WOOD Magazine May 2019

Ask any group of woodworkers what tool they consider to be the most important one in their shop, and the vast majority will probably say “tablesaw.” (I would argue for “brain,” but let’s not get into semantics.) Perhaps not coincidentally, your tablesaw is also likely the most expensive tool you own, especially when you add up the multitude of accessories that help make it an important, versatile contributor. That cumulative cost—and the space-hogging footprint of a tablesaw—can be a big obstacle to folks trying to get started in woodworking. Although a tablesaw makes many cutting and machining operations a breeze, you could still make fine furniture with efficiency and accuracy even if all of the tablesaws suddenly vanished from the earth in some kind of weird power-tool rapture. After all, people…

At WOOD, we may have “faces for radio and voices for print” as one video reviewer commented (thanks a lot, Mom), but you’re sure to find solid woodworking instruction in the hours upon hours of how-to footage we’ve produced over the years. Binge-watch our woodworking videos for days on end at woodmagazine.com/videos or check out these favorites.…

Use Your Superpowers for Good Recently, I stumbled across a copy of issue 66 (December 1993) of WOOD® magazine, which included an item about Allyson, my wheelchair-bound daughter, and how woodworkers can use their skills to help those with disabilities. I have always been grateful for that, and thought you might like an update. Allyson recently completed her reign as Ms. Wheelchair Virginia when she also competed in the Ms. Wheelchair America pageant. She’s now a student at Roanoke College in Salem, Va., and is able to live on her own. I’m very proud of her. And yes, 25 years later, woodworkers are still needed to help make things for disabled folk. Each disabled person has unique needs and, like a woodworking project, the “jig” is unique to the need. There are common…

Send Us a Photo of Your Work Want to see your work showcased in WOOD® magazine? Send a high-resolution digital photo of your completed project to woodmail@woodmagazine.com.…

Walking into Gary Toles’s outbuilding, you might be confused as to whether you’re in his shop or his den. The recliner, flat-screen TV, mini-fridges, and woodstove within spitting distance of his tablesaw and workbench could throw you off. Gary’s shop is the culmination of 30 years of woodworking and construction experience. Cabinets he built from New Yankee Workshop plans house hand and portable power tools. Besides providing plenty of countertop space to work on—and plan—projects, the cabinets incorporate a fence shared by the radial-arm saw and mitersaw. Gary hid dust-collection ductwork in a hollow backsplash on his cabinets, with the top of the backsplash serving as shelf space. He piped two auxiliary dust-collection ports to the front faces of the cabinets so he can roll his router table and other tools up…

Choosing Brads or Pins: a Tale of Holes and Holding Q My pneumatic brad nailer has served me well, but I’m curious about pin nailers that shoot pins even finer than brads. When would I benefit from using such a tool? —Bob Pruefer, Plymouth, Mass. A Pin nailers offer several advantages—and drawbacks—compared with brad nailers, Bob. Unlike 18-gauge brads, 23-gauge pins don’t have heads, so they leave miniscule holes that typically don’t require filling. Besides the cosmetic advantage, not having to fill holes can result in significant time saving when attaching a lot of trim. But the lack of a head gives a pin little holding power. So for most applications, use pins in conjunction with an adhesive such as wood glue. In the WOOD® shop we often use pins to hold glass…