Australian Wood Review September 2022

Questions of scale This issue is all about scale and perspective. Josh Carmody and his work first appeared in this magazine in 2010. Twelve years later Josh is on the cover with a later rendition of his now signature Legless stool, a piece that marked the start of his maker journey. However it’s through complex, large scale commissions that Josh, who is also an architect, claims to have found himself. As a furniture maker he says ‘maintaining attention to detail at scale is the ultimate challenge…’. Read about Josh from p.38. At the other end of the spectrum Raf Nathan writes how small scale work invites macro viewing like nothing else! Do we see the whole piece, or the hole in a piece? The smaller the piece, the bigger its faults can…

The drum sander is nowadays a basic tool for many woodworkers as it enables fine adjustments to thickness for even small components such as those common in boxmaking. It can also dimension highly figured wood that would explode in a thicknesser, and workshop made veneers and facings are simple to produce. The Performax was invented in Minnesota USA in the mid 80s. Its value was quickly recognised and spawned a company that developed a range of sanders. In 2001 the Performax company was bought by Jet. In 2005 two ex-Performax staff bought the rights to make all but the smallest machines back in Minnesota where it all started, but with the Supermax name on them, while Jet kept the Performax name. The smaller machines with the Performax name are made in…

It was only a matter of time before this happened: a 3D printed tool. Having never seen an object made this way, it looked a bit rough and crude, with surfaces that looked unfinished. This is the effect of the way the object is built from multiple passes of the computer driven nozzle, with each pass leaving a small track on the surface. Moving past what is really only a cosmetic problem, to the guide itself, I was intrigued to find a cleverly designed tool with some unique features. The idea of using a small tray to hold the guide and the moveable angle stop was new to me. It takes advantage of both the plastic and the adjustable accuracy of the 3D printing technology so that both the guide and…

Controlling and collecting the fine dust from sanding is vital for a safe and clean operating environment. The FST-160 sanding table from Felder offers a ready-made solution for larger shops and I purchased one of these last year for my own shop. With an operating surface of 1550 x 800mm, this table is large enough to handle most components other than large panels, which would likely go through a wide-belt machine anyway. The working surface is a series of smoothly-dressed battens in European beech, creating a durable and hard-wearing surface. These battens are fixed to a steel frame that can be easily removed for cleaning inside the cavity if required. I would recommend supplementing the working surface with some non-slip drawer liner or something similar to soften the surface a little to…

Around a year ago I upgraded my workshop router table to a full-specification set-up from Canadian manufacturer Jessem. Having run various table/router combinations over the years, I’d spent some time searching around and this set-up ticks all the boxes for me. There are other package options or you can buy individual components and add-on accessories for a custom set-up. The Ultimate package is designed as a ready-to-go set-up of the highest quality. Included are the table, AUK fixed-base router motor (many handheld routers can also be fitted), TA micro-adjust fence, Mast-R-Lift Excel II router lift, Wixey digital readout, anodised aluminium stand and switch box with GPO. The stand is easy to assemble, stable and sturdy, and has a storage shelf. The table is a fairly standard size at 810 x 610mm and…

There is a lot to like about this guide. It has a skeletal look, without any of the bulk of most other guides. And, for a tool used with water, it is properly made out of stainless steel and anodised aluminium. The clamp shaft runs in brass or bronze bushes, which are easily removed for cleaning or exchange. This latter is important because if any of the stone slurry finds its way inside them, as happens with the Veritas guides, it will wear them out eventually. Perhaps the feature I like most is the widely spaced wheels, which balance the guide on the stone when sharpening narrow chisels, and their rubber tyres. I was concerned about these wearing out, until I learned they were standard O-rings, easily found and replaced, and…