WOOD Magazine October 2016

When I was in college (way back in the day), my computer programming class involved feeding stacks of punched cards into a distant mainframe computer. Today, I own a computer with more computing capacity than that mainframe, and I can use it to instantly communicate with almost anyone on the planet. It’s my phone. From email to banking to watching TV on demand to web surfing, you can do pretty much anything on your phone or tablet. Some apps and sites work well on mobile devices, and it frustrates me when I bump into one that doesn’t. Until recently, that included our own woodmagazine.com. But no more. A few weeks ago, we unveiled the new woodmagazine.com, the first overhaul of our website in nearly 10 years. The latest and greatest iteration features larger photos…

WOODMAGAZINE.COM • Improved search and navigation speeds finding articles online or in your print collection. • The new look and feel is easy on your eyes and your mobile screen (see page 2). • We designed for speed. Faster load times mean more shop time. • Visit daily to find the Tip of the Day. • We add woodworking articles and videos regularly. • Find encyclopedic coverage of woodworking techniques, tools, and materials. • Take us into the shop with you! Large images inspire even on your smallest device. • Shop for project plans directly from the site.…

OUR VOICE Hard-urned Wisdom I enjoyed the excellent Memorial Box featured in issue 239 (May 2016). Having built funerary boxes for both my mother and my father-in-law, here are a few things I learned in the process: First, plan for 1 cubic inch of volume per pound of body weight. If the box is going to be displayed, make it as small as practical, or it may quickly end up in a closet. Second, if the box will be buried, there may be size restrictions. For example, my mother’s Florida cemetery required that cremains be enclosed in a 1-cubic-foot concrete box, whether encased in an urn or not. In Missouri, where my father-in-law was buried, there were no such requirements. Finally, I wholeheartedly agree with your advice to choose materials that have significance. I built…

Q Clogged spray gun? Save it with a solvent bath I waited too long to clean my spray gun, and now the lacquer I was using has hardened inside it. Can this gun be salvaged? —Frank Pruitt, Wichita Falls, Texas A In most cases, you can rescue your spray equipment, Frank. First, disassemble the gun and wash the parts in the appropriate solvent (lacquer thinner for lacquer, mineral spirits for polyurethane or varnish, denatured alcohol for shellac). Professional painters often soak their guns in lacquer thinner or methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) to loosen paint. If any of these fails to do the trick, try a dedicated spray-gun cleaning solution. Spray-gun cleaner softens oil and latex paint, polyurethanes, and other finishes, and it starts to work in a few minutes. (Don’t soak O-rings, gland…

WORK FASTER, SMARTER, SAFER Build Sturdy Stands Using Strut In looking for an affordable way to make rock-solid, good-looking, and eminently functional machinery bases, it occurred to me that steel strut channel, used in the building trades for supporting electrical, plumbing, and mechanical systems, might be worth trying. So I bought a few 10' lengths at a home center (about $20 for a 12-gauge piece) and soon found that strut makes great legs when joined top and bottom with 2×4 rails. (Pine 2×4s provide plenty of strength for typical machines weighing 100–300 pounds, but for heavier loads, use hardwood.) To get a sturdy base, prepare the 2×4s for a tight fit to the strut. First, plane the wood to match the inside dimension of the strut, and cut tightfitting dadoes near the rail…

STRAIGHT TALK FROM THE WOOD-WIDE WEB Iunderstand. A great idea for a woodworking project has arisen and taken hold of your creative mind, the concept has become clear, and perhaps you even have made scale drawings. Now this fine thought could come to fruition but, unfortunately, something stands in the way. Maybe your jointer isn’t wide enough to handle the required components. Or maybe your bandsaw doesn’t have enough capacity. Maybe the boards you found for the project just don’t have the consistent color and figure that you really wanted. Your shop isn’t big enough—or you don’t have a real shop at all. Anyway, you really don’t have the time. And is it worth the effort? It’s always something. Always, because making real things is done in the real world, with all its disappointing…