19/38 Drumsander and 8” Helicalhead Jointer During COVID, I got a drumsander. In the past when I’ve needed this resource, I’ve paid one of the cabinet shops in town to sand large panels for me. I finally bought one during COVID and it is by far one of the most used tools in my shop. […]
Month: August 2025
25 Aug 2025 Picture Frame with Inlay
Hickory and Exotics Several years ago, I started making picture frames for the cabin with a ½” inlay in the 1 ½” wide hickory frame. I created the inlay with maple, padauk, and wenge. Padauk is the orange color, wenge is the black, and maple is white. It created a classy look for a simple […]
18 Aug 2025 Cabin Projects – Storage
In May, I retired with 37 years of service in the Air Force. It was an amazing career with 20 years of active duty service and 17 years as an Air Force civilian. Over the past ten years, we’ve been working on a cabin in the woods to retire to. One of the challenges was […]
14 Aug 2025 New Gift Option
I created another gift project! About three months ago, I retired from federal service, and I’ve been loving every minute in the shop. I’ve mostly been working on projects for the house– space-saving and organizational options (I’ll post some of those later on). Most recently, I built myself a laptop desk, and I decided to […]
Drilling Techniques
“Drilling Tips to Avoid Tearout” Bradpoint bits & Blue Tape. I recently built some new shop furniture with drawers, and I wanted to make sure the handles went on without splintering the face frame. Drilling the holes for the handle can damage the surface if not done correctly. While it’s not critical for shop furniture […]
Cut on the Waste Side
“Cut Tight to the Waste Side” Create the perfect shape by cutting outside the line. In order to ensure a perfectly cut piece for a fit or design when using a bandsaw or jigsaw, it’s always best to cut on the waste side of the line. It is a bit of an art when it […]
Marquetry Patterns
“An Inlay for the Top” Creating an Inlay with Exotic Wood Pieces. I recently took some time off to learn some new techniques. I discovered I really enjoy doing marquetry. I prefer to call it inlay, since at this point, I’m just creating simple straight patterns. This picture shows an example of one of the […]
Veneering with Platens
“Veneering without a Vacuum Press” Beautifully Figured Bubinga on MDF. I’ve been trying some new woodworking techniques lately and veneering was on the list. Unlike the inlay/marquetry, I’m not sure I will use this technique for anything except maybe building decorative boxes, but it has been a lot of fun to venture out of my […]
Outfeed Table
“Outfeed Table for Full-Sized Cabinet Table Saw” Provides safe platform for catching cutoffs from the table saw. In order to get the most out of your table saw by the safest and easiest means, you must have some sort of an outfeed device to support the work piece and waste piece through the entire cut. […]
Poor Woodworker Track Saw
“Breaking Down a Full Sheet of Plywood” Use an inexpensive homemade jig. It might seem like something that shouldn’t be that hard, but manipulating the large panel that can weigh over sixty pounds provides some interesting challenges. Most of us work in our shops alone, so just moving it around can be difficult. I know […]