No matter how much time I have, there never seems to be enough. For that reason, I make many of my decisions based on efficiency. My decision to use a hand tool or a power tool for a given task is dependent on what I feel is more efficient for the task at hand. In my effort to … Continue reading One-Step Joinery
Perfection May Be a Goal
It's not uncommon for we humans to strive for perfection. We can drive ourselves insane and spend our lifetime trying to achieve it. As David Savage would say, "perfection is a terrible taskmaster". The creative people over at The New York Times created a program that reads their articles and scans for haikus. They choose the … Continue reading Perfection May Be a Goal
Roots of Flair
My style of woodwork has been influenced predominantly by the materials I had, things I saw, and ideas I explored. Naturally, my designs have evolved over the years. While reorganizing my workshop, I found a few unfamiliar cardboard boxes. They contained some of my work from around the start of Flair Woodworks. I will be sharing photographs … Continue reading Roots of Flair
Breaking Down Slabs
The large majority of the wood that I have is sawn in slabs. While the live edges allow more design possibilities, there are times when I don't need them. Layout To process this slab, I start by aligning my straight edge just inside the bark. This results in the straightest grain with the least amount of waste. … Continue reading Breaking Down Slabs
Fast-Action Clamp for Crosscut Fence
A reader recently inquired about the method I use to secure the crosscut fence to my sliding table saw. Grizzly provides a knob with a long male thread to pass through the slot in the outrigger and into the bottom of the crosscut fence. This is secure, but slow to remove when taking off the crosscut fence. For … Continue reading Fast-Action Clamp for Crosscut Fence
My Next Move
Last Thursday, I taught a seminar at Lee Valley Tools Coquitlam on making a hardwood mallet and later this week, I will be working my final scheduled shift with Lee Valley Tools, marking the end of a 10.5 year record of employment with the Company. I started stocking shelves on Saturdays at Lee Valley Tools Ltd. … Continue reading My Next Move
Cam-Action Hold-Down for Grizzly G0623X Sliding Table Saw
When I bought my sliding table saw, I wanted to get a material hold-down for the sliding table. Such an accessory did not exist for the saw, but another Grizzly sliding table saw with the same T-slot size came with one. I ordered the individual replacement parts for the hold-down and put it together myself. These … Continue reading Cam-Action Hold-Down for Grizzly G0623X Sliding Table Saw
Single-Slab Cherry Coffee Table, Part I
This weekend, I am demonstrating Festool power tools at Lee Valley Tools Ltd. in Coquitlam. To generate interest and demonstrate what can be done with the tools, I am turning this seven-foot-long slab of cherry into a coffee table. By the end of Thursday, I had made some good progress. To make the legs, I used … Continue reading Single-Slab Cherry Coffee Table, Part I
The Great Use of Life
“The great use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it.” – William James Chances are, if you're a woodworker, you're already doing this. Keep at it! Links: I found this quote here on the Swiss-Miss blog My list of Quotables
Make a Polygon Marking Gauge
Wheel marking gauges are great layout tools, but their round face means the tool has an annoying tendency to roll, which sometimes results in finding it on the floor with a chipped cutter. By reshaping the outside profile of the tool's face, it stays put and adds a touch of flair. This simple improvement takes about … Continue reading Make a Polygon Marking Gauge
