Sometimes when I am setting up for a video on a topic, I realize there are a bunch of tips and tricks in the video that I have either never covered, or a bundle of ideas that sort of run together because they are all related .. and so is this version of tips and tricks ...
Watch it on Youtube: https://youtu.be/edqyTk6RsyM
And starting off with something called Adventure tape, and like a lot of things, it was never designed for woodworking, but woodworkers are a creative bunch of people and they can often find good uses for things that others never dreamed of ...
Like using Adventure tape for clamping wood projects together during glue-ups. Especially projects that are unconventional in shape, circular or odd-shaped. Adventure tape is similar to a bicycle tube rubber, but it sticks to itself which makes it super easy to use for many different applications. If it gets a bit dusty, you simply rinse it off in cold water and it's ready to go again. It comes in different widths and I found the 3/8" or 9mm to be the handiest, but it depends on what you have. You can check out Adventure Tape here - https://adventuretape.com/
I noticed there are many, similar tapes but I can't vouch for others, I have only tried this tape and it appears it is only available from the manufacturer at this point.
If you follow my channel, you will know I use dowels in many of my builds from everything from constructing super strong joints in furniture, to joining wood together for gluing for seamless joints and even filling large knot holes in wood. If you have ever worked with doweling material you know that the best way to use it is to make it a bit longer than what you need, then trim it down with a nice Japanese pull saw, and finally trimming it flush with either a plane of a sharp chisel. In most cases, I prefer a chisel because it lets me get in close and I can see what the blade is cutting as I am doing the trimming. I don't use chisels as much anymore so I always migrate to them when I can. I have a very old set of very, very nice British chisels and I keep them razor-sharp.
Over the years I have had many people ask me about good quality chisels and what they should buy and I have not had a good answer because markets have changed, but recently I was introduced to the Narex Chisels, and even got a chance to try them out ... Ouch ... are these nice chisels, and finally something I can recommend if you are in the market for quality chisels that will last you the rest of your life. They are made in Czechoslovakia and they are well made and come in a variety of sizes, either individually or in sets. Check out the Black Friday deals on these and other items at Taylor Tools - HERE
If you have been in woodworking for a while, you have probably seen where people use Playing Cards, to elevate the blade above the workpiece and then trim it down from there ... I don't keep playing cards in my workshop! instead, I wood veneers, they are perfect for the job, and yet another use for veneers. If you don't have any veneers, you should pick yourself up a small amount, they are available in many places, and maybe ... maybe, you will even get into some veneering which is a great place to make high-quality projects with very special woods at only a fraction of the cost by laminating highly figure veneers to sheet goods. I will get back to some of this in the near future ...
This next episode is chucked full of tips ... First of all, if you are marking wood, let's say it is finished wood and you don't want to leave pencil marks on it, but you still need to drill holes or other modifications. You have a couple of great choices, like Scotch Tape, not the glossy, but the matte look. You can mark it with pencil lead, but my go-to tape for this chore is Yellow Masking tape. I prefer the 3M brand masking tapes and I keep both the blue and the yellow on hand. I have found the other brands often don't hold as well and even lose their sticky properties over time. Do yourself a small favor and pick up the better quality, it is FAR less frustrating to work with.
Next, if you are hand drilling and maybe using "Twist bits", as you may know, these can easily skate around on what you want to drill and with wood, twist bits can even find their own path due to the grain of the wood and not always drill where you want. To solve this you have a couple of options, a) use a punch, and my main punch, or scratch-all, is an old screwdriver that I had to use as a prybar "in a pinch" a few years ago and, yup it snapped, but then I decided to sharpen the end and now I get even more use out of it ... of b) use some brand point bits. I seldom use these on my drill press, but frequently use them on my cordless drill because I know when I poke the sharp end into the wood, that is where I will drill. If you don't have a set of these, you can find these on Taylor Tool Back Friday list for a super deal for the link above.
Then moving on to the reason for drilling ... in this case a "locking" hole to the main hole, at the drill press. A very easy task when you know how.
First set up the drill and USE A FENCE to keep it aligned at a specific distance, drill that main hole, such as in the demonstration picture below where the copper pipe will go into the wood. Now, without making any changes to the fence, simply insert the small drill bit that will contain the locking screw or bolt, flip your work piece on its' side and it's already set up for drilling the small hole, right in the middle of where the large hole was drilled.
And as a reminder ... more Black Friday deals at Mag Switch for magnetic switches for all sorts of applications, for more info, check out the article from last week, or you can go right to the Mag Switch online store HERE
Stay tuned for more tips and more new woodworking ideas and builds coming in the future
Copyright Colin Knecht
woodworkweb
