Woodworking Blog

all wood coaster wagon

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:27:10 GMT

I made it very carefully by building a prototype first. I did this because I have been working with wood for over 50 years; and since it's not a piece

bandsaw boxes, and a collapsible basket

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:26:33 GMT

bandsaw boxes, and a collapsible basket

FAQ woodworking techniques

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:21:00 GMT

FAQ woodworking techniques

FAQ: finishing wood

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:16:24 GMT

FAQ: finishing wood

Cut out handles

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:13:48 GMT

Q: Hi, I am brand new to woodworking and I wanted to start with some simple crates. The crates I am making have crescent shaped cut outs for the handles.

FAQ woodworking

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:10:51 GMT

FAQ woodworking

FAQ wood and milling lumber

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:59:51 GMT

FAQ wood and milling lumber

how to reaffix the guard on a sears jointer

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:34:53 GMT

Hi, I took off the guard to sharpen the knives on my jointer. When reassembling, I had a huge struggle to get the screw in the right hole and now the guard

guest-boxes

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 17:58:00 GMT

guest boxes, visitor woodworking projects, projects by guest woodworkers

Jewelry Box

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 17:51:50 GMT

Made from solid cherry with purchased inlays and inlay strips on the top and sides. The box is about 18 wide by 14 high and 10 deep with an inner tray,

Texas Bird House

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 17:35:14 GMT

The bird house is constructed out of pine and painted using the State of Texas flag colors.

A pair of Bandsawn Boxes

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 17:33:18 GMT

I had this pattern hidden away in my workshop for over 10 years and thought I had lost it until I uncovered it just recently and decided to give it a go.

question about bandsaw boxes

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 16:32:09 GMT

Q: I know the basics of making bandsaw boxes, but what is the best way to do the following: I've seen boxes that are using a different wood for the face

Refinish

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 13:34:24 GMT

Q: I have a diningroom table that I refinished with poly stain. My problem is the rolled edge looks like particle board and wont take the finish. What

something about building a router table

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 14:02:19 GMT

Q: I have leftover slab of plastic composite material that was used to install countertops in my kitchen. It is called Dovae and machines and cuts like

How to make a dance prop like a lazy susan turn

Wed, 19 Oct 2011 23:05:32 GMT

Q: We had a prop built for my daughter's dance team. It is like a lazy susan concept. There is a round bottom for stability and then another layer for

woodshed building, diy woodshed

Fri, 14 Oct 2011 01:44:20 GMT

woodshed building, diy woodshed

about woodwork

Fri, 16 Sep 2011 23:29:14 GMT

Q: Is the work piece guided accurately past the blade by the fence? A: It is important to have the fence parallel to the blade to guide the cut, but

aquarium stand strength

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 13:59:15 GMT

Q: I'm trying to build a plan for an aquarium stand. My aquarium will be 60wide x 24deep x 30tall and when filled will weigh about 2400lbs. I want the

wooden boxes, types of wooden boxes from bentwood boxes to kitchen cabinets

Mon, 29 Aug 2011 00:59:35 GMT

wooden-boxes, types of wooden boxes from bentwood boxes to kitchen cabinets

wood movement, drying wood, wood and weather, wood expansion

Sun, 28 Aug 2011 23:58:40 GMT

wood movement, how wood moves, dimensional changes with the weather,

this is a bandsaw box called the rock box!

Fri, 26 Aug 2011 14:24:39 GMT

I slowly scrounged up the pieces for this jewelry box and cut it out on my bandsaw. I honestly don't know why they call these band saw boxes because most

wooden box, Shaker box, band saw boxes, jewelry boxes, wood characteristics

Thu, 25 Aug 2011 21:35:54 GMT

making a wooden box, such as Shaker boxes, bandsaw boxes, jewelry boxes

types woodworking joints

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 00:17:53 GMT

Q: how many types of joints do we have in woodworking A: As many as you want. Okay, that's a nothing answer, but it's somewhat true. Wood can be cut,

Woodworking joinery, dovetails, miter joints

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 00:15:54 GMT

woodworking joinery for box making, miters, dovetails and more

woodworking links and other interesting sites

Mon, 01 Aug 2011 14:45:48 GMT

Woodworking links, tops and techniques and other interesting sites

soaking for Shaker boxes

Fri, 08 Jul 2011 02:06:15 GMT

Q: How does one go about soaking several pieces of wood to make a Shaker box, i.e. what type of wood, what size of wood, how long in water, is water changed,

woodworking questions and answers

Fri, 17 Jun 2011 14:37:19 GMT

woodworking questions and answers - questions asked and answered

Cutting miters

Fri, 17 Jun 2011 13:06:33 GMT

Q: I don't seem to be able to cut decent miters on my tablesaw (although my crosscuts are true) and I've realized that it's because the blade when tilted

Boxer Collapsible Basket

Tue, 14 Jun 2011 00:56:04 GMT

Using a scroll saw with a No. 7 blade. The basket was cut with the table set at 4 degrees tilt. Finished with 3 coats of wipe on poly

Small Knife Box

Sat, 11 Jun 2011 00:11:55 GMT

This is a small knife box I made to hold two knives. The top of the box has a knife maker logo carved into it, and the sides are textured using a Dremel.

Mahogany Humidor

Sat, 11 Jun 2011 00:11:00 GMT

This is a mahogany humidor I made. The box is made from 1/2 mahogany, 3/8 poplar and 1/4 Spanish cedar on the inside. I layered the wood to help lock in

Partitioned knife box with carving

Sat, 11 Jun 2011 00:10:05 GMT

I made this knife box to hold my favorite knives. This box is made from Poplar. I chose poplar because it's easy to carve, is inexpensive, easy to get,

June 6, 2011

Wed, 08 Jun 2011 15:13:28 GMT

We did it. We managed to move out! Got the shop packed in the nick of time. Actually spent part of moving day packing, just ahead of the movers. They packed my drill by mistake. That was a drag! I had left it out so that it would be available for removing shelving and such. Had to do it all with a screwdriver. I wasn't pleased. After the movers left I then spent two hours trying to clear out all the dust. (I vacuumed the walls and windows. What a good do-bee.) It wasn't as hard to leave as I expected it to be. I loved my shop, but once it was packed up it was just a building. Also, we really liked the people moving in, so that helped. They are going to use the shop as a pottery studio. I like that. Now time for a mind shift to Vermont.

Finishing a walnut tray

Sun, 05 Jun 2011 01:01:16 GMT

Q: I have sanded a walnut tray and then used spray lacquer for a finish. Unfortunately, I can't get a uniform gloss. Parts of the tray look glossy

May 2011: the move continues

Thu, 02 Jun 2011 01:30:42 GMT

May 8th I've begun saying my goodbyes and I don't like it. First was the vet who I've been going to for over a decade. I always enjoyed my visits (my dog, lying by my feet, says "speak for yourself") and trusted her to do a good job with my pets. I'll miss my occasional visits and our casual chats. Then, I had to close down my classes. That was hard (I cried). I'm going to miss my students, all of you who came by over the years. But I especially will miss "the originals" my group of three who had been coming faithfully since I started teaching 6 or 7 years ago. We got to know each other over the years and traded stories about dogs with bad habits, kids off to college, and the trials of back surgery. E, L & M, if you are reading this, thanks for putting up with my hovering when you used the table saw (for the first 5 years), my forgetful brain ("just use the... you know that thing over there") and all the mistakes I corrected after the fact. I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did. I'll miss you. May 19th One week from today the movers come. Yikes. Been busy giving things away, throwing things away, packing things away..... The house and shop are disaster areas. May 24th (or something close to that) Buzzed up to Vt yesterday for my nephew's graduation party. Should have stayed here to pack, but I'm so proud of that boy I could burst. Had to go tell him so. But, he's not a boy anymore, he's a young adult, a grown man. How did it happen so fast? Dashed back to Ma and spent the afternoon packing the shop. I'm all done except for the dust collection and then, collecting the dust. How am I going to get all the dust off the walls and ceiling? I've been vacuuming like mad and cleaning out the filter of the shop vac every five seconds or so.

Routing a roundover in an angled hole...

Wed, 01 Jun 2011 20:34:04 GMT

Q: I have a woodworking question that I just can't quite figure out. I have drilled a 2 diameter hole at a 45 degree angle through a 2 thick board. I

April 26th

Wed, 25 May 2011 03:00:09 GMT

April 26th One more month to go. The count down begins. Another goodbye today. Took the dog to the vet (she got a clean bill of health "good shape for her age"). We were chatting and realized I've been going there for 14 years or something like that. I've always liked my vet. It's one of those things where I see her regularly once a year and in between for the occasional stitches, eye drops or Lyme test. Never see her out of the office, but I like her. They all know me at the office, they know Nik (she's been going there for 11 years), it's a nice connection. Something else to do in our new home: find vet and doctor, plumber and firewood supplier., hunt down a lumber yard that sells nice hardwoods. There are lots of relationships to be built with professionals as well as the clerk at the post office or the town clerk. All the people we know here after all these years. Seems like a small thing, but it's nice to be able to gossip with the guy at the dump about what happened at town meeting or whatever. Means I'll have to be outgoing - at least at first - in the new place.

April 22, the move continues

Wed, 25 May 2011 02:58:51 GMT

Been a busy week, mostly in the shop. I finished the vanity and the doors for the bookshelves. Now I need to get them out of my shop so I have room to work on the entertainment center. Had my next to last Thursday class. I'm going to miss the gang. I've had lots of students over the years, but this particular group has been with me from the beginning, every Thursday for the past 6 or 7 years. Wonder if I can talk them into moving with me. I also met with one of my favorite customers. She does flower arrangements, but not your usual flower arrangements. Her arrangements show up in places like the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. She always has something interesting for me to do for her arrangements. You can see one of them here. Makes me realize this is an ending as well as a beginning. However, I already have a couple jobs lined up. I got an email from someone interested in hat boxes. I said it would be several months before I got my new shop set up. "No problem," he said, "let me know when you're ready." Phew, at least I'll have some work in the new place.

April 16th: it's official!

Mon, 23 May 2011 21:42:52 GMT

WE DID IT! We signed papers for the land. We're now officially Vt landowners. Feels strangely unchanged. I think it's because we did all the financial business last week. Now that was scary. Today we just met with the previous owners and passed paper around. We're all pleased. I think they'll be great neighbors. We told them they could keep their horses in the meadow until we start building. They were happy, but why not? We get free mowing and the pleasure of seeing horses without having to take care of them. They get green grass. Win-win. We were going to have a party tonight to celebrate, but we're too pooped to party. Maybe next time we're up here.

April 15, 2011 Another factory tour

Mon, 23 May 2011 21:41:18 GMT

Yesterday we went to visit a second modular home factory (Preferred Building Systems aka PBS), this one in NH. C & I met the builder I talked to at the energy fair. We took a tour of the place together. Here's how it works: The factory (PBS) makes the modules and the builder puts it together on site. In this case the builder is also responsible for the site work, excavation, foundation, septic, driveway and whatever else I've forgotten. PBS has a builder in each area where they ship their homes. We could go with any builder we like, but they prefer we work with their people. In any event, the tour started with a walk through of the various components that go into the building. We spent about an hour talking about insulation, R values and condensation. I confess I found in interesting. (We're thinking of 30 R for walls and 60 for ceiling. That's way above normal, but if we want to use passive solar (we do) then the more insulation the better.) We want to be green, so one of the attractions of this particular company is that they are green builders. Their base package is more efficient than required for energy star rating and they go up from there (I could get into the HERS scale [home energy rating system], but I'll resist). After learning more than I needed to know about insulation, energy star and HERS, we walked through areas that showed different options, such as light fixtures, windows, siding etc. We can have them put together an entire package, or we can do some of the work on our own. I'm going to make the kitchen cabinets, for instance. A million decisions to be made. Finally, we got to the factory floor. It's a huge building, over 100,000 square feet. Inside it was clean and bright with a background noise of nail guns. The area was divided into stations. We entered through an area where trusses were being constructed for a cape. Then we wandered through a couple partially build modules in various stages of readiness. It's a slow time of year in a slow economy, so there wasn't too much activity, but we saw probably 1/2 dozen modules making up 3 or 4 houses. Odd to see a finished room with a staircase leading nowhere. It was like a stage set - a very detailed stage set. The rooms were painted with wiring & plumbing in place ready to be hooked up on site. I'd like to go back sometime when it is in full swing and watch a house (ours?) from start to finish.

April 2, 2011 looking into modular homes

Mon, 23 May 2011 21:39:38 GMT

Back to Vt this weekend. I went by myself because C had to work and I wanted to talk to people at a modular home factory called Huntington Homes. I got there Friday afternoon just in time for a quick tour of the place before they closed for the weekend. They build the houses on a sort of assembly line. I want to go back sometime with a camera and get a better sense of things. They had a couple of houses in progress and it looked similar to stick building, except for the roof. The roofs are hinged so they can fold flat for shipping. The workers also have various walkways to get them to a convenient height for working. No spindly ladders in sight. Fun tour and good talk about modular homes in general and Huntington Homes in particular. Seems like it might be a good way to go. I looked up the HH on the internet and they have a good reputation. I also had a chance to check out an energy fair. I got a lot of info about geothermal. I spoke with different rep's about their various companies and can now talk about open and closed loop systems as if I know what I'm talking about. Also met a builder who is working with a modular home biz that specializes in green homes. It was too loud to get into too much detail, but I collected his card and will contact him later on. Useful weekend, but tiring drive.

Relocating

Thu, 19 May 2011 13:33:59 GMT

I've gotten behind on my blog about relocating. So to catch you all up I'll start here and add daily until we're up to date: April 2 It's official. We signed the P&S last night. The bank appraisal went though and we're in business. Not only that, but the deal was sealed with ... eggs. The buyers have chickens and they gave us a dozen and half fresh eggs. Seems appropriate, since the sellers of the land we're buying also have chickens and they gave us ... eggs. The final piece of the circle is that when we were staging our house (that's another story!) the stager and our Realtor brought in some this and that's to put around. One thing Sandy brought was a life sized ceramic chicken. (Char was horrified. I want to keep it.) So, it has to be an eggcellant idea to be moving now. Oh, quit yolking around (alright, I'll stop now). It's late and I was up all night dreaming about building. Just spent last oh, three hours or so, online investigating prefab homes and geothermal systems. Lots to think about.

I make bandsaw boxes

Tue, 17 May 2011 19:03:41 GMT

I have used Lois Kenna Ventura books for inspiration and some swirls and patterns of my own to create bandsaw boxes on my 14 inch jet

about camphor wood

Thu, 21 Apr 2011 18:06:30 GMT

Q: Is camphor wood injurious to your health, either when doing the actual woodworking or when using the wood in the form of a bed? A: Camphor is toxic

hand cut dovetails, making dovetails by hand, woodworking with handtools

Wed, 20 Apr 2011 22:34:53 GMT

Hand cut dovetails, the sign of the successful woodworker

woodwork for sale, 5th anniversary gifts, wooden gifts, anniversary presents

Wed, 20 Apr 2011 12:22:58 GMT

woodwork, 5th anniversary gifts, wooden gifts, anniversary presents, 5th anniversary, wedding presents

What size hole should I use for bench dogs?

Tue, 12 Apr 2011 21:28:07 GMT

Q: What size hole should I use for bench dogs. A: Bench dogs come in different sizes. The round ones I've used have all been 3/4. I'd recommend getting

routing stiles safely, using jigs

Tue, 05 Apr 2011 22:19:54 GMT

routing stiles safely, using jigs for small parts, zero clearance

woodworking site map for wooden-box-maker.com and Kate Taylor Creative Woodworki

Sun, 20 Mar 2011 00:21:21 GMT

woodworking site map, to help you find your way around wooden-box-maker.com