Tabla de contenidos para October 2023 en Woodworker's Journal

The only trouble with designing and working in wood is that it has the advantage — or disadvantage, however you look at it — of being beautiful in itself. It is not like metal. A piece of metal by itself is very cold and has to be hammered, shaped and polished before people even look at it. A piece of clay, which is really dirt, must be shaped, fired and glazed. But take a piece of wood — plane, sand and oil it, and you will find it is a beautiful thing. The more you do to it from then on, the more chance that you will make it worse. Therefore, working with a material of such natural beauty, I feel we have to design very quietly and use simple…

To celebrate the start of summer, woodworking and carpentry students from Simeon Career Academy in Chicago closed out the 2023 school year by building wooden Bluetooth speaker kits that were donated by Rockler Woodworking and Hardware. Rockler’s contribution of speaker kits and other tools to the Southside school support Simeon Academy’s carpentry program and inspire students to pursue careers or lifelong hobbies in carpentry and woodworking. “For many of us, shop class is where our woodworking skills begin and end, but our hope is that through donations like this, we can help young people continue to build on their skills and extend their love of the craft that so many people enjoy,” says Steve Singer, Rockler’s CEO. Inspiring Futures Simeon Academy carpentry students worked on the wooden speaker kits as…

Every now and then, it’s fun to turn convention on its ear! And that’s exactly what Senior Art Director Jeff Jacobson has done with this tall, wall-mounted dresser’s design. It includes top and bottom storage compartments behind doors and three drawers that ride on undermount slides. The dresser is only about 15" wide, so it might be perfect for a narrow wall space or small bedroom. But notice that its three unconventional legs are centered underneath, so the dresser must be mounted securely to a wall stud. It’s not one you can move around a room, but it’s surely bound to be a conversation piece! Building the Carcass Get this dresser project off to a fast start by breaking down a sheet of walnut-veneered plywood into two carcass side panels,…

Hand drills are essential tools for every woodshop. They can create just about any kind of hole, but they do have their limits. Drilling at exact angles, even at a simple 90 degrees, can be difficult, for example. They can only handle bits up to a certain size safely, and there are some bits — like the circle cutters you’ll see in a moment — that they simply should never be used with. That’s where the drill press comes in as the perfect complement to your handheld hole-maker. Perfect rightangle everyday drilling, large bits, repeatability for identical holes — you name it. That’s where a drill press excels. And combined with a few next-level techniques for those with a basic working knowledge of the machine, it’s easy to see just…

If you have a workshop dust problem, Rockler Woodworking and Hardware has a multitude of solutions for you, and that’s especially true when it comes to their new Dust Right Wall-Mount HEPA Cyclone Dust Collector (item BMX00007). Here’s why. Spin Doctoring With the addition of cyclone technology to their family of Dust Right collectors, Rockler has lifted performance to a new level. Cyclone collectors are sometimes called two-stage collectors. On standard or single-stage collectors, the sum total of the dust — from larger chips down to tiny dust particles — are all collected into a single bag or drum. Often when you replace the collection bag on those systems, you will get a big cloud of dust lofting into the air — it’s annoying and counterproductive. Another drawback to single-stage…

Finishing is a curious aspect of woodworking. A lovely finish is so important when it comes to how a project looks and is perceived, and a poor finish can really make a well-made project look bad. At the same time, finishing is not woodworking; it’s a mix of chemical science and good old elbow grease. Odie’s Oil is formulated to take the worry and guesswork out the finishing process. It is a single application, wipe-on hard wax product. A Dab will Do Ya Surface prep is key to most finishing tasks, and Odie’s Oil is no exception. Sanding the wood up to 180-grit is the minimum, but you can go as high as you’d like with this product. Clean the surface thoroughly, using a soft cloth and mineral spirits. The…

TIME FLOWS IN JUST ONE DIRECTION Over my 25 years of serving in various roles with Woodworker’s Journal, I have had to say farewell to many coworkers, and I seldom was happy about it. But Senior Art Director Jeff Jacobson was here on the job even before I was part of the team and has been an anchor of our publishing world throughout. He has apparently had enough of me now (and who could blame him?) and is retiring. Although he started out primarily as a designer and technical artist working on Rockler product instructions, when Ann Rockler Jackson decided to start a woodworking magazine (Today’s Woodworker), Jeff was there for issue #1, illustrating the projects, creating exploded view drawings and elevation details. Like most of us, Jeff finds it…

This simple wall cabinet marks the conclusion of our Woodworking Basics series. A new woodworker who has built the previous three projects and then completes this wall cabinet will have mastered sufficient skills to be considered a true woodworker. Of course, there is much more to learn, but a Rubicon has been crossed, and there is no looking back. You will notice similarities between this wall cabinet and the wall shelf from our last issue. There are still vertical sides and horizontal crosspieces, but they are joined with differing techniques here. Even so, this project is a true bit of cabinetry. It has a carcass and a door, plus some ornamental trim at the top. It’s all there. Square It Away The very first technique taught in this series was…

Over the 20+ years that I’ve been a staffer on this magazine, I’ve never had the occasion to use hickory for project lumber. So when the decision was made to make these minimalist nesting tables from one of America’s sturdiest lumbers, I was excited by the prospects of using it. Turns out, hickory is no more difficult to saw, plane, rout, glue or finish than any other native hardwood. If you’ve worked with ash or hard maple before, you’ll be right at home with hickory. Notice that the smallest table includes a drawer, which could be handy for storing TV remotes or other little stuff. You can include the drawer if you like or build the small table without it. Preparing Rough Parts Get these tables underway by jointing and…

Standard Twist Bit “Classic” all-purpose drill bit; spiral flutes clear waste. Best choice for metal. Sizes: Sets with 1/16" to 1/2" bits are typical. Brad Point (or Spur Point) Self-centering; wider spiral flutes clear waste easily. Produces ultraclean holes in wood. Sizes: 5/64" to 1"; 1/8" to 1/2" are most common. Spade Bit Self-centering, for large holes. Does not clear waste. Often makes ragged holes, so best used where hole is unseen. Sizes: 1/4" to 1½", and extra-long bits are common. Forstner Bit Cuts large, very smooth and clean holes; excellent for cutting mortises and dowel joinery. Sizes 1/4" to 3½". Hole Saw Multi-material use; excellent for larger holes in sheet stock or drywall. Central pilot bit keeps saw cutting around a single axis. Does not produce the cleanest holes.…

Installing knife hinges is not complicated in concept, but it needs to be precise in execution. For that reason, laying out the mortises you will create for the hinges is the most critical step, as well as sizing the door accurately. There are a few things to keep in mind. With a full-overlay situation like this one, you will want a slight space — a scant 1/16" — between the back face of the door and the front edges of the cabinet carcass to allow the door to swing freely. You achieve that by slightly offsetting the location of the hinge leaf in the door. First use a cutting gauge to scribe the long edges of the mortise and then a marking knife to cut the end of the mortise…

Only five of 45 guesses about Earl Slack’s mystery tool in our June issue weren’t spoton. Here are two of them. “(It’s) a pencil sharpener,” says Mark Svenkeson. Scott Kooima of Liberty Lake, Washington, adds, “The different size holes would be for the various sized pencils.” Sorry guys, not it! “Looks like a brace-powered threading tool,” Chip Armstrong believes. “(It) cuts threads in wooden dowels to make handles for any tool,” adds William Todd of Salt Lake City, Utah. Ray Pederson thinks so, too. Well, the brace-powered part is correct, and this tool does modify dowels — just not for threads. Actually, “it’s an auger dowel tenon cutter,” clarifies David Hollinger, Jim Beers, Randy Wolfe, Mike Paige of Salem, Massachusetts, Harley Fish, Jr., Sean Everett of Cypress, Texas, Carolyne Brush,…

After Dan Wellens sold his first table on Craigslist, things “kind of snowballed,” he says. The proprietor of Country Tables is now an HGTV cast member and a spokesperson for the International Woodworking Fair (IWF). In the past decade, Dan has built about 5,700 tables. At one point, he had four employees, but “I hated it. It just wasn’t fun anymore,” he says. Now, “It’s back to me and my CNC.” Although he started out making custom tables from demolished barnwood, Dan now considers himself a small manufacturer. “You cannot make custom furniture at a reasonable price and expect to thrive,” he says. “When you have a flat piece of 8/4 wood that’s 96" by 45" wide, your job’s halfway done. I can have the CNC running while I’m wide…