Thursday, August 19th, 2010
When I received the package containing the Back to Basics series, I had had a particularly rough day at work. I came home and found it on the kitchen table, and my wife giving me one of those “So, what did you buy for your shop now?” looks. I usually just have to say, these are books from Fox Chapel, and she understands. So that crisis was averted.
I was really excited, because I wasn’t expecting a new book, or books. I opened the package, pulled out the books and was overjoyed! Then a little bit of the mood of the day took over and I was saddened again. Just something about the cover art on the books made me think sarcastically ‘Boy, these are going to be joy to read. And I still have the Missing Shop Manual series to review.’
After looking over the covers of each book, I set them aside until late at night. After the kids were in bed I picked up Woodworker’s Guide to Wood and began leafing through it. Normally when I leaf through a book, I do just that. I look at the pictures, read a few captions, skip a few pages, jump to the index and see what I might have missed. Twenty minutes later, I found that I was reading more than leafing. I had read quite a bit of several pages and actually learned some things about wood that haven’t really been explained all that well in other texts and podcasts that I have learned from in the past.
I was surprised that this book had captured my attention so well. Pleasantly surprised. So much so that I decided to bring the Joinery book with me to work the next day. By lunchtime I had already experienced much the same delight with it.
As someone who really enjoys trying (and usually failing) to cut all kinds of joinery using hand tools and power tools, just for fun, I found this book to be a fresh look at joinery. While there are dovetails on the cover, the book doesn’t over emphasize the use, importance or play to the reputation that the various dovetail joints have garnered. What this book does do is fairly and accurately detail what joints are suitable for which applications, with which woods, and how to go about implementing them. Various tools are used for each joint, and the book doesn’t assume that you have every specialty tool possible for each joint. So, when necessary, jigs, and how to build and use them, are detailed also.
The next day I decided to continue this trend and bring the Setting Up Your Workshop book to work. I ended up getting so much out of it in so little time that I decided to rearrange my shop (1/2 of a 2-car garage) as it was depicted in the book.
I generally regard workbench and workshop books as pretty boring. I get enough advice about how to organize my shop from my wife and father-in-law. The last thing I voluntarily want to do is read about someone’s idea of how I should organize something that they have never seen. But, I was pleasantly surprised with this book, and plan on returning to it in the next couple of years as my shop evolves.
The Woodworking Machines book was next, and while I had already been through other books that gloss over the fine points of every machine you could possibly have in your shop, and probably act as a replacement for Ambien in the process… I was happy with the way this book shows how to setup each machine, describe the most common and best uses for each machine, how to tune and align them, and general maintenance. All-in-all, this one is staying in my shop so I don’t have to keep running inside and down to the basement where I keep my other woodworking books.
Other books in the Back to Basics series are Constructing Kitchen Cabinets, Fundamentals of Sharpening (available to Ship Dec 1st, 2010), Woodworker’s Guide to Carving (available to ship Sept 30th, 2010), and Woodworker’s Guide to Turning (available to ship January 1st, 2011).
It’s funny how these books struck such a chord with me. I was happy to actually read them instead of weeding information out of them. And you know what, that’s what it seems like I end up doing with most of my woodworking books these days. I feel like I need to set aside major chunks of time (because I’m a slow slow reader), just to get one little bit of information from them. With the Back to Basics series, everything you need to know is spelled out plain as day and ready for you in easy to read English.
Like I’ve tried to explain through 2 years of podcasting, I have learned, what I consider, to be a great deal about woodworking over the internet and by reading books. It’s great to see that these new books from Fox Chapel are not just regurgitating the same information that many podcasters, books and web sites continue to cover. These books are finding new ways to impart the same information, but supplement that with new ideas (at least to me), methods and non-mainstream information that may either be new to us all, or forgotten through the ages.
This sentiment doesn’t just end with the Back To Basics series. When I read the Joinery book this morning, I realized that this collection perfectly complements the Missing Shop Manual series, also published by Fox Chapel. The two collections even look similar. While the Missing Shop Manuals books are much smaller, they are all trade paperbacks with rounded outside corners and minimalist artwork on the cover. Both collections are full, and I mean full of charts, diagrams, drawings, and instructional illustrations.
And sturdy? Let me tell you about these… I usually ride around with a book or two in my laptop bag for about a week or two. By the time I take the books out, usually because I haven’t read them yet, they are mangled. I’ve done the same with the Missing Shop Manuals books, but they are still in great shape. The sturdy trade paperback covers have kept them mostly unmolested – except for a few dents on the covers from spiral notebooks.
Probably the most useful book of the Missing Shop Manuals series is an unassuming title Glue and Clamps. Seriously, this book is worth it’s weight… It solves the ever frustrating adage that you can never have enough clamps.
Well, it doesn’t solve it in that it supplies you with enchanted clamp racks that magically fill themselves, but it does show you how to improvise and build your own, new, clamps out of the clamps you already own. Specialty clamps, clamping jigs, frame clamps, carcass clamps, improvised vises, clamp extenders, you name it, it’s probably in there.
The Drill Press and Table Saw books are also extremely helpful, in that there are tons of simply made jigs documented that you could easily pay for down at the local (or not so local) woodworking store. They also go over the machines, and the different categories of each machine in pretty fine detail. Even that’s not too boring 
The lathe is still a small mystery to me, so I can’t really comment on that book right now, but it available also. So, you can imagine, if I’m as happy as this with the other books, then if you are really into turning, you might do well to pick up the Missing Shop Manual on the Lathe.
The final book in the Missing Shop Manual Series that I have, but haven’t mentioned is Circular Saws and Jig Saws. I don’t really have a comment about this book. I looked it over a few months ago, and it didn’t leave a lasting impression. That’s not to say it was terrible, it’s just that I wasn’t jumping around saying ‘I’ve got to get into the shop right now!’ I’d bet that if you do a fair amount of circ and jig saw work, this book might do you some good too.
I think what I like most about these collections, and I think Fox Chapel has hit on a veritable gold mine here, is that I like my information in personable – meaning, in plain English – relatively small chunks with examples that I can see, and accurately explained. I’m a hard sell when it comes to books. At least informational books. And I have to admit that I probably would not have even picked these unassuming books off of the bookstore shelf to thumb through, but that would be my loss. These are exactly the types of books that I have needed since I took up woodworking.
Though the Missing Shop Manuals can, and should, find a place in every woodworker’s shop library (I’ll be building a special bookshelf for mine inside the shop), I can see the immense value of having the Back to Basics collection in every new and intermediate woodworker’s shop. Some of the information may be a review, but there are definitely caches of knowledge in the books that most people haven’t seen before.
Tags: book review, Fox Chapel Publishing, Rick Waters, Tools, wood, Woodworking
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Wednesday, July 21st, 2010
Hey everyone! Here’s the trailer we’ve all been waiting for. Our great friend and supporter, Tommy MacDonald’s trailer for his new show with WGBH is here. This will be my first attempt at embedding a video from another source, so I’m not sure how well this will work, but please go here if it doesn’t.
Cheers!
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Thursday, May 27th, 2010
Link to the MP3 File
Well, it was my birthday this week, so that means it’s also Splintered Board’s birthday. If you’re not following me, the original Splintered Board podcast began at the end of May, in 2008. I was very new to woodworking and was eager to show everyone my progress. I wanted to join the ranks of the Toolmonger podcast – my first ‘manly’ podcast subscription, Tommy MacDonald’s Rough Cut Show – my first woodworking podcast subscription, Marc Spagnuolo’s The Wood Whisperer, and Matt Vanderlist’s Matt’s basement workshop.
The show didn’t really catch on too quickly, and I still don’t see the number of subscribers/downloads that The Sawdust Chronicles has… In the first few months I received a lot of mail that I regarded as ‘hate mail’. It was very critical – to this day I still believe the emails to have been pretty critical – but I believe that these critics had my best interests at heart. Through social networking online, I’ve actually ended up cultivated pretty nice relationships with some of these guys.
And that’s probably one of the most reinforced lessons that I’ve learned about the online woodworking community, and even some of those that are never, and probably will never be, online – it’s that they are generally just really nice people. Sure, there are bad eggs in every group of people you meet, but even in the woodworking arena, the bad eggs are still pretty good.
Now, I’ve been getting a few correspondences about Splintered Board succumbing to the phenomenon that is now known as ‘pod fade’ . Hopefully every time I released a new episode, after being silent for a while, squashed those rumors or concerns. It turns out that I’ve been unbearably busy. So busy, in fact, that I’ve been doing very little woodworking. And, a low turnout of woodworking means a low turnout of woodworking podcasts. Sorry about that, but that’s just what happens when life gets in the way.
Again, addressing pod fade. I mentioned, on Twitter I believe, a few months ago that I might turn Splintered Board into a blog, but continue doing The Sawdust Chronicles. Well, The Sawdust Chronicles is definitely not going anywhere – in fact there are some great new surprises coming soon. The blog thing is still up in the air, but I think, for the most part, the podcast – Splintered Board – will remain silent except for the necessary podcasts.
What does that mean??? Well, it means that I have handshake obligations with Fox Chapel Publishing to review books, Micro Jig and Total Saw Solutions to demonstrate and use their products, and of course I’ll be involved in Woodworkers Safety Week each May. Plus, I’ll be podcasting about each woodworking project I complete, as they are completed.
The vast majority of shows will be video episodes from now on. I hope that gets people excited, I know I love doing video shows… But that also means that the post production time is longer, the episodes are shorter, and the time between podcasts will remain extended (especially since my output has been very sporadic over the past 12 months).
Another change is that I’m not going to promise to do one project per season. I think that was ambitious of me, and doable too, but things just aren’t working out with that, so I’m just going to fall back on doing things as I’m able to get to them.
Projects I have in mind are going to include another iteration of the X-Leg table, a possible weekend commission project, a bent lamination coat hanger, and a stack lamination Pizza Pie table. So there will be plenty of material to podcast to you in the future.
What have I learned in two years of woodworking podcasting? It’s a pretty tall order to list everything that I’ve learned, but I’ll give you some topics in no specific order: Microphones, Audio/Video Editing, Lighting for Videos, Tool and Shop Safety, Sharpening, Hand Tool Use and Maintenance, Power Tool Use and Selection, Dust Collection, Shop Layout, Scavenging for Materials, Relational Dimensioning, a little about Finishing, Versatility of the Tools You Own, Bargain Tool Hunting, Furniture Design, Period Furniture History, Lathe Use, Scraper Importance, Inlaying, Wood Bending, Wood Grain, Wood Figure, and much, much more.
Tags: birthday, fox chapel, marc spagnuolo, Matt Vanderlist, Micro Jig, projects, Rick Waters, tables, Tommy MacDonald, toolmonger, Tools, total saw solutions, wood, Woodworking
Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »
Monday, May 10th, 2010
This 3rd annual Wood Workers Safety Week was organized for the community by the ubiquitous Marc ‘The Wood Whisperer’ Spagnuolo.
What I want to actually show you all today are the dangers of wearing baggy or loose clothing while operating a table saw. I realized that this would be a great subject while filming the next video that will come out later this week.
So, here we have a dummy with a single arm that should be a good representation of a left arm too close to the saw blade while wearing a baggy long-sleeved shirt. Yes I understand that the dummy is mostly positioned in front of the blade, but this could also happen with a right arm too. Just watch…
I’m showing the ‘naked’ dummy so you know how solid the structure is. A human would be constantly moving, while this dummy is solidly constructed and won’t move unless about 100 pounds of force push or pull it.
You might be able to make out that the cuff of the sleeve is already caught in a tooth of the blade. This is for our safety. If I were to pull the sleeve into an already spinning blade, the results would be very unpredictable. Here, we’ll start the blade with the shirt already caught in it.
Make him a little more human with a hat … and a face… And, let’s go.
OK, let’s look at what happened. In two frames of this film, the blade tore the cuff of the sleeve down into the saw. A third frame, and enough of the shirt was grabbed to lift off the zero clearance insert and destroy it. 4 more frames and the saw blade is so caught up with the shirt that it won’t turn anymore. So, that equates to 7 1/100ths of a second to destroy a shirt, a zero clearance insert, and possibly your arm.
Regardless of my initial observations, my zero clearance insert was not the only thing damaged. While removing the shirt from the blade I noticed the shirt shoulder had been ripped by the wooden arm’s sharp rear corners. I’ll show this later.
Let’s do another run with no insert.
This time, with no insert, the shirt was pulled in even further and almost completely around the blade. Let’s look at the aftermath.
A length of shirt about equal to my entire forearm was pulled down to where the dummy’s ‘hand’ was. Meaning, an entire forearm could have been damaged in this kind of an accident. I totally do not advise sawing without a zero clearance insert if this is the case. And, I think I’m making my next one out of hardwood instead of hardboard…
Joey, as my kids named the dummy, doesn’t look too happy here, huh?
Here’s that shot of the shirt ripped off the shoulder. And this was a pretty tough shirt to begin with…
Let’s gear up for a final test.
This time I moved the arm closer to the blade and stapled the shirt to the arm. I originally intended for the wooden arm to fall into the blade for the extra gore factor, so here I’m trying my hardest to get this to happen.
OK, looks like Joey’s ready…
OK, so no wooden arm or hand splinters flying, but still a good example of how fast an accident can ruin your day.
This split in the wood is not from the blade hitting it. The arm was made up of 2 3/8” strips of lyptus screwed together.
Here you can see that my once nice-looking shop shirt is trashed. And so is Joey…
I want to thank my kids for help with this demo and to my baby for napping long enough for us to set up and shoot it.
Stay tuned for my second video later this week.
Tags: Rick Waters, Safety, splintered board, Table saw, wood, woodwork, Woodworking
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Monday, April 26th, 2010
Guys and Gals of Woodworking,
Today I’m talking directly to you… Actually I’m typing. It would be silly if I were just talking to the computer and expecting this message to get to all of you.
Tommy MacDonald just sent a few of us a link to a survey that WGBH just released for his new show. They are looking for a title and want your opinion. Some of the questions seem redundant to me, but you get to leave comments at the end. So, go ahead and jump right over to the survey and share your thoughts.
The survey is here: http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22AJSFXA5MK
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »