WOOD Magazine May 2017

As much as nature abhors a vacuum, I apparently detest a backyard without some kind of shed. Our first house came complete with a nice, flat concrete slab upon which the previous owner had planned to build one. So I spent the winter sketching and planning, and in the spring, stick-built a sturdy shed on the spot. It was a thing of beauty. It also wasn’t long before we learned that the shed collected ankle-deep water during heavy rain (which may have explained the slab’s vacancy). Still, it freed up enough space in my garage for Dad’s old 9" tablesaw and my farm-auction-bought radial-arm saw. When we bought our current house, one of my first tasks was to build an attached shed—complete with a poured-wall founda tion—to store the snow thrower, lawn mower,…

Long-lost Letter Inspires Another Recently, this unsent letter (at right) fell out of an old issue of WOOD® magazine that once belonged to my grandfather, Rene Stebenne, an avid reader of yours and a skilled craftsman. He drew great satisfaction in designing, building, and presenting his pieces, and was always eager to pass on his knowledge to me even when I was very young. I would “assist” him in his basement workshop by sweeping up dust and brushing off all the tools. We spent many a day in his shop as he created his latest project. Later, our roles reversed as my grandfather watched me test my skills in his shop and create pieces on my own. Even though his vision prevented him from doing any work himself, he was always ready…

QOil changes prolong tool life Because I only use my oil-lubricated air compressor in the shop for occasional fastening and blowing dust, I forget about changing the oil. How often should I be changing it? —Randy Clark, Blacksburg, Va. A Great question, Randy, because regularly doing this type of maintenance extends the life and performance of your compressor. First, check your owner’s manual for oilchange intervals. If you can’t find the manual, a good rule of thumb is about 200 to 300 hours with conventional motor oil and 1,000 hours with synthetic oil. But if you live in a climate with cold winters, change the oil during the fall to a wintergrade (thinner) viscosity. (This holds true for job-site use, as well as in an unheated workshop.) Then change back to a summer…

Discover the joy of making these completely original and irresistibly fun Bolt Action and New Revolver Pen Kits. A great gift for every hunting, target shooting and gun aficionado. Both pen styles are completely authentic with precision engineered components that were carefully designed to ensure uniqueness and reliability. They feature a Parker™ style refill for smooth writing performance. And they’re so easy, fun and fulfilling to make on a lathe, no one will believe you made something of this quality in 15 minutes. Bolt Action Pen Kits Our best-selling pen kits enjoys a huge following in the pen making community. It’s beloved for its realistic bolt-action handle that smoothly advances and retracts to securely lock the refill in place. Includes a bolt-action rifle clip and replica 30 caliber cartridge and rose gold…

Dirt-simple Dust Shroud Corrals Drill-press Mess Faced with the task of preparing multiple birdhouse parts, all with large drilled holes, I decided to create a shroud to contain and collect the inevitable tidal wave of sawdust. This one is 99-percent efficient. To build your own, first cut a hole through a scrap of wood to fit your vacuum hose. Cut a half-gallon juice jug in half, and make a hole in its bottom large enough for your drill-press chuck. Cut another hole in one side to match the one in the hose mount. Screw the jug to the hose mount, flush with its bottom. Then screw the hose mount to a fence the same thickness as your workpiece and positioned for the hole(s) you’ll make. Attach the hose and drill away. —Joe Langenstein,…

Applying paste wax should be the last step of the furnituremaker’s finishing process. It’s like a lubricated final sanding that also allows you to adjust the sheen and make subtle adjustments to color. For closed-pore woods, such as cherry or maple, I like to use clear paste wax. (Find Johnson’s floor paste wax in the cleaningsupplies aisle of most any big-box store.) But when finishing furniture made from openpore woods, such as walnut, mahogany, or oak it’s common to apply colored paste wax as a final step. This is usually a black or very dark brown wax. (I prefer Black Bison from Liberon.) For the Arts and Crafts, Craftsman, and Mission pieces I’ve built using quartersawn white oak, I’ve used a dark wax on every piece. It’s a standard part of…