Woodworker's Journal

Tools that simplify woodworking tasks and solve common shop problems are surefire winners in my book. And as I get older, those that make a task that once was easier and now is a bit harder are even more appreciated. I don’t know about you, but my manual dexterity is not exactly what it once was. Using a combo square to mark lines on projects was second nature to me. But now I often fumble as I attempt to mark a line, say 6 inches along the length of a board. When I hold a pencil in one hand and the square in the other, often one or the other goes astray. It’s all the more frustrating since it’s a new problem for this older dude. That’s why I was…

A NEW YEAR WITH NEW DEPARTMENTS! Every year, as all of us here at Woodworker’s Journal consider what woodworking topics to cover next, there’s a good bit of discussion. As you likely know, we survey our readers regularly and ask (among other things) what you would like to learn more about. However, if we ask a hundred woodworkers what their opinions are, we’ll probably get a hundred different answers. You are an independent lot, but we still aim for broad appeal. With that in mind, I want to share three new departments we are launching about which I am pretty pumped! The first is one we are calling Advanced Power Tool Techniques. In each issue this year, we will be selecting one of the primary woodworking tools and demonstrating two or three…

Only six sleuths ventured guesses as to the purpose of Rae St. Amand’s square October mystery device, but all of them zeroed in on a single object it was once used for. “It’s a butt gauge for laying out door hinges,” says Tom Altman. Well, Tom, other readers here will debate you about its usefulness as a hinge layout tool, but they’ll agree that this Granger item is made for doors. “It looks like an antique rim lock, the predecessor to today’s deadbolt,” speculates David Underhill from Monument, Colorado. He adds, “I don’t know the size, etc., so it could be a latch for a cool box or similar.” “It’s a door lock,” assures Robert Schweizer of Williamsburg, Virginia. “The round knob operates the bolt that is locked into position by the flat…

Labeling Setscrew, Allen Wrench Sizes Many shop machines and accessories have one or more Allen-style set-screw for securing handwheels, adjusting blade guides and other functions. Problem is, most are different sizes, and some are metric, others Imperial. I have spent a lot of time finding and trying various Allen wrenches before getting one to fit. I put a stop to this hassle by locating every setscrew in my shop and marking its size beside the screw. I also tag my Allen wrenches with a tape label to avoid the problem of trying to read their tiny sizing stamped on the wrench. End of problem! Bill Wells Olympia, Washington Plug Fits Tape-side Up Here’s an annoyance about polarized tool plugs: it seems like about half the time I try to stick the wide prong into the…

My name is Rick and I am a woodturner. I frequently go into my shop in the morning and don’t emerge until dinnertime, covered in wood shavings. Whenever I hear a chainsaw in the neighborhood, I get in my truck and drive towards the sound in the hopes of scoring some freshly-cut wood. I am a woodturner! I didn’t start out wanting this kind of life. Once, I was just like everyone else. I did repair jobs around the house, built sheds and decks and knocked together bookshelves using big box store lumber — just another weekend warrior. Then I took a woodturning class and learned how to make things like pens and handles. If only I’d stopped there! But no, I had to take a class on bowl turning. And…

Math has never been one of my strong suits, but with that said, even I know that a billion is a really big number. To help wrap my head around just how huge that number is, I found this comparison. If I told you that I was going to visit you in one million seconds, you’d have to get ready in about 11.6 days — less than two weeks. By contrast, if I informed you that I would be visiting you in one billion seconds, you would not see me for about 32 years. It’s a big number. Why this number might matter to you is that over the next decade, the U.S. Forestry Service is planning to plant over a billion trees. (“US to plant 1 billion trees as climate change…