This was the gauntlet thrown down in a new contest, open to all makers, by the creators of The Modern Maker Podcast: Mike Montgomery, Chris Salamone and Ben Uyeda. The trio approached Rockler, who is sponsoring the contest with prize awards. Dubbed #RocklerPlywoodChallenge, the contest has been running since May 1. It closes in just 10 days on Thursday, May 31, at 11:59 p.m., PST.

“In the past, we’ve hosted various contests encouraging woodworkers to share their projects with us. It’s always fun to see what our customers are creating in their shops, says Nathan Ensminger, marketing manager at Rockler. “The guys over at The Modern Maker Podcast were really the inspiration. They proposed the concept seeking our support, and it was an easy decision to get onboard.”

Ensminger says part of the draw for Rockler to offer sponsorship was the simplicity of the rules: just build anything you can dream up with one sheet of plywood. The thickness and type of plywood doesn’t matter, only its quantity: 32 square feet. “The open-endedness of the rules makes #RocklerPlywoodChallenge accessible to a wide variety of skill sets and promotes creativity.”

The contest also is also helping Rockler reach out to a wider audience, featuring a blend of both modern and traditional perspectives on woodworking, Ensminger adds.

Aside from coming up with a cool project design, the second requirement of the #RocklerPlywoodChallenge is to share your progress and final results by posting photos or videos on Instagram using #RocklerPlywoodChallenge. Community support and feedback is a tangible benefit of getting involved: posting your project is sure to garner kudos — and even some advice if you want it — from fellow woodworkers and makers in the online community.

“It’s also a great opportunity to build your YouTube audience,” Ensminger says.

When the contest closes next week, The Modern Maker Podcast hosts will serve as judges. They’ll announce three winners on June 7, during a new episode of the podcast, then follow up via Instagram with those contestants.

“The guys at The Modern Maker Podcast are talented makers themselves, so it only seems fitting for them to select the winners … I actually feel fortunate that I’m not the judge, as there are too many impressive entries to note,” Ensminger says.

As of last week, nearly 600 posts to #RocklerPlywoodChallenge had been made on Instagram, and scrolling through the images and videos reveals an impressive variety of projects and process. A wide range of furniture is being made — chairs, tables, desks, beds and storage units, plus other objects such as vases, a guitar and artistic objects. In the process of those builds, many creative techniques are being shared, including explorations in power carving and sculpture, woodturning, LED lighting, elaborate laminations and intricate or whimsical articulation. Some makers are turning to CAD drawings and CNC routing to help them, while others are using only basic hand and power tools and pencil sketches to bring their project designs to life.

With only 10 days left and the clock ticking, you might wonder if all projects must be “new” to be eligible for entry. Ensminger says, no: “All entries to #RocklerPlywoodChallenge are welcome, provided the project was created by the person posting and was made from one sheet of plywood or less.”

Aside from bragging rights and plenty of social media exposure, winners are vying for the following three prizes: first place is a $500 Rockler gift card; second place is a Rockler Miter Fold Dado Set; and the third-place winner will receive a Rockler Material Mate Panel Cart and Shop Stand. More than $1,000 worth of prizes are at stake.

But, of course, you can’t score a prize if you don’t grab a sheet of your favorite plywood and get in the game.

“It’s not too late to enter!” Ensminger says. “If you have a handful of tools and some creativity, you can make something that others will appreciate seeing. Share it with the community for a chance to win!”

The post One Sheet of Plywood Contest: Still Time to Enter! appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

Chris Marshall: You’re right, Rich – the amp/hour (Ah) rating on a tool battery doesn’t tell you in “real time” how long it will power a tool before it needs recharging, but the number does give you a quick idea of how much capacity it has. In practical terms, the more amp/hours a battery has, the more run time it offers the tool. So, a 4.0Ah battery will run at least twice as long as a 2.0Ah battery of the same voltage before it needs to be charged up again. That’s pretty useful information to know if you’re driving a zillion screws or running a power-hungry tool, like a cordless miter saw or an angle grinder. But, the battery’s age, charging efficiency and the manner in which you are using the tool all factor into how long the charge will last.

Tim Inman: An “amp/hour” is exactly what the name says. One amp(ere) of electric current – which is a measure of the amount of electricity – can be supplied for one hour. Voltage measures the pressure of the electricity, similar to water pressure in a pipe. Think about the amp as the gallons of water in the pipe. For you, it is a way to tell you how long a battery will last before it needs recharging. Other variables impact this, so it isn’t always exactly the same comparing one tool to the next. It is a good gauge, though, and can help you to know whether one tool battery can last longer than another. The voltage the tool requires, the resistance or efficiency of the motor, the operating temperature and other things all impact tool load and draw. An 18-volt tool with a 1.0Ah battery would last longer between charges than an 18-volt tool with a .5 Ah battery, for instance.

The post What Do Amp/hours Really Tell Me? appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

– Bill Fields
Marcy, New York

The post Magnets Serve as Helpful Lathe Speed Setting Reminders appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

– Charles Mak
Calgary, Alberta

The post Crosscut Sled Dust Shroud appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

The Festool DOMINO DF 500 connectors make flat or corner joints in 3/4-in. material, providing simple and quick assembly without the need for templates or complex measuring. Here’s how it works: the DOMINO Joiner is used to form an oblong pocket in one or both mating workpieces. Then, depending on the joint, a custom drilling template fits into the pocket to register for drilling a hole that accepts a mating component for the connector. Once all of the slots and holes for a joint are cut, the connector components install in the workpieces and fasten the project together with a single hex driver.

Festool says its DOMINO DF 500 connectors are:

• Fast — Quick and simple machining processes with the DOMINO Joiner provide the basis for smooth and rapid assembly and disassembly of furniture and panel pieces.

• Stable — Based on the DOMINO mortise-and-tenon principle, joints made with the DOMINO Joiner benefit from the design of the oblong mortise and mating tenon. The knockdown metal fastener is robust with high connection strength.

• Flexible — Connect frames, panels, tops and other joints and pieces, then easily disconnect and reconstruct them as needed. This makes it possible to build larger projects in the shop, disassemble them for transport and then easily reassemble them on-site.

DF 500 connectors are engineered in two styles for making corner joints and two styles for center panel joints. The corner connectors sell for $90 (item 203168) or $110 (item 203166), depending on the style, for assembling 50 corner joints. The center panel connector options sell for $70 (item 203169) or $80 (item 203167) and include enough components for making 25 joints. Festool’s Drilling Template with dust collection port (item 203164) costs $78, and the Hinge Location Cutter (item 203165) — a specialized drill bit required for the Drilling Template — sells for $57. Four colors of plastic cover caps in brown, silver, white and grey (packs of 50 sell for $8 or $14, depending on color) are also available for hiding the exposed, drilled portion of the joint.

If you’re undecided about what you’ll need, you can opt for a combination kit (item 203170; $375) that includes an assortment of the corner and center panel connectors plus the drilling template, hinge location cutter, cover caps in various colors, a quantity of 8×36 Domino tenons and the hex driver. All of the components are packaged in a Systainer storage box.

“The new DOMINO connectors make knock-down joinery simple and stable,” says Leo Zirkler, vice president of marketing at Festool. “Now custom furniture makers and casework builders can break through the limits of shop-built pieces and on-site construction with the use of knock-down hardware.”

Learn more about Festool’s DF 500 Q connectors by clicking here.

The post Festool DOMINO DF 500 Connectors appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.