Well, lots of things have been going on in the shop lately! The biggest of them have been the upgrade to my dust collection system and the upgrade of my band saw. I also purchased a lot of what I call “leap of faith wood” (wood I purchased with my money instead of a customers’, in hope of selling the piece on my own) and a new biscuit joiner! I plan to review the band saw, dust collector and biscuit joiner but all I can say is that they are all Delta/Porter Cable and I have to say, DPC is where it’s at right now for tools in my opinion…but I guess that begs the question, were they ever not?
In addition to my fun with tools, I have worked on a lot of projects including 3 jewelry boxes I plan to try and get into galleries, a flame birch and maple hall table (with a live edge that you can actually see a pre-finish preview of on my Twitter page and a Victorian style vanity.
I have a lot of great wood left over from my recent order to Bell Forest which I have to say is an amazing site for highly figured woods. Be looking for some big ticket pieces coming up soon including a wet bar free-standing cabinet-type piece that includes flame birch, birds-eye maple, and holly.
Lots of things are happening and I can’t wait to keep you guys updated, so keep reading! Also be on the lookout for soon to come, “Shop Evolution part 2”!
Special thanks to Delta/Porter Cable and Bell Forest Products for making all these things possible.
Friday, March 26, 2010
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
First impressions of the “Kreg Deck Jig”
I waited eagerly all day to see what Kreg had cooked up this time. I thought most likely a new router accessory…maybe a table saw fence system…maybe even some new accessories for the pocket hole jig. Enter the Kreg deck jig: the first really non-fine woodworking jig from Kreg I have seen. Granted, decks can still be fine woodworking but not on the level of cabinetry type items they were focusing on.
Right off the bat, this jig pisses excellence. They covered all the bases with this baby (notice my baseball lingo!): drill bit with a stop collar so you can’t sink your screws to deep, angled guides left and right for butting two boards on one joist and even a handle that requires no obvious need for any clamping. If you are a contractor or hardcore DIY’er or even just a rabid Kreg enthusiast, you have to pick this up.
One thing I really like that they also did is the inclusion the little plastic spacers for spacing your deck boards. And of course you HAVE to love how the straight hole and both the angled holes are on the same unit; no fiddling to put the hole at an angle like I often find myself doing with the pocket hole jigs.
Also, the jig has a feature in which you can lay the drill bits down in it and slide the stop collar to the optimal point; no fussy measuring or guess work. It is what it is…and that is perfect.
If you are a contractor and blowing through deck boards by the dozen, Kreg sells the special self-tapping screws by the bucket just like you would purchase your normal deck screws. I am anxious to see if they will be stocking these as abundantly as deck screws, seeing as though the store always seems to be out of pocket screws when I need them, but only time will tell.
The system itself is listed on woodcraft.com (the only place to shop!) for $99 and includes everything you need to get going. It appears the screws will be around $50 for the buckets.
If you are running a crew of guys and have one for each of them, this could get a little pricy, but from what I can see so far this system will be worth its weight in gold for those of you who find yourself frequently laying down deck boards.
Like I said, this is only the first impression of the system but I can’t wait to try it out and give you my hands-on opinion!
Ta ta for now!
I waited eagerly all day to see what Kreg had cooked up this time. I thought most likely a new router accessory…maybe a table saw fence system…maybe even some new accessories for the pocket hole jig. Enter the Kreg deck jig: the first really non-fine woodworking jig from Kreg I have seen. Granted, decks can still be fine woodworking but not on the level of cabinetry type items they were focusing on.
Right off the bat, this jig pisses excellence. They covered all the bases with this baby (notice my baseball lingo!): drill bit with a stop collar so you can’t sink your screws to deep, angled guides left and right for butting two boards on one joist and even a handle that requires no obvious need for any clamping. If you are a contractor or hardcore DIY’er or even just a rabid Kreg enthusiast, you have to pick this up.
One thing I really like that they also did is the inclusion the little plastic spacers for spacing your deck boards. And of course you HAVE to love how the straight hole and both the angled holes are on the same unit; no fiddling to put the hole at an angle like I often find myself doing with the pocket hole jigs.
Also, the jig has a feature in which you can lay the drill bits down in it and slide the stop collar to the optimal point; no fussy measuring or guess work. It is what it is…and that is perfect.
If you are a contractor and blowing through deck boards by the dozen, Kreg sells the special self-tapping screws by the bucket just like you would purchase your normal deck screws. I am anxious to see if they will be stocking these as abundantly as deck screws, seeing as though the store always seems to be out of pocket screws when I need them, but only time will tell.
The system itself is listed on woodcraft.com (the only place to shop!) for $99 and includes everything you need to get going. It appears the screws will be around $50 for the buckets.
If you are running a crew of guys and have one for each of them, this could get a little pricy, but from what I can see so far this system will be worth its weight in gold for those of you who find yourself frequently laying down deck boards.
Like I said, this is only the first impression of the system but I can’t wait to try it out and give you my hands-on opinion!
Ta ta for now!
Friday, March 19, 2010
The evolution of your shop. Part 1: The basics, from my perspective.
When I started out woodworking I had minimal tools.
All I was making at the time were mantel shelves with pre-milled crown molding and really no details at all to them.
I had a miter saw, a brad nailer and circular saw. As my skills progressed, I started seeing the need for new tools. First and foremost came the table saw, then a router somewhere in there, then I could create most complex joinery operations (or try to anyway!) Then I decided I was ready to grow up in the world of woodworking and stop buying pre-milled “Home Center” wood for my projects and I wanted to mill it myself. Thus came the most life changing purchase of my woodworking career: the jointer and planer. After I got used to those for awhile, I started noticing the need for the “nice to have” tools like sheet and random orbital sanders, 2 separate routers and somewhere in there I even constructed my router table.
Now my shop is fully outfitted. I have a Grizzly table saw, 12-inch jointer, mortise, a Delta bandsaw, Dust collector, planer and drill press and a Jet miter saw spindle sander, edge sander, shaper, and open end belt sander. An impressive collection seeing as where I came from! The point of all this is for new woodworkers reading this or woodworkers who are at a loss with what tools to buy, to learn the evaluations to go about making, in order to help your shop evolve.
I’ll start by focusing on those who might just have gotten in to woodworking.
The majority of you who are new to the craft will be tackling small projects at first, not calling for a large amount of tools. The first question you want to ask yourself is, “Do I want to use mainly hand tools or power tools?” This is a serious question to ask for new woodworkers. Both paths ultimately get you to the same place, just at different speeds and ways. I am almost solely a power tool shop so that’s what I will be focusing on.
The most important tool you can consider buying starting off is….you guessed it! A table saw.
This saw remains the workhorse of your shop no matter what throughout its life. From milling wood to making cross cuts, from cutting dadoes and intricate miters all the way to constructing mortise and tenon, it seems like the table saw can do it all!
Along with your purchase of the table saw, you will definitely need to get your hands on a good square, a tape measure, and a cordless drill.
As you advance your skills and learn new things, you will notice that not everything can be done easily if at all with just those tools. I found myself needing a router, time and time again. There are currently some great router combo kits on the market right now, including a 2 and ¾ motor and both a fixed base and a plunge base for the router. My favorite happens to be the one porter cable has out. You can’t go wrong with a porter cable router. Some great bits to pick up with your router to start with are: a round over, a rabbeting, a straight bit or two, and maybe if you have the funds to spare, a flush trimming bit. In my experience, you will soon learn that you cant live off home center wood forever.
Now you are going to enter the wild world of jointers and planers.
Now given not everyone will start out with a 12 inch jointer and 15 inch planer right away but that doesn’t mean smaller models are incompetent. Something that I have found would work great for a small shop or a limited workspace is a joint/planer. You get both models in one machine. Jet has out a very nice jointer/planer currently. It performs excellently and it has a whopping 10 inch capacity! That’s a big jointer for your first, kids. Eventually as your space and needs grow you may upgrade this machine.
I found it necessary to get high-powered planer because I was thicknessing and milling some very rough, very thick and very long stock. If you are going to working with very thin pieces such as veneers and guitar parts if you’re getting in the world of being a luthior you might want to keep the planer you have and look in the some sort of an open end belt or drum sander.
As for the jointer, you can definitely get by with a 6-inch or 8-inch as many, many woodworkers do every day - but you just can’t get around the luxury of having a 12-inch (or depending how rich you are, a 16).
As your path down the woodworking road evolves, you will make some decisions and go down some paths. There are many to take. You may want to get heavily into turning, in which I strongly believe you will still want to have the tools we have already talked about, or in my case, you may find yourself wanting to make furniture and cabinetry - that is the path we will be focusing on.
The first tool I got after making those other large improvements didn’t really have to do with building things at all; it helped with my cleanliness and stress-level in the shop.
You may or may not know this but a big thing that clouds your focus and hinders your accuracy is the amount of chaos going on around you. For me, I need a clean shop to work in. If it’s not neat and tidy, I go bananas and fail to create. Therefore I got….you guessed it - a dust collector. Granted, this can be a bit of an investment. If you want to do it RIGHT and not have hoses running on the floor every which way, you’re going to have to invest in a fair amount of hose footage and the appropriate fittings. If you do, you will be quick to notice the improvements it will make!
Well, that covers most of the basics - this is only part one! I will be making second and possibly third parts discussing more in-depth the tools you can get, the more you advance! Remember, this is from MY perspective. You need to follow the path right for you.
I hope this installment has helped some of you and I hope the next will continue to!
When I started out woodworking I had minimal tools.
All I was making at the time were mantel shelves with pre-milled crown molding and really no details at all to them.
I had a miter saw, a brad nailer and circular saw. As my skills progressed, I started seeing the need for new tools. First and foremost came the table saw, then a router somewhere in there, then I could create most complex joinery operations (or try to anyway!) Then I decided I was ready to grow up in the world of woodworking and stop buying pre-milled “Home Center” wood for my projects and I wanted to mill it myself. Thus came the most life changing purchase of my woodworking career: the jointer and planer. After I got used to those for awhile, I started noticing the need for the “nice to have” tools like sheet and random orbital sanders, 2 separate routers and somewhere in there I even constructed my router table.
Now my shop is fully outfitted. I have a Grizzly table saw, 12-inch jointer, mortise, a Delta bandsaw, Dust collector, planer and drill press and a Jet miter saw spindle sander, edge sander, shaper, and open end belt sander. An impressive collection seeing as where I came from! The point of all this is for new woodworkers reading this or woodworkers who are at a loss with what tools to buy, to learn the evaluations to go about making, in order to help your shop evolve.
I’ll start by focusing on those who might just have gotten in to woodworking.
The majority of you who are new to the craft will be tackling small projects at first, not calling for a large amount of tools. The first question you want to ask yourself is, “Do I want to use mainly hand tools or power tools?” This is a serious question to ask for new woodworkers. Both paths ultimately get you to the same place, just at different speeds and ways. I am almost solely a power tool shop so that’s what I will be focusing on.
The most important tool you can consider buying starting off is….you guessed it! A table saw.
This saw remains the workhorse of your shop no matter what throughout its life. From milling wood to making cross cuts, from cutting dadoes and intricate miters all the way to constructing mortise and tenon, it seems like the table saw can do it all!
Along with your purchase of the table saw, you will definitely need to get your hands on a good square, a tape measure, and a cordless drill.
As you advance your skills and learn new things, you will notice that not everything can be done easily if at all with just those tools. I found myself needing a router, time and time again. There are currently some great router combo kits on the market right now, including a 2 and ¾ motor and both a fixed base and a plunge base for the router. My favorite happens to be the one porter cable has out. You can’t go wrong with a porter cable router. Some great bits to pick up with your router to start with are: a round over, a rabbeting, a straight bit or two, and maybe if you have the funds to spare, a flush trimming bit. In my experience, you will soon learn that you cant live off home center wood forever.
Now you are going to enter the wild world of jointers and planers.
Now given not everyone will start out with a 12 inch jointer and 15 inch planer right away but that doesn’t mean smaller models are incompetent. Something that I have found would work great for a small shop or a limited workspace is a joint/planer. You get both models in one machine. Jet has out a very nice jointer/planer currently. It performs excellently and it has a whopping 10 inch capacity! That’s a big jointer for your first, kids. Eventually as your space and needs grow you may upgrade this machine.
I found it necessary to get high-powered planer because I was thicknessing and milling some very rough, very thick and very long stock. If you are going to working with very thin pieces such as veneers and guitar parts if you’re getting in the world of being a luthior you might want to keep the planer you have and look in the some sort of an open end belt or drum sander.
As for the jointer, you can definitely get by with a 6-inch or 8-inch as many, many woodworkers do every day - but you just can’t get around the luxury of having a 12-inch (or depending how rich you are, a 16).
As your path down the woodworking road evolves, you will make some decisions and go down some paths. There are many to take. You may want to get heavily into turning, in which I strongly believe you will still want to have the tools we have already talked about, or in my case, you may find yourself wanting to make furniture and cabinetry - that is the path we will be focusing on.
The first tool I got after making those other large improvements didn’t really have to do with building things at all; it helped with my cleanliness and stress-level in the shop.
You may or may not know this but a big thing that clouds your focus and hinders your accuracy is the amount of chaos going on around you. For me, I need a clean shop to work in. If it’s not neat and tidy, I go bananas and fail to create. Therefore I got….you guessed it - a dust collector. Granted, this can be a bit of an investment. If you want to do it RIGHT and not have hoses running on the floor every which way, you’re going to have to invest in a fair amount of hose footage and the appropriate fittings. If you do, you will be quick to notice the improvements it will make!
Well, that covers most of the basics - this is only part one! I will be making second and possibly third parts discussing more in-depth the tools you can get, the more you advance! Remember, this is from MY perspective. You need to follow the path right for you.
I hope this installment has helped some of you and I hope the next will continue to!
Monday, March 15, 2010
"Mini pocket hole jig" By Kreg. Reviewed
At first glance the “Mini Kreg Jig kit” seems like a sad excuse for a Kreg.
I first saw it hanging there on the shelf at Lowes for $19.99 with the drill bit and stop collar. Well, I was soon to realize Kreg has NO sad excuses. No, you are right; this is no K3 or 4, it’s simply not meant for production like those models are.
But for portability and odd jobs I have found that this model is the way to go! It is small enough to keep in your pouch if you’re on the job (however, make sure you have a clamp handy because I found it impossible to hold in place on its own) or if you are in the shop you could keep it nicely in your apron. It’s extremely light-weight as you would expect from a unit this size.
I found the clamping a bit tedious. I found myself using an Irwin quick grip most of the time because it fit much better than the Kreg clamps. But this whole clamping thing should (not?) be a problem because, if you are trying to cut pocket holes at a production rate, you are going to want to upgrade to the K3 or K4 systems.
The best application I have found for this jig is if you need to drill odd angle pocket holes in weird and or tight places. I have found myself frequently drilling one last extra pocket hole, for one reason or another, INSIDE of a cabinet. In those areas where you CANT clamp it, I made a small and easy jig to hold it in place at any angle or position. If you are on a tight, tight budget and need to drill yourself some pocket holes at only 20 dollars, Kreg has put out an amazing little jig yet again! I would recommend this to anyone!
So in summary, I would recommend this as a backup for tight spaces and odd applications but if you need one and you’re in a pinch money-wise, this little guy is definitely the way to go!
Nice job once again, Kreg!
If anyone would like plans for the non-clamping jig I made, feel free to email me.
Thatwoodworkingguy@gmail.com
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