Aspiring Woodworker

The Lookout Mountain Rocker

Jeff Wilder — Thu, 13 Mar 2014 16:45:09 +0000

The Lookout Mountain Rocker is made by a family owned Alabama company, Wood Studio, they have been making these for over 30 years. They won the third annual Made in the South Award, here is their story.

Wood Studio – Garden and Gun Magazine from Six Foot Five Productions on Vimeo.

We created this video for Garden and Gun Magazine. Wood Studio won GG’s Made In The South Awards.
To see the article click here: http://gardenandgun.com/article/third-annual-made-south-awards/page/0/1

Sam Maloof – Chairmaker

Jeff Wilder — Sat, 15 Feb 2014 07:23:42 +0000

An interview from the Duke University archives with Sam Maloof.

We Are On Flipboard

Jeff Wilder — Thu, 30 Jan 2014 12:09:29 +0000

Check out our Flipboard magazine

View Aspiring Woodworker’s Flipboard Magazine.

Inside Offerman Workshop

Jeff Wilder — Mon, 01 Jul 2013 16:20:58 +0000

Here is a great video from the woodworkers at Offerman Workshop.

[imaioVideo v=2]

There Is A Bowl Inside That Tree

Jeff Wilder — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 02:59:12 +0000

Table Saw Safety Bill Closer To Law

Jeff Wilder — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 11:30:05 +0000

The controversial California table saw safety bill is one step closer to becoming law. A senate panel recently approved the bill on a 3 to 2 vote. The bill will now head to the Senate floor for a vote expected in August.

Marc Lifsher of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Table Saw Safety Bill Closer To Law

Legislation aimed at curbing table-saw accidents that often result in amputationssurvived a party-line vote in a state Senate committee.

The measure, approved 3 to 2 in the Senate Judiciary Committee, would make California the first state in the nation to require that table saws be equipped with “injury mitigation technology” to stop a blade quickly enough to avoid amputations and severe lacerations…

…The industry, led by the Power Tool Institute, a trade group in Cleveland, criticized the bill for attempting to create a monopoly for Gass’ company. Proponents have said that Gass’ invention has demonstrated that the technology is viable.

Williams said the proposal has been broadened so that many manufacturers could develop their own injury-avoidance devices.

The full article is available at www.latimes.com

If you live in California and have an opinion on this bill, be sure and contact your Senator. We have reported on this table saw safety bill in the past and feel that woodworkers should be able to make our own decisions regarding their safety. Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Turning Big Wooden Balls

Jeff Wilder — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 11:48:21 +0000

Keith Holamon is turning big wooden balls on a lathe he designed and made. This aspiring woodworker was making balls and they got bigger and bigger and the lathes he was using were not big enough so he made a piece of equipment to handle the size he wanted. On this truck mounted lathe he takes wood that no one wants such as stumps and turns them into beautiful artwork.

Turning A Big Wooden Ball

Big Wooden Ball Project from Mike Leuis on Vimeo.

His work is inspiring, here are some of the comments from around the web.

“Fantastic. Very inspiring even if I’ll never build a massive truck with a massive lathe hanging off of the back of it.”

” Really loved this. Makes my 6″ sphere jig seem puny.”

“There’s something captivating about Keith Holamon and his spending a fortune to create huge wooden balls.”

“I was surprised to see how beautiful the final products were. The process is so rough looking and yet the final pieces are really beautiful.”

I love the look of these wooden balls, the grain is simply amazing! While turning big wooden balls is not something everyone can do, with the right equipment anything is possible.

Bench Dog Router Table Review

Jeff Wilder — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 02:56:45 +0000

Bench Dog ProMaxRT 40-300 Router Table

Matt Vanderlist of Matt’s Basement Workshop and Gerry Barnaby got together on ToolSelect.com for a Bench Dog router table review. In the video posted below they discuss the top of the line model 40-300 Promax-RT cast iron router table which includes the fence and cabinet.

This router table has a cast iron top which comes in at nearly 100 lbs. The top measures a massive 32″ x 24″ and is 1-1/4″ thick and is ground to be flat withing .008″. The included cabinet is made from high grade Baltic birch ply. Also included is the Bench Dog 32″ ProFence along with a heavy duty router plate with options to fit a number of different routers.

Bench Dog Router Table Review

For more tool reviews go to ToolSELECT.com

While the price is not cheap Bench Dog has created a great value in the 40-300 Promax-RT cast iron router table/fence/cabinet combo. In addition I found the video review that Matt & Barnaby did was very informative. You can find out more about this Bench Dog router table package at Amazon.com.

Sketchup Is Leaving Google For Trimble

Jeff Wilder — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 13:50:02 +0000

It was announced yesterday that Sketchup is leaving Google for Trimble. The Search engine giant made the announcement on the official Google Sketchup blog.

Sketchup Is Leaving Google For Trimble

That’s why I’m sharing today that the SketchUp team and technology will be leaving Google to join Trimble. We’ll be better able to focus on our core communities: modelers who have been with us from the beginning, as well as future SketchUppers who have yet to discover our products. Designers, builders and makers of things have always been the heart and soul of SketchUp. With Trimble’s commitment to invest in our growth, we’ll be able to innovate and develop new features better than ever before.

For those of you in the architecture, engineering and construction industries, the knowledge and experience Trimble will add to the SketchUp effort are obvious. Together with our new colleagues at Trimble, we plan to continue making our tools for the building professions as innovative, intuitive and (dare I say) fun to use as we always have.

Click here to read the announcement on the Sketchup blog.

There has been mixed reaction to the announcement with comments ranging from “Should I be excited or worried now?” to “Such great news for Sketchup!” We will have to wait and see how Sketchup’s leaving Google for Trimble plays out.

Google SketchUp Guide DVD – Win A Copy

Jeff Wilder — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 13:51:33 +0000

Fine woodworking is giving a reader a change to win a copy of their latest Google SketchUp Guide DVD. all you need to do is post a comment on the post on their site.

Google SketchUp Guide DVD – Win A Copy

This is an instructional video specifically designed for woodworkers. In Google SketchUp Guide for Woodworkers – The Basics you’ll learn how to set up the program, draw projects and create plans. The DVD includes sample projects, tips, shortcuts, a cheat sheet and a bonus digital plan…

…Leave a comment on this post by 12:01am Eastern Time, Monday, April 30, 2012, and you might just win this DVD.

Click here to read the post.

I for one would like to learn more about sketchUp and this Google SketchUp Guide DVD may be a great way to start.