Issue 194
Issue 194
Power to the – um, Woodshop!
Our long Northern winter is hanging on with the tenacity of a terrier worrying a bone. And as it happens, March here in Minnesota – although it is our last real snow month – can gather our heaviest snowfall amounts. For that reason, cabin fever can become epidemic, even as the days grow longer and the sun gets stronger. What is the solution to that odd annual mixture of anxiety and depression? While it may not be a universal panacea, for me, spending more time in the woodshop is just like medicine. So if you’re trying to find me in March, that is the first place I’d look. And this year (minus 14F when I got out of bed this morning), I am in need of a strong dose of medicine!
This eZine happens to be sponsored by Powermatic, a company whose tools have been shop companions of mine since my youth. I have a clear memory of surfacing what at the time seemed like miles of nasty-hard hickory lumber through my dad’s racing-striped 18″ Powermatic planer. That wood was so old and hard it felt like the whole shop – not to mention the planer – was going to shake apart as we surfaced it. But it just kept on going. It would have been great to have a spiral head cutter (see the Tool Preview column) on that woodshop workhorse, but that upgrade was years in the future. But I bet the Powermatic tools we feature in this eZine are cut from the same cloth. And they will just keep on going – be it March or May, whatever nasty hardwood you throw their way.
Rob Johnstone, Woodworker’s Journal
Q & A
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Scroll Saw Blade Adapter
I have a scroll saw which uses pin hook type blades. Where can I find an adapter to use plain blades?
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Getting Dried Glue Off Metal
What’s the best way to get the dried glue off the metal teeth or gears of clamps?
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Finding 10-Inch Blades
I am having a hard time finding 10-inch table saw blades at the home improvement stores.
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Clearance Between Joint Surfaces
How much clearance should there be between the mating surfaces of a joint? Is .002″ enough? Is .010″ too much?
Industry Interviews
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Powermatic PM 1200 AFS: Take a Deep Breath – of Clean Air
For Barry Schwaiger, the Director of the Powermatic Division of the WMH Tool Group, the issue of sawdust is all…
Feedback
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Pear Wood, Plywood, Plans and Nuts
A reader asked about the relative safety of plywood made overseas that had an odor problem, inspiring this comment.
Contributing Bloggers
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The Yankee Screwdriver
I haven’t met anybody, adult or child, woodworker or not, who doesn’t like a Yankee screwdriver.
What's In Store
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Router Ease Guide
The Router-Ease Guide is a double-fence guiding system that controls the cut of the router bit by providing fixed surfaces that the edge of the router’s 5/8″ sub-base rides along.
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Resource Digest
The Woodworking Careers section at the Woodworker’s Journal Resource Digest will allow you to build your hobby skills into your job search.
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DB10DL 10.8-volt Lithium-Ion Micro Driver Drill
Hitachi’s DB10DL Lithium-Ion Micro Driver Drill is lightweight and compact with 88 inch/pounds of turning torque and the power to drive 130 3″ screws with one battery charge.
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Big Wood Slabs
BigWoodSlabs.com is a new subsidiary of Rare Earth Hardwoods that offers exotic wood slabs and figured hardwoods.
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Powermatic’s Helical Heads: Planers and Jointers to Change Your Knife-Changing Options
The straight talk on planer knives, according to the folks at Powermatic, is that straight knives are soooo last century.
Tricks of the Trade
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Making a Moveable Vise
From time to time, even a woodworker will find a use for a machinist’s vise.
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Drilling Compound Angles
Drilling holes in my first Windsor chair seat, freehand, seemed a recipe for disaster so I adapted my drill press.
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Cleaning Glue-ups
I used to have trouble removing all traces of glue from inside corners.
Today's Woodworker
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Fraser Smith: So That’s What They Mean by Quilted Maple!
No doubt you are wondering why you are looking at pictures of quilts. Look again. That’s carved, dyed wood.
