Tabla de contenidos para June 2020 en Woodworker's Journal

For more than two decades, Harvey Industries has operated as an OEM manufacturer of industrial-quality woodworking machines that have been marketed under many of the best-known brand names. Then a couple of years ago, the company began to offer machinery to the U.S. market under its own label, including Harvey GYRO dust extractors, the Turbo T40 lathe and more recently a full-size T60 lathe. Now, Harvey has added a new Ambassador series of woodworking machines to its inventory too. The company has unveiled this new line with three Ambassador machines: a 10" Table Saw with a 2hp motor and 30" of rip fence capacity (model C200-30; $969), a 10" Table Saw with 3hp motor and either 30" or 50" rip fence options (model C300-30, $1,399; model C300-50, $1,499) and a…

The more functional a shop project is, the better I like it. So when I designed this mobile stand for my mini lathe, “fancy” took a back seat to utility. It’s built from common 2x and 1x construction lumber to keep costs down. I splayed the legs to give it a sure stance. Large casters make it easy to move the lathe from a corner of my garage shop out into the open when I want to use it, and sand poured inside the bottom box provides enough ballast to dampen any vibration and keep the lathe stationary, even without the casters locked. If you don’t have a lathe, this stand could be a great place to park other tools, like a small band saw, drill press or benchtop sander.…

Drill/drivers have become a staple woodworking tool, and with advances in cordless technology you’d be hard pressed to find a shop without at least one. They’re workhorses, but their power is directly related to motor size. Impact drivers, by comparison, do most of the same tasks but with effective power and torque far greater than a regular drill/driver. That means that a smaller tool can handle a bigger job. Impact drivers have been in the shop since they appeared in the marketplace, but because of their immense potential torque, they weren’t suitable for delicate work. But with improvements to internal electronics and cordless batteries — plus the advent of brushless technology — modern impacters offer far more control than before. With it now possible to fine-tune torque and its applications,…

Many of today’s full-size lathes sell for well over $2,000, which can be a hard price to swallow for their increased capacity. And while buying a mini lathe doesn’t break the bank, its bowl- and spindle-turning capacities can eventually become limiting. Laguna’s new REVO 15|24 Lathe is the company’s answer to a midsized alternative that’s more affordably priced than a “big daddy” lathe while not skimping on capacity or features. Tucked between the REVO 12|16 and popular 18|36 models, the new 15|24 offers 15½" of swing over bed (113 ⁄ 32" over banjo) and a 24" span between centers. A polished-steel bed and cast-iron head- and tailstock will help to dampen vibration when you’re spinning an out-of-round bowl or a heavy spindle blank. So will a pair of cast-iron skirts…

If applying a finish well generally feels like your greatest foible as a woodworker, there’s no easier or more fool-proof option than “wipe-on” finishes. Whether it’s Watco® Danish Oil or one of many other premixed products advertised as wipeon or “one-step” finishes, most are blended formulations of a solvent such as mineral spirits, varnish and a drying oil (boiled linseed or tung oil are common). Wipe-on finishes work better on close-grained hardwoods such as cherry, maple and birch, where open pores won’t cause excess finish to pool and then drain out. For open-pored woods like ash or oak, just re-check surfaces periodically and wipe away any residual finish you find. The crucial first step in applying a wipe-on finish is to sand all surfaces of your project thoroughly, working up…

FROM NEW ENGLAND TO JUST ENGLAND As you now know, we added to our substantial list of Adirondack chairs last issue with a modern version of the New England classic. I have previously discussed how we get mixed reviews of Adirondack chairs, with very strong feelings pro and con. One segment of the “con” argument is that the woodworking skills required to build such a chair are rudimentary. To some degree that is a fair assessment. So with that in mind, in this issue we have brought back an outdoor seating project that is definitely not rudimentary. Our English Garden Bench, reprised from the archives, is a lovely piece of outdoor furniture that will give your whole shop a workout. Its curved lines and large scale are right out of…

Hand planes are iconic, traditional woodworking tools. They are a marvel of engineering and perform a multitude of woodworking tasks. Still, many woodworkers don’t use them regularly. We wanted to learn why: Do you regularly use hand planes? Yes: 24% No: 39% Occasionally: 37% What reason most accurately describes why you don’t use hand planes more often? I’m not interested in using them: 4.07% I’ve experienced poor results with them in the past: 3.76% I’ve never learned how to use them well: 35.07% Sharpening the irons is an obstacle: 7.41% I get good woodworking results without using them: 26.93% Not applicable; I use hand planes regularly: 22.76% If you own a hand plane, approximately how many do you own? I don’t own hand planes: 6.11% 1 to 3: 47.05% 4…

More than 65 years ago in a North Minneapolis storefront, Norton “Nordy” Rockler started a small company that mostly sold plywood. From that humble beginning, Rockler Woodworking and Hardware began a long and successful march forward. Last February, those of us who work for Rockler Companies celebrated Nordy’s 98th birthday with a party at Rockler’s home office and distribution center in Medina, Minnesota. Nordy came into the world on the auspicious date of 2/22/22 and has not looked back. We also celebrated Rockler’s 65th corporate anniversary. Forward Thinking In addition to offering plywood, Nordy started supporting the nascent world of “do-it-yourself” homeowners with hard-to-find hardware and quality tools that people in the trades could access but that regular folks mostly could not. As the home-shop woodworker became more and more…

With standard driver bits (left in photo), the stress is generally constant through a task — from beginning to end there’s one strong but typically unvarying amount of torque applied. For this reason, these bits are made of a steel formulation that is very strong but not particularly ductile. But for impact bits (right in photo), the stress isn’t a single, sustained torque applied to the bit for the length of a driving task. Instead, an impact driver delivers hundreds or even thousands of high-torque individual impacts, in addition to the general rotational torque, for each driving task. That’s why the steel used in impact bits is more ductile than what you find in standard bits, giving it the ability to flex slightly. As a result, the steel better withstands…

Raised Panel Doors • Stiles and rails joined with a modified bridal joint• Stiles run the length of the door• Full raised panel with edges beveled to engage grooves inside the frame As the saying goes, there are three unavoidable things in life: death, taxes and wood movement. And the irresistible force of wood movement is exactly why the frame-and-panel technique for solid wood construction was invented hundreds of years ago. Before that, large panels of wood were mostly edge glued (but not always) and likely had long strips of metal across their face to try to keep them together and from distorting. If a frame was attached around a panel, that panel was always more powerful than its constraints. Then some brainy person figured out the predictability of wood’s…

Step-by-step instructions: 1. Sand the project up through 220-grit. Don’t skip grits. It is a good idea to sand pieces that will be hard to reach before assembly.2. Wipe the project with mineral spirits to check for glue splotches. Sand them away as needed.3. Flood on the first coat of finish, and scrub it gently into the wood. After 20 minutes or so, wipe off all excess finish. Be sure to flatten oily rags and allow them to dry thoroughly before disposal, to prevent spontaneous combustion.4. Fill nail holes with wood putty that matches the wood’s finished color. Sand it smooth.5. Reapply successive coats of finish as desired; four or more coats is advisable.6. Optional: After 72 hours, apply paste wax. Let it dry to a haze, and buff the…

Congratulations Rockler! I’m 92 years old and have been a woodworker in one way or another since I founded Gold Star recording studios in 1950. It was necessary for me to build cabinets for some of the recording equipment. Gold Star became an important part of the music industry between 1950 and 1984. I still have a complete woodworking shop and am very active. I’m also a loyal customer of Rockler and a long-time reader of Woodworkers Journal. I commend Ann Rockler Jackson for carrying on the business that her father started. Happy 65th anniversary!David S. Gold via Internet New Use for Nine Irons I’ve been collecting old golf clubs in my garage for the past 40 years, and I now have an answer to my wife’s “why” question. My…

Although the name Wharton Esherick is nearly synonymous with wood, he used a wide array of materials across his career. In fact, his first forays into wood took place while he was primarily a painter — Esherick created patterned frames to complement his paintings. Wood in conversation with aluminum, stone, fiber and paper can all be found in Esherick’s diverse repertoire. For its 27th year of the Wharton Esherick Museum’s annual juried woodworking exhibition, you are invited to share innovative works of art, craft and design that showcase wood and at least one other medium. Whether functional or sculptural, each submission should reflect the way Esherick worked across the vast spectrum of materials and practices as well as his outside-the-box thinking. Under the theme of “Wood … and,” how might…

While there’s no argument that impact drivers can be loud, in recent years a new type of impact driver promises quieter operation, with a bit less vibration to boot. Hydraulic or “oil-pulse” impact drivers work on the same principle as standard drivers, in that a hammer strikes an anvil to supply torque, but the mechanism has been changed. Instead of a strictly mechanical drive, hydraulic fluid is compressed to create a series of pulses that drive the hammer/anvil. With less metal-on-metal banging, sound levels and tool vibration drop appreciably. Brushless motors are also fairly standard with these (all but the RYOBI shown here have them). Brushless motors create almost no friction during use, which reduces heat and motor stress and helps to increase runtime and overall battery life. And, of…

Uses: Furniture and case goods, veneer, gunstocks, mantels, plaques, knobs, pulls and other turnings Hardness: Soft to medium density; dents easily Country of Origin: Eastern North America Workability: Coarse and generally straight-grained, walnut works easily with hand and power tools. The lumber seasons reasonably well but can check if dried too quickly. Kiln-drying can affect color. Finishing: Dyes and stains can remedy gray or purplish cast. Oils and clear film finishes accentuate grain and figure. Polishes to a beautiful shine. Cost: Expensive, compared to cherry, oak, maple and other domestic furniture-grade hardwoods.…