unit from going out of square.

Now, for the person with a technical bent of mind, all these shall seem a jiffy, but we have a big barring factor here i.e. time. If you are planning to go for a window glass replacement but have no time, then a visit to Respond.com can well fetch you a plethora of professionals who can get done your job with a better efficacy, in a way similar that brought back the smile on the faces of over the 3 million.

For me, finger joints have always been the nerdy, square cousin to the dovetail.

Finger joints are immensely strong when glued properly. But they are usually used by beginning woodworkers in places where a dovetail would be more appropriate, such as on a piece of 18th-century casework.

Add to that the fact that finger joints are tricky or dangerous to make on wide boards (without a commercial jig) plus the fact that gluing them with yellow glue is stressful, and it's a wonder that anyone uses them at all.

And so we decided to tackle finger joints for the Summer 2008 issue of Woodworking Magazine, which will be shipping to subscribers next month. It took us a few months to really pin them down (pun intended), but I think we nailed it (and no, cut nails are not involved).

Here's a small taste of some of the problems of the joint we solved after three months of testing in our shop:

Appearance: Finger joints are a product of the machine age. Using them in styles before circa 1900 is just wrong to the eye. So consider the joint for more contemporary pieces only.

Cutting them Accurately: Right now there are basically two different ways to cut the joint: A shop-made jig for the table saw for narrow boards, and using a router jig that costs several hundred dollars for wide boards. We set out to develop a simple and safe shop-made jig that could handle both wide and narrow boards. Senior Editor Robert W. Lang had a stroke of genius on this and solved the problem forever (in my opinion).

Gluing Them Easily: You can assemble small boxes with finger joints fairly easily when using yellow glue. But at a certain point, you hit the wall because the glue sets up before you can close all the joints. So the solution would seem to be a slow-setting glue. Well, that's one way to go about it. But we found an easier and faster way that is super-strong (see the photo of Managing Editor Megan Fitzpatrick's boot on a sample joint). In the end, it took an anvil to bust up our sample joints.

Also in the Summer 2008 Issue
The finger joint is just one of the major themes running through the issue. Here are some of the other stories you can look for in the coming issue:

Building a Better Chest: Most woodworkers build chests using the most convoluted and fussy assembly imaginable. After reviewing hundreds of historical models, we settle on a method for building a chest that looks more complex at first glance, but actually saves an immense amount of shop time, requires less fussing around and allows more design flexibility.

Crackle Finishing: Many woodworkers who try a crackle finish have inconsistent results. Sometimes it works; sometimes it doesn't. And predicting how much it's going to crackle is almost impossible. Senior Editor Glen D. Huey cracks the code of crackle finish and finds out that the easiest and most predictable way to do it is also the simplest.

Trimming End Grain: When you have to cut back some end grain so it's flush with some face grain, it's always an opportunity to mess up the project. We show you two (actually three) methods for doing it right every time with a block plane, sander and pencil eraser.

And one more thing about the Summer 2008 issue: This issue is going to be mailed out to subscribers in a protective plastic bag, which will reduce the chances that the postal service will mangle it. If the plastic bag works for you, let us know so we can encourage our manufacturing division to continue using it.

And if you're not a subscriber, you can easily remedy that here.

? Christopher Schwarz

Choosing plantation shutters for form or function? Plantation shutters offer both to today?s homeowner. These unique window treatments trace their roots to ancient Greece. The Greeks used them for both privacy and security. Interior shutters were used to close windows. Along with imposing columns, shutters are hallmarks of Classical Greek Architecture. This ancient order and form in building design later influenced buildings and architecture throughout the Western world.

Before the widespread use of glass, shutters were used to close windows. They were used to protect the interior of the house from the weather and from intruders as well as provide privacy. They could be opened to allow sunlight and fresh air into the building or home.

Elements of Greek architecture are seen in many buildings and homes from the late 18th century, the 19th century and the early 20th century in the United States. It was especially prevalent in banks, office buildings and many public and government buildings. The plantation mansions of the old South borrowed heavily on the architecture of the Greeks. The antebellum mansions of the great plantations from South Carolina to the western edge of Mississippi borrowed heavily from the building concepts of the Greeks. A number of these grand old mansions have been restored and preserved at Natchez, Mississippi.

Just as did the ancient Greeks, plantation owners used shutters for both their beauty and their function. By closing the windows in this manner, these homeowners were able to add a level of security to their homes. This was important because in the era before the Civil War, the agricultural areas of the South were only sparsely populated. Plantations were largely isolated. Plantations were also symbols of wealth, making them targets for bands of robbers. There was also the potential of attack from revolting slaves.

Times have changed and today?s homeowners use shutters primarily for their beauty or form rather than for security.

What are plantation shutters?

Plantation shutters are louvered interior shutters. They cover the entire window. They are most often made from wood, although modern materials including PVC and vinyl are also being used with growing acceptance. The shutters are hinged and can be opened or closed and latched. In addition to swinging open, some models have moveable louvers that can be opened and closed. Other models have stationary louvers. There is great flexibility in being able to partially or completely open the shutters and/or partially or completely open the louvers. This allows tremendous control in directing the inflow of outside air as well as sunlight.

Typically the panels of plantation shutters range from 15 inches to 36 inches wide. Louvers are available in several widths, ranging from 1-3/4 inches wide to 4-1/2 inches wide, appealing to different tastes and fitting with a variety of decors. The width of the louver has a practical application as well as aesthetic. The wider the louver, the more air or sunlight will be allowed to filter through.

These shutters are often used in series. Rooms with a number of windows, several adjacent windows or large picture windows look especially good with plantation shutter window treatment.

Pine is frequently used in construction of hurricane shutters as well. Contractors and do-it-yourselfers can find them both pre-finished and unfinished. Unfinished allows the contractor or diy to finish with any paint or stain color desired.

PVC and vinyl panels come in colors, including white. These panels may be plain or have embossed wood graining. PVC and vinyl are excellent choices for rooms where there can be high levels of moisture or steam. They are good for pool rooms, bathrooms and utility rooms.

Shutters with moveable panels have the added advantage of providing privacy at the same time they admit light and air. You can adjust the louvers in such a manner that light and air is allowed into the room while at the same time preventing outside passersby from seeing inside.

Some tips for selecting shutters for your home

1. Consult your carpenter or contractor. Determine if the present window casings will support the weight of the hinged shutters when opened and closed, or whether additional framing will be required.

2. Consider the width of the louver. The louver width affects the appearance as well as the function of the shutters. The wider the louver, the more light and air will be permitted to flow into the room.

3. Choose between wood and vinyl. Wooden, especially faux wood shutters can give the room a warmer feeling. Vinyl shutters work well in rooms that have high moisture or steam content. Vinyl shutters are easy to clean and will not warp.

4. Choose between moveable and fixed louvers. If you want to use the shutters primarily for privacy and security, you may wish to use fixed position louvers. If you want to be able to open the shutters to admit light, ventilation or see through the window, you will want to select adjustable louver shutters.

5. Read the reviews written by home improvement consultants and also by consumers. These reviews are posted on websites and are published on home improvement websites and in home decorating magazines.

6. Choose a reputable company with a reliable warranty against defects in materials and workmanship.

Tips for installing shutters

1. Measure the window and make sure that the window opening is square. If the window is not square, you will be required to taper the shutter to fit the opening.

2. Cut the shutters to fit the opening. If you cannot find a shutter that will fit your window exactly, choose a shutter that is slightly larger than the opening. If you need to trip more than ¾? from the shutter, cut all of it from the left or bottom sides. If you need to trim more than ¾ inch from the side, cut half from each side. Use the same procedure in trimming the height of the shutter.

3. Hinge the shutter with non-mortising hinges. Use two shutter hinges for shutters 30 inches or less in height. Use three hinges for shutters from 30 ? 48 inches high. Be sure and place the hinges on the opposite side of the desired shutter opening.

4. Install the latch on the opposite side of the hinges. The latch is often installed in the centre of the shutter. In some applications it may be desirable to install the latch near the top or the bottom of the shutter. For example, in a room used by small children you may wish to install the latch near the top of the shutter.

5. The installation tools needed include a mitre, radial arm or table saw; a jointer, planer or a hand plane; screwdriver; square, paint brush; tape measure; pencil; the shutters, non-mortising hinges, screws, fine sandpaper and touch-up paint or varnish.

Today?s homeowner is going to use plantation shutters more for beauty, but they are also important for privacy and security. Shutters are often an excellent choice for living rooms, sitting rooms, dens, home libraries and home offices. There is a special feeling that comes from sitting or working in a room dominated by the rich warmth of wood. Sunlight, ventilation and artificial lighting can all be adjusted to provide just the right atmosphere.

John Baker contributes many news and information to http://www.shades-blinds-shutters-guide.com. Amongst his works he is working on topics such as hurricane and storm shutters.

It's 1:45 in the morning here. I really should be in bed, but I wanted to take a minute to tell you about the latest feature on this site.

It doesn't look like much. It isn't big, it isn't cluttered. It is sort of like the Google homepage that has a little box that allows you to search the one hundred trillion million pages of the known virtual universe with a simple click. Actually, our latest feature is a lot like that, since it is powered by Google.

However, Google itself has certain limitations for hand tool users. Namely, the limitation of scope. It just can't get its brain wrapped around the fact that you are searching for information that existed before 1900.

Well, here at UnpluggedShop.com, we have turned back the virtual clock. We have shifted the sands of time. We have brought the future to the past. Oh... It really is late. If I don't hurry and finish this, my yesterday is going to end up being my tomorrow.  read more »

As you may noticed I’ve added new posting rules to the site. You can see red “View the posting rules” link above each textarea. Just click on it to expand the latest version of the rules.

These rules are not here to restrict healthy woodworking discussions. They are simply the reaction to some recent incidents and are focusing primarily on personal attacks, offensive posts, advertising as well as political and religious controversies. Note that these new rules will not be retroactively applied to any past posts.

There are two rules that were especially tricky to define and set – advertising and religion/politics – so let me share my opinion about them:

1. no advertising – we must start getting strict about this since we have real advertisers spending money to advertise on our site. Plus it’s evident that personal business interests can dramatically influence the tone of discussions. There are following exceptions to this rule: you can still label your woodworking projects as “for sale” and you can include your personal business website in your signature as well as in your profile. And I’d like to add premium business membership features in the near future.
2. no politics/religion – although we respect everyone’s views on politics and religion we have found from past experiences that it’s in the best interest of our online community to avoid such discussions unless they are directly related to woodworking (ex. discussing woodworking project from the church). There is simply no better and faster way to derail a topic than to bring in religion/politics. Let’s talk woodworking here ;)

So here are the current posting rules:

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The goal of our online communities is to provide individuals with a place to share and discuss common interests and to form friendships with others from around the world. We reserve the right to remove any messages that are contradictory to this goal and/or ban the offending member from the site.

READ THE RULES BELOW AND UNDERSTAND THEM BEFORE POSTING

• Be civil, courteous and respectful to all.
• Keep your posts appropriate for our members of all ages to read/see.
• Don’t get personal. A good general rule to follow is, “criticize ideas, not people”.
• We do not tolerate abusive, malicious, personal attacks.
• Postings deemed to be Spam will be removed.
• Don’t discuss politics and religion, as long as it is not directly related to woodworking.
• Don’t advertise directly on the site. If you have a product that you would like to advertise contact our advertising department. Note that labeling projects as “for sale” as well as adding your business website to your profile and signature is allowed. Premium business features will be added in the future.
• Off-topic discussions should be posted in the Coffee Lounge Forum. Please remember to keep such postings appropriate for all our members to read/see.
• Debates with other member(s) that are not beneficial to the site as a whole are to be done through the private message system.
• You are responsible for following the copyright rules. Don’t post photos/content by others without consent/credit given.

LEGAL OWNERSHIP
Each message posted is owned by and the opinion of the original poster. Neither lumberjocks.com nor its owners or webmasters are legally responsible for anything posted on these forums.

The site managers reserve the right to remove any or all of your messages at any time and remove you if they see fit.

HANDLING OF INAPPROPRIATE CONTENT

1. Refrain from responding to such content in a manner that perpetuates the situation.
2. Inform the site managers of comments/contents that you deem inappropriate
3. The site managers will determine if intervention is necessary and what the next course of action is:
   • The offending material may be removed from the site immediately.
   • The individual may be contacted privately and told to refrain from posting inappropriate material immediately.
   • The individual may be banned from the site immediately without any warning.

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I hope this step will help to further enhance the overall quality of the discussions here at LumberJocks.

Yup, today is Nicole’s birthday. So let’s talk about Nicole for a little bit. For those of you who don’t know, Nicole is my wife. She also plays some important behind the scenes roles here at the Wood Whisperer, the most important of which is marketing and what I like to call “sittin’ there and lookin’ pretty.” But the truth is, her role in the show has decreased over the past year simply because of the demands of her day job. A job that keeps The Wood Whisperer Cruise Ship afloat, and allows us to take chances and capitalize on opportunities when they arise. And all of this means a better show and a better experience at TheWoodWhisperer.com. So I just wanted to take a moment to publicly thank the one person who truly makes all this possible, my adorable wife Nicole. Oh yea, and happy birthday!!!

This week’s shop is from Tony in Bowling Green, OH. Here’s his story:

I have a 20? x 24? basement shop with 9? ceilings. When I built my house a couple years ago, I planned for this space being a shop so I ran 2 power circuits under the floor to the table saw location. My house has a 6-zone forced air heating system and the shop is on it?s own zone. It?s a nice feature and very efficient. I have a 1HP Jet dust collector with an add-on second stage. I do have blast gates. I have a wye with two gates at the horizontal run at the ceiling for the TS and RAS, and one on the run to the lathe and one that runs to the floor sweep/ vac port. The suction is great as long as one gate is open at a time. That first stage collector drum is great. It actually has a cyclone effect inside. I also have that Jet air filtration hanging from the ceiling. With both running, I probably get about 95% of the dust. Also, it?s clean because I am really anal about keeping it that way. Believe me, It has looked pretty rough in there but it only lasts a couple days max before I have to clean it. I have access to it from the rest of the basement and also through a Bilco door that leads to the end of our driveway. It?s great, I just back my truck right up to the door to unload materials. I made the 8? door into the shop so I could get 4×8 sheets down the stairs with ease. The shop is still growing. The views you see are from each of the four corners of the shop. All the cabinets in the shop either came from the Merilatt factory outlet( 5 bucks for a 30? base cabinet!) or the local University auction( 1 dollar for a 6? base cabinet!). The brown cabinets under the RAS are from the auction. They came out of a chemistry lab. I have a usual compliment of tools. Thats my restored Craftsman RAS. The RBI scroll saw I got for free from someone who didn?t know what it was worth (I wasn?t even aware about it at the time). I?m most proud of my autographed picture of Norm, see if you can find it. The floor is coated with a water-based epoxy and the walls are poured concrete with a light coat of primer to lighten it up. I also ran the power for the entire shop through a few switches mounted up high on the wall. That way I can shut off the power to everything and my two young children can?t reach them to turn them on. Also check out my Wood Whisperer style assembly table. It is 4′ x 8′ and is at the same height as my table saw and acts as an infeed table.