Products From The Mind of Chris Wong
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Guaranteed Success Can Be Bad Being scared of failing can steer us towards taking extra precautions to better the odds of success. It makes perfect sense, but it’s a shame because when things are over-designed and over-built, we often do not have the opportunity to observe the actual strengths of the components involved. Understand the Materials, … Continue reading Understanding Material and Joint Strength
I recently completed this small side table and it has already become a much-appreciated addition to the home. With a table top about 10" x 18", it has proven itself to be compact yet stable, and suitably sized to hold a book, or a dinner plate and drinking glass. Followers of my blog may recognize … Continue reading Butternut & Ash Side Table
Since moving three months ago, I have settled nicely into the new shop that is a one-car garage. Here are some panoramic pictures to give you a feel for the space. Click to view full-size. All the machines are more or less permanently positioned, and the overhead door is not used (it was last opened … Continue reading Welcome to the New Shop
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
The kitchen island in my new house was calling for a pair of bar stools. My shop stool that I completed in the Shop Stool Build-Off found its way there during the move, and with the chaos reigning in my shop, I was happy to let it live there. A second stool was in order, and … Continue reading Shop Stools/Bar Stools
Progress on the 21st Century Writing Desk was put on hold while I built a customized wooden box to protect an expensive piece of equipment for a friend in the tree business. (This kind of friend is good to have if you're a woodworker!) He had recently acquired a portable winch which, while seemingly well-made, … Continue reading Custom Box to Protect a Portable Winch
Earlier this week, I began work on a new cribbage board. The section of Pacific yew didn't look like much at first. I wanted to include this protrusion. And wanted to exclude this chainsaw cut. I screwed a straight piece of wood on to one end of the material and used a scrap of wood … Continue reading End Grain Yew Cribbage Boards, Part 1
A couple of years ago while working on a chair, I found myself needing to lay out the position of the seat slats on the centre rail, which was basically a cross-lap joint. Normally, I'd use my marking knife for this operation, but due to the thickness of the components, my marking knife wasn't able … Continue reading Making a Long-Blade Marking Knife
In my last Craftsy blog post, I covered techniques to cut perfect mitres. If you've ever made a mitred joint before, you probably discovered that cutting them accurately can be finicky, but assembling them was downright agonizing. However, with a couple of tricks and the right clamping tools on hand, and some practice, assembling mitres … Continue reading How to Perfectly Assemble Mitre Joints
Early on, I regarded mitre joints as difficult and finicky, so I often used other joinery that I could execute more easily (even dovetails) instead. But once I figured out a good process for making mitre joints, I found them to be no more difficult than other joinery, and certainly quicker than dovetails! My latest article … Continue reading Cut Perfect Mitre Joints
