WoodworkersResource

How to Mill Lumber Four Square

contactus@woodworkersresource.com (Craig Stevens) — Wed, 06 May 2009 22:15:08 +0000

One of the foundations of furniture making is starting with lumber that is four square, meaning that all four sides are square (90 degrees) to each other. Preparing rough cut lumber is critical when building any project because it will effect how joints come together, how doors will hang, etc. There are eight steps to getting lumber to four square: Step 1: Cross cut material to rough length Step 2: Rip material to rough width Step 3: Flatten one face flat Step 4: Square on edge to the newly flatten face Step 5: Plane the second face parallel to the first Step 6: Rip to finished width Step 7: Square one end Step 8: Cut the other end to the finished length The video goes into detail on way to complete each of these steps so you can work with lumber that's straight and true. Craig

Building a Book Holder

contactus@woodworkersresource.com (Craig Stevens) — Mon, 04 May 2009 13:14:02 +0000

(Here's a video of a project for kids to build.) In this video, we build a simple but very useful project, a book holder. When this video was shot Mother's Day was fast approaching and I needed to come up with a project that kids could make for their Moms. I think you'll see while watching the video that a book holder is really a great project for Mom or anyone that gets frustrated from constantly holding a book open because the pages are always trying to flip closed. We have recently branched off our Kids section into it's own website. You can find our "Kids Only" woodworking site at: www.WoodshopforKids.com And as always, if you're looking for woodworking geared more for adults, check out our website at: www.WoodworkersResource.com Thanks for watching! Craig

Bench Hook Jig

contactus@woodworkersresource.com (Craig Stevens) — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 13:23:31 +0000

If you own a back saw or a Japanese saw and you want a fast and accurate way of cutting stock to length without leaving your bench, then you need to build this jig.

It's deceptively simply in it's design, but don't let that fool you.

This jig can do much more than make square cuts. Watch the video to find out even more useful ways to put this jig to work.

And after watching the video, go to our website and leave your comments on other ways to use the bench hook jig.

www.WoodworkersResource.com

Craig Stevens

P.S. Check out our new kids site at:

www.WoodshopforKids.com

Sharpening Card Scrapers Part II

contactus@woodworkersresource.com (Craig Stevens) — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 02:59:03 +0000

(Sharpening Card Scrapers Part II)

This is video taken from the Woodworking in America Conference 2008. Chris Schwarz of Popular Woodworking, covers his research into the many different ways to sharpen a card scraper and discusses what he found to be important (and those things that didn't seem to make a difference).

Topics Covered:

Why tear-out happens

What to do to prevent it

Why card scrapers are great at removing tear out

Filing the edges

Using shapening stones to polish the edges

Burnishing the edges

and much more...

For more videos from WIA, visit our website at:

www.WoodworkersResource.com

Thanks for watching!

Craig Stevens

Sharpening Card Scrapers

contactus@woodworkersresource.com (Craig Stevens) — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 23:50:04 +0000

Topics Covered:

Why tear-out happens

What to do to prevent it

Why card scrapers are great at removing tear out

Filing the edges

Using shapening stones to polish the edges

Burnishing the edges

and much more...

This is a split into two parts. Part II can be found by going to...

www.WoodworkersResource.com

Thanks for watching!

Craig Stevens

Dovetailing: Pins vs. Tails Part III

contactus@woodworkersresource.com (Craig Stevens) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 21:30:43 +0000

This is part III of our series on Dovetailing: Pins vs. Tails. This footage was taken at the Woodworking in America Conference 2008. Frank Klausz and Roy Underhill discuss:

Different hand saws for cutting dovetails

Cutting half-blind dovetalis for drawers

Cutting mitered dovetails by hand

Using alcohol powered tools (Don't try this at home!)

Frank puts on a sharpening clinic for chisels

This is the last segment of the dovetailing workshop. For more videos from the Woodworking in America Conference 2008 go to our website at:

www.WoodworkersResource.com

Thanks for watching!

Craig Stevens

Dovetailing: Pins vs. Tails Part II

contactus@woodworkersresource.com (Craig Stevens) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 18:22:22 +0000

This is Part II of Dovetailing: Pins vs. Tails that we shot at the Woodworking in America Conference 2008. In this episode Frank Klausz and Roy Underhill discuss:

Which Type of glue works best for dovetails

Roy shows how to drill a square hole with a forgotten tool

How to incorporate moulding with dovetails

Orienting tails and pins in different furniture

Making dovetails to your taste instead of measuring

Part III of Dovetailing: Pins vs. Tails can be found on our website as well as other video taken from the Woodworking in America Conference 2008.

www.WoodworkersResource.com

Thanks for watching!

Craig Stevens

Dovetailing: Pins vs. Tails Part I

contactus@woodworkersresource.com (Craig Stevens) — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 05:09:54 +0000

This is video taken at the Woodworking in America Conference in Berea, KY. The class was titled: Dovetailing: Pin vs. Tails and was taught by Roy Underhill and Frank Klausz.
This was a great class to be apart of. Roy Underhill was absolutely hilarious! Who knew?

And if you're new to hand-cut dovetails or if you're undecided as to which should come first, pins or tails, then this video is for you.

Just as a teaser, Frank is a firm belever in pins first, Roy a firm believer in tails first. It definitely made for an interesting class!

You'll have to watch to see who wins!

To see parts II & III, go to our website:

www.WoodworkersResource.com

Thanks for watching,

Craig Stevens

Brian Boggs at the Woodworking in America Conference 2008: Chair Design

contactus@woodworkersresource.com (Craig Stevens) — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 15:03:08 +0000

Brian Boggs is a rare breed of woodworker. He not only is a world renowned chair maker, but he also is a great teacher and communicator. Those two qualities often times don't mix.

This video was taken at the Woodworking in America Conference in Berea, KY. The event was sponsored by Popular Woodworking and Woodworking Magazine. A special thanks to all the staff for allowing me to take video at this year's event.

Brian talks about:

* How he got started building chairs

* How he designs chairs

* Different joints in chair making

* Grain orientation

* Gluing up chairs

* Designing to fit the human body

* Proper angles

* and much more

For more videos and interviews from the 2008 Woodworking in America Conference, go to our website:

www.WoodworkersResource.com

Thanks for watching!

Craig Stevens

Interview with Joel Moskowitz

contactus@woodworkersresource.com (Craig Stevens) — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 22:52:21 +0000

Joel Moskowitz is the owner of Gramercy Tools, makers of premium hand tools such as handsaws, brushes, holdfasts, and much more. He also runs a successful retail business in Brooklyn, NY under the name Tools for Working Wood. However, Joel's first business in the woodworking world came as a virtual woodworking museum called what else but Museum of Woodworking Tools. This site has an incredible amount of information on woodworking tools, and just like any museum, the "displays" are constantly changing.

In our interview we discuss:

Joel's interest in the history of tools.

His first job out of college designing tools for Black & Decker.

How the Museum of Woodworking Tools was developed simply as a demo for another job.

Popular Woodworking Magazine has picked several of Gramercy Tool's as "Best New Tools" for the year including their Crosscut Carcase saw as a 2008 winner

Joel's collection of woodworking books and catalogs (one the best in the world)!

What Joel sees happening in the hand tool market in the next 10 years.

We'd love to hear back from you. Leave your questions or comments here.

(I just got back from the Woodworking in America Conference in Berea, KY where Gramercy Tools had a booth. I ordered a pair of their holdfast and can't wait to get them. Chris Schwarz says for the money these are the best holdfast out there. I let you know more when a get mine.)

Interview with Dave Jeske

contactus@woodworkersresource.com (Craig Stevens) — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 22:12:27 +0000

Blue Spruce Toolworks was started in 2002 by Dave Jeske. In that short amount of time, Dave has made quite a name for his company, and more importantly, for the tools that he makes.

The first tool that Dave made was a marking knife. This knife is designed specifically for smaller scale precision joinery. This little marking knife was bought by Christopher Schwarz and is now one of his favorite tools. To me, that's high praise. Then in the May/June issue of Fine Woodworking Magazine, the Blue Spruce marking knife was vote "Best Overall" in a line up of 15 other marking knives.

Dave has also expanded his line of tools to include mallets, awls, dovetail chisels, and more.

In our interview with Dave you'll get to hear:

How Dave's background in engineering and specifically working with metal helped launch his new career.

Why Dave chose a marking knife as his first tool to produce.

What lead him to give up his engineering job to become a full-time tool maker.

What keeps him motivated to put in the long hours needed to run a successful business (other than his mortgage!)

Insight into what it's like to strike out on your own: Things he expected and some things that he didn't.

Dave also talks about a new tool line that he's working on. He's tight lipped about it during the interview, but he hopes to unveil it at this year's Woodworking in America Conference. When I learn about it, you'll be the first to know. Stay tuned!

(Just found out at the Woodworking in America Conference that Dave's new tool line is a set of Bench Chisels. These are just as beautiful as his dovetail chisels with a much thicker blade to withstand the abuse of mallet work.)

We'd love to hear from you. Leave any questions or comments about our interview with Dave here.

Craig

Cast Iron Router Table

contactus@woodworkersresource.com (Craig Stevens) — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 21:37:22 +0000

I love going to as many woodworking shows as I can throughout the year. You get to see the latest and greatest from the "big names" which is fun, but the booths I like the best are the small one product companies and the local retail stores.

One such retail store that I can almost always count on having a booth at shows, in and around the southeast, is Peachtree Woodworking Supply.

One of the things that I like best about Peachtree Woodworking, is that they carry all the tools and equipment that you would expect, but they carry many items that the "big guys" don't.

We recently did a video review of one of those products. A solid cast iron router table top.

The video goes through my experience of installing the router table top as a side extension to my table saw. The video covers most things, but there were a few things that I omitted to save time. To be able to better cover the review, I wrote an article to go with this video review. You can find the write-up here.

And as always, for more information on woodworking, go to our website:

www.WoodworkersResource.com

Craig Stevens