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28 Ways to Recycle and Reuse Sawdust and Woodchips
2008-06-02 18:48:00
Being a thrifty fella, this thread over at Woodnet caught my attention: Where do you get rid of chips/sawdust? I used this thread as a starting point and then researched forums and other info sites to compile this post. THEN I tried to arrange all the ideas into a useful framework… Let me know how ...
More About: Recycle , Sawdust

ToolCrib.com?s Ultimate Guide to the Crosscut Sled
2008-05-30 20:41:00
Blame this post on FamilyWoodworking. I was over there trolling for good article ideas and stumbled on a thread called “Most Used Jigs.” I started adding up the results and it turned out that the crosscut sled won by a landslide. (What is a crosscut sled??) And so I started researching and cataloging some of the ...
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9 Sandpaper Storage Ideas (+ free plans)
2008-05-30 18:09:00
How do you store and organize your sandpaper? If you’re storing sanding belts and sanding discs PLUS sanding sheets your storage can get out of control fast. A recent poster at SawmillCreek (How do you store your sandpaper?) asked for tips. He was asking mainly for his Festool sander, but most of the comments came back ...
More About: Ideas , Storage , Free , Plans

Compact Drivers: Bosch vs. Milwaukee vs. Rigid
2008-05-30 16:44:00
Compact drivers become must-have tools after you use them once. Their popularity means that every tool brand under the sun has one on display. They must be pretty cheap to make too considering how often Bosch gives them away. So one of the guys at WoodNet asked his fellows which compact driver he should get - ...
More About: Drivers , Milwaukee , Compact

Rising Iron Costs to Increase Power Tool Prices?
2008-05-23 17:32:00
Cast iron - it’s part of what makes good tools good. Unfortunately for power tool buyers rising prices in iron could have an enormous impact in power tool prices. Steel City’s granite-topped table saw is starting to make a little more sense now Anyhow, this little article will first look at some of the ...
More About: Power , Tool , Costs , Iron , Prices

Check Out The $35,000 Rocking Chair
2008-05-14 21:14:00
I spotted this on my latest visit over to FamilyWoodworking… Introducing the $35,000 rocking chair: It’s made of Amboyna Burl by Parker Converse II. He says: “These chairs take about three times longer to make and the cost of materials and handling is about 10 times that of one of my lower priced rockers. The extra time, ...
More About: Check , Chair

Most Used Sliding Compound Miter Saw: the SMCS Showdown
2008-05-12 21:49:00
Over a year ago I asked my favorite forums for input on sliding compound miter saws… this gave us Hitachi vs. Bosch vs. Makita: Making the Sliding Compound Mitre Saw Decision. Then, Woodnetters mostly recommended the Hitachi, as did the guys over at FamilyWoodworking. A thread started recently at Woodnet though and it appears the Hitachi ...

Do You Have Too Much Tool Pride?
2008-05-05 17:35:00
The folks over at FamilyWoodworking have an interesting thread going on tool pride… Member Allen Grimes asked: “Over past 2 or 4 years, I’ve noticed that a lot of people take far too much pride in the tools they own. Festool and Mini Max owners especially, seem to jump on anybody who says anything bad ...
More About: Tool , Pride

Cheap, DIY Clamp Alternatives
2008-05-02 16:04:00
You can’t ever have enough clamps. The longer you work with wood the truer this statement gets. Your budget might not agree with this fact however. If that’s the case then READ ON for some great ideas and tips for alternatives to clamping… The guys at SawmillCreek have some great ideas for a fellow building a ...
More About: Cheap , Alternatives

Video: Wood Sculptures that Move
2008-04-30 19:13:00
These wood sculptures by artist David C Roy really took my breath away… here’s a video of one he called “Spectrum” Here’s how he describes his process of making these scupltures: “I usually make the sculptures in groups of six. I cut most of the pieces on a band saw and then do the final shaping with ...
More About: Video , Wood , Move , Sculptures

Foot Protection: Best Shoes for the Woodshop
2008-04-21 21:35:00
Quality work shoes can take the ache out of your back, ankles, knees and feet. The question of “best shoes for the woodshop” comes up over and over in woodworking forums. Like most things woodworking the best answer is “it depends on what your needs are.” We’re a safety-first company so we definitely recommend steel toed ...
More About: Shoes , Foot

Dream Table Saws: What TS Would You Get With Unlimited Budget?
2008-04-18 20:40:00
Over at Family Woodworking Joe Mioux asked the family what table saw they’d get if they had unlimited budget. He’s selling a Mini-Max. See the original thread here: If you could buy a new ts…. I tallied them up and here are the table saws that the Family sees when they’re sawing “z’s.” SawStop: 6 Votes Sawstop preferred ...
More About: Dream , Budget , Table , Unlimited

How Many Beers is Too Many for Woodworking?
2008-04-11 20:04:00
First off I want to state that the official ToolCrib position is that ANY beer is too much beer for woodworking. We’re serious about safety and would like to remind you that the #1 most dangerous power tool is YOU. A SawmillCreeker asked recently, “How many beers does it take to not jump on a machine?” ...
More About: Woodworking , Beers

5 Top Air Respirators for Woodworking
2008-04-02 00:13:00
How safe is the air in your woodshop? Even if you’re running a cyclone dust collector you still need to protect your lungs with some extra filtration. As RFeeser puts it at WoodNet: “You cannot go without an effective face mask just because you have dust collection. The air still ends up with a lot of the really fine, invisible sawdust that is the real health problem.” I found a thread at SawmillCreek asking for respirator recommendations. Then I dug around for more threads that recommend respirators AND reviews for specific models. BUT FIRST, here are some chilling quotes from ‘Creeker Lloyd Morris about air quality: I was in very good health and at 50 years old was training for a marathon and riding my bike 30 to 40 miles a week. Also no breathing problems at all for the first year of woodworking. I was the last person I thought would have any problems with a reaction to wood dust. After working on a project for about six hours last spring, I began to have...
More About: Woodworking

Table Saw Blade Storage
2008-03-31 17:19:00
Do you keep your table saw blades on a nail on the wall? Or worse, stacked on top of each other in a drawer? My understanding is that your #1 goal in storage should be not letting the teeth touch each other… from there the storage ideas really start to run wild A WoodNet thread on table saw blade storage caught my eye and if you’re looking for ideas + pictures then you HAVE to go look at: How do you guys store your blades? Here’s some nice dry humor from that WoodNet thread: “I used to let Forrest store my Woodworker II, but then I finally got a Grizzly contractor saw to store it in. Much handier.” You should definitely go check that out as there are great pictures posted there. I dug around for ideas at other forums too…>> Here’s a thread from Rigid: Blade Storage where you’ll find some great ideas along with some, um, creative ideas: “I toss mine ninja-style at the wall and just let them stick in the drywall. Easy access to...
More About: Table

11 Cheap, Recycled or Free Items Useful in the Wood Shop
2008-03-25 20:05:00
Yes you DO have to read all the way through Wood Net’s Cheap Useful Item for the Shop . Why? Because there are way more than 11 useful ideas there. There are probably more like 100 useful ideas there from at least 90 woodworkers. I picked out and organized the 11 ideas that I thought were the ...
More About: Free , Items

Wood Lathes: $400 vs. $4000
2008-03-24 17:16:00
An old thread on lathes in SawmillCreek caught my eye recently… I’ve never dug into lathes that much and they always seemed sort of on the outskirts of woodworking. That may be the reason they appeal to some folks though Anyways, the thread I saw asks for lathe recommendations in the $400-$500 range. Because ...
More About: Wood

Top 5 Woodworking Tool Companies with the Best Customer Service
2008-03-15 19:38:00
When my wife and I get great customer service we make it a point to speak to the manager and pass along a compliment. A thread in SawmillCreek (Your Vote: Best Customer Service ) does the same thing for woodworking related companies. I went through all 85 responses and counted up all the companies mentioned as ...
More About: Companies , Tool

Seven Ideas for Drill Bit Storage
2008-03-04 16:51:00
A woodworker at SawmillCreek has too many bits and not enough storage. He asked his fellow creekers for some ideas on how to make his bits easy to access. They mentioned great ideas and included great links to bit storage products that you may have never thought of. Here are quotes from the Creekers: 1) I cut ...
More About: Ideas , Storage , Drill

5 Tips for Removing Wood Glue from Your Clothes
2008-02-25 16:21:00
The only thing that wood glue bonds better than wood is fabric. So how can you get wood glue and wood glue stains out of those work shirts that need to stay presentable? An SMCreeker said: “Over the past year I’ve had a more than a few cases of regular yellow glue smearing and then ...
More About: Clothes , Tips , Wood

Getting Sheet Goods Home: 9 Ways to Reduce the Pain
2008-02-22 17:10:00
A WoodNetter posted this complaint to the forum: “I’m killing myself trying to get sheetgoods home from the borg… there must be a better way. I have a small SUV which just isn’t cutting it.” Does this sound like you? Well, there’s no easy or simple way to do it, there are however lots of different ways ...
More About: Goods , Home , Pain , Sheet , Reduce

7 Rules of Lending Power Tools: What?s Your Policy?
2008-02-20 19:52:00
How do you handle loaning out your power tools? If you’re like most woodworkers you have a very strict policy, whether it’s a qualified yes, a definite yes, or a loud, firm and final NO WAY. A thread over at WoodNet asks the simple question, “what is your policy with lending tools or supplies to ...
More About: Power , Tools , Policy , Rules , Lending

Video: ?Vertical Hold? Edge Trim Jig
2008-02-18 17:08:00
Woodnetters spotted this innovative vertical trim jig from an inventor and cabinet shop owner who posts videos on YouTube. A few notes (I’m paraphrasing from the thread) - he’s climb cutting on some of these cuts which is when you push the wood in the direction of the turning blade. If he had a bigger bit ...
More About: Video , Edge , Hold , Trim , Vertical

Is Norm Abram a Master Carpenter?
2008-02-15 22:30:00
Well, we all know he’s a highly influential carpenter… He ranked #1 in our poll of 3 forums (see ToolCrib.com?s Guide to Your 31 Most Influential Woodworkers). But is he really a master carpenter? This is the question that a newbie Woodnetter posted. There are 99 responses, and right off the bat one WoodNet member ...
More About: Master

Are Your Power Tools Covered in Your Insurance?
2008-02-06 19:45:00
Let’s start this out with a relevant quote: “the worst time to find out about no coverage is after a loss.” That said, we’re not insurers. In fact, we had to spell check the word “insurers” just to get it spelled right. I’m guessing you already knew that anything you read in this post needs to ...
More About: Power , Tools , Insurance , Covered

Woodworking as a Business: 16 Woodworking Money Makers
2008-01-29 18:39:00
Following up on our recent post about the (questionable) profitability of making pet coffins here’s one about 16 woodworking money makers from the woodworkers at WoodNet. One very good point from meackerman that you will have to remember before quitting your day job: “I think its going to really depend on what your local market wants.” ...
More About: Business , Money , Woodworking , Makers

Making Pet Coffins a Profitable Woodworking Enterprise?
2008-01-23 18:06:00
Is there profit in making and selling wooden pet caskets? A member at FamilyWoodworking .org asked this very question… for his father. If you’re a woodworking hobbyist looking to supplement your income with your skills with wood then this is a great thread for you! Of course, this wonderful thread is as much about this guy’s father as ...
More About: Enterprise , Profitable , Workin , Fins

Results from Wood Magazine?s Table Saw Blade Retest
2008-01-11 19:02:00
Wood Magazine recently retested table saw blades after realizing that their testing methods skewed the results. Basically, they used a sled to pull wood through the table saw and the sled pushed far harder than a woodworker would. ANYWAYS… I thought you’d be interested in some quick snippets from their comparisons. Note I just pulled the ...
More About: Results , Wood , Table , Blade

Sawstop vs. Powermatic PM 2000 in the Professional Wood Shop
2008-01-09 20:05:00
You know I love a good power tool dust up… this one’s a classic. A Wood netter and professional woodshop owner asks his fellow woodworkers whether he should put Sawstops or Powermatic PM2000s in his shop. Here are his criteria for the decision: Safety (obviously sawstop wins this category) Dust collection-very important to me Ease of the moving parts and ...
More About: Shop , Professional , Fess

Problems Cross Cutting with Forrest WoodWorker II 40T?
2008-01-07 21:13:00
I wrote a piece awhile back comparing opinions on WWII, Frued and Ridge table saw blades, but this thread gives a little deeper insight into the WWII and asks hard questions. The thread opens with a woodworker expressing his frustrations with his WWII: “I got a WW II 40T and just haven’t been happy with the cut. ...
More About: Cross , Problems , Cutting