Woodworker's Journal June 2014

Change is a Constant FOR 25 YEARS, HE’S BEEN A CONSTANT. Larry Stoiaken was hired by our founder and CEO, Ann Rockler Jackson, to start a woodworking magazine. They named it Today’s Woodworker, and it became a wonderful, project-based bimonthly magazine that reached nearly 130,000 readers in its heyday. (We bought the Woodworker’s Journal in 1998 and combined the two magazines.) Larry would be the first to tell you that he was hired for his editing skills rather than his woodworking acumen (We didn’t call him “Mr. Bondo®” for nothing!) or for the fact that he looks a lot like Jerry Garcia. FOR 25 YEARS, HE’S BEEN A CONSTANT. Larry Stoiaken was hired by our founder and CEO, Ann Rockler Jackson, to start a woodworking magazine. They named it Today’s…

Getting a Better Grip Tested and photographed by Chris Marshall Full-size Miter Gauge Handle The knobs on the miter gauges that come with many benchtop power tools are too short to grip comfortably, but they’re simple to customize: just take a piece of 4"- to 5"-long dowel in a 1" to 11/4" diameter and drill a hole through the center of it, lengthwise. The screw threads of the original knob are probably standard coarse thread for a 1/4" bolt. Buy a carriage bolt long enough to go through your dowel handle and engage the threads in the miter bar, but not so long that the bolt will drag in your tool’s miter slot. Drive the carriage bolt through the dowel; the square portion under the bolt head will embed in…

Cracking the Code of Quartering Lumber THIS ISSUE’S EXPERTS Tim Inman is currently the owner of Historic Interiors, doing restoration and reproduction work, a field he’s worked in for 45 years. He also keeps bees. Christian Coulis is director of marketing, product management for Milwaukee Tool Company. Jason Feldner is a group product manager for cordless power tools at Bosch Tools. Contact us by writing to “Q&A,” Woodworker’s Journal, 4365 Willow Drive, Medina, MN 55340, by faxing us at (763) 478-8396 or by emailing us at: QandA@woodworkersjournal.com Please include your home address, phone number and email address (if you have one) with your question. Q I have seen, in a project plan, the measurements of 6/4, 5/4 and 4/4 and don’t quite know what it means. I have asked around…

A Cutter of Rounds What’s This? This issue’s mystery tool belongs to Robert Borgman of Sauk Centre, Minnesota. He has no idea what it is used for. Do you know what it is? Send your answer to stumpers@woodworkersjournal.com or write to “Stumpers,” Woodworker’s Journal, 4365 Willow Drive, Medina, MN 55340 for a chance to win a prize! “Some of the best days of my childhood,” said Luke Oswald of Dingmans Ferry, Pennsylvania, “were spent in my grandfather’s workshop watching and learning from [the late Herbert Nieder]. I can remember getting answers like ‘tongue puller’ and ‘ear hair trimmer’ when I asked what a tool was, so am not sure how true it was when he told me that this tool was a gasket cutter, but at this point it will…

Family Has 300 Years of Boat Building Experience In a tree-sheltered basin on England’s River Thames, near Windsor, is a familyrun, 300-year-old boatyard internationally known for its expertise with high quality wooden boats. The area is famed for smart leisure boating, and the late Peter Freebody said his forebears could be traced back to the 13th century as bargemen and ferrymen when the river was London’s transport artery. Freebody’s yard produces the “slipper stern” craft, a limousine amongst riverboats. They reproduce and restore electric canoes: a curious fashion in the late 19th century. They restore steampowered “saloon launches,” a north Thames specialty. They are also world authorities on the upkeep and restoration of the “Riva,” defined as the Ferrari of the power boat world. In addition, customers can bring in…

Turning For Other than a Standup Guy My plans this month allow anyone to inexpensively build a suitable bench to work at a full-size lathe but still not put much weight on their legs. My hope is that this idea can open the joys of turning to people who otherwise might not give woodturning a spin, particularly if they find standing for long periods difficult to impossible. Like any idea, I am sure you will instantly think of some good improvements. Please feel free to share those ideas with me. My bench plans combine inspiration from a couple of different sources. First, as a presenter at the 2007 Eighteenth Century Furniture Conference at Colonial Williamsburg, I had the pleasure of turning on the great wheel lathe while members of the…