WOOD Magazine November 2017

I f you’re early, you’re on time; and if you’re on time, you’re late.” That was the mantra of our kids’ high-school band director, who would repeat it whenever a student trickled into a rehearsal just as (or a few minutes after) the bell chimed. That tardy kid has been me most of my life, always running just a little bit late. It’s not that I’m lazy. I just always seem to underestimate how long it’s going to take to do something. I figure everything will go as smooth as a baby’s bottom, so I don’t allow time for the hiccups that inevitably pop up. As we enter the gift-making season, remember that your shop is where you go to relax, not stress to the max. Think about the gifts you want…

Whether you’re as graceful as the prima ballerina assoluta or you’re two left feet in a pair of lead shoes, practicing your motions will put your woodworking en pointe, improving not only your ergonomics and safety, but also your woodworking, as you reduce tearout, snipe, burning, and miscuts. On page 74, you’ll see the latest of our “Body Mechanics” articles, “Cutting Sheet Goods on the Tablesaw.” Refresh yourself on the rest of the series at woodmagazine.com.…

YOUR VOICE Extreme Zigzagging I was impressed with the design of the Zigzag Box in issue 243 (November 2016), but wanted to try it on something bigger. So I played around with the concept and ended up building two coffee tables and this 78×53" dining-room table employing the technique you showed. The table itself is stained solid cherry; I made the inlaid pattern from cherry, granadillo, and leopardwood framed in natural cherry. I finished it with two coats of hand-rubbed lacquer, followed by three coats of tung oil (again, hand-rubbed), then topped with two coats of a heated mixture of tung oil and beeswax. Finally, the table was finished with a good paste wax and buffed by hand. —Dr. Robert D. CoapmanSierra Vista, Ariz. Speaker-maker Sounds Off As someone who has been building speaker systems since…

Q Read wood grain like pet fur to avoid grain tear-out Too often, when I rout, plane, or joint stock, especially figured wood, small chunks of wood tear loose from the surface, leaving it as pockmarked as the moon. What should I do differently? – Bernard Burke, Leslie, Mich. A Before we get into the finer points of avoiding grain tear-out, let’s dispense with a few basics. No matter the tool, sharp cutters, light cuts, and slow feed rates will help deter tear-out. When routing end grain on a router table, back the exit end of your cut with sacrificial stock. And always rout the ends of boards first —often, subsequent edge cuts will clean up any grain tear-out left by the end cuts. If you still experience tear-out, try moving the router…

A Portable Workbench Dog With Real Bite Portable workbenches, such as the Black & Decker Workmate, prove indispensible for many tasks. Their plastic dogs suffice for some clamping work, but when you need real hold-down power, use one or more drill-press locking clamps (available at woodmagazine.com/lockingclamp). They drop right into the workbench holes, and provide up to 3" of vertical holding capacity. In addition to clamping down workpieces and sawing guides, I use them to secure my pocket-hole jig to workpieces. —John Stahr, Chicago Tips Earn up to $150. If your tip is the best of the issue, it wins Top Shop Tip honors, and you receive a tool prize worth at least $300. Send your tip, photos or drawings, and contact info to shoptips@woodmagazine.com Because we try to publish original tips, please send yours only…

E arly in my woodworking hobby, I set about building a cabinet for stereo equipment and a music collection. I needed to rout dadoes in the cabinet sides for the shelves. On one pass, I noticed the router motor slowing down. It didn’t take long for me to realize that the 1/4"-deep dado I was routing was now ramped deeper across the cabinet side. It eventually routed through the 3/4" plywood and into my workbench about halfway across the cabinet side—in what would be a prominent spot on the finished piece. The router bit had slipped in 1/4"-deep dado I was routing was now ramped deeper across the cabinet side. It eventually routed through the 3/4" plywood and into my workbench about halfway across the cabinet side—in what would be…