Innehållsförteckning för June 2014 från Woodworker's Journal

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…

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…

It’s obvious from 19th century photography that people held personal grooming in high regard. Back then, men often owned a shaving box to store their supplies. Such a box was divided to organize razors, toothbrush and brushing powder, small scissors, brush or comb, and perhaps needle and thread. While there were several different styles of shaving boxes, the one presented here is fairly typical. When opened, the small mirror attached to the box lid rests against the front of the box to keep it upright. You can adjust the box sizing to suit your own needs and tastes, and feel free to alter the dividers any way you like (perhaps even to accommodate a modern razor). Getting Started I’ve chosen black walnut for this project, but feel free to use…

Handibot: “Smart Machine” of the Masses? If there’s one machine that’s had a revolutionary impact on modern woodworking, it’s the CNC router. These computer-numerical controlled (CNC) devices use computer programs to direct the mechanized motions of a router (or other motor-powered cutter) in three-dimensional space. CNC routers can do just about anything traditional woodworking machines — and traditional woodworkers — can do: cut out parts, engrave signs, create joinery, carve decorations, shape scrollwork, bore holes, rout pockets for mounting hardware and lots more. Up until now, all CNC routers, from the giant massproduction machines churning away in furniture factories to the desktop models found in more and more small woodshops, had one thing in common: they were stationary machines that rout workpieces clamped onto a worktable, with the size of…

Five Fixes Used by Finishing Pros Amateurs and pros alike can create high quality finishes, but there are some tricks of the trade more common to professional shops. Here are five useful ones to make life easier for all of us. Steaming Dents During glue-up and handling, you’ll often get dents or gouges in the wood. Gouges are areas where wood fibers are torn or removed, and must generally be filled (or, if they are really small, sanded out). Dents consist only of crushed, unbroken wood fibers, and can almost always be raised up without sanding or filling. Put a couple of drops of water into the dent, and let it soak in for a few seconds. Add another drop or two, just enough to fill the dent with water.…

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…

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…

It’s got dirty, back-door secrets. Neglected and unseemly, it’s the dumping ground for filthy footwear, mismatched gloves and outerwear. I’m talking about the back entry, or what architects call the mudroom. Just about all of us could benefit from some organization and tidiness in this transitional war zone. So in an attempt to bring some function and flair to this space, a project was born: creating a mudroom bench out of a coffee table. Building a mudroom bench from a coffee table isn’t a huge leap of project-logic. The coffee table I’m talking about is solid wood and super strong. Its 171/2" height is ideal for sitting comfortably to remove footwear. It has drawers that can store scarves, gloves and other accessories. And the relatively shallow depth of 23" doesn’t…

New Tools for Your Shop Diablo’s new Universal Sanding Discs have a 12-hole pattern that allows for fast, precise alignment when mounting to either an 8-hole or a 5-hole disc sander: it’s a “one-size-fits-all” design. Made with a premium ceramic blend, these discs offer fast material removal and a long sanding life. A Clog-SHIELD high performance stearate coating reduces pitch buildup and clogging for maximum productivity. A Hook and Lock™ backing produces continuous secure connection of the disc to the sander. The Diablo Universal Sanding Discs are sold in packs of four, 15 and 50 pads, as well as two seven-piece project packs. Pricing ranges from $4.97 to $19.97. Rockler Woodworking and Hardware is now offering Barn Door Hardware kits for interior rolling doors. Available in black and stainless steel,…

Woodworking trivia: a hot topic The Great Seattle Fire of 1889, which destroyed the whole city and its wharves, was started by woodworker John Back when his hide glue pot boiled over. It was low tide, so not enough water was available to feed the wooden-piped hydrants. A transitional or transition plane has a wooden body paired with a metal top containing blade adjustment hardware. Some say they bridge the gap between antique wooden hand planes and modern metal ones. Douglas fir, which is not a true fir, was named after Scottish botanist David Douglas (1799-1834), but its botanical name, Pseudotsuga menziesii, honors a rival botanist, Archibald Menzies. The term Pseudotsuga means “false hemlock.” Animal, vegetable, or mineral? Wax comes from all three. Beeswax, the softest one, is made by…

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…

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…

14" Steel-Frame Band Saws: Big Resawing for Any Shop The downside to traditional 14" band saws with all cast-iron frames is that many are limited to about 6" of resawing capacity. Today’s “next generation” of steel-framed band saws solve the problem: their box-style spines are tremendously rigid to withstand the high tension required for a wide resawing blade, and their frames are extended for tall resawing. Lately, the category of 14" steel-framed saws is growing. Even better, they’re equipped with 11/2" to 13/4"hp motors that run on 110 volts! No need to rewire your shop for 220 in order to resaw the really wide stuff. But, is sub-2hp and household current really enough? I rounded up six different 14" models and put them to work on 12"-wide hard maple to…

Exquisitely figured tiger maple, contrasting dowel pin accents and through tenons give this curvy mirror frame real heirloom potential. If, like me, you have teenage girls, you know the value of a mirror. Full-length? Bonus! But it’s equally handy for everyone in the family, too. While you could pay to have your mirror glass specially cut at a glass shop, you could also purchase an inexpensive full-length mirror at a department store: use the mirror glass, discard the frame. I happened to have an old wall mirror in need of a better frame. Whatever your source of mirror glass, be sure to adjust the Material List dimensions for the mirror frame rails and stiles, as well as the length of the stretcher, if your glass differs in size from the…