WOOD Magazine March 2023

THERE ARE NO STUPID QUESTIONS? ON THE CONTRARY, THAT IS MY FAVORITE KIND OF QUESTION. If you haven’t guessed from my previous columns, I grew up in small-town America. My graduating class, in a school district comprising two towns, consisted of 14 seniors. The very first lecture that I attended in college had more students in it than the entire high school student body back home. It was two weeks into that class when I realized I was out of my depth. The professor stood at the chalkboard, scribbling equations and plowing through the course material, barely glancing at the students. I watched those students taking notes furiously while I felt I was falling further and further behind. I had already begun to wonder if my first semester of college would be…

SPRING AHEAD Spring will soon spring. In preparation, we’ve gathered these outdoor project videos to spring you from your hibernation and back into the outdoors. Now it’s time for you to spring into action in your shop. SIT OUT IN THE SUN Plant yourself on the patio for a little solar therapy in a comfy-to-sit-in and easy-to-get-out-of tall Adirondack chair. We throw in a bonus table build in the video at woodmagazine.com/sitinthesun PREP FOR PLANTING Add a splash of greenery and a screen of privacy anywhere you’d like with this cedar and copper planter box and trellis combo. Watch the detailed build at woodmagazine.com/plantingprep PLAN A PICNIC Get ready to get your grub on in the great outdoors with this eight-seater. Watch the eight-seater-outdoor-eater build at woodmagazine.com/picnicplan…

YOUR VOICE PROCRASTINATORS, UNITE! PROBABLY LATER, THOUGH Lucas, I just read your “Driving Lessons” piece in issue 285 of WOOD® magazine and wanted to let you know that I can empathize with all of it. I, myself, have a teenager whom I am teaching to drive, and also find myself procrastinating when I should be taking her out to practice. The segue to procrastinating in the shop is a great comparison. I have found myself in that situation many times over the years. Chris via e-mail Thanks, Chris, I’m glad I’m not alone. Judging from the responses, neither of us is. Lucas Peters Editor-in-Chief Here is my example of procrastination: Somehow, I’ve talked myself into building my own floor-size folk harp. This project has progressed in fits and starts as I try to process each step. Currently, the…

Q: SCRUB PLANE THROWING YOU A CURVE? I’ve found all kinds of information on how to sharpen regular plane blades, but how do I go about sharpening the curved iron of a scrub plane? Scott Baumgartner Billings, Montana A: Scrub planes feature a blade with a curved end to quickly hog off large amounts of material when thicknessing lumber by hand. This curvature presents a challenge when sharpening, particularly if you’re accustomed to relying on a honing guide. But by following these simple steps, you can master the technique for sharpening a scrub plane blade. As you learn, keep in mind that scrub planes are roughing tools, so there’s no need to obsess over achieving the perfect edge as you would with a smoothing plane. To sharpen a new scrub plane iron, start by flattening…

SPLINE JIG FOR MITERED JOINTS Miter joints are hard to clamp and aren’t very strong, especially on large or heavy picture frames. I like to add inlaid splines to reinforce these joints and align them during assembly. This jig works with my trim router and a ¼" straight bit to rout the grooves for the splines. The jig consists of a plywood base with a pair of angled fences that position the workpieces. A ½" spacer between the fences creates a gap between the workpieces to provide clearance for starting and stopping the router bit. A wedge block holds the workpieces in position. I made the router guide from ¼" MDF with a window cut out to view and set the position of the bit. A long fence guides the router while…

Big wheels and handles make this cart easy to use and give it that classic handcart look. For our cart we used cypress, which has excellent decay resistance and is a great choice for outdoor furniture projects. The heavy-duty steel axle hardware comes predrilled, making wheel attachment a simple process. ONE CLASSY CHASSIS 1 Cut the front and back legs (A, B) to size [Materials List]. Form the rabbets on the inside face of each leg. Add the notches, then cut and sand the tapers [Drawing 1]. 2 Cut the handles (C) to size. Mark the cutouts, then bandsaw or jigsaw them to shape [Drawing 2]. 3 Use a handheld router to round over the upper edges of the handles [Drawing 2], then switch to the router table to shape the stopped round-overs on…