North Salem High School Students Rule in Montana
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It isnt unusual for a member of the Popular Woodworking Magazine staff to spend vacation time to attend a woodworking class. Usually I go to teach, but last week I found myself in Montana learning at the Chidwick School of Fine Woodworking in Stevensville, Montana. I was there on my own dime to meet Dean Mattson and to see the top five students from his woodworking program at North Salem []
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posted at: 12:00am on 30-Jun-2014
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Build a Wierix Square, Step 1
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A customer asked me to make a Wierix try square for him this week, and because it's silly to make just one wooden square, I'm making a batch of five this week and am documenting the process here on the blog. If you don't know what a Wierix square is, it's an old style of try square that shows up in drawings of "The Childhood of Jesus" by Hieronymous Wierix, []
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posted at: 12:00am on 29-Jun-2014
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Furniture Details: What's New?
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In order to know, and understand, how things were made in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries you've got to spend a lot of time on the floor (no Bender jokes, please). Looking at pieces from the top down, or outside in, only gives you a small part of the picture. And thats why you can only learn so much by looking at books and magazines. Sure, you can read []
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posted at: 12:04am on 28-Jun-2014
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Guy Clark: Luthier, Singer, Songwriter
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On this way to work this morning, I heard Guy Clarks Step Inside this House (it was Lyle Lovett's version off his album of the same title). It reminded me that Ive long been meaning to post my favorite article Ive written while with Popular Woodworking: Songs from the Workbench, an interview/article about Clark that appeared in our June 2007 issue. It represents one of the few times Ive []
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posted at: 12:04am on 28-Jun-2014
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Storage Solutions for Router Bits
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Im working on an upcoming article for Popular Woodworking Magazine that includes router-bit storage. There are scads of ways to store router bits; some are worthy of discussion and keep the bits out of harms way while other solutions are simply a jumbled mess. But before we get into how bits are stored, Id like to find out how many router bits our blog readers actually own. Do you have []
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posted at: 12:06am on 27-Jun-2014
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Meet Tom Calisto, N.C. Woodworker
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You may recall Tom Calisto (pictured above holding a Shaker chair he made; Ozzie is holding a sock), a woodworker in Chapel Hill, N.C., from his April 2013 Popular Woodworking Magazine article on cutting compound dovetails for a small, handled tote, or perhaps you saw his cherry kitchen table build in Fine Woodworkings December 2000 issue. Maybe youve even taken a class from him on sawmaking or compound dovetails at []
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posted at: 12:06am on 27-Jun-2014
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Build a Wierix Square, Step 2
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Making the blade of the Wierix square is the most creative part of the construction process, when you can get in touch with your inner fledermaus (aka bat). While you can argue about whether or not the curves on the blade have any purpose, I am pretty certain of the reason the overall blade is triangular: to conserve wood and make the square easier to use. You can easily saw []
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posted at: 12:03am on 26-Jun-2014
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Wierix Square, Part 3
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With the glue dry, it's time to see if your square is square, or if it's a doorstop. Squaring a wooden square is a simple operation if you plan to use it for woodworking, not for building equipment for a nuclear reactor. It's easy to go overboard with squareness. Here's how I do it. I get a big sheet of termite barf (MDF), which is what I use []
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posted at: 12:03am on 26-Jun-2014
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Woodworking in America Speakers
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As September approaches, we are getting revved up about Woodworking in America (WIA) which is held this year in Winston-Salem, N. C. (heres all the information). New speakers this year include such big names in woodworking as W. Patrick Edwards, Will Neptune, Phil Lowe, Drew Langsner, Dale Barnard, Jerome Bias, Matt Bickford, Wilbur Pan, Matt Cianci and Brian Coe. As a result, the programs presented are fresh and well worth []
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posted at: 12:00am on 25-Jun-2014
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Vote Now in the 2014 PWM Excellence Awards
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The entries are in; its now time to cast your votes in the 2014 PWM Reader Excellence Awards. Your picks in each of the five categories will be featured in the November 2014 issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine, and the overall Readers Choice winner gets a $100 gift certificate to ShopWoodworking.com. Plus, we take your votes into consideration when selecting the Editors Choice winners, and the Grand-Prize winner. You can []
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posted at: 12:00am on 25-Jun-2014
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JET Band Saw Sweepstakes Winner
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Congratulations to Jim Pirkle, of Winston-Salem, N.C. Hes the lucky winner of the JET 14″ steel-frame band saw (model #714500) in our recent sweepstakes. Jim has been woodworking for about 30 years and recently finished building a workbench using a design from Popular Woodworking Magazine. His next project is a Shaker-style bookcase for his grandson and a Shaker-style cupboard for his daughter. Jim says the band saw will be a []
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posted at: 12:00am on 24-Jun-2014
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An 18th Century Rarity in Use
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John Sindelar, owner of the famous Sindelar Tool Museum, posted alink today from the European Woodworking Show that showed a cornice, or crown moulding, plane in action. I thought it was worth posting here because you see the planes everywhere but seldom see them in use. Thanks to John for bringing it to my attention. Enjoy! Chuck Bender If youre interested in learning how to make an extremely small (by []
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posted at: 12:00am on 24-Jun-2014
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Roy Underhill's Antique Shave Horse
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As you would expect, Roy Underhills shop at the 19th-century mill he and his wife, Jane, call home, is chock-full of interesting vintage tools for all aspects of the woodworking trade. This morning, he moved a 19th-century shave horse out to the shops back porch so I could get a good look at it and snap these photos. More than an appliance, this horse is a clever bit of engineering []
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posted at: 12:00am on 22-Jun-2014
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Furniture Details: Decorative Mouldings With Bite
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When most people think about adding something to enhance crown mouldings on pieces of furniture, they turn instantly to dentil moulding. Its easy to make because of the repetitive cuts, and you can jig it up on a table saw in mere minutes (it uses the same jig as a box joint, learn how to make the jig in Hardware Hideaway, Glen D. Hueys article in the June 2014 #211 issue of []
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posted at: 12:00am on 21-Jun-2014
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The Dutch Campaign Tool Chest
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This week, I built a lower cabinet for my small Dutch tool chest, a project featured in the October 2013 issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine. The unit I just built sits below the tool chest proper and does a few nice things. 1. It gives me extra space for tooling and hardware that I sometimes need to drag along to classes I teach. 2. It raises the main tool well []
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posted at: 12:00am on 21-Jun-2014
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Space-Saving Chisel Rack
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Good chisels deserve good storage. If you regularly set a chisel down unprotected on the bench top, it could easily be nicked several times a day. Each time it gets nicked, it must be resharpened, which takes valuable time. Not only does resharpening take time, but good chisels are expensive, and every nick in the []
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posted at: 11:10am on 19-Jun-2014
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10 Tips to Make the Most of Your Moisture Meter
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The moisture content of the wood you use to build projects is an important consideration. The moisture content of wood that will be used to build furniture projects should be dried to approximately 6- to 8-percent moisture level in most parts of the United States. A moisture meter is the best tool for measuring moisture []
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posted at: 11:10am on 19-Jun-2014
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A New Use for Scrap Cutoffs?
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Its common among woodworkers to feel some reluctance at throwing scraps away (I could make something out of that!), but if you share a shop with your spouse, it gets doubly difficult. Carole Rothman, who built the Holiday Gift Box featured in the December 2013 issue of Woodworkers Journal, as well as the Cherry Jewelry []
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posted at: 11:10am on 19-Jun-2014
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Design in Practice: Stylin' Finis?
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In the last installment I got to Chippendale furniture but I didnt cover all the changes that took place. The cabriole leg was actually on its way out in terms of fashion (in England, at least). Chippendale included many designs for pieces with straight, or Marlboro, legs in his Gentlemans and Cabinetmakers Director. Some had the entire face of the leg moulded while others were flat with a simple bead []
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posted at: 12:00am on 19-Jun-2014
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Dutch Tool Chest with a Lower Storage Unit
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The Dutch Tool Chest from the October 2013 issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine has proven to be a popular project, I've been asked to teach classes on building this chest all over the world this year. In that article, I provide plans for building two versions of the chest. The small chest has a single lower compartment for tools. The larger chest has two compartments for tools. During the []
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posted at: 12:02am on 17-Jun-2014
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Roubo Kitchen Island
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Ive finally decided on a design for a kitchen island that will hold a mid-sized microwave and cookbooks, and serve as a table with room for stool storage underneath. The design parameters are quite rigid due to window, door and vent locationsplus the dimensions of microwaves of useful size. (If you wish to read more about the specs, and see my design progression, plus pictures of 1.75 of my []
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posted at: 12:01am on 16-Jun-2014
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Furniture Details: Shoes
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In my last “Design in Practice” post I talked about how, as furniture transitioned from William & Mary to Queen Anne, the bottom back rail moved down and became the shoe on top of the back seat rail of a chair. It occurred to me that some folks may not know what a shoe is (and I’m not talking about the things you wear on your feet) or that there […]The post Furniture Details: Shoes appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.
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posted at: 12:01am on 14-Jun-2014
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Workbench Day 2: The Case for Workbench Classes
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Building a workbench at a school is, in my calculation, a wise investment. Good schools have huge machines, wide planers, beefy mortisers and sliding table saws, that can make difficult jobs a breeze. You also have lots of help, another 10 to 20 people who can help you muscle the stock. And you get it done in a week, so you can get on with building furniture []
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posted at: 12:03am on 12-Jun-2014
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New Jet $50 Guarantee
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If you’ve ever been frustrated by heading to your local tool dealer to get a hands-on look at the latest new tool reviewed in Popular Woodworking Magazine(or in one of our online reviews) only to find they don’t have it on the showroom floor, then Jet has the guarantee for you. As of yesterday (June 9, 2014) Jet has implemented it’s new $50 Showroom Guarantee. What that means to you […]The post New Jet $50 Guarantee appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.
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posted at: 12:00am on 11-Jun-2014
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Some Incredible Shaker Pieces Up for Auction
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Skinner Auctioneers, in Marlborough, Mass., has an astounding collection of Shaker pieces from the Andrews Shaker Collection up for sale in a June 15 auction. Unfortunately, the pieces to which I am particularly drawn are estimated to go for far more than my car would be worth brand new, bells, whistles, undercoating and extended warranty included. So, Im looking at the pieces in this auction as a source of []
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posted at: 12:01am on 10-Jun-2014
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Period Trippin'
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I got a request recently in the comments section of my Design in Practice:Stylin Too post (read it here) about museums to visit for those interested in period furniture from Boston to Williamsburg. Theres a bunch, but Ill list some of my favorites. Of course, by limiting my northern exposure to Boston, youre forcing me to leave out some of the treasures in Vermont (The Shelburne Museum, which not only []
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posted at: 12:01am on 10-Jun-2014
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Workbench Day 1: Grab the Ash With Both Hands
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The hardest part about teaching a class on building a workbench isn't the teaching part at all. It's finding good material that makes the class a pleasure, instead of a battle against the material. This week I'm teaching a class on building a traditional French workbench at the Marc Adams School of Woodworking. All 16 students are using ash bench bundles from Horizon Wood Products. This is, without any []
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posted at: 12:01am on 10-Jun-2014
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Workbench Joinery: 10 Years of Tenons
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Tomorrow morning I start a new workbench class at the Marc Adams School of Woodworking. While Ive lost count of the number of workbenches Ive built or midwifed into this world, I never tire of the grueling and exhilarating labor they require. For each class, I design a new workbench from scratch that is suited to the material I have gathered for the class, the needs of the students and […]The post Workbench Joinery: 10 Years of Tenons appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.
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posted at: 12:02am on 09-Jun-2014
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Makerspaces for Woodworkers
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When I think of a hobbyist woodworker I tend to think of a middle aged guy with a mix of tools parked in a corner of a basement or garage. That’s the demographic of our readers, more or less. Many of our them are space challenged, sharing their shops with water heaters, automobiles, or any number of household items. We also have a lot of readers that are new […]The post Makerspaces for Woodworkers appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.
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posted at: 12:01am on 08-Jun-2014
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Scrap Moulding Construction Contest
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My mother, Elizabeth F. (“Penny”) Jones, is an architectural historian and collector of all things historic…and not. When I was a kid, she was one of the driving forces behind the preservation of countless old buildings in Louisville, where I grew up. After moving to the Washington, D.C., area when I was in high school, she joined the National Trust for Historic Preservation as director of Preservation Programs, and was […]The post Scrap Moulding Construction Contest appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.
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posted at: 12:01am on 08-Jun-2014
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Furniture Details: Philly Explained
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A couple of weeks ago I posted why Philly chairs were just better (read it by clicking here). In the comments pmac mentioned including a SketchUp drawing in future posts to illustrate the joinery I discussed in the body of the post. Even though pmac understood the joinery I mentioned, I thought it would be a good idea to post a follow-up with the SketchUp drawing for those who still […]The post Furniture Details: Philly Explained appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.
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posted at: 12:00am on 07-Jun-2014
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Meet the Aumbry (You Know its Grandkids)
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When it comes to understanding the history of furniture, I think John Gloag put it best when he wrote: Nearly all articles of free-standing furniture are variations on two basic shapes: a platform or a box.(A Social History of Furniture Design: From B.C. 1300 to A.D. 1960 pp. 3-4, Crown) Platforms include: tables, chairs, stools, beds and benches. Boxes include: chests, cabinets, bookcases, cupboards, dressers and the like. []
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posted at: 12:00am on 06-Jun-2014
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Design in Practice: Stylin' Too
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Last week I started down the slippery slope of defining some of the differences between the various periods of furniture (read it here). This week, Im just jumping off the cliff. Even if youre not into period furniture, this series of posts can help you understand where your style of furniture came from. The whole idea is, everything is based on what has come before and everything is recycled somewhere. []
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posted at: 12:05am on 05-Jun-2014
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Free Plans: Ancient Squares for Ancient Scraps
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I don't turn pens much, and the word "fireplace" is a dirty word in our house (thanks to an incident involving a flaming log and full nudity). So my scrap pile is always overflowing. I give away scraps for kindling to my neighbors or I burn them in our outside firepit, but that is a hard sell during the hot humid months. Recently I've been building ancient layout tools with []
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posted at: 12:05am on 05-Jun-2014
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Free Articles, Videos & More in August Online Extras
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The overwhelming majority of the August 2014 Online Extras are posted (and the one or two that are still “tk” will be added later this week. Visit PopularWoodworking.com/aug14, then click on the title of each article post to get a preview of each article and to access the extras. In “Craftsman Wardrobe,” for example, you’ll find links to Robert W. Lang’s videos on making a using a router jig for […]The post Free Articles, Videos & More in August Online Extras appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.
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posted at: 12:00am on 04-Jun-2014
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Free Plans: Ancient Squares for Ancient Scraps
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I don't turn pens much, and the word "fireplace" is a dirty word in our house (thanks to an incident involving a flaming log and full nudity). So my scrap pile is always overflowing. I give away scraps for kindling to my neighbors or I burn them in our outside firepit, but that is a hard sell during the hot humid months. Recently I've been building ancient layout tools with []
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posted at: 12:03am on 03-Jun-2014
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There is Hope for High School Woodworking Programs
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These days when you read about high school wood shops, it's almost always in the context of a program shutting down, the equipment auctioned off and resources diverted to sending every kid that graduates high school to college. That makes sense if you think we don't need to make anything domestically and that blue collar jobs are dead-end jobs. In spite of this, there is a high school wood working []
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posted at: 12:03am on 03-Jun-2014
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