Woodcraft Magazine December 2020/January 2021 (98)

Rob Spiece has become quite a regular on our pages. In recent years, he has shared his expertise on making small boxes, flattening slabs, recovering from woodworking mistakes, and more. In this issue’s contribution (The Dimpled Box, p. 32), he shares his technique for adding delightful texture to a handsome box. In addition to teaching classes at the Lohr School of Woodworking, he and fellow instructor Larissa Huff stay busy designing and building custom furniture commissions. Photographer John Hamel gets around. In addition to snapping stellar photos in numerous woodshops (see page 32), he has traveled to 46 states and 6 countries to photograph icons such as Paul Newman, Dave Barry, and Arlo Guthrie, as well as Olympic medalists Dan O’Brien, Eric Heiden, and Bonnie Blair. His awardwinning work has appeared…

Now you can read Woodcraft Magazine anywhere! Our new digital subscription gives you access to the same excellent issues in an easy-to-access PDF format, delivered directly to your e-mail inbox. Along with that, you get unlimited web access to our entire back catalog, plus exciting extras like templates, patterns, and videos. And you’ll have access to the issue before it even hits the newsstand. Best of all, print subscribers are automatically subscribed to the digital version. Visit our website for more information on how to get your digital issue. A flock of freebies. When you’re finished flipping through this issue, check out our website for premium content such as a plan for a handy box to hold the Kissmas Tree (p. 28) during the offseason and a video showing the tree…

I don’t think I’m creeping to the end of a limb to suggest that this was a particularly rough year. Natural disasters, some man-made ones, a bitterly divisive election, and a worldwide pandemic have marred 2020 with hardship and tragedy not seen for generations. And that’s just scratching the surface. If you’re anything like me, you can’t wait to see this year in your rearview mirror. But I don’t want to just wave goodbye as the year crashes into history. I want to observe 2020 with the benefit of hindsight, while cruising into the New Year a little wiser. Webster’s defines hindsight as “Perceiving the nature of an event after it has happened.” But this clear-eyed rearward view is only helpful when we apply what we’ve learned. Fortunately for woodworkers, thoughtful…

Woodcraft now carries two SKIL routers, a 10-amp fixed base, and a 14-amp two-based kit. The 10-amp model (#174808, $79.99) features a 2 HP motor, while the 14-amp model (#174809, $139.99) shown here, boasts 2.5 HP and includes both a fixed and a plunge base. An LCD display in the 14-amp router allows you to input the bit type and material to let it suggest an appropriate speed. You can also set the speed manually. Both units include ¼" and ½" collets, and micro-depth adjustment. The SKIL routers are available now online through woodcraft.com and at participating stores.…

Very few dado sets stack up to SawStop’s rigorous standards, but the company recently announced that Woodcraft’s WoodRiver 8" dado set has been approved for use with all styles and configurations of SawStop table saws. The announcement means the WoodRiver dado set passed SawStop’s thorough evaluation, making it only the sixth dado set to do so. It’s also one of the most affordable SawStop-compatible dado sets available. WoodRiver’s set is made in Israel from German steel and features carbide tips manufactured by Luxembourg-based Ceratizit Group.…

Page 35 of the Aug/Sept 20 issue mentions that plans for “A lifetime tenon jig” can be found in onlineEXTRAS. The one pictured on page 35 appears to have a 45-degree feature that isn’t included in the online plans. That’s piqued my interest. —Bill Schneider, via email Senior editor Paul Anthony replies: Good eye, Bill! One of the beauties of this symmetrical fencestraddling carriage jig is that each face can be outfitted for its own purpose. In this case, one face is outfitted for tenoning, and the other for sawing spline slots to reinforce frame miters. The online article focuses on the former, while the photo here shows the latter. Without a doubt, this dual-purpose jig is one of my most used table saw accessories. Plans for the spline miter jig are available…