A beautiful couple ~ Matthew and Janelle; and some excerpts from a lovely letter Matt sent us a few weeks ago.

It’s safety week on The Woodwhisperer Network.

I covered the vast majority of my safety knowledge last year when I posted about the guy who has to remove a shoe if he wants to count into double digits.

However, I did come up with an important safety thought that I should share:

Differentiate between woodshop tools and toolshed items before someone gets killed and someone ends up in prison. (I know that doesn’t make sense, so I�ll explain.)

It starts with the dog. Our dog Peyton is obsessed with chewing lumber. He’s always grabbing rough sawn cut-offs from the shop and running off to gnaw on them. When he’s out in the back yard, he will jump up and tear the lowest limbs off of the trees. He’s an insane little pruner who leaves jagged limb spurs for any tree appendages he can reach.

Last week my lovely wife Gail decided to clean up some of the trees in the back yard that Peyton had roughed up, so she asked me for a saw. I suppose I should have paid closer attention to her, because Gail is a go getter. After giving me plenty of time to respond to her request for a saw, Gail grabbed one out of my woodshop and went to town on the trees in the backyard. She said that saw sure cut through those branches even though it was not a saw specifically designed for pruning trees. Can you guess what kind of saw she used?

Was it my dovetail saw? No.

Was it my Carcass Saw? No.

Was it my Tenon Saw? No.

Was it a DeWalt Reciprocating Saw? No.

Was it a Coping Saw? No.

Was it a Fret Saw? No.

Gail has style. When the dog jumps up and buggers up the lower limbs of the trees in our back yard, Gail cleans them up with a Panther Saw.

At first I was a little upset, but after hearing her describe how well it cut, I decided to try for myself. Wow…that Panther really does cut!!!!!

My safety advice is to pay attention when a loved one asks to borrow a tool. Gail and I got lucky. The borrowing of the Panther Saw worked out this time, but it could have easily had a disastrous outcome. A kinked blade or a dinged horn would have clearly led to a rumble in the backyard, and only one of us would have walked away.

Gail, you’ve been warned. Touch my Panther Saw again, and I’ll cut you!!!!

I'd been playing around with my Stanley Bailey #5 plane but never really did anything with it. Power tools are so convenient there was no real "need" to use anything else.

Last weekend I decided I needed a small assembly/finishing table made from a spare kitchen cabinet I had. I used scrap 2" thick pine from other projects to make the top. I used the jointer on the edges, glued 'em up, then looked at it closely. The wood was all different thicknesses (from different sources), and needed flattening. I initially reached for my belt sander then realized this was an ideal time to try hand tools on a real project.

I sharpened the blade on my #5 and went to town. The process was actually really fast, only taking an hour or so to level the top. Which was good because my shoulders couldn't have taken much more, heh. The pile of curly shavings around my feet was substantial! But nothing was in the air as with a sander, and I was able to work when the family was asleep upstairs.

The first few minutes was spent tweaking the blade to get a smooth cut without leaving gouges in the wood. Easily done, and no other issues except those ugly knots you see in the photos. They were brutal when planing into them. I had to move *very* slowly when I got to them which killed the groove I was in each time I got to one. But even the knots succumbed eventually!

I cleaned up the tool marks (mostly) with a card scraper. That tool I use frequently, so it only took a couple minutes to get the surface smooth to the touch.

I love working with the plane, and will be looking for more planes so I can do more without power tools.

If you own a DeWalt cordless drill/driver, you may want to check the table below. These models are being recalled because of a potential fire hazard. DeWalt wants you to stop using the drill immediately if it’s included in the list below:

You can find out all about the recall here on the CPSC web site. You can take your drill to your nearest service center for a free inspection and free repair, if needed. Click here for instructions on DeWalt’s web site.

This is the last day of the year when the 400th anniversary of the founding of the Jamestown settlement was celebrated in America and some ...

Robby Pedersen has spent almost 20 years teaching cabinetmaking to young people. His shop and showroom — RVP~1875 — in Story City is a destination stop for school children throughout central Iowa. Before starting his business making reproduction furniture, Robby ran the period cabinet shop at the Living History Farms in Clive, IA.

During this seminar podcast, Robby will demonstrate cutting dovetails with the same tools and techniques used by pioneer craftsmen of the 1800s. You’ll find a link to the seminar guide, distributed at this seminar, for sale at the Woodsmith Podcast Store.

Tommy works on the interior of the hidden box. He's added document drawers and a false back. He says, "It's a pretty cool little thing, and I'm having fun making it."

I am excited about the latest DVD as it concentrates on techniques for chisel use.

Chopping and paring ...

I've been thinking about ways to join wood at 90 degree angles. This is in part because I'm starting to think about making storm windows for the basement, and in part because there are picture frames in my near future. So I spent part of this week contemplating joints that have a miter on the show face.

Of course, the simplest way to do this is with a straight miter:

The matched angles of a miter provide some resistance to separation, but the primary benefit lies in the concealment of all the end grain. This is aesthetically pleasing, and can be advantageous in joints that need to endure weather, but nothing can change the fact that end grain to end grain provides a weak glue joint. So even with modern glues I always nail through with wire brads when making a frame.

Another way to strengthen the joint is to add some long grain to long grain contact. We can do this with a mitered half lap:

This has the added advantage of having more edge contact between the boards. You can also put a blind peg in from the back to keep these mated pieces snug. This does reveal some end grain on one side, but provides a much stronger joint. Although this joint looks simple enough, it can be hard to wrap your mind around the geometry: notice that one piece requires two cuts, but the other requires three. When I was drawing this, I kept trying to "cut" the wrong part of the the mating board, so before making any cuts I double check my layout.

You can take the long grain to long grain theme to another level with a mitered bridle joint. This joint starts to get complex.

Even with the increased complexity in the joint, this one is somewhat easier to understand in layout: each piece has one angled joint and one square joint, where the half lap has a more asymmetric structure, with one angled joint on on piece and both an angle and a square on the other.

While I was thinking on variants, I came up with the idea of adding a mechanical joint to the glue joint. I've never seen this done, but it must have been, and it seems that adding a single dovetail on each joint could be elegant and effective:

Properly done, this would be a great way to brag.

Another way to use a mechanical joint is to key the joint: I didn't have time to draw this one, but I hope to add it in the next few days...

In Part Two of the federal table wrap-up, Tommy talks to Steve about cutting the banding with a table saw. Then, Tommy drops by the shop to see what Eli is working on. With the table finished, the next project is already underway.

Jig plans for cutting circles, adjustable dadoes, and a flush trim jig are included in this week’s Woodsmith Woodworking Seminar Podcast. Bryan Nelson will also give the low down on how to build a hinge mortising jig and a unique router table sled that holds narrow workpieces firmly while routing across end grain.

Check out the Woodsmith Podcast Store for more deals on router bits and the seminar guide.

The second and third pens I've turned. On the left is a "learning experience". It started out as ebony, but I had such trouble turning it I ended up with a huge blowout. I repaired it by cutting off the blown out part and gluing a block of padauk onto the barrel.

It worked OK but I had real issues with the CA glue finish. On the padauk it went wonderfully. On this ebony/padauk pen it bunched and blobbed and did things that didn't happen to me the first time.

Sigh.

For the kingwood pencil, however, I changed my finish. Instead of the CA glue, I used 10 coats of shellac. A 1 lb cut applied to the spinning blanks with an old cotton sock gave an amazing finish. No ridges, no bumps, no blobs, nothing but smooth shine.

The hardware kit is a click pencil in black enamel. I'm curious about the durability of the black finish. I love how it looks right now, so I'm hoping it wears well.

We'll see.

I just picked up some 1/4" (7mm nearly) brass tubes from Hobby Lobby. Two 12" tubes for $3.47. I also picked up some other goodies I'll talk about later.

The tubes are for me to make my own barrels for some existing mechanical pencils I have. Classic Pentel drafting pencils, and some inexpensive all plastic pencils. I'd also like to make replacements for the housings of some of my favorite gel pens. I haven't decided how to do that yet, so stay tuned!

Tommy had debated on whether he was going to show the viewers the hidden drawer in the Bombe, which is typical of a period piece. Considering how the early podcast at the museum showed how it was taken apart, he figured why not. Using scrap wood he has saved while working on the project, Tommy begins construction on his first hidden drawer. He'll need to mill the pine, cut the sides and glue the bottoms. While waiting for the glue to dry, he demonstrates how to cut dovetails again.

I have a half dozen different squares in my shop. My framing square isn’t accurate enough for fine woodworking. A good try square is plenty accurate, but its uses are limited. The combination square, on the other hand, is one of the most versatile layout and measuring tools in my shop. That’s why it tops the list of my “10 Essential Hand Tools for Your Shop.”

If you’re interested in purchasing any of the items I mention in this Woodsmith Woodworking Podcast, be sure to check out the Woodsmith Podcast Store. You’ll find links to many of the items listed there.

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:

When gluing up a mitered assembly, I often rely on band clamps to pull the joints together. They’re easy to apply and provide the even clamping pressure needed to keep things square.

The only catch is that the sharp mitered corners of the assembly have to be protected from the pressure exerted by the band. My clamps came with metal corners meant for this purpose, but they often damage the corners they’re supposed to protect.

My simple solution was to substitute more forgiving, corrugated cardboard pads for the hard metal corners, as shown at right. The cardboard pads provide plenty of protection without leaving any unwanted evidence of their use.

You’ll find more great project tips, techniques, and plans at PlansNOW.

Good Woodworking,

Ted Raife
Online Editor, Woodsmith

Send for a preview issue of Woodsmith magazine

This ring was very hard to make because Mother Nature has designed Bamboo to break at its cell end. This allows for the regeneration of new cells to continue the its growth. With a properly controlled double steaming, I was able to bend this Bamboo into the shape you see here.

Order yours at:
http://www.simplywoodrings.com

It’s been a rough week. Sunday night, I was in my shop working on a small project. It was nearing dinner time and my wife stepped into the shop to inquire about my plans for dinner. I was in the middle of resawing a small workpiece. I knew she was standing there, so it didn’t startle me. But something happened to the workpiece and in a split second it kicked back with a loud bang. I instinctively shut the saw off and reached for the workpiece.

Then I saw it. The workpiece was not the only thing I was cutting. The end of my right thumb had somehow come down directly on the spinning blade. I hadn’t even felt it.  Yet. My wife saw the whole thing happen.

The end result after some microsurgery is a shorter thumb without a thumbnail. I’ll spare you all the gory details. The prognosis for a full recovery is good after some physical therapy.

But what I have left to deal with now are all the questions. And anger and blaming myself for letting it happen. I haven’t been back to the “scene of the crime” since it happened. I suppose I’ll have to face up to it here in the next day or so.

I lay awake at night second-guessing myself. Not believing that I’ve been woodworking for over 30 years without serious injury.  The full range of emotions and “what-if” scenarios.

I’ve already wrestled with the 100 different ways I could have accomplished my goal that night. And what I should have done differently. The constant blame game you play in your mind.

But that’s behind me and life must go on. My point of telling my story is that you should always listen to that voice in your head that says, “Perhaps I should do this another way.” For that’s exactly what I was thinking precisely one-half second before I permanently injured my thumb.

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Rosemary and Bob are in danger! A spider has arrived and somebody told me she is really big!

Here you have it…….

Well, she is not so big, and she doesn´t seems to be dangerous. Matilda is cute!

How to do Matilda?

Start: Ch 12

Row 1: Work SC, 1 SC in each ch.

Row 2: Work 2 SC in each SC (24sc)
Row 3: Work 1 SC in next SC, 1 SC in next SC, 2 SC in next SC (32 SC)

Row 4 , 5 and 6: 1 SC in each SC (32 SC)

Row 7: DECREASE - SC DEC (insert hook in next stitch - the same you do with SC -  insert hook in following stitch and pull hook through the three loops to decrease.) Make 2SC and 1 SC DEC (24 SC)

Row 8: Make 1 SC, 1 SC DEC, 2 SC, 1 SC DEC.

Last rows: Make SC DEC until thee isn´t a hole. (Only the hole downside)

Legs: Make 7 or 8 CH legs. I embroider some wire in the legs, that´s how Matilda is stood up on her legs in the pic. But for kids is better to take the wire out.

Face: Make the eyes and mouth with white and red yarn. (You can use other materials, like plstic eyes or sew felt pieces)

Fulfill the spider with the material you choose: this time I used black yarn (cotton was not a good material this time: you could see the white color through the little holes.)

That´s all!

A short post - just to show some photos of a very recent plane.







A quick kiln update. It is currently running and water is being removed. It is a dehumidification process by way of a household dehumidifier. I will check the moisture content in a few days and report back. There are a few pieces of Ebony in the kiln right now and I am most curious to check the results. If it works - my shop will turn into a flurry of Ebony and stainless steel parts.

Tommy's next step on the Bombe Secretary project is creating the profile on the front edge of the writing surface doubler. He has already cut the Bombe Secretary writing surface doubler out on the bandsaw, run a flush cut router bit, and lastly cleaned it up with hand tools. In this podcast we see Tommy complete the shaping of the doubler's front profile.

I got a treat on Sunday. The Heritage Carousel at Union Park in Des Moines, Iowa was celebrating its tenth anniversary.  As part of the celebration, they invited the original builders of the carousel, The Carousel Works, Inc., to attend and demonstrate their carving and painting skills.  I got to speak with the owner and his wife (Art and Marilyn Ritchie) about their craft.  It so happens that they’re from Mansfield, Ohio, close to where I grew up in Ohio.  He’s been carving for over thirty years.  His wife does some of the painting.

As we stood there chatting, he was using his Pfeil carving tools to smooth out the body shape of a horse figure.  You could tell his tools were very sharp.  He was effortlessly taking thin chips out of the basswood figure.  I asked him how he keeps his tools so sharp.  He uses a buffing wheel to hone the edge as needed.

One of my boys asked him how many times he’s cut himself.  He smiled and pointed to his tool roll you see here on the left.  He includes bandages as part of his tool kit.

As time went on, he commented to passers-by that they’ve got seven full-time carvers on staff at the shop.  He said that the figure he was carving on that day is going to be a training aid for his carvers.  As we were talking, he flipped the figure over to show how he had carved the musculature and rib cage of the horse on one side.  His point is that unless a carver knows the anatomy of a horse, he’s going to have a difficult time carving one.  The detail was fascinating and realistic.

The discussion turned to painting.  He says they use three coats of primer, sanding between coats.  Then the colors are brushed on.  Finally, five coats of clearcoat are applied for durability.

Besides building new carousels using wood figures, The Carousel Works also does restoration of old carousels.  To me, it was refreshing to see that there are still companies out there working hard to keep craftsmanship alive.

Editor's note: Because it's "Workbench Week Internazionale" I decided to tie up a loose end from my book: "Workbenches: from Blah, blah blah to Yadda yadda yadda." On page 57 I discuss Thomas Stangeland's bench and point out how the best woodworking I've seen has been built on the most minimal of workbenches.

Helpful reader Tom Moore visited Stangeland's shop recently and snapped the above photo of the bench. Below is the story that goes with that workbench.


In 2006 I taught a class in handwork at a school where Thomas Stangeland, a maestro at Greene & Greene-inspired work, was also teaching a class. Though we both strive for the same result in craftsmanship, the process we each use couldn’t be more different. He builds furniture for a living, and he enjoys it. I build furniture because I enjoy it, and I sell an occasional piece.

One evening we each gave a presentation to the students about our work. One of the pieces I showed was an image of my French workbench. I discussed its unusual workholding devices and how the bench was a bit of a Thor Heyerdahl experience.

Thomas then got up and said he wished he had a picture to show of his workbench for the last decade: a door on a couple horses. He said that a commercial shop had no time to waste on building a traditional bench. And with his power-tool approach, he just needed a flat surface and some clamps to work.

It’s hard to argue with the end result. His furniture is beautiful.

But what’s important to note here is that you can get by with the door-off-the-floor approach, but there are many commercial woodworkers who still see the utility of a traditional workbench. Chairmaker and furnituremaker Brian Boggs uses more newfangled routers and shop-made devices with aluminum extrusions than I have ever seen in a shop. And he still has two enormous traditional workbenches that see constant use.

The point here is that a good bench won’t make you a better woodworker. And a not-quite-a-bench won’t doom you to failure. But a good bench in any shop will make many power-tool operations easier and open the door to permit you to try many hand-tool operations. The bench is simply another tool. It’s the biggest wooden clamp in the shop.

As Thomas was wrapping up his part of the show he showed an interesting slide of an enormous and thick slab of an exotic wood he had been stashing for years and years in his shop.

“I just need to find the right project for it,� he said.

“Hey Thomas,� I heckled, “that slab sure would make a great benchtop.�

He laughed. Next slide, please.

— Christopher Schwarz

Phil Huber proves you don’t need a drawer full of router bits to make a huge variety of moldings. In fact, during this week’s seminar he talks about how he used just three bits, 1/4″ and 1/2″ round-over bits and a 1/4″ core box bit, to make 17 different moldings.To make some of the profiles shown above, he used different parts of the bit or changed the depth or height of the cut. Of course, to make the more complex profiles, he used more than one bit.

With only a limited amount of time to rout the profiles, Phil wasn’t able to demonstrate all of the molding cuts, but the guide details how to rout all seventeen. You can find the guide, plus the bits he used during the seminar, for sale at the Woodsmith Podcast Store.

Tommy surfs the long board in the shop and then tackles the first cuts of the bombe secretary cabinet sides. This is a critical part of the secretary since it determines the real look and feel of the piece of furniture.

The base molding is on so, after downing a double espresso, Tommy gets to work sanding it. Then he reviews how he made the transitional pieces and attached them to the feet. Next, Tommy attaches the feet to the base and points out the horrible mistake he made and how he's going to fix it.