Dear Woodworker,

In these tough economic times, we at Highland Woodworking would like to do our part to make shopping with us more economical and convenient for our customers. Currently we are providing FREE GROUND SHIPPING on most orders over $100* delivered within the 48 contiguous United States.

As always, with our product offering and staff expertise, our goal is to guide you in making sure that your tool and supply purchases from us meet your expectations and support the success of all your woodworking endeavors.

As Highland Woodworking enters its fourth decade of serving woodworkers across the country, our aim is to provide you with the same personalized service and support as we have been doing since we first entered the woodworking tool business back in 1978.

*FREE GROUND SHIPPING TERMS: Merchandise total must be greater than $100 prior to the addition of any shipping charges for free shipping offer to apply. Free shipping offer excludes items listed in our catalog or on our website with flat rate shipping adders, freight collect shipments, expedited shipments, and special order items. Actual shipping and handling costs are charged for shipments outside the 48 contiguous United States. For orders under $100, please refer to our standard shipping rate table.

Some people are luckier than the rest of us. When it comes to winning contests, Patricia and Mike Mortimer fall into the lucky category. Patricia entered Highland Woodworking's Win a Festool Package Sweepstakes and was the lucky winner out of thousands of entrants. She's shown here being congratulated by Chris Bagby, Highland Woodworking's owner and co-founder. It wasn't just the first contest Patricia has won. Among other things that she's won are a flat screen television and an all-expense paid trip to Bejing, China to attend the 2008 Olympics. We asked her how she did playing the lottery and she replied "I don't play the lottery. You have to pay to do that!"

The Mortimer's new power tool package includes Festool's Kapex KS120 Sliding Compound Miter Saw, the first miter saw with variable speed, which enables the user to match the speed of the blade with the requirements of the material. The Kapex Sliding Compound Miter Saw combines a large cutting capacity with a compact lightweight design. Of course the perfect mate to their new Kapex Sliding Compound Miter Saw is the Kapex MFT3 Multifunction Table which is designed specifically for use with the Kapex Sliding Compound Miter Saw. It features additional holes in the perforated top plate for positioning the feet of the Kapex and for mounting with clamps. Also included as part of their Kapex prize package is the Festool CT22E Mobile Dust Extractorwhich comes with HEPA filters that remove dust particles down to .3 microns. A tool-triggered switch with smooth start-up and shut-off delay, and adjustable electronic suction control make this the ultimate vac to connect to any hand power tool.

Mike works professionally doing commercial repair and finish restoration on furniture, cabinets and interiors. He is actually known for being quite the "magician" when it comes to recreating grain patterns and surfaces that have been damaged or distressed. When asked, both admitted that they were not really sure what projects they would attempt first with their new woodworking equipment. One thing for certain is that they'll definitely have room for it, as they have a 2400 square foot shop! After mentioning projects like chairs and end tables, they both joked that given the space they have, perhaps they would make a gazebo for inside the shop.

Since Highland Woodworking is well known for its Education Program, which includes a wide variety of classes for both beginners as well as advanced woodworkers, hopefully we will see both of them soon in some of our
upcoming classes for a chance to study woodworking with our knowledgeable instructors.

A Guide to Sharpening Chisels and Plane Irons

User Review: Work Sharp 3000 Sharpening Machine

Hollow Grinding: Necessity or Relic?

Q & A: Not Ready for Prime Time?

Waterstone Sharpening: Care & Use of Japanese Waterstones

Guide to Sharpening and Using a Woodworker's Best Friend - The Scraper

Sharpening #80 Cabinet Scrapers

Sharpening Forstner Bits

User's Guide for the Makita 9820-2 Sharpener

Tormek vs. Jet and Standard Bench Grinders

Using Oil Stones

GATEWAY TO OUR ONLINE CATALOG OF SHARPENING TOOLS

Visit our huge archive of woodworking tips, articles, and Q&As

Visit the latest issue of Wood News, our monthly online magazine

Our big new Fall 2008 woodworking tool catalog is at the printer and will be mailing out in just a few days. It's loaded with a huge selection of woodworking tools and supplies, and also contains a listing of the dozens of upcoming woodworking classes and workshops held at our retail store in Atlanta, Georgia. We invite you take an online look at our woodworking class schedule.

In these troubled economic times more than ever, possessing woodworking skills and the tools necessary to exercise them can help enrich and enliven a woodworker's life. Besides the joy and satisfaction that comes from creating something by hand, the opportunity exists to supplement your income by concentrating on practical projects that your local marketplace needs. Tables, chairs, shelving units and cabinets never go out of style and everyone needs them. Woodturning projects make excellent gifts, and everyone will be looking for unique gifts to give this holiday season. Woodcarving is great for this too.

We welcome your suggestions for specific project ideas that your fellow woodworkers around the country might use to generate income locally or save money on gifts that would otherwise need to be purchased. If you have some project ideas to share, please describe it by posting a reply to this blog entry.

The latest issue of Wood News Online, our monthly woodworking magazine, features an excellent article by Doug Bittinger that kicks off a series on taking the plunge into full-time professional woodworking. Whether woodworking is a hobby, a part-time moneymaker, or full-time occupation for you, Doug has some thoughtful ideas that are worth considering.

Here is a link to the full October issue of Wood News Online. An excerpt from Doug's article follows below:

Taking the Plunge into Professional Woodworking
by Douglas Bittinger

I cannot say that I know anyone who was going through life with no woodworking experience and simply said to themselves "I think I'll become a professional woodworker," signed up for some courses to learn what they needed to know, and then went looking for a job as a woodworker. Not to say it doesn't happen. I just don't know any.

All of the professional woodworkers I know discovered a talent and desire for woodworking and nurtured it. Some discovered it while young, some not so young, but they found it. Some got into it out of necessity: they wanted things they couldn't afford to buy and decided to make them. For others it started as a relaxing hobby. At some point they said, "You know, it would be great if I could make my living doing this instead of [whatever]."

If this thought has breached in your brain, let me issue a caution: When you take a hobby and turn it into your occupation, is ceases to be a hobby. Along with this change come responsibilities that weren't there before. Your hobby becomes your JOB.

If you possess certain capabilities and resources, it can indeed be a rewarding and fulfilling job, leading to a more pleasant life style. If not, it can turn into a stress filled nightmare. What are these capabilities?

Fine Woodworking's Jeff Miller, a professional woodworker and writer, just completed and evaluation of dust masks including reusable masks with replaceable filters and powered respirators. Jeff highlights the convenience and economy features of the North CFR-1 reusable mask as a good alternative to disposable masks. For serious task, when the chips are flying he reviewed powered respirator offerings. Among top brands tested, Triton's Powered Respirator and Trend's Airshield and Airshield Pro earned high marks. Jeff weighed a number of factors in his evaluation and selected Trend Airshield and Airshield Pro as the favorites, "The Trend Airshield and Airshield Pro distinguished themselves for comfort, clarity of vision, and overall user-friendliness".

North CFR11 Dust Mask nicely fills the gap between flimsy disposable dust masks and more serious respiratory protection like the Dustfoe 88. Replaceable filters (NIOSH rating N95) offer excellent dust protection. The low-profile mask body is made of very soft rubber, and is held in place with a double elastic strap. An exhalation valve vents the warm, moist air you exhale downward—helping the filter medium last longer and leaving safety glasses unfogged. All masks are size medium. Also available as a mask with 21 filters kit.

Trend Airshield, Fine Woodworking says is "...distinguished for comfort, clarity of vision and overall user friendliness".

The more we learn about long term exposure to airborne wood dust, the more important powered respirators become. Even with the best dust collection setups, certain operations create unrecoverable dust, which gets into the air and eventually ends up in your lungs. The Trend Airshield helps protect you by providing 4 hours of respiratory protection (to BS EN 146 THP2) with a 4.9 to 6.3 cfm flow of freshly filtered air passing through 2 filters, which you experience as a cool breeze. It's light weight (1.6 lbs) and has room for a second battery to bring run time up to 8 hours with a full charge. The respirator's face shield is rated to withstand low-energy impacts, and replaceable overlays protect it from scratches. The Airshield suspension system changes sizes in place with the twist of a single knob.

A great defense against this nuisance dust is Trend's Airshield Pro personal dust filtration respirator. Its dual filters provide a 98% efficiency factor and a flow 5.6 cfm to 7 cfm of freshly-filtered air. A comfortable face seal cradles the sides of your face and beneath your chin to seal out dust. The on board battery and motor sit further back on your head than in the original Airshield model, providing for greater balance and comfort as you work all day on a the 8 hour run-time battery. A clear plastic face shield provides low impact protection (ANSI Z87.1 rated) and replaceable visor overlays keep the view clear. Accepts optional clip-on hearing protectors. Headband adjusts from 20-1/2" to 24-1/2". Low battery audible alarm. Includes battery charger, 1 NI-MH battery, 1 visor overlay and carrying bag. Weight 2.2 lbs

Saturday, October 18th
9am-6pm
1045 N. Highland Ave. NE
Atlanta, GA 30306

Don't miss our Fall Sale! We'll have one-day specials throughout the store! There's plenty of shops and eateries in the area for the entire family to enjoy, so bring the whole clan and come on down!

Directions to Our Store

Saturday Mornings at Highland complement our woodworking class & seminar offerings. Join us at our store in Virginia-Highlands on Saturday mornings at 10am EST for FREE, live demonstrations featuring a wide variety of woodworking skills, tools & techniques. These 1 to 1-1/2 hour-long demonstrations feature our knowledgeable staff and instructors, local clubs & guilds, guest authors, and others. Upcoming events include woodturning, woodcarving, care & use of hand tools, joinery, book signings, an introduction to woodworking design software, and much, much more.

Saturday, September 27, at 10:00am—Phil will demonstrate how to turn a natural edge bowl. He will talk about consistency in wall thickness, chucking and mounting the piece on the lathe.

Phil Colson is the most personable and happy Operations Manager at Highland Woodworking. Ask him about turning! He's been with Highland Hardware for 22 years and has a vast reservoir of woodworking knowledge. Visit his website at www.philcolsonwoodturner.com.

All demonstrations take place in Highland Woodworking's retail store in Atlanta, Georgia and begin at 10:00am EST.

Narex Chisels have just arrived—in stock now! Fine Woodworking Magazine selected Narex Czech Republic Chisels from 23 top brands as Author's Choice for "Best Value" western style bench chisel.

Don't pay too much for Narex chisels! Our customers tell us that some retailers have raised Narex Chisel prices because of increased demand. Don't be fooled—Narex Chisels are a great value here at Highland Woodworking!

Visit Highland Woodworking for more information on this and all of our fine woodworking products.

It's been a little while but lumber species of the month is back again.  Today though, we're not talking about a specific species of lumber but more of an beneficial defect that can be found in lumber.

Spalted lumber refers to any lumber in which a fungus or mold has begun to decay the wood and leaves a really unique pattern and color in the grain that looks like nothing else. 

Thanks to Highland Woodworking for donating a WoodSlicer Resaw Bandsaw Blade for this week's schwag giveaway.  If you're in the market for a great blade, this is the one.  It resawed 4/4, 4" wide red oak boards on my 1/3 HP, 50 year old bandsaw like it was slicing bread (no exaggeration!!). 

And if you're not in the market for a bandsaw blade at least stop by and enter for a chance to win a Festool Kapex during their 30th Anniversary Giveaway.

If you'd like to enter for free schwag or just have a comment, question or suggestion drop me a line at mattsbasementworkshop@gmail.com or  head over to my website at www.mattsbasementworkshop.com or call our Skype Voicemail at 231 354-2338.

If you have the time, please take the new listener survey.

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We are trying a new format for this show, where we actually have a number of segments including News, Hot Deals, Around the Web, and moreâ.

Status Report: Marc has a new column in Popular Woodworking Magazine and is currently working on an entertainment center. Matt is finishing up his series on a very cool bookcase.

Around the Web:
We review a great blog from Kari Hultman called The Village Carpenter.

Matt discusses a great blog entry he found over at the Highland Woodworking blog about removing and preventing rust on tools.

News:
The Jointmaker Pro from Bridge City Tool Works is the latest tool to make waves in the woodworking community.
Our original blog post.

Hot Deals:
Irwin Quick Clamp deal from Rockler. You get four 6â clamps, plus two 12â and two 24â clamp/spreaders. Plus, theyâve added a FREE heavy-duty cloth bag.

Epifanes Marine Varnish from Jamestown Distributors - $16.02/500ml

Bessey K-Bodies Clamp Blowout at Woodcraft. 24â K-Body Clamp reg. $35.99 Sale $26.99, 40â K-Body Clamp reg. $44.99 Sale $33.74

True Value Coupon - $5 coupon off $25 purchase

Ryobi buy one combo kit get a free Ryobi One Plus tool by mail in rebate from Home Depot.

Topics:
Humidity and its effect on finishes. For reference:
http://www.minwax.com/how_to/faq/?Q=05 http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base/Humidity_and_Conversion.html

Tomâs Tip (from Tomâs Workbench): Waxing the sole of your plane.

Voicemails:
Denis is having problems centering a guide bushing on his DeWalt router. And Jack wanted to know what block plane Matt recommend for trimming tenons.

Email:
Tom wanted some details on when its appropriate to pre-raise the grain.

if you have a question or comment, you can email us at woodtalkonline@gmail.com or leave us a message at 623-242-2450