Cherry Ridge Woodworks

Combining photography and woodworking

rmaxey — Thu, 06 May 2010 11:40:57 +0000

I’ve always had an interest in photography, but I would consider my skills at slightly less than amateurish. I had a lot of fun with my old Pentax SuperProgram 35mm camera. Load it up with some Fuji color film and it produced some great photos over the years. I haven’t quite saved up the funds for [...]

A little maintenance goes a long way

rmaxey — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 03:01:01 +0000

Every once in a while, something goes wrong with one of the machines in the shop. And it usually happens at the worst time…when you need that machine the most. In a previous post, I talked about routine maintenance on the table saw. This was the first time since I purchased it that I had taken [...]

Reconfiguring my router table

rmaxey — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 11:09:22 +0000

Back in 1982 I was a newlywed and setting up a shop in the basement of our first home. My income wasn’t all that great, so I was on a tight budget. At that point in time, I was a subscriber to Woodsmith magazine. In issues 20 and 22 of that year they published plans for [...]

Table saw tune-up

rmaxey — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 11:50:47 +0000

I spent about an hour last weekend going over my table saw and giving it its annual tune-up. Master Plate with Super Bar Tune up your table saw to the peak of perfection… Master Plate with Super Bar The first thing I did was use my shop vacuum to remove as much sawdust as I could from the cabinet [...]

Why I love my table saw

rmaxey — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 11:46:09 +0000

The only two table saws I have ever owned since I started working were Sears Craftsman contractor-style saws. They got the job done but not without a fair amount of frustration. The rip fences constantly needed tweaking to remain parallel to the blade. And the blade-raising and tilting mechanisms were pretty weak. They sometimes required [...]

Pay attention during assembly and glue-up

rmaxey — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 11:26:07 +0000

Titebond® Original Glue I’m in the middle of repairing an antique table. There’s nothing really broken, but most of the joints are loose. So I’m carefully prying apart the old doweled joints and removing the old glue, then reassembling the joint with Titebond wood glue. As is the case with most old furniture, someone had used [...]

Table saw injuries

rmaxey — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 11:23:46 +0000

There’s a study that was recently released in The Journal of Trauma, Injury, Infection and Critical Care. Here’s a summary of the findings: An estimated 565,670 table saw-related injuries were treated in US Emergency Departments from 1990 to 2007. Children (younger than 18 years) were more likely to be injured at school, whereas adults were more likely to [...]

The passing of a computer pioneer and woodworker

rmaxey — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 02:48:57 +0000

If you appreciate the history of woodworking, you know that computers and woodworking haven’t coexisted until recently. In a former career, I was a computer geek. I got paid to teach and consult with others about how to maximize their productivity with CAD (Computer-Aided Drafting/Design) applications, specifically AutoCAD. When I first learned CAD software back in [...]

Toothless saw blade prevents injury

rmaxey — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 05:01:40 +0000

A small startup company in Togul, Kyrgyzstan has caught the attention of several major tool manufacturers with a new product guaranteed to reduce or eliminate table saw and miter saw injuries. Vogelis Enterprises representative Nahgjhal Swarovjoskit has stated that they are in negotiations with several saw blade manufacturers to license the technology for their toothless [...]

Curves in red oak can lead to swearing

rmaxey — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 11:36:35 +0000

I’ll start with a confession. I don’t like red oak. I don’t like it mostly because it was so overused in the 70’s and 80’s I got sick of looking at it. I don’t mind actually working with it. But only if I’m making parts with straight edges. Once I start rounding corners and forming arcs, [...]