To the brotherhood of the annual ring: Greetings! Some like it slow growth… some like it old growth… some like it quarter-sawn… some prefer plain-sawn… and those in-between like it riff-sawn.
By a show of hands, how many of you, in times past, have entered your shop only to find that things were amiss? In my experience, I have found tools misplaced. Tools out-and-out missing. Machine set-ups askew. Foggy fractional thinking. Difficulty in seeing the big picture, etc. etc. etc… May I forward a hypothesis for your consideration: I believe this could only be the work of the paranormal. The perpetrator can be none other than the common Wood Gnome. A mythical creature, who lives to disrupt our production of furniture, cabinets, etc… A terrestrial-biological entity whose very presence is embroiled in controversy. His existence is on par with the Chupacabra and the Sasquatch. In fact, many scholars contend that the Wood Gnome is actually the illegitimate child of the former. So remember, the next time your chop saw is off by a degree or two, don’t believe it an accident. Lay the blame directly at the foot of the pernicious Wood Gnome, who lives and breathes chaos in the workshop.
P.S. My router table is still in its infancy. I purchased the plywood today and am planning to begin construction post-haste. I will keep you informed. Btw, please overlook the insidious ritual of the cliché. It is a necessary evil.
THE HACK
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Router Tables 101
Students (and mere pretenders), raise your hand if you have a router table. Those of you who do not must stay after class and write, “I need a router table,” 100 times on the blackboard.
Who would have thought that turning a router upside-down could produce such an elegant and wondersome tool???? I am currently the proud owner of two router tables: one gets heavy use and the other rarely sees the light of day. This is because it is mounted on my table saw, where the saw fence gets top billing. I am now contemplating a third. I can hear many of you asking, “Why three router tables?”
Excellent question. Let’s review: Many times during the fabrication of furniture parts, multiple set-ups are not only utilitarian, but also necessary. Just set it, and forget it.
May I strongly encourage you to build your router tables, rather than buy them. My reasoning comes from the fact that a router table is a lesson in cabinetry. My new design will incorporate eight drawers, using heavy duty full-extension drawer slides and inset drawer faces. Rough dimensions are 42 to 45” wide, 24” deep, and 37.5” tall. The router table bed will be approximately 46 to 48” wide, able to gracefully support long and bulky pieces of stock. A virtual aircraft carrier. Therefore, a project which will perform two functions: tons of storage, and miles of elegant routing. I am not saying bigger is better. It must obviously fit into your shop.
When the beast is finished, I will report back on functionality. And possibly post some photos. Remember: Quality trumps speed. Take your time. Do it right. Comprende?
Who would have thought that turning a router upside-down could produce such an elegant and wondersome tool???? I am currently the proud owner of two router tables: one gets heavy use and the other rarely sees the light of day. This is because it is mounted on my table saw, where the saw fence gets top billing. I am now contemplating a third. I can hear many of you asking, “Why three router tables?”
Excellent question. Let’s review: Many times during the fabrication of furniture parts, multiple set-ups are not only utilitarian, but also necessary. Just set it, and forget it.
May I strongly encourage you to build your router tables, rather than buy them. My reasoning comes from the fact that a router table is a lesson in cabinetry. My new design will incorporate eight drawers, using heavy duty full-extension drawer slides and inset drawer faces. Rough dimensions are 42 to 45” wide, 24” deep, and 37.5” tall. The router table bed will be approximately 46 to 48” wide, able to gracefully support long and bulky pieces of stock. A virtual aircraft carrier. Therefore, a project which will perform two functions: tons of storage, and miles of elegant routing. I am not saying bigger is better. It must obviously fit into your shop.
When the beast is finished, I will report back on functionality. And possibly post some photos. Remember: Quality trumps speed. Take your time. Do it right. Comprende?
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Musings of a Woodhack: Prologue
Greeting and salutations from one woodhack to the eternal brothers of arboreal particulate matter, aka wood dust. In order to form a more perfect communication, allow me to introduce myself:
I was born in Reno, Nevada at a very young age. I began driving nails as a toddler. Wanting to re-establish family ties, my family and I immigrated to Arkansas in 1964. I graduated high-school in 1974, Phydie Kumba Laurem. Bypassed higher education and joined "this man's navy," and learned the words to "Anchor's Away My Boys." I cry during Taps at military funerals.
After military service, I got married and embraced higher education. I crammed four years of college into six and graduated with a degree in education. I participated in the conception of two children; one of the female variety and one of the male, who were priority-mandated by my significant other (wife). From there, I embarked on a twenty-two year career in teaching biology. Many of the children were worthy of adoption; others, not so much.
I began woodworking, and out of the chaos a box was created. Later a lid was added, and presto-chango: Blanket-chest. All thanks to the lowly pine. Spurred on by initial success, I commenced the process of collecting tools and wood. Much to my wife's chagrin...
My most difficult project: Queen Anne Low-boy, featuring carved trifid feet and shell. Including drop finials. And of course, the requisite hand-cut dovetails.
My current claim to fame: Six pieces published in various woodworking periodicals.
Most recent contribution of humble creation: An audio cabinet, published in Fine Woodworking's Design Book 8: Contemporary Designs.
My most life-changing personal epiphany in furniture design: THE CRAFTSMAN PHILOSOPHY, an eye-opening recognition of the highest order. In my limited understanding, the Arts and Crafts lexicon includes Mission, Green & Green, F.L. Wright, Stickley, Roycroft, and assorted designers, too numerous to mention.
My future blogs will contain my experiences in tool choices (what works for me), jig/fixture construction, and building and designing Mission furniture, et al., all encapsulated with a subtle attempt at humor, to those so inclined. And with one caveat, everything I do is rife with the reality that my ability is definitely limited. Readers should remember that there is always more than one way to skin a cat. Then for a break in the normal fare, I may occasionally digress into stories of yore; which include regurgitations of quasi-historical half-truths, hyperbole, and bald-faced lies.
I was born in Reno, Nevada at a very young age. I began driving nails as a toddler. Wanting to re-establish family ties, my family and I immigrated to Arkansas in 1964. I graduated high-school in 1974, Phydie Kumba Laurem. Bypassed higher education and joined "this man's navy," and learned the words to "Anchor's Away My Boys." I cry during Taps at military funerals.
After military service, I got married and embraced higher education. I crammed four years of college into six and graduated with a degree in education. I participated in the conception of two children; one of the female variety and one of the male, who were priority-mandated by my significant other (wife). From there, I embarked on a twenty-two year career in teaching biology. Many of the children were worthy of adoption; others, not so much.
I began woodworking, and out of the chaos a box was created. Later a lid was added, and presto-chango: Blanket-chest. All thanks to the lowly pine. Spurred on by initial success, I commenced the process of collecting tools and wood. Much to my wife's chagrin...
My most difficult project: Queen Anne Low-boy, featuring carved trifid feet and shell. Including drop finials. And of course, the requisite hand-cut dovetails.
My current claim to fame: Six pieces published in various woodworking periodicals.
Most recent contribution of humble creation: An audio cabinet, published in Fine Woodworking's Design Book 8: Contemporary Designs.
My most life-changing personal epiphany in furniture design: THE CRAFTSMAN PHILOSOPHY, an eye-opening recognition of the highest order. In my limited understanding, the Arts and Crafts lexicon includes Mission, Green & Green, F.L. Wright, Stickley, Roycroft, and assorted designers, too numerous to mention.
My future blogs will contain my experiences in tool choices (what works for me), jig/fixture construction, and building and designing Mission furniture, et al., all encapsulated with a subtle attempt at humor, to those so inclined. And with one caveat, everything I do is rife with the reality that my ability is definitely limited. Readers should remember that there is always more than one way to skin a cat. Then for a break in the normal fare, I may occasionally digress into stories of yore; which include regurgitations of quasi-historical half-truths, hyperbole, and bald-faced lies.
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