Issue 70
Issue 70
Frozen Woodworking
We’ve had a secret here in Minnesota until just a couple of weeks ago. Winter had ignored us … and we were OK with that. Other people I chatted with across the country were shoveling out from under piles of snow and shivering through low temperatures. I listened with sympathy, but kept mum about our weirdly warm and dry winter here in the upper Midwest. I was afraid that I would jinx us, that the Nordic spirits would figure out that they had been far too kind. All of that was just silly superstition, apparently. Last night as I was walking to the store in -15° air temperature (yep, not wind-chill), after having shoveled a ton of snow in the last week or so, it all suddenly made sense to me why the volume of woodworking increases so much in the winter. Even if you make a crummy project, at least you can burn it to keep warm!
So, stay inside and keep on making sawdust. Take advantage of the season and build to your heart’s content. I suppose that spring is coming, but I’ll need to be convinced. It was only minus 8° this morning: things are just getting better and better!
– Rob Johnstone, Woodworker’s Journal
What's In Store
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Hitachi’s 10″ Laser Guided Sliding Miter Saw
This innovative Hitachi saw is so new, it caught even Rob Johnstone by surprise at the International Builder’s Show!
Q & A
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The Difference between Mineral Spirits and Paint Thinner
Our experts helps this reader figure out the best way to clean up some special antique wooden lamps.
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Leveling Router Insert
Leveling the insert on a home-made router table could potentially be tricky, but not when you’ve got Michael Dresdner and Jeff Jacobson helping out!
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Drifting While Ripping
These seasoned woodworkers help a novice with the old problem of drifting while ripping large pieces of stock on a table saw.
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Best Saw Blade for Melamine and Plywood
A well-informed woodworker looks to Michael Dresdner for advice on buying a circular saw blade for a specific project.
Feedback
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A Saucy Aussie
Reader’s write in to comment on Bosch tools, circuit breakers, workbench designs, and much more!
Industry Interviews
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Downdrafter: Clearing the Air on Dust Control
This hobbyist woodworker, frustrated by constant dust problems, took matters into his own hands and came up with quite an impressive dust control system.
Today's Woodworker
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Sandor Nagyszalanczy: Explaining the Practical and Presenting the Beautiful
Though he hated shop class in high school, Sandor Nagyszalanczy has become one of the most trusted woodworking writers in the country.