Modern Woodshop

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What’s that you’re saying about the hammer being a common carpentry tool? No way, man. I totally invented that.

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In this week’s episode we discuss the various options available for handheld power tool storage.

* I will also accept the pronunciation “routah.”

It’s amazing how quickly scrap wood and offcuts accumulate.  In order to keep some semblance of control and order in my shop, I came up with a simple two-stage process for managing and storing my scraps.

Stage 1 of my system starts at the table saw.  As you can see in the picture below, I have a large box that sits under the left extension wing on my saw.  This box is always empty at the start of a new project.  As I work on the project, all offcuts and scraps get thrown into this box.  I positioned this box next to my table saw because that is the tool that produces the majority of my offcuts; you could really put it anywhere in the shop.  In fact, it has long been a tradition in hand-tool shops to keep a barrel at the end of the workbench to catch shavings and scraps.  This is the exact same idea.

There are a couple of benefits to initially keeping all of my scraps from a particular project in one place.  First, it keeps the floor clean and eliminates tripping hazards.  But, most importantly, when I need a small piece of wood for the current project or a shim to level a board I am running on my planer sled, I always know where to look.  I am guaranteed to find scrap wood in that box that will match the color and grain pattern of the wood on my project.  This might sound like a minor point to you, but if you toss all your current cherry scraps in a common bin with the scraps from previous projects, trying to find a small piece of wood that matches up can be pretty frustrating.  The frustration level goes through the roof if you use the shop floor for “storing” your scraps.

When I finish a project, I clean out this bin.   Sizable scrap wood gets saved, everything else gets thrown out.

Stage 2 of my system is stored on my lumber rack.  In the pictures below, you can see that I have three green bins on the top shelf.  One bin holds softwood scraps, one bin holds hardwood scraps, and one bin holds plywood scraps.  The “keepers” that I clear out of the box at my table saw at the end of a project get sorted into these three bins.  Using three bins instead of one helps me to find the usable scraps quickly.

My two-stage system works for me, but it might not be right for everyone. It is important, however, that you come up with some sort of a system which meshes well with the way you work. Having a scrap management system will increase your efficiency and decrease your frustration. At the very least, it will be easier for you to find some good wood chips for smoking your barbecue.

It’s time!  The Lumberjocks Woodworking Awards for Summer 2008 are kicking off today. This year there are two categories:

(1)  One Man’s Junk. Find some junk, recycled wood, old hardware… anything… and turn it into something amazing and unique.

(2)  Serve It Up With Class. Design and build a serving tray with two different varieties of wood.

It’s a fun contest and there are some great prizes this year, so make sure you check it out!  All the rules and instructions are available on the official Lumberjocks page.  The deadline for entries is July, 31, 2008 at 3:00pm CDT.   Good luck!

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In this week’s episode we discuss the various options available for hand tool storage.

Ten bonus points will be awarded to those who can correctly identify how many times I say the word “lament.”

For quite a while now, I have been storing my hand tools in drawers. I really dislike this arrangement. When I need a tool, I end up rummaging through 3 drawers before I find it. Tools rattle around in the drawers, which can damage the cutting edges. And I can’t tell at a glance when something is missing.

I had a couple of hours of shop time this afternoon, so I decided to remedy my hand tool storage issues. This past winter, I rearranged by whole shop, and I created a wall that is (well, will be) dedicated to hand tools. My (soon-to-be) new workbench is up against this wall, and my intention has always been to build some sort of hand tool storage there. Well, here it is. I still need to devise a storage solution for my hand planes.

Clearly, this storage solution was inspired by Bob Lang’s article in the Autumn 2007 issue of Woodworking magazine. I had to tweak it quite a bit, however, since I am not installing it across a window. I built it out of some scrap maple and cherry that I had on my lumber rack and it only took me a couple of hours to make on a lazy Sunday afternoon. Both racks leave me with some room to grow.

The picture below gives you a better perspective. The 4×4 laying across the workbench base gives an approximation of the final height of the bench. Hopefully, I’ll get around to finishing that workbench sometime soon. I’ll probably build a simple shelving unit for my hand planes that I’ll mount to the wall to the right of these racks.

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Take some time to remember… really think… about how overwhelming woodworking seemed when you were brand new to the craft. I reflect on that a bit and offer some helpful tips to help brand new woodworkers get some traction in their new hobby. This week we’re also celebrating the arrival of the Festool Kapex to stores all over the US… hooray!

At one point in this episode, I mentioned that Rick’s new podcast is only available on iTunes… that’s not true. You can visit him at the Splintered Board Podcast.

I own a 6 inch jointer.  I will pause for a moment while all of you that own 8+ inch jointers laugh and mock me.

OK, now that we have that out of the way, let’s continue.  Because of my jointer’s limited capacity, jointing boards that are wider than 6 inches can be a problem.  Now, some people solve this problem by ripping the boards down to less than 6 inches, jointing them, and gluing them back together.  This method works, but I have two fundamental issues with it:

1. This sounds like a lot of work, and I am a very lazy.
2. It’s just a crime to rip down a beautiful board to meet the limitations of your power tools.

My jointer may be limited to 6″ wide boards, but my lunchbox planer can handle boards up to 13″ wide.  Putting your 13″ planer to work flattening boards is easier than you think… all you need is a simple jig called a planer sled.

If you listened to episode 21, you know about my preference for jigs that are built with scrap laying around the shop in 15 minutes or less.  Why?  See #1 above.  I’m proud to inform you that my planer sled meets both of these criteria.  Here’s a picture:

Pretty simple, huh?  It is essentially a scrap piece of melamine with a fence made from scrap cherry screwed to the end.  When constructing your sled, there are two things you need to watch out for.  First, make sure that the base of your sled is flat.  Notice there are no gaps when my sled is lying on a flat reference surface (my table saw):

And second, make sure that the screws you use to attach the fence to the sled are countersunk below the surface.  If they aren’t, you run the risk of damaging your planer knives if you accidentally nick them.  You could glue the fence down instead, but I like to have the option of replacing it with little effort.

So how do you use it?  Let’s walk through the process of flattening a board.  Here is the rough-sawn plank I am starting out with.  It’s a 4/4 cherry board about 8″ wide and approximately 8′ long.

I always start by cutting my furniture parts down to rough length.  It is much easier to work with these shorter boards than it is to muscle an 8′ long plank around the shop.

Laying one of the boards on my reference surface, you can see how out-of-flat it is.

Before putting this board on the sled and running it through the planer, you need to ensure that it will be absolutely stable.  Push down on each corner of the board and observe the result.  If the board moves up and down, then you need to shim it.  I use thin offcuts from my table saw that are usually laying in a pile on the floor.

At this point, the board is absolutely stable.  I can push down on any part of the board and it will not move.  I bend the shims upward to break off the excess (wear your safety glasses) and secure them to the board.  So how do you secure the shims to the board?  You could use hot glue or some other fancy-schmancy method, but in my shop, I use good old blue painter’s tape.

Once the shims are secured, flip the board back over and double check that it is still stable on your reference surface.  If everything looks good, it’s time to put that planer sled to work.  Put the board on the sled with the leading edge pushed up against the fence.  Needless to say, make sure the tape side is down.

At this point, you’re ready to go.  The flat bed of the sled acts as the reference surface for the planer knives when you run the board through the machine.  The knives cut a surface on the top of the board that is parallel to the flat bed of the planer sled.  The planer’s rollers pull the board tight against the sled’s fence, which ensures that the sled moves smoothly through the machine along with the board.  Here’s a picture of the board after it’s first pass through the planer.  The board was cupped, and you can see how the knives flattened the high spot down the center.

Keep running the board and sled through the planer.  Once the top side of the board is flat, you can take it off the sled, remove the shims and flip it over.  Now, use the flattened side of the board as the reference surface and run it through the planer to flatten the other side of the board.  Here’s the board after I’m done machining it flat and to it’s rough thickness.

I still prefer using my jointer to flatten one side of a board whenever possible, but when I end up with a board that is too wide, this method works well for me.  And it sure is nice to preserve the grain patterns of the wood.  Ripping the board in half and gluing it back up will never look this nice.

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If you’re looking for the quickest way to start a fight at the meeting of your local woodworking club, then this episode is for you. Today we’re surveying the most hotly debated topics in the woodworking world. And no… “tastes great” vs. “less filling” is not one of them.

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Are you cheap? Are you lazy? Me too. In today’s episode, I discuss how to use those attributes to your advantage when building jigs. Also, I discuss the new Oneida V-Systems cyclone and Fine Woodworking magazine.