Popular Woodworking September/October 2022

A few months back, a question came through on our podcast (by the way, we do a weekly podcast—“The ShopNotes Podcast”) about woodworking influences. It was a timely subject, as I was just getting ready to take a trip to Santa Rosa, California, to visit David J. Marks and shoot an upcoming magazine feature with him. Many people got their feet wet woodworking while watching Norm and Roy. Not I (though, I did watch both of them). Instead, I would look forward to Thursday nights when I could catch David’s show “Woodworks” on DIY Network. David’s work was one of the biggest woodworking influences when I was younger. Over this summer, I’ve had the fortune of traveling to various shops, like David’s, and shoot photographs for upcoming projects. Hopefully this leads to…

JIMMY CLEWES: Carved Rim Bowl –pg. 46 Hailing from England, Jimmy Clewes now resides in Las Vegas with his wife Mary and dog Seamus. Jimmy has spent the last thirty-five years traveling the world teaching and demonstrating woodturning. His quick wit and straightforward approach have made him a favorite of students from across the globe. When not hosting students at his home in Las Vegas, Jimmy’s often found with a gold pan in hand, prospecting in the Vegas desert. ROB PETRIE: Working With Defects –pg. 56 A lifelong woodworking enthusiast, Rob Petrie attended the University of Iowa, majoring in journalism and writing. Enjoying all aspects of woodworking, Rob has been on a particular carving kick lately. He enjoys the feeling of shaping the wood by hand and listening to what the grain has…

WORKSHOP TIPS Longer-Lasting Steel Wool It’s always bugged me that steel wool pads don’t last longer. Each pad is made of thousands of sharp-edge steel strands. The problem is, they’re packed together so tightly they clog up right away, and most of them never get used. I’m a die-hard tightwad, so I came up with this trick to extend the life of my steel wool. I unroll each pad and shape it into a fluffy ball before I use it. As the ball gets flattened, I stop and gently pull it back apart. Re-fluffing exposes new sharp edges and releases wood dust and broken-off bits of worn-out steel wool. — Denny Sutten (Wilmington, NC) Make Your Own Wood Putty Tired of never having fresh wood putty when you need it? You’ve probably opened a can…

NEW TOOLS 18V ONE+™ Random Orbit Sander Usually, the first steps of reviewing a tool are taking it out of the box, charging the batteries, then photographing the tool while it’s still in pristine condition. However, the new Ryobi 18V ONE+ Random Orbit Sander didn’t get quite that type of treatment. It showed up right as I was undertaking a handful of outdoor projects, like refinishing a neglected chaise lounge on the backyard patio. I had forgotten to charge the batteries for my other cordless sander, and I had no desire to run extension cords, so I grabbed a fresh Ryobi battery off the charger (it’s also sold with a battery and charger under the model #PCL406K1) and immediately went to work. While this meant I had to skip the usual photo session,…

I think that you’ve probably heard the saying that “a woodworker can never have too many clamps.” Heck, you may have even used that as an excuse (or affirmation) about buying additional clamps. I won’t tell. However, I feel as though a better saying would be “a woodworker can never have too many of the right clamps.” What I mean by that is an entire shop full of clamps won’t do any good if they don’t work for the task at hand. Now, I know that clamps aren’t the coolest thing in the world. They’re not a sexy, boutique handplane, fancy chisel, or the latest and greatest table saw. However, I think they tend to be one of the last things people think about while buying tools. You would be surprised…

The amount of woodworkers that I meet that don’t have a good set of chisels nearly floors me. With the work I do, I couldn’t survive without my sharp set of bench chisels. Between fine-tuning joints, paring waste, and cleaning up problem areas, they may just be the most used tools in my shop. However, there are certain tasks that my standard bench chisels just don’t cut it (pun intended). In these instances, I’ll often reach for a set of specialty chisels that I keep on hand. Over the next pages, I want to show you some of my specialty chisels that help get you out of some sticky situations. FRAMING CHISEL This first chisel that is in my specialty drawer is a large, 11/2" framing chisel. This wide, razor-sharp chisel is…