This is the gaze of a man who doesn’t want to start over. That’s what I normally look like when turning anything. Total focus and somewhere in the back of my head hoping I secured the wood to the lathe correctly. Reader Rboyett, however, is probably just thinking about how the taper on his cup should look.

Our collective hats are off to all the turners out there cranking out bad-ass stuff. I recently made a few attempts to turn a few projects myself; though they were very similar to cups you might have seen before, the quality of my craftsmanship will not be displayed at any art shows anytime soon — or ever, on any planet we know of.

(more…)

A favorite past time of mine is to see what I can turn scrap into out in the shop. It seems others like reader Jeffrey Immer play the same game. Jeff turned his pile of scrap into this sweet desk set.

Of course “scrap” is a relative term that differs from one shop to another; however I can say that I don’t see anything here other than hardware I couldn’t go to the scrap pile right now and duplicate — so we’re calling this one a fair ball. We love the construction of Jeff’s desk and the simple pieces it took to make it.

It’s not like other projects you might see on TV where they just found hundreds of dollars worth of rare, perfect hardwood lying around. That doesn’t happen to anyone but Norm and the guys at a lumber mill.

Toolmonger Photo Pool [Flickr]

While the name of M-Power’s Tri-Scribe may be from one of those we-like-hyphens-too-much marketing sessions, this seems to be a pretty clever little tool. I stumbled across it while browsing drafting implements and it’s an innovation I wish I’d had on hand in the past.

(more…)

Once again reader Jeffrey Immer takes basic materials to the extreme with his newest toolbox. From a guy who builds bridges and buildings out of 2×4’s and ply, a big-ass toolbox must have been an afternoon project.

officially dubbed the Giant tool box of Awesomeness, or GTBA for short, my tools were being removed from all there hiding places so I made this to lock them, it has to moved by forklift and I estimate it to weigh in around 2500-3000 pounds with everything in it empty it was not too heavy. it is made with 5/8 ply and 2×8’s cut down to 2×4s and 2×2s and lots of screws, took me about a day to build. 8′x4′x 42″ tall

I wouldn’t have thought of making a one-ton toolbox before seeing this, but I can definitely see the appeal. Jeff wins the “my toolbox is bigger than yours” contest – hands down.

Toolmonger Photo Pool [Flickr]

I’ve had a Radi-Plane (similar, if not identical to, the picture on the left) for many years*, and found it very handy for easing edges. I recently added — following a “suggestion” from the home project coordinator, a.k.a. my lovely wife — a couple of extra shelves to a cabinet above the oven. I used MDF for the shelves and my Radi-Plane did a great job rounding the edges (and was easier and quicker than digging out the router).

While checking options, I found Benjamen’s post on the Veritas Cornering Tool Set (shown on the right above; $33 for 2 tools with 4 different radii and a sharpening kit), and was wondering how these compare to the Radi-Plane (or the apparent equivalents, Woodstock’s W1100 Slickplane [What’s This?], available for $13, and the Rockler radius plane, available for $22). Has anyone had experience with both? Any other good suggestions for quickly and consistently easing edges?

*15? 20? I found a Radi-Plane reference in the Aug. 1990 issue of American Woodworker [Google Books]. My versions are branded “RADI-PLANE, L.A. Mathers Co., Stockton, Calif.”

Street Pricing [Google Products]
Radius Plane [Rockler]

Kevin covered Makita’s hypoid 7 1/4″ circular saw back in June, but there’s another feature in the range worth noting. That model, the 5477NB, has the same internals as the 5377MG pictured above, so you get the 15A motor, carbide-tipped blade, 2 3/8″ cut depth at 90°, and wear-resistant hypoid gears, but they’re contained in a magnesium casing. The result is a weight drop from 13.9 pounds to 13.0 pounds, and Makita claims the balance is improved as well.

(more…)

If you want to incorporate curves into your project, there are a few ways to do it. You can cut wood into thin strips of veneer and build up a curve layer by layer, you can steam the wood, or you can cut closely-spaced kerfs. Using KerfKore panels is another way to skip these time-consuming methods and get down to building.

(more…)

This bandsaw push block already has one hit against it. Could you face your fellow woodworkers and tell them you recommend using a Joy-Jaw push block and expect to keep any sort of respect? Aside from the bad name, however, it may have some redeeming features.

The large molded handles and wire guards keep your hands away from the blade. While the molded plastic body is rigid, it won’t damage the blade if you accidentally cut into it. The stepped jaws, which are reminiscent of an alligator wrench, will grip many shapes and sizes of small stock.

Woodteck designed and manufacturers this product in the USA. It’ll run you $30 plus shipping.

Joy-Jaw [Woodworker's Supply]

For those woodworkers who like the hand-shaped look, the smaller curves on trim can be a nightmarish proposition — or at the least a time-intensive one. Enter the mini-sized spokeshaves from Garrett Wade.

(more…)

Many, many years ago in a land far, far away — OK, it was northern California in the early 90’s — I saw plans for saw ponies in the July/August 1992 issue of Fine Woodworking (reprinted in The Small Wood Shop, available from Amazon), and built myself a pair using short pieces of 2×4 and plywood. These miniature saw horses are stackable (when stacked two-high, they’re roughly standard saw horse height), sturdy, and can even double as step stools or seats. Recently, while searching for the article, I came across Lee Harps’ blog and his saw pony modifications. I like what he’s done, and think I will incorporate his ideas when I complete another set.

Via Amazon [What’s This?]
The Small Wood Shop [Google Books]

With a pocket hole plug cutter you can better hide your pocket holes. Rather than depending on the limited selection of packaged plugs, you can cut plugs from the same material as your project; plus you can create plugs with a matching grain pattern.

(more…)

I.D. Wood is one of the first woodworking iPhone apps we think might be worth coughing up $2.99 for. Simply put, it’s an app that does just what the name implies — it helps you identify over fifty types of wood with full screen samples and a search function that helps you get where you’re going.

It’s a standalone app that, once downloaded, doesn’t require net access, so if you’re somewhere the phone doesn’t have a signal you’re still good. Basically it will display samples and grain patterns as well as tell you what part of the tree it was cut from and how — plus all the more handy stuff, like woodworking properties and common uses.

(more…)

We posted a gouge key chain for carvers a few weeks ago, but many woodworkers are at least as enamored with their routers. For them Sommerfeld sells a router bit key chain that’ll make ‘em wish they were in the shop every time they reach for their keys.

They machine this 1-3/4″ long miniature replica from high speed steel. Then they coat it with chrome and PTFE so it looks like an actual router sans the cutters, because who wants sharp carbide in their pockets?

You’ll pay $5 for the key chain plus $6 for shipping, but as long as you’re already shelling out the money for shipping you might as well buy some real router bits while you’re at it.

Router Bit Keychain [Sommerfeld]

Start your drooling: Grizzly recently introduced a sliding table saw with a footprint small enough to fit into smaller shops. Why would you even want one of these saws? For one, forget about complicated miter sleds, the whole 12-1/4″ x 39-3/4″ extruded aluminum table on the left side of the blade can slide.

(more…)

Festool introduced a new hand sander at the 2009 AWFS that uses the same 6″ hook-and-loop disc abrasives their orbital sanders use. I thought these sanders looked familiar, so I searched the Toolmonger archives and found this post from Rick. Hmmm, they look pretty similar, don’t they?  The question is, did Festool copy this design, or are they relabeling a pre-existing product?

The ergonomically designed sander design is reminiscent of a computer mouse. On the bottom of the foam sander is a hard pad that backs the sandpaper and helps with shaping and coarse sanding. The sanders use 6″ abrasive discs which wrap up around the sides. Festool claims it’s designed to use their 6″ abrasive discs, but in all probability you can use any flexible abrasive discs.

(more…)

Many woodworkers make drawers out to be a beast that cannot be tamed by fire or steel, when in fact they can be quite simple to build. Case in point: reader Flabby Boohoo stuffed these keepsake drawers into the bookcase he’s building.

Before anyone jumps the gun and lets loose the slings and arrows of carpentry finish work, we can see that when open, the drawers show the ply lines. However since Flabby Boohoo was going for a nice piece of furniture and not a woodcrafting showboat, we say well done.

(more…)

Bessey’s Maxis VarioPivot clamping system extends the versatility of your bar clamps by attaching them to your bench, somewhat like the previously covered VersaClamp.  It works best with Bessey’s K-Body Clamps, but they claim the system works with other bar or pipe clamps too.

The two C-clamp-like ends attach to your bench top and capture any length of bar clamp between them. The clamps fit into rotating holders which can lock the bar clamp at any angle between 0 to 270°.  The holders rest in an L-shaped track, which allows you to position the bar clamp along the side of the bench or over the work surface.

The Maxis VarioPivot Clamping system comes with the two c-clamp ends and runs about $50. You’ll need to provide your own bar clamp.

Bessey Tools [Corporate Site]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]