- Read Time: 5 mins
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Measuring and Marking are a big part of woodworking and anything we can do to make it easier and more accurate will only make the work more pleasurable. There is nothing worse than working on a project right up until assembly then finding that one or more of the pieces don't fit and the part or parts need to be re-made. Making thing right the first time is just so much easier. I find it's better to take my time to the build rather than trying to rush and make mistakes because often the mistakes are fundamental measuring errors that lead to parts problems later on.
Watch it on Youtube: https://youtu.be/wqRVFL5wjhY
One of the tricks I learned recently was how to make a circle using a square, a pencil, and 2 nails. At first, I couldn't see how it could even work. Something about it didn't seem right and I wasn't able to visualize it in my mind, I had to actually try it out, and wouldn't you know ... it works ...
- Read Time: 6 mins
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The final step of creating a woodworking project is putting some sort of finish on it. Sometimes the finish is a clear coat of some product, other times it is opaque like a paint. In either case there is usually some sort of mixing and and cleaning process that needs to be done and not all of are in love with the process and some (me) have often taken short cuts.
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I don’t often paint wood, but sometimes it is the only choice and if you do not mix paint fully, you can get streaking, patchy color and inconsistent texture, so mixing well is imperative. Mixing smaller quantities is easier but often we are mixing gallon pails or at least portions of them and all that paint needs to get mixed...
- Read Time: 7 mins
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Keeping dust in control as best we can is another very important part of woodworking. Making dust control easier encourages us to use it more and helps keep our workshops and our lungs more dust free. In this video, I am sharing just a few of the things I do that makes using my dust collection system and workshop vacuum more convenient and allows them to share accessories.
Watch it on Youtube: https://youtu.be/_B9pnCpXhP0
In a previous workshop, I had that was quite small, soon after setting up and ripping some wood, I soon noticed the shop was getting filled quite quickly with dust in the air. Rather than use a dust mask and keep on working, I simply left the workshop and shut the door and allowed the dust to settle and came back to it the next day. It was lesson dust control and when I returned to the shop it was with a single stage dust collector to see how much it could help dust control in my shop ...
- Read Time: 4 mins
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I like to try and keep an organized and tidy workshop because it helps to encourage me to keep it clean and uncluttered. That often means I have to invent ways of working a bit differently to make thing easier and safer. One of the things I work hard a doing is keeping as much as I can off the floor. I like to keep the shop clean which means keeping the floor as clutter-free as possible so that I can sweep frequently.
Watch it on Youtube: https://youtu.be/Qyd4hupCA4E
I know I need to have a limited number of cords on the floor for machinery, but extension cords can often be routed differently to help keep things off the floor and easier to sweep and uum ...