Woodworker's Journal February 2015

I’ve got big news: We’ve got a new website! Woodworkersjournal.com has been completely transformed. The new site features the same outstanding content you’ve come to expect from us, but it’s presented in a new, state-of-the-art online experience that works equally well on your home computer or mobile devices. That means you can access our content just about anywhere — your workshop, the lumberyard or even killing time in line at the DMV. One look at the new site and you’ll notice larger photos, easier-to-read text, and more video, including a new video gallery page that’s easy to navigate and search. This list of updates is too long to share here, so your best bet is to go to woodworkersjournal.com and check it out for yourself. We know you’re going to…

Where is Your Shop Going? TURN AROUND — AND WHAT DO YOU SEE? In the old song, “Turn Around,” a mature man observes that he just seems to turn around and his children have grown, changing his life significantly. That experience is repeated in many aspects of our lives — and, as I observed in my workshop the other day, woodworking has not been immune to change. While the changes in woodworking are likely not as melancholy an occurrence as your children growing up and leaving home, when I looked around my shop I was struck by the fact that I missed some things. True, I do not miss my high-speed steel router bits or my old 4x24 belt sander that looked like (and weighed as much as) a locomotive,…

Nitpicky Sander Solution When the “loops” on a sander’s hook-and-loop pad become clogged with dust, the sanding discs won’t cling properly. Here’s a simple fix: Buy a nit comb at a pharmacy. They’re sold for removing head lice eggs, and the metal tines are much closer together than a standard hair comb. Drag it across the sander’s pad vigorously, and the tines will clear the debris easily without harming the loops. Works great for cleaning other hook-and-loop items, too. David Thomson Carson City, Nevada Better Way to Make a Saddle Jig “Saddle” type jigs that fit over and slide along a table saw’s rip fence are handy for many purposes. Most of the designs I see look like the inset photo here, where spacer “B” is sandwiched between the “A”…

THIS ISSUE’S EXPERTS Rob Johnstone is publisher of Woodworker’s Journal. Bob Behnke is the technical service manager for Titebond products. Michael Dresdner is a nationally known finishing expert and the author of The New Wood Finishing Book. Sandor Nagyszalanczy is a writer/photographer of several woodworking books and a frequent contributor to Woodworker’s Journal. 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. QI have the DELTA hybrid table saw with 13⁄4hp motor. My motor is going south. Can I replace it with a 3hp motor? I could get my frame rewound to a 2hp but would…

What’s This? William Rosevear of Spokane, Washington, found this item in a parts organizer he got from his grandfather about 20 years ago. Neither he nor any of his woodworking friends know what it is. Do you? 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! Woodworker’s Journal editor Joanna Werch Takes compiles each issue’s Stumpers responses — and reads every one. Winner! Phil Gilstrap of Norman, Oklahoma, wins a Hitachi 18V Lithium Ion Brushless Hammer Drill & Impact Driver Combo Kit. We toss all the Stumpers letters into a hat to select a winner. Speaking of the mystery tool from the October 2014 issue, Steve Wirts of Washington, Indiana, said his family “jokingly called…

Impressed with what Ugandan carpenters have been able to accomplish, “often with just a hacksaw,” Brice Aarrestad has founded Help Desk Furniture Co. to promote the carpenters’ talents, while also supporting Ugandan schools and putting his own skills to use. The company setup: furniture made in Uganda, from sustainably sourced African hardwoods, will be sold to customers in the U.S., with profits funding Ugandan schools. Brice first traveled to Uganda in 2009, on a twoweek volunteer trip with Engineering Ministries International, acting as a designer and construction manager. He participated in another two-week trip in 2010; moved to Jinja, Uganda, for a 11⁄2-year stint in 2011; and spent another five weeks there this past summer. Last summer’s work included finding potential local workers with whom to partner, and building some…