In a small workshop, it is important to be as efficient as possible with space. One of the fundamentals of efficiency is the mobile base. It allows you to move tools around that otherwise are too heavy to be mobile. There are a lot of mobile bases on the market today from many different manufacturers. This one is marketed by Rockler as an economical solution because it does not include the stretchers. The idea is that you…
It takes patience and practice before you can drive a nail quickly and surely without bending it or bruising the wood. Here’s a few ideas to help along the learning path. Setting the Nail: When starting a nail, hold it upright between finger and thumb and tap the head with the hammer until the point is buried in the wood. Use the peen of a cross-peen hammer to start a small nail. If you’re not…
Wood Thickness Planer: The casual woodworker, most often perceives a wood planer to be a tool that takes rough lumber in at one end and offers “dressed” or planed lumber out the other end. It is critical to understand that when it cleans up the top face it is always doing it relative to the bottom face that is running on the planer’s table… thus it is often referred to as a wood thickness planer.…
One of the first pieces of furniture a woodworker frequently attempts is a bookcase or shelving unit of some sort. There are many things to consider when deciding on the bookcase size and style you are going to build. First off, where will it be placed? Will it be built in? Will it be free standing or up against a wall? How tall do you want it? Will it hold hard cover books, pocket novels,…
