25 October 2013 Hits: 4747
“Building Outdoor Furniture” Fast & Easy & Profitable.
For the past three months all I've done is build outdoor furniture – redwood from the home store, screw joinery, straight cuts, and Spar varnish. About 8 years ago I wanted to get back into woodworking. I was in my last Air Force assignment, and I thought I would be staying there when I retired (things change). So I figured I could finally start buying the tools I needed for a workshop. I also bought pattern books and woodworking magazines to brush up on rusty skills and to learn new ones. I ran across this really nice outdoor bench in one of those books, and we had a patio that needed furniture. So I drove to the home store and picked up the materials. I also bought a miter saw and a router; I had most of the other hand tools I needed.
10 April 2016 Hits: 5165
"A Good Reference for the Basics" Start with Peter Korn and go from there.
If you're like me you have taught yourself most of the essential woodworking techniques; I'm still learning, and more often than not I learn the hard way. Most of us learned from our dad or uncle--in some cases our mom or aunt; we learned a few basics by watching or being a helper. The thing we got most from them was the love of the craft, and that love caused us to pick up the tools and just go for it. Now we seek quality resources to learn good craftsmanship, the right techniques, and the best ways to work with wood. I tend to be the kind of person who goes straight to Amazon and searches for the right book. If you've done that with woodworking, you know there are 1,000s of books on the topic—where do you start? My recommendation is Woodworking Basics - Mastering the Essentials of Craftsmanship - An Integrated Approach With Hand and Power Tools by Peter Korn.
04 October 2013 Hits: 5002
“Learnin' Lessons the Hard Way.” Trial & Error
Even though there are hundreds of resources available on woodworking, it seems I learn most of my lesson the hard way. Ironically, over the past few years of reading and watching everything I can get my hands on about woodworking, I've read about most of my mistakes. I thought I knew much more than I actually do – even that was a lesson learned the hard way. One of the many lessons I learned through much error and frustration is one that is written about a lot--a table saw zero clearance insert.
27 September 2013 Hits: 5093
“The Jokes on Me” It was all worth it.
Continued from 13 Sep Blog: After a few minutes of wondering it occurred to me – maybe it was bolted to the pallet? After I removed the bolt and was no longer trying to lift myself with the saw I could lift either side. Jules had quite the laugh at me when we realize that the first side had been bolted into a weak spot in the pallet and when I lifted it the saw pulled away from the pallet, but the other side was quite secure and held tight. When Jadin got home from work, we managed to move the saw to its final spot of honor in the shop. It wasn't easy but we managed. After a few more hours of mounting the wings, placing the guide and other accessories the saw was completely constructed.