Category: Tools

May 13, 2021May 24, 2021

11 Types of Woodworking Joints

Carpentry Joinery for Strength and Aesthetic Appeal

by Kelly R. Smith

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There are many types of woodworking joints to choose from. Which to use on your current carpentry project? In my opinion, there are three main considerations.

Joint strength is the most important. Some things you build will be more subject to wear and tear than others.
Do you have the right shop tools and skills? Some joints, like the dovetail joint, can be made with a jig or with hand tools. Skills? You can always learn them.
Aesthetics, or the beauty of a particular joint should be considered after you have satisfied the first to points.

Types of Woodworking Joints

Pocket Hole Joinery. This is basically a butt joint with pocket hole screws.; it’s very popular for furniture building and repair. Two drilling steps are called for. First, counterbore the pocket hole itself. This is where the screw head is contained. Second, drill a pilot hole so the centerline is the same as the pocket hole. This allows the screw to go through one piece and into the adjoining piece. You use two different sized drill bits for this operation in most cases although step-bits are sometimes used. Kreg is the most popular brand of jig for this joint.

Dovetail Joint. This is a very strong woodworking joint. It’s known for tensile strength (resistance from pulling apart). The woodworking dovetail joint is often used to connect the sides of a drawer to the front. A number of pins are cut to extend from the end of one board and lock with a number of tails cut into the end of another board. These pins tails have a trapezoidal shape and can be cut by hand or with a jig. I use a Porter Cable dovetail jig. Once glued up, your joint is permanent without any mechanical fasteners. See the video below where I show you how to make glue that matches your project wood perfectly.

How to make homemade wood putty

Butt Joint. The Butt Joint is a simple woodworking joint. It joins two pieces of stock by just butting them together. The butt joint is the simplest joint to make so in that respect it might be the correct choice if you don’t have many tools at your disposal. It is also the weakest wood joint unless you use some form of reinforcement (like dowels, which can add a decorative touch). Otherwise, it depends upon glue alone to hold it together. Because of the orientation of the pieces, you have an end grain to long grain gluing surface. The resulting wood joint is weak, as you might expect because glue alone doesn’t provide much lateral strength.
Biscuit Joint. A biscuit joint is nothing more than a reinforced Butt joint. The biscuit is an oval-shaped piece. Typically, a biscuit is made of dried and compressed wood, such as beech. You install it in matching mortises in both pieces of the wood joint. Most people use a biscuit joiner to make the mortises. Accuracy is important for the mortises. You design the biscuit joint to allow flexibility in glue-up.

*A double biscuit joint ready for glue-up*

Bridle Joint. This is similar to a mortise and tenon; just cut a tenon on the end of one piece and a mortise into the other piece to receive it. Cut the tenon and the mortise to the full width of the tenon piece. The result is only three gluing surfaces so it is imperative to use a very high-quality woodworking glue. A mechanical fastener or some sort of through-pin is required.

Finger or Box Joint. This one is much like a dovetail joint except that the pins are square and not angled. It is easy to make if you know how to use a table saw or a wood router with a jig. The Porter Cable 4216 12″ Deluxe Dovetail Jig Combination Kit comes with a box joint template. This finger/box joint was invented as a better way to construct simple boxes for produce from field to market. That, my friends, is capitalist ingenuity in action.

Dado Joint. OK, funny name but a dado is simply a slot cut into the surface of a piece of wood. When seen in a cross-section, the dado has three distinct sides. Cut a dado perpendicular to the grain of the wood. Technically, it’s different from a groove, which is cut parallel to the grain. This joint is a good choice for bookcase shelves.

Half Lap Joint. With the half lap joint, remove material from each piece such that the finished joint results in the thickness of the thickest piece. But in the majority of half lap joints, both pieces are of the same thickness. Just remove half the thickness of each piece.

Mortise and Tenon Joint. This is a very strong woodworking joint. In the majority of situations its used to join two pieces at a 90° angle. One end of a piece fits into a square hole in the other piece. The end of the first piece is the tenon; the hole in the second piece is the mortise. The tenon is glued in but if you require additional strength, you can also pin it. This is sometimes done for decorative reasons. It is a generally accepted practice to make the tenon about a 1/3 the thickness of the piece. The mortise can be cut by removing as much wood as possible with a plunge router then cleaning up the edges with a chisel.

Rabbet Joint. This a recess that’s cut into the edge of a board. Seen in a cross-section, the rabbet is two-sided and open to the end of the surface. It can be used in the back edge of a cabinet to allow the back to fit flush with the sides. It can also be used to insertion of a glass pane in a picture frame.

Tongue and Groove Joint. This is another very strong joint because of all the open grain on both pieces of wood. It’s used in many applications. For example, to make wide tabletops out of solid wood. Other uses include wood flooring, parquetry, paneling, etc. You can cut the tongue and groove in a number of ways. An effective way to make this joint is on a router table.

Knowing these 11 types of woodworking joints, you’ll most likely find one or more to fit the needs of your woodworking project.

How to Use a Multimeter

Use an Analog or Digital Multimeter (DMM) to Diagnose Circuits, Measure Voltage and Current

by Kelly R. Smith

*A typical digital multimeter and leads*

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I’ll be the first to admit it – electrical troubleshooting is not my favorite DIY task. Give me a woodworking project, give me a wall to tape and float; ahh, now you’re looking at a happy camper. But when I do have to jump in there chasing electrons, the first thing I reach for is my digital multimeter.

Digital VS Analog

Multimeters are also called multitesters, which is perhaps a more descriptive name. The digital models might be newer than the analog ones but the concept is the same. Like analog watches and clocks preceded digital ones, the same is true with electrical testing meters. The same might be said of aneroid vs digital barometers.

Is one better than the other? Oh, I don’t know. I’ve been told that the digital is more accurate than its analog cousin. I don’t really care though. I’m not likely to be measuring anything down to the nana-micro-tinyvolt level of granularity. Besides, I really like that little needle flicking around. I guess it reminds me of those old science fiction B movies. But alas, my old analog doesn’t work anymore so I’ve gone digital.

Multimeter Functions

For such a small gadget, the multitester really packs a punch with respect to functionality. Check out some of the things this little gizmo will do for you:

Continuity Testing: This is probably the simplest function. No mystery here, it’s just what it sounds like. It checks to see if the electrical current is continuous from point A to point B.
Voltage Testing: Again, very straightforward. For example, to test a light switch or an outlet, set the meter to AC (Alternating Current), set it to the voltage closest to what you’re measuring (110 – 120 for an outlet), and put one probe in each slot. Almost all portable electronics use DC (Direct Current). As a simple example, consider an AA battery. Connect the black probe to the meter’s ground or COM port and the red probe to mAVΩ (the 10A port is for large currents (greater than 200mA). Touch the probes with a little pressure against the positive and negative terminals of the AA battery. If you’ve got a new battery, you should see around 1.5V on the display (this battery is brand new, so its voltage is slightly higher than 1.5V).
Measuring Resistance: It also tests resistance in a circuit or device. Your instruction manual will go into detail for your specific model, but basically just set the knob to Ohms, plug the black lead into COM jack, the red into the OHM jack. Then put the leads across the device in parallel and read the resistance. Note: If it reads 1 or -1, try testing in a larger range.

Measuring Current: Reading current is one of the trickiest and most insightful readings in the world of embedded electronics, such as you might find in a smart Wi-Fi weather station. Why is it tricky? Because you have to measure current in series. Where voltage is measured by poking at VCC and GND (in parallel), to measure current it is necessary to physically interrupt the flow of current and then place your meter in-line.

Using a multimeter is not something that most of us will use every day but having one and knowing how to use it will come in handy time and time again. When choosing one, everyone has his preference, generally speaking, multimeters that have continuity are preferred. Every other feature is just icing on the cake.

How to Use a Barometer

Using Atmospheric Pressure and Short-Term Changes for Weather Prediction

by Kelly R. Smith

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Getting the weather forecast or current conditions these days is easier than ever and we have become somewhat complacent about it (yawn, yawn). Just check one of the many sites on the internet. One hour from now, no problem. 10 days from now, likewise. If you want conditions and a forecast for a very specific area, such as your home or neighborhood, go with a personal weather station (PWS).

In the old days, tools like the barometer had to be used to anticipate rain or storms in the near future. Your PWS, in fact, has barometric functionality. Electronic pressure sensors measure pressure utilizing a force collector which measures the strain resulting from an applied force over an area. Changes in electrical resistivity of a semiconductor or metal are measured when a mechanical strain is applied. The resulting voltage output may be analog, which can be converted to digital.

What is Atmospheric Pressure?

First, a little conceptual science. Atmospheric pressure (barometric pressure) is just the weight of air at ground level. Consider the concept of water pressure as an analogy. The deeper you get in the water, the more the pressure increases because as you go down, the built-up weight of the water above you increases.

Consider land as being the bottom of your atmospheric sea. Air is actually not weightless although in daily life it seems so. Atmospheric pressure is the weight of the air from the top of the atmosphere straight down to you; a column, if you will. As you might imagine, pressure is lower as you get higher in elevation because there’s less air on top of you.

This pressure measurement is usually made in hectopascals which is in effect a measure of pounds per square inch. On any modern consumer barometer, the measurement will be indicated in either inches or millibars.

Forecasting the Weather With a Barometer

If you have an aneroid device, you’ll need to manually calibrate it. It’s easy; all this entails is adjusting a small screw on the back to set the hand, like on a clock, to match the current barometric pressure where you are. weather.gov is very comprehensive by zip code. Once you’ve done that, it’s all set. Digital barometers do this step for you.

Barometer measurements are either in inches or millibars. Your readings will usually be between 28 and 31 inches, generally measured to the hundredth decimal. However, the number itself isn’t going to help you much. The thing to focus on is which direction the numbers are moving. You’re looking for the change in barometric pressure to forecast the weather. What does this mean? The static numbers that exhibit no indication of rising or falling aren’t very useful. So, you need to keep up with the change.

Aneroid barometers have two hands. One shows the barometric pressure reading The other one is a manual dial that you align with the pressure reading at the time that you take a measurement. This way you can quickly and easily see which direction and how far the needle has moved between your readings.

Digital barometers usually have indications of “rising” or “falling,” and some models even display a graph called a barograph showing earlier readings and trends. This is more helpful and accurate for you, the amateur meteorologist. Instead of having to write down or memorize previous readings, your device does it for you.

Those are the basics of using a barometer. The more you use it, the more adept you will become at understanding weather patterns in your location. Other than just doing it as a hobby, knowing how conditions are changing is very useful for work and outdoor recreational activities.

Repair a Sink Faucet

How to Replace Faucet Cartridges, Washers, O-Rings, and Diaphragms

by Kelly R. Smith

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Sink faucets are found in laundry rooms, kitchens, bathrooms, and elsewhere. Because they’re just there, they usually aren’t given a thought until they fail. Some say that indoor running water is the single most impressive event that altered domestic society resulting in our present state of comfort.

In all homes, sink faucets, like toilets, will eventually fail. When this happens to you, first determine what kind of faucet you need to repair and replace cartridges, washers, O-rings, and diaphragms. This is why you should keep all documentation that comes with any appliance or part.

Faucets are an essential and fundamental part of our homes as well as businesses and the hotel industry. But when things do go south, as we know they will, the primary concept to understand is that there are a wide array of sink faucets available. Without identifying the faucet manufacturer and model, repairing a sink faucet is impossible.

Repairing Different Types of Faucets

Compression Faucets — This type is always doubled handled; look for this first in your identification process. These are fairly simple, while still functional and reliable; an internal washer raises to allow the water to flow. For this reason, they are also called washer-type faucets or stem faucets.

Repair tip: For a dripping spout, replace your stem washer.
Repair tip: For a leaking handle, replace your stem-packing and/or O-ring.

Diaphragm Faucets — These are also double handled.

Repair tip: If only your handle is leaking, replace your O-ring.
Repair tip: If your handle and spout are leaking, replace your diaphragm.

Disc Faucets — This type may have either one or two handles. It uses a pair of plastic or ceramic discs that regulates both the temperature and volume of water that reaches you, the customer.

Repair tip: When it begins to act up, replace the seals and ensure that your inlet ports are unclogged. The discs themselves are sturdy, so rarely an issue.

Rotating Ball Faucets — Now we’re dealing with one that is always a single-handled faucet. It gets the name because of the design of a slotted plastic or brass ball that perches on top of a spring-loaded plastic seat. The handle causes the ball to rotate; this is what adjusts your temperature as well as your flow volume.

Repair tip: If your handle is leaking, replace your O-rings and adjusting your adjusting ring. If the spout and handle are leaking, replace your diaphragm.
Repair tip: If only your spout is leaking, replace your springs and seats as a set.

Cartridge Faucets — This model is a single lever faucet; it utilizes a cartridge that controls your water flow.

Repair tip: Because of its simplicity, repair is easy. First try replacing your O-rings. If it is still acting up, change your cartridge. Always take the old one to the plumbing store to make sure you come home with the correct replacement.

Tools and Materials for Plumbing Repair

Slip-joint pliers. Two are better than one for many plumbing projects.
Teflon tape. Use either the paste or the tape; I find the tape easier to work with.
Screwdrivers. Keep an assortment on hand, as we all should.
Rags and a small plastic bucket. Because spills are going to happen.
A set of nut-drivers. Many plumbing applications use automotive style connections.

There’s your basics on repairing bathroom or kitchen sink faucets. The main frustration I find is that there so many brands and models that you will often have to do a disassembly before trekking to Home Depot or Lowes or ordering from Further Reading

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March 14, 2021March 14, 2021

Woodworking Design: Estimating Lumber

A Material List (Cut List) Tells You the Material You Need; This is How to Buy It

by Kelly R. Smith

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So you’ve conceptualized your next woodworking project and it’s time to plan. Most woodworkers go one of two ways, depending on the situation:

You are working from a cut list from a plan that you acquired from a woodworking project book or magazine.
You are making a custom project and it makes more sense to ferret out your dimensions as you go along. This was the case with my recessed medicine cabinet project. Since every home and bathroom is framed differently, it was insightful to go long on the instructive photos and short on actual dimensions when posting the plans.

Understanding Lumber Grades

Are you a frugal and common sense woodworker? I hope so; the money you can save on one part of your project (usually the unseen parts) can be used to great effect of the decorative parts. That being said, I abhor particle board in furniture construction. Chinese knock-off furniture, we ain’t.

Knowing lumber grades, and shopping accordingly, will stretch your budget and ensure that you work with the appropriate materials. The lumber grades are defined by the National Hardwood Lumber Association, and have been for over 100 years.

Step one, of course, is choosing the appropriate grade. Step two is checking for bark pockets, splitting, checking, bug damage, warping, and more. Take the time to pick through the stock. Don’t take the mis-step of ordering online, going to your Home Depot or Lowes and just let them load it up for you. COVID-19 pandemic or not, this is a hands-on job.

Understanding Lumber Dimensions

Dimension lumber (2 x 4s, 4 x 4s, etc.) is usually softwood stock. Hardwood lumber is at times milled to dimensional sizes, however it is more commonly encountered in random widths and lengths. It is marketed as roughsawn lumber and in variable surfacing options accompanied by these letter and number codes:

S2S: Surfaced on two sides.
S3S: Surfaced on two sides with one straight-line ripped.
S4S: Surfaced on four sides, meaning that the two wide faces are planed and the two edges have been straight-line ripped.

Rough lumber is sold in multiples of 1/4″ thicknesses. This means that 4/4 lumber (read as four-quarter lumber) is one inch thick. You will also encounter 5/4, 6/4, and 8/4 thicknesses. Regardless, with any rough lumber thickness, the rule of thumb is to subtract 1/4″ to determine the “finished” lumber thickness following the surfacing procedure.

Lumber stock is generally offered by the board foot (BF), which is actually a volume measurement. Think of it this way — one board foot of lumber is 1″ thick, 12″ wide, and 12″ long (essentially 144 square inches of 1″-thick lumber). So a 1″-thick board, 6″ wide and 36″ long would be 1.5 board feet of stock. The formula for determining the BF of a specific piece is: (Thickness x Width x Length)/144; QED. See the formula chart above for examples of calculating BF. Note: 3/4″ surfaced lumber is considered 1″ when calculating board feet because it is originally derived from 4/4 rough-sawn lumber. Confused yet? Don’t be.

Buying Lumber

Calculating just how many board feet of lumber you need for any given project is only your first step. Next, you will need to peruse your material list for pieces that have specific length requirements. As an example, if you have coffee table legs that need to be 14″ long or 90″ long bed rails, you should select stock long enough to make those components. Then an excellent guideline is to add 20 to 30 percent more to your estimate for waste (defects, poor grain pattern, building mistakes, etc.). So if your project requires 10BF, procure 13BF instead. Buying a bit of extra lumber is always a good idea, and experience will prove the truth of it. Keep in mind that at times you will need to resort to your biscuit joiner to save the expense of ordering a special width of lumber.

Following these lumber estimating guidelines for your woodworking projects will save you time, money, and extra trips to the lumber yard or local home improvement store.

Window Blind DIY Wand Replacement

Why Settle for Replacement Blind Components? Put Your Woodworking Skills to Work.

by Kelly R. Smith

DIY Venetian blinds wand crafting and replacement

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Things like window blind wands get a lot of use. Not rough use usually but they are usually made very cheaply and are bound to break at some point. You’ve got two choices. First and easiest is to buy a replacement blind wand. My preferred choice is to make my own. That way I know it is sturdy and I can match the finish to the window casing. So, consider this short tutorial just another woodworking tip.

The wand usually connects to the blind assembly via a small plastic nub with a hole in it. The wand has a hook on the end that fits through the hole. I have worked two possible scenarios.

The plastic nub is intact.
The plastic nub broke.

Use a Wooden Dowel for the New Wand

Dowels are available in all hardware stores as far as I know. At Home Depot they are available in pine and oak, in various diameters. I usually go for the pine; it is cheaper and I’m going to stain it anyway. These dowels are smooth finished so all you need to do is cut it to your desired length and sand the ends and smooth out the sharp end edges.

To work on the dowel, I use a Bessey drill press vise with a rag wrapped around the dowel so as not to mar it. The crosshairs on the end of the dowel are for drilling the connection hole.

Finishing and Attaching the Connector

When the plastic nub is intact, you just need a cup hook or simply make a hook out of wire (like a metal coat hanger) using needle-nosed pliers. If the plastic nub is broken off you will need to drill a hole in the end of the dowel and glue it into the nub. I used Locktite GO 2 Repair Xtreme. While the glue is setting up I kept everything together with a piece of electrical tape. This is why I didn’t use polyurethane Gorilla Grip glue; the foaming, expansive curing action would push things apart. Regular wood joinery techniques don’t really apply here.

Use the finish of your choice. Here I used Minwax Penetrating Stain. Later, after a couple of days I’ll apply a high-quality furniture wax.

That’s about all there is a window blind DIY wand replacement. It doesn’t even have to be broken. It is a good way to give your window dressing a custom look on a budget and a little spare time.

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December 8, 2020February 18, 2021

Scroll Saw vs Band Saw

What’s the difference?

by Kelly R. Smith

A Ryobi 16 in. scroll saw. — A Ryobi 16 in. scroll saw

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This article was updated on 02/17/21.

We can’t have too many power tools in the shop. The extent of our acquisitions can be guided by 3 principles — budget, storage space, and frequency of use. There are exceptions. For example, you may not use your biscuit joiner often, but when you need it, nothing else will do. Some tools are similar enough that they can have almost overlapping functionality, when some ingenuity and/or woodworking jigs are used. You might assume that the scroll saw vs band debate saw falls into this camp. You would be partly correct but there are some important differences.

Benefits of a Scroll Saw

We’ll look at the scroll saw first. It has certain benefits for certain projects.

It can make internal cuts. All you have to do is drill an entry hole in your work piece, insert the blade, and cut away. Then you can clean up the internal edges with the sanding implement of your choice.
It is a better choice for small detailed work and parquetry and inlay work, as it cuts tighter than a band saw.
It can be used to cut the cheeks of a dovetail joint and to divide a wide tenon into two smaller ones.
It can make angled cuts up to 45 degrees.
They are available in various throat sizes. The throat size when it comes to the scroll saw is the distance between the blade and the rear part of the saw. A larger table surface handles larger projects.

Benefits of a Band Saw

Like the scroll saw, it can make angled cuts up to 45 degrees.
It can cut much thicker stock than a scroll saw.
It’s more powerful than a scroll saw. Since the table is open on both ends, throat size is not so much of a consideration, although table size still is.
Using the right band saw blades you can even cut metal, but I never have so I offer no opinion on this point.

The Million Dollar Question: Should You Invest in a Scroll saw or a Band Saw?

In the spirit of full transparency, I own both. Why? Because it’s easier to use the right saw for the job. But if you are limited to one or the other, consider which will better fit your woodworking needs. Most of the tasks suited to a band saw can also be done on your table saw. Another consideration is your shop configuration. I have 2 large work benches, one stationary and one wheeled so I use a lot of bench-top tools and just swap them out as needed. Whichever saw/s you purchase, look for a reliable brand name and a heavy base.

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About the Author:

Photo of Kelly R. Smith Kelly R. Smith is an Air Force veteran and was a commercial carpenter for 20 years before returning to night school at the University of Houston where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science. After working at NASA for a few years, he went on to develop software for the transportation, financial, and energy-trading industries. He has been writing, in one capacity or another, since he could hold a pencil. As a freelance writer now, he specializes in producing articles and blog content for a variety of clients. His personal blog is at I Can Fix Up My Home Blog where he muses on many different topics.

November 4, 2020November 13, 2020

My Workshop Tape Storage Hack

by Kelly R. Smith

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After Hurricane Harvey and the subsequent flood, I, like everybody else in my subdivision, faced rebuilding. As far as my wood shop goes, it was a blessing and a curse. I lost a lot of tools but, having erred on the side of caution, we had full flood insurance. As I re-built the shop I resolved to be more organized right from scratch.

It’s an ongoing process, isn’t it? Just last week I needed some duct tape so I began my search. I usually keep tape in it’s category area, e.g. electrical tape in the electrical drawer, drywall tape with the tape and float area, painter’s blue tape with the painting stuff.

But what about duct tape? I’m a proud owner of several types of tin snips but I certainly don’t have a “duct” area. I spent about 20 years as an acoustical ceiling installer so I worked with a lot of duct men but didn’t mess with it myself. As clumsy as I am, I’m not safe around sheet metal. So, I spent more time looking for that elusive roll than I did actually using it. Enough is enough. So I built that tape rack you see in the picture above. To build one of your own you will need:

1 piece of 1″ X 4″ about 20″ long. Shorter won’t do or you won’t hit 2 studs when you install it.
2 17″ lengths of 3/4″ dowel.
2 long drywall screws (2″, coarse threads).
Glue.
Finish of your choice; I used stain; the board is pine but the dowels are oak and the results don’t have to be pretty but they should match in color. As a general rule I don’t stain oak, but…
3/4″ hole saw.
Drill press or hand-held drill.
Cordless drill with a #2 Phillips screw tip.
Flush-cut saw. I love Japanese hand tools, don’t you?
Belt sander or sanding block.

Assembly

Drill your holes. It doesn’t show very well in the picture above but I placed a chunk of scrap wood on one side of my drill press table so the holes would be at an angle, but this is optional.
Glue the dowels into the holes. Since the holes are at an angle, a portion will be sticking out of the back.
Let the glue dry overnight.
Use a flush-cut saw to cut off the excess dowel, then clean it up with your belt sander.
Pre-drill your screw holes on 16″ centers. I also hit the hole openings with a bigger drill bit for about 3/16″ so the screw heads end up flush with the surface of the wood.
Add the finish of your choice and let it dry.
Locate your studs and install.

If you’re wondering about that wall I installed this tape rack on, it is the exterior of our food pantry that I build by “stealing” a bit of garage space. It never ceases to amaze me why the builders never included enough kitchen storage space. Want to build your own? Here are step-by-step food pantry plans. It’s an easy DIY project. Who doesn’t want more convenience and home equity?

That’s all there is my workshop tape storage hack. It’s just one more storage and shop organization issue solved. The expense is minimal and you might even have most of the materials on hand already.

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October 9, 2020October 12, 2020

Fall is Here; Clean up Your Wood Shop or Work Area

by Kelly R. Smith

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Generally speaking, I’m diligent about putting my tools where they go when I’m done with them. As far as keeping the wood shop spic n’ span, not so much. I’m guessing that we’re all like that to some extent. I do tackle it monthly. Fall and spring are the times that I really clean my wood shop. I put my big wet/dry vac through its paces.

Throw Out What You Won’t Use

As DIY’ers, we are confirmed pack rats. There’s a bin or container for everything, be it a washer, bolt, screw, or nail. I’m guilty of not tossing anything in the trash bin. But if there’s a scrap of hardwood, oak or walnut perhaps, that has been gathering dust for a couple of years, the fireplace might be a fitting destination. Then again, I might do a small project or some inlay work soon…

Start with Your Work Bench

It’s a fact; you can’t work on something if there’s nowhere to do it! My work bench gets piled up with my stuff as well as the stuff SHMBO (She Who Must Be Obeyed) and the daughter stack up there. These are low-hanging fruits just waiting to be picked in the re-organization process.

Shuffle this stuff to storage bins and other storage spaces as much as possible. I like those little plastic cabinets. They are great for organizing all those weird tools. I’ve got one drawer for screwdrivers, another for chisels, etc. (I need one for Freudian slips!) And after all, how many times do you get an opportunity to use that Whitney Punch?

And the glass-cutter? And the roller tool for setting the screen splines? And those tap and dies that gather dust until the one day that they’ll save you yet another trip to the hardware store.

Power Tools Need Their Space

I have one overhead shelf for power tools that come with their hard plastic cases like drills, biscuit joiners, routers, etc. Usually, I don’t always repack when I’m done; I keep them for when I go mobile.

All my benchtop tools — drill press, belt sander, and the like, spend active hours on top of the bench and sleeping hours inside the body of the bench). Quick change-out is the key here. My router table, table saw, and lathe all have dedicated stands.

Stowing Your Sandpaper

You obviously don’t want your different grades of sandpaper scattered willy-nilly all over God’s creation. Some woodworkers have nice cabinets with drawers to stow different grit sandpapers, and I mean to do it myself someday. In the meantime, I’ve got file folders tacked up (like those hanging file folders) to hold the different grit sheets.

Wood Storage

This can be the most problematic issue of any woodworker on limited real estate. Where to store all that nice hardwood stock? I didn’t used to have that enviable problem but when my master carpenter Father in Law went to that great work shop in the sky, I found myself with a nice treasure trove of exotic wood.

So Pity me. Right. Anyhow, I’m figuring out a method of storing it so that I can free up floor space for staging larger projects like book shelves. Wish me well. These are some of my experiences with cleaning up your wood shop or work area. When you find yourself spending more time to find tools than work with them, it’s time for a call to action.

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September 11, 2020September 13, 2020

Biscuit Joiner; Why You Need One for Woodworking

by Kelly R. Smith

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A Ryobi biscuit joiner on a router table

Granted that the biscuit joiner is not a power tool that you use everyday on your woodworking projects. It falls into the category of go-to tools when nothing else will do the job so well. On projects that require mating planks, this tool is invaluable. On some projects, just gluing them up and clamping them is sufficient but on others a stronger bond is required. And why not err on the side of caution? The right tool is just as important as adequate shop lighting.

For years I relied on dowels to do the job. That worked, but getting that precision can be difficult. Drilling the holes at the exact angle and in the exact location can be dicey, especially when using a hand-held drill rather than your drill press. This is where the biscuit joiner comes into its own.

Using Your Biscuit Joiner

For the sake of argument, let us assume that we are joining several boards to make up a table top.

Biscuits can “telegraph.” This means that as the glue dries, it can warp the surface plank wood down towards the biscuit. To avoid this minor imperfection in the end product (you’re the only one who will notice, but still), don’t cut your biscuit slot in the exact center of the planks, rather, a bit lower towards the bottom of the finished product.
Biscuits don’t add a lot of strength. So the argument goes. Some carpenters use biscuits simply to assure themselves that the planks will stay aligned as the glue dries. I’m from the other camp that believes that they do add a lot of strength, especially when the end product comes under stress because the length of the biscuit distributes the load better than a cylindrical dowel..
You can add biscuits for additional strength after the glue-up on 45 degree corners. Use your joiner as a plunge tool after the glue has dried. For example, you might do this on the underside of a picture frame after you remove your 45 degree clamps or spring clamps. Plunge the slot, glue-up and add the biscuit, and use your belt sander to level it up later.
Bring the motor up to full-speed before engaging the joiner. Easy, cowboy.

So, do you really need a biscuit joiner for your woodworking projects? The short answer is “no,” but the long answer is, “yes, because it will make your life so much better and your range of carpentry skills broader.”

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