Yes, it's me. Surprised? Me too. You might know me from such blog musings as "what is it with Polos?" and "The stand-in hands". The latter is particularly relevant just now. The hibernating bear that was Lee Valley's R&D department suddenly stirred last week and a small deluge of opinion-seeking goodness hit my doormat. Naturally it's largely hush-hush (please, don't throw things - I'd tell you if I could, honest I would) but El Presidente has let the biggest cat out of the bag. Viz:

WOW, we reached new milestone today – 4,000 LumberJocks... and the family keeps growing.

LumberJock never feels alone, that’s for sure ;)

To be honest, I really believed that our latest cool feature – Project Card Widgets – would get wider adoption. This is one of a kind feature of the LumberJocks that you simply cannot find on other woodworking sites or forums. It’s possible here because the projects are the core of this site and community.

To stress the power of these widgets again, let me present it on the top projects from the latest Awards edition:

————————————————————————————-

Not Just Any Box Category

————————————————————————————-

The Multi-Purposed 2×4 Category

... not just textual links – instant rich graphical project cards linked to the actual projects and generated automatically for you.

Are you mentioning one of your earlier projects in your new post? Link it with the project card widget…
Maybe you want to present one of the LJ projects on some high-trafficked ww forums. Embed the project card to your post there and you get image as well as link…
Want to proudly present your project on your own website, blog? Easy as copy & paste…

And sure it’s great for the LumberJocks website too since it spreads the word virally ;) Best of both worlds.

That’s the end of my ramblings for now.

I have been mocking up a few different layouts for the interior of the cabinet in the past few days. There are certain criteria which need to be considered in this process. The original design calls for three drawers with maximized interior space for art objects. One of the factors used in the design of the layout is the height and width of the cabinet itself and allowing as much room for taller art objects. This space will co-exist with the three drawers. Initially, I designed the drawers on the right hand side of the cabinet interior with two lower drawers, a space for art object(s), and a drawer above. I had also considered shelving in the design but decided against this as the height of the cabinet would further limit any taller art objects from being displayed.

In the photo, is my latest design of the interior. This layout is a good example of the design adage, "less is sometimes more". There is a fair amount of room on both the left and right side of the cabinet interior. The drawers have been divided into two assemblies with one drawer at the top left and two drawers at the bottom right of the cabinet interior. The design is also somewhat interesting and does not conform to the typical, established layout of drawers within a cabinet. This feature enhances the uniqueness of the cabinet interior in my opinion.

This design is not quite cast in stone as yet. I intend to further refine the layout with both interesting, unique design and optimized space as criteria. Mocking up is a great exercise in the design process, both initially and in finalizing the design. Having the components of a furniture piece mocked up to scale proportions reveals any design considerations which might have been overlooked in the initial design.

My wife asked me this question tonight: "Don't you have enough"?

Of course she was referring to my announcement that I was headed out to see if I could get some more of that Baltic Birch scrap wood from the local furniture shop.
My answer was simple, it was: "No"

so I ask you... how much is enough when it comes to free scraps of Baltic Birch plywood? The first picture in this group is what I picked up in this trip.











I still think the answer is no...

Yesterday I picked up a bench grinder for dirt cheap from CL. The seller said it worked fine, and the price was right. When I went to pick it up the only thing I checked was bearing play. I was pretty unconcerned with electrical issues since I can repair most of those. No play was detectable to my hand so I took it.

I got it home and discovered there was no way the seller could have used the thing. Probably ever. The crimp on the spade connector to the switch wasn't tight, and the grinder would not turn on. No biggie, new connector properly crimped, and it works beautifully.

At the end of this minor adventure, I realized I should document the thought process I went through.

I knew going in that a cheap tool WILL have flaws. Regardless of the story given by the seller. So how to minimize the risk is the real challenge.

For the above mentioned grinder, I decided before going in that the most difficult thing to repair FOR ME would be bearings. Wheels are cheap (and would probably be replaced anyway), electrical is easy to me, even a motor can be replaced if absolutely necessary. But bearings would be the hardest thing to me and absolutely a deal breaker. Grinders are cheap enough new that I wouldn't even take a free one with bad bearings.

So when I got there, and the seller wasn't in a hurry to plug it in and show me that it worked, I just did a wiggle check and spin check on the bearings. They felt good so I paid and left.

When I bought the tablesaw and jointer combo last year, bearings and gears were my main concerns. I knew it was rusty, but surface rust repair was within my reach. The guts were nice, only the bare cast iron surfaces were rusty.

So pick the 'deal breaker' problem(s) and stick to your guns. If you can press bearings all day long, but electrical wiring is a mystery to you, find the stuff with good electrics and bad bearings. If all you are comfortable with is painting, then find the uglies with layers of klown paint and make them purdy.

There are deals out there, but what's a deal to me may not be a deal to you.

A beautiful floor Starts with premium custom-milled Mesquite HardWood flooring from Arizona Desert Mesquite.



Photo Courtesy of Murdock Floors

Mesquite HardWood Flooring is the most stable solid surface you can put under your feet.  Custom milled tongue & groove planks made to your order insure the width and length you need. Matching BaseBoards can also be milled to your specifications. A wide plank Custom milled HardWood floor with Matching wide-tall base boards is a truly stunning SouthWest statement about you and your home.


Photo Courtesy of The Nelson Family


Photo courtesy of Wilkinson Flooring

Mesquite HardWood Flooring is an excellent choice for high traffic areas.

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.

A big thank you to Michael B. for alerting me to this. For those of you who don’t know, iTunes is a pretty important part of the podcasting community. In fact, about 63% of my subscribers use iTunes to watch the show. As a result, we frequently review iTunes stats and rankings and consider them a barometer for what’s happening in the bigger picture. And all too often, we are beaten out by knitting podcasts and podcasts provided by BBC and G4 TechTV. We usually hover around 3 or 4 in the Hobby Category Top 25. But as of today, we are back in the #1 position!! Woohoo! This may be short lived though, since I believe these rankings are based on the number of new subscribers as opposed to total subscribers. This way, new and notable podcasts can find themselves in the #1 position if they start to get popular.

This is all very cool, but what excites me even more is the number of my comrades that appear in the list as well. Congrats to Woodworking Online, Matt’s Basement Workshop, The Rough Cut Show, and Woodworkers Resource. And let’s not leave out the rest of the awesome woodworking videos and podcasts that just happen to not be on the list today. Woodworking is clearly, ALIVE AND WELL!

Editor's note: The following blog entry was penned by John Hoffman, my business partner here at Lost Art Press. He wrote this after assisting me during my sawing class up in Sterling Heights, Mich.

? Christopher Schwarz

I am in the process of sawing out large notches for the Trestle Table from Woodworking Magazine.  I have been experimenting making first-class saw cuts. I have used the chisel with the bevel toward the waste and away from the waste as suggested by Chris.  The key for me is to not tap the chisel to hard. I am using Southern Yellow Pine, (an exotic wood to Canadians) so it is not hard, however, I have been able to cross the baseline with either bevel approach if I hit the chisel too hard. The other experiment I have been doing is to see how much of a notch I need to make with the chisel for the saw to ride in. 

In this pic you can see a deeper notch and a shallow notch.  I have tried to keep the shallow notch deep enough to cover the saw set. Noctice the somewhat crocked lines made from my dull marking knife.

The next pic is the result. Again the lines seemed to work out well and it seems that the smaller notch worked fine. Notice the notch in each corner to guide the saw. It was a bit tricky because the work is only 1-1/4" inches thick which put the sawing close to the bench top.



Yes I did run the toe of the saw into the top of the bench, but only once. Really! I then continued to practice sawing to the line to waste out the rest of the material.  This is the result.



If you look closely some of the saw cuts are definitely better than others. I tend to wander off line at the far end of the cut. I have been focusing on watching the reflection of the work on the saw plate to help me stay true. Another trick from Chris, who told me the best thing to do is keep on sawing.

? John Hoffman

After a break to campaign for a local Library Board of Trustees seat (which I did not win... lost by 180 votes to the Town Custodian... oh! the pain of it!) I'm back. For some reason, the derivation...

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One of the reasons I like this hobby is the amazing changes that my materials go through to get to the finish line.

I have a new project in the works. Here's a picture of some of the material before I get started on it.



stay tuned to what happens next. I'm pushing to get this project done for this weekend.

Here's the first episode of several to come on our time at the Woodworking Show in Atlanta, GA. In this episode we give you a taste of what it's like to attend one of these events. You'll see booth after booth of vendors showing their products to thousands of interested woodworkers, seminars that teach skills, and deals being made on every corner.

We also picked a few vendors that had some really cool tools to show case in our videos. In this first video, we bring you Alex from Carter Products, makers of innovative products for your bandsaw.

While we were at the Atlanta Woodworking Show we were able to talk a few of the vendors into giving our subscribers some great deals on their products. So if you're a subscriber, be on the look out for more information. If you're not a subscriber, it's not too late. Simply head on over to our website and sign-up!

www.WoodworkersResource.com

Two weeks ago, on April 1st, I received a call from Maine. I was busily working at Marc Adams School of Woodworking and the call went to voicemail. Later that evening as I drove to my parents’ house (where I stay when visiting MASW) I finally listened to voicemail and found that Andrew from Lie-Nielsen called because he was getting ready to build my workbench. It truly seemed like it had to be an April Fools joke.

Last year about this time I was talking to Mr. Lie-Nielsen, and I had finally decided to forego building my own workbench and just buy one. I asked what the lead time was, and he said, “about 6 weeks.� Thomas told me to call Casey back at the Toolworks and place the order through her. When I called Casey the next day, she told me Tom misspoke about the lead time. I was informed the benches were as much as 6 months out. I went ahead and ordered it, realizing that I would have a new workbench in time for Thanksgiving. Around October of 2007, I called to check on the status of my bench and found that I was still number 83 on the list of 130 people waiting for benches. A new bench for Thanksgiving would be out of the question.

I was lamenting my bench waiting frustration to Chris Schwarz who responded, “Why don’t you just build a bench?!?!?!??!� My response was something like, “Hey, Chris, you know Tom better than I do…. Do you think he would move me up the waiting list if I offered him like an extra Ten Dollars?� Chris replied, “Knowing him, he will either move you down or throw you off the list.�

I don’t think it’s a case of Thomas Lie-Nielsen being The Soup Nazi; I just got the impression he believes in treating everyone fairly. So I waited.

A couple of weeks later, I decided to start building the Holtzapffel Bench. That bench is nearly done, and I really like the design. While at MASW, students work on Lie-Nielsen workbenches, and they are very good benches. However, during the first day of my class with Chris Gochnour two weeks ago I kept discovering little things about the bench that were less efficient than the Holtzapffel bench, given the way I work. I love the massive legs of the Holtzapffel and the fact they mount flush to the front of the benchtop. This design offers clamping possibilities that are not available with the traditional European Trestle base. As much as I thought I wanted a tool tray, I have now grown accustomed to the clear 24� wide top of massively thick hard maple. (Note: Lie-Nielsen benches can be ordered with or without tool trays.)

So on April Fools Day as I pulled out of the parking lot at MASW, I was thinking about how happy I am with the workbench I built when the cellular signal improved and my phone's voicemail reminder told me of all of the calls I had missed during the day. I was thinking about my Holtzapffel bench when I listend to a voicmail from Andrew asking if I still wanted the Lie-Nielsen Bench. I called Andrew the next morning and found out some information… I was now number one on a list of about 200, and they aren’t taking any more orders (for a while). As Andrew told me about the challenges they face in meeting the demand for the benches, my mind began racing through thoughts of various schemes and dreams.

My brain went into Antiques Roadshow Collector Mode. I saw Leslie and Leigh Keno oohing over the bench, saying, “Yes. This is an original Lie-Nielsen Bench….� My brain then jumped to a glimpse of the estate sale with a Lie-Nielsen Bench covered with all of my tools. Patrick Leach’s Full Grown 50 year old Tool Elf was there offering “a hundred bucks for all of this old woodworking crap� which my 52 year old nephew was greedily accepting.

I thought about buying the bench and then immediately selling it on Ebay. How much would the guy who is currently #200 on the list be willing to pay to get an 8 foot long Lie-Nielsen workbench within 3 weeks??? The greedy look in my eyes was replaced with a look of fear as the vision of The Soup Nazi flooded my brain, and I heard Tom Lie-Nielsen’s voice say, “You’re the *^&^%*^$% who sold the brand new bench on Ebay????? NO MORE TOOLS FOR YOU!!!!!!!!�

Then, for about 10 seconds I tried to picture the layout of my shop with a $2000+ 8 foot long sharpening station. I couldn’t figure out where to fit it in. I also couldn’t figure out how to convince Gail to start working nights at a 7-11 in order to bring home extra cash to pay for it.

So after weighing all of these thoughts, I made the following speech to Andrew: “Working on the Lie-Nielsen bench here at Marc Adams’ yesterday reminded me of how nice these benches are. However, I am really happy with the bench I just finished making (don’t tell Andrew that it isn’t actually finished yet). Just in case you guys decide to stop making these benches, I would sure love to have one just from the collector side of things, but I cannot justify it given the lack of space in my shop. So, you see, Andrew, I love the benches you make, but they aren’t right for me.�

Then, feeling like all of those old girlfriends of mine from the 1990’s, I said the phrase that effectively closed my affair with the Lie-Nielsen workbench. I softly spoke into the phone and told him, “Andrew… It’s not you… It’s me.�

Next weekend I will be seeing Tom Lie-Nielsen. I hope things won’t be awkward. I hope we can still be friends if only for the sake of the 30 or so planes, saws, chisels, doweling jigs, aprons, and spokeshaves I own.

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 »

Tommy and Al use the whiteboard to review how the table drawer was constructed. The drawer looks as if it was built using three separate pieces of wood but it's one banding with three miters on it. They then move to the table saw to demonstrate.

Now that the drawer front has been laid out, Tommy takes a V-tool and goes to work carving. He then reviews how he works the pattern while listening to Run-DMC.

"Two peas in a pod"




For that couple that have that unique bond of having so much in common. I have made this set "Two peas in a pod".

The Box is made of White Oak wood and Red Oak wood.

The rings shown are single wood Walnut (men's) and Mahogany (women's)

Click Here To See The Listing.

With the drawers fully assembled, Tommy shares a insider's tip on protecting the finish of the exposed inside surface of the case where the drawers have a tendency to rub as they slide in and out. To offset the outside drawers ever so slightly, Tommy glues a thin strip of veneer to the outside wall of the drawer cubby interior. Once applied, the veneer provides just enough breathing room for the drawer to glide smoothly without touching the case wall thus preserving the finish.

Watch Al, Bobby, and Tommy discuss (with big words) some table saw safety tips and demo the Saw Stop table saw. Tommy breaks down the process of setting the saw up, engaging the safety systems, firing the blade break and resetting the saw.

Just the other day I received an email from a fellow, Stephen Sheperd. Seems Stephen has a fairly new blog, Full Chisel, in which he discusses his life as a hand tool woodworker. That's 35 years as a...

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I almost never get a phone call from the public relations people at the Stanley Works. Perhaps they are too busy selling garage door openers or thinking up double-entendre and obesity jokes to accompany the company?s line of Fat Max tools.

But in 2002, the phone rang, and it was Stanley.

The friendly public relations person had heard that I?d just reviewed jack planes in Popular Woodworking magazine and that Stanley had won the ?Best Value? award. Could he get a copy of the review right away? And could they use it in their marketing materials?

At that moment I knew this was going to have a storyline that ended me with telling him that the tooth fairy didn?t exist.

Yes, I reply, Stanley won the award. Yes, I?d be happy to send him a copy of the review. Yes, they could use the test in their marketing materials.

?However,? I say, pausing for a moment, ?I don?t think you?re going to want to use the review.?

And so I explained: When I set up our review of metal-bodied jack planes, I included all the major brands on the market at the time: Lie-Nielsen, Clifton, Record, Shop Fox, Anant and Stanley. And then, as a lark, I put a few vintage Stanley Type 11s into the test.

The vintage Stanleys in the test were about 100 years old and were bought at flea markets and on eBay for anywhere between $12 and $35. As you can probably guess, the vintage Stanley planes blew the doors off most of the new planes (except the Lie-Nielsen and, to some degree, the Clifton).

It was a fair fight. These vintage planes needed work. The soles were a bit wonky. The irons and chipbreakers needed work. The frogs weren?t perfectly tuned. But even though these vintage Stanleys should be retired to the old-folks home for cast iron, they were easier to set up than the new planes. The controls were finer. Heck the 100-year-old fit and finish was better than those on the Record, Shop Fox and Anant.

The guy from Stanley Works was perplexed by my explanation. But he still wanted the review for his files, so I sent it to him that very afternoon.

And now bear with me for a second story that begins with my phone ringing.

It is from a reader who wants help choosing a tool ? the kind of call I get about five times a week. This guy wants some help buying a bit brace. No problem. I rattle off my standard favorites: The North Bros. 2101A brace and a couple from Peck, Stow & Wilcox. And I throw in a plug for Sanford Moss?s web site as a great place to research and buy the brace of his dreams.

?Um, thanks,? the guy says, ?but I wanted to buy a new brace.?

Huh? Why would anyone want to buy a new brace? The best braces ever made are still littering the planet and can be had for less than the price of a tab of Oxycontin (not that I know anything about the price of illegal prescriptives).

?I don?t like used equipment,? he explains. ?I want to be the first person who uses it. When I take it out of the box, I want it to be perfect.?

The reader then asked me about three brands of new braces he?d seen in catalogs. We went over the details of each one: junk, tremendous junk and crap-tacular junk. He settled on purchasing the brace that I had the fewest bad things to say. We both hung up the phone bewildered.

Sometimes I forget that there is a certain consumer that won?t buy anything that has been used. With all of the sturdy old houses on the market, they would prefer to buy something new in the suburbs that doesn?t have the same level of craftsmanship or detailing.

I used to get fairly worked up about this fact, but in the last few years, I?ve come to embrace it as a good thing. Here?s why: These people are helping expand the marketplace for high-quality new tools. They are the consumers who help ensure that Veritas, Clifton, Lie-Nielsen and other manufacturers will have a customer base.

Their buying habits have encouraged competition among makers and have exposed more of their fellow woodworkers to the wonders of high-quality modern tool manufacturing. I myself started into the craft with vintage planes and balked at the price of Lie-Nielsen (and later Clifton and Veritas) planes when I first encountered them about 12 years ago. But after using the tools, I think they?re a tremendously good value.

The whole thing is a bit of a chicken-and-egg situation. Does the availability of quality new tools grow the interest in traditional tools? Or does an interest in traditional tools fuel the availability of new quality tools?

I?m not smart enough to answer a chicken-and-egg paradox. But I am smart enough to recognize that the world works in cycles. You see, last week I got an e-mail from a public relations person at Stanley Works?.

? Christopher Schwarz

Ya know...I put Google ads on this blog in the hopes of making about $50,000 per month. However, the actual monthly income has been about 10,000 to 50,000 times less than that.

It should be noted I have no control over the ads that get placed along the edge of the blog. They get chosen based upon the key words spread throughout my writings. Then, in a king of the hill fashion, the best producing ads stay there until their production decreases and they are replaced by the young guns.

This week ASIAN GILRS FOR DATING showed up, and it seems to be stuck there. Don't get me wrong, pretty girls from timezones 12 or 13 hours away from mine add a nice change of pace from the mountain of links for workbenches.



Exactly 3 years ago I was in Viet Nam preparing to travel to China. It was quite interesting to be in the former Saigon as they prepared to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the departure of the last US helicopter. We managed to fly out the day before the official celebration of the anniversary of the American Departure.

The best joke I came up with during my stay in Viet Nam was told to Gail as we spoke on the "phone" through Skype. Here it is:

Gail: How are things in Viet Nam, Honey?

Jeff: Good. Not at all like Full Metal Jacket, Platoon, or The Deer Hunter (that's just me being "normal." That's not the joke).

Gail: That's nice. How is the food? Have you found anything to eat? (I'm a very fussy eater.)

Jeff: The food at the factory scared me, but here at the hotel it's GREAT!

Gail: What's it like? Is the city interesting, or have you seen any neat scenery?

(Get Ready. Here is the best joke of my Asian adventure)

Jeff: Yeah, there is one really neat thing. Today while we were in the taxi driving through Ho Chi Mihn City, I noticed the weirdest thing.... Every time we passed a Nail Salon, there were only American Women working there.

------------

It is my hope that joke is the only substantial thing that comes of my Asian trip of 2005. However, if a blue-eyed Asian kid ever knocks on the door, I am sticking by the story I have always told Gail.... "God as my witness, honey, I thought Karaoke was just singing."

Lets start right at the beginning:

Step ladders: Make sure you have a steady pair of steps not to short so you over reach. Your arms will drop of before you have taken your first lesson in how to hang curtains. Not to tall that you cannot reach the window comfortably without leaning out to the side to hang curtains throwing you off balance.

Curtain hooks for standard pencil pleat curtain tape

Curtain hooks Again make sure before you start that you have enough of the right kind of curtain hooks.Light curtains will be fine with standard plastic hooks.

Medium weight curtains use nylon hooks, stronger than plastic. They will flex without breaking.

Heavy curtains use metal nickel hooks, they are bit fiddly to handle they all stick together the box. Just like the Chinese puzzles I had as a child.

Curtain hooks for bucram headed curtains

You will need what are called "pin hooks" simply because they have a sharp pin which pierces through the fabric and bucram (not sure checkout my site) on the back of the curtain header. This kind of heading makes for the best looking curtains. As always the best all ways costs that bit more.

An extra pair of hands

When you are learning how to hang curtains large or heavy it is very useful to have someone standing at ground level holding the curtain taking the weight. This enables you to hang the curtain onto your track or rod with ease.

How many hooks will you need ?

Well for curtains with standard pencil pleat tape you will need a hook every 4th pocket.

For bucram headed curtains you will need 1 for every pleat or goblet and one for each end.

Preparing your bucram headed curtains prior to hanging.

The good news other than putting in the pin hooks setting them down 1/2 inch from the top of your curtain. there is no more prepping to do. You just have to learn how to hang curtains and dress them properly.

prepping your pencil pleat curtains prior to hanging:

Standard pencil pleat curtains to start you will need to gather the tape on the top of your curtains. You do this by pulling out the 3 cords in the back of the curtain tape. To start pull the cords out of both ends of the curtain tape and tie them together in a firm knot.

There are 2 reasons for this 1. It stops you pulling the cords completely out of the tape (not a good start when learning how to hang curtains). 2. It keeps the cords together on the end that you pull the cords out to gather your curtain.

Then continue to pull the cords out. Simple tip on gathering your curtains. Take one set of knotted cords and hook over a door handle or some other fixed object. Then use one hand to hold the curtain tape and with the other hand start to pull the tape away from the door handle. You will see the heading on your curtain start to pleat.

How wide do you curtains need to be ?

Next check what half the width of your track or rod measures. Lets say your track is 100 inches long. You half this to 50 inches, then add on 2 inches to allow your curtains to comfortably meet in the middle when hanging. So the finished width that you want to gather each of your pair of curtains is 52 inches. The more you learn how to hang curtains, the more this becomes second nature.

Before you hang curtains.....stop and check!

Before you start to hang your curtain you need to lay your curtain down on a table or the floor and check the gathered width is about right. Then if to narrow then pull out the tape a little. If to wide then gather in the tape a little more.

what about the surplus cord ?

Finally sorting out all that surplus cord and evening up the pleats in the tape. DO NOT CUT THE CORDS !. The best solution is to bundle the cords up by wrapping them around all your fingers then tie a slip knot around the bundle. This allows you in the future to alter the header tape should you want to.

Once the cords are sorted out turn the curtain over. You need to look at the pleats and try and even them out. Just do it roughly at this time because when you come to hang them the pleats will move a little.

Last job before hanging your curtains

All most there, before you can hang your curtain you have to put the curtain hooks into the pockets on the back of the tape. On most standard pencil pleat tape there are 3 pockets top, middle and bottom.

How to hang curtains from a rod or pole

If hanging under a rod or pole put your curtain hooks in the top pocket. Also note the number of rings on your rod or pole. This determines the number of hooks you put in the curtain tape. As a rule of thumb you use less hooks on a rod or pole than on a curtain track. On a track put a hook ever 4th pocket and on a ror or pole every 6 to 8 pockets.

Hanging from a track ?

If hanging from a curtain track then put your curtain hooks in the center or bottom pocket pocket. this allows the curtain to cover the track when closed. To decide which pocket to use try one and see what your curtain looks like hanging. If your happy then great do the other curtain. If not happy move the curtain hooks up or down to suit.

The 1st step when hanging

A lot of people say you should always start hanging your curtains from the ends of the track or rod and work towards the middle. I Disagree, I say you should always start from the middle and work outwards towards the ends. The reason I advise you do it this way is because if you have

too many gliders on your track or too many rings on your rod you can easily remove them from the ends of your track or rod. Where if you start from the outside in to the middle the surplus gliders or rings are locked in the middle of your track or rod. Meaning you have to unhang your curtains to remove them. Not much more now and you will have the basics on how to hang curtains.

Why do some advise to start from the middle ?

The reason is on some tracks and rods, but mostly the corded kind. They have what are called overlap arms. These are short arms made of metal or platic with holes in for the last couple of curtain hooks on each leading edge of your pair of curtains (edges that meet at center of your window). Theses overlap arms allow one curtain to pass and overlap the other curtain by 2 or 3 inches. Thus giving you total privacy.

So what's the big problem ?

So where's the problem ? the problem is that these arms are not very strong. This means when you start to hang a medium to heavy curtain. Especially without someone carrying the weight they sag and twist or break completely.

Avoiding the problem !

So how do we avoid that when hanging from the center of the track or rod and working outwards. Very simple really, if you need 2 hooks to go in the overlap arm then count in to the 3rd hook and hook this into the first real glider or ring. Leaving the 1st and 2nd curtain hooks to just hang in space. continue hanging your curtain working from the middle outwards. That's how to hang curtains my way (the best way obviously "wink")

Then once you have reached the ends of your track or rod (removing any surplus gliders or rings). You go back to the middle and hook in the last couple of curtain hooks into the overlap arms. So avoiding putting to much weight on them.

Well I hope you have picked up a few "Tips" on how to hang curtains. This is just the first stage. Next is the "Dressing" of your curtains.

Lee Stevens From Window treatments Made easy

http://www.window-treatments-made-easy.com

Luck is where the crossroads of hard work and opportunity cross.

Tommy cuts the wood for the drawers and finds some "sweet" colors and swooping patterns. After putting the pieces in place, he says they look too "blasé" and "lame" compared to the beautiful wood of the writing surface and opts for a do-over. Stay tuned to see if the new wood meets Tommy's expectations.

Hi Folks
Been making real progress on the guitar project (although the Wife is getting suspicious when I keep disappearing off to the workshop). Finished the soundboard yesterday (that's the top) so I have to move onto the back next, whilst preparing for the toughest part - hot bending the sides. More on that when the time comes.........
Here are two more pics of the Madox hollow plane. The crispness of the construction still amazes me - don't forget, this was made with hand tools! And the stock is still straight as a die - the amount of wooden planes I have looked at that are banana shaped tells me that this guy really new his stuff!
The Yandles Woodworking Show is this weekend - where did the time go!?? I am beavering away in the workshop making stock for the show - hopefully there will be plenty for people to see, as well as a prototype 70 degree supersmoother ;)
Cheers
Philly