“Sharpening” Carbide Insert Cutter Heads

It has been a long time since I installed Byrd Tool's Shelix carbide cutter heads in my Delta DJ-20 8" jointer (May 2009) and DeWalt DW735 13" planer (June 2012). The videos showing the installation of the cutter head in my planer have been viewed almost 75,000 times! Although the machines still produced tearout-free cuts, they did … Continue reading “Sharpening” Carbide Insert Cutter Heads

Maple Trestle Table, Session 9 – Mortises the Slow Way (or Why I’m Buying a Domino XL)

On the morning of Sunday, April 15th, Morton and I exchanged ideas about trestle tables, spurred on by a recent sketch of a table on which he was working.  That got me yearning to build a trestle table. I documented my progress live on Twitter which was useful because each update had a time stamp so followers could … Continue reading Maple Trestle Table, Session 9 – Mortises the Slow Way (or Why I’m Buying a Domino XL)

Machinists’ End Mills and Routers

End mills are similar to the spiral bits that we woodworkers use, only they are designed for use with metal.  However they can often be had at lower prices, especially long bits.  This recent thread on the Festool Owners Group has some good information on using end mill bits in a router.  Post #12 has … Continue reading Machinists’ End Mills and Routers

Construction of “Table with a Twist” – Part 1: Legs

When I set out to create this table I knew that I wanted to use plain wood for the base and figured wood for the top.  I knew that straight-grained wood would be easier to carve, and complements the carving well; curvy grain would distract from the linear design.  I expected that using figured wood … Continue reading Construction of “Table with a Twist” – Part 1: Legs