When assembling cabinet parts using screws, drilling a clearance hole with a countersink is a necessity. A pilot hole for the screw may or may not be necessary at all. What’s the difference between a clearance hole and a pilot hole? A clearance hole will allow a screw to pass through it without the threads … Read more
In July of 2005, I’d decided to step down from my position as promotion manager in the creative services department of our parent company (F&W Publications at the time, now F+W Media). I was returning to graduate school in the fall; after seven years of writing advertising, direct mail, renewal notices, book club promotions and … Read more
I learned to turn a number of years before Easy Wood Tools introduced its line of turning tools in 2010. These tools were different from more traditional turning tools – they were designed to make turning easier to learn for the beginner by greatly simplifying the techniques of how turning tools cut wood. Easy Wood … Read more
Baileigh Industrial, a company founded in 1999 and better known in the metalworking industry, has entered the woodworking market with a lineup of machinery that straddles the line between larger commercial equipment and goods for the serious home craftsman. Baileigh (pronounced Bailey) is headquartered in Manitowoc, Wis. Curious about the company’s product line, we’ve acquired … Read more
Last fall I attended a two hour presentation at Woodworking in America by Windsor chairmaker Curtis Buchanan. Without a doubt, it was my favorite class of the event. Curtis has a combination of talents and skills that I found enthralling. As a teacher, he’s a natural with 30 years of chairmaking experience combined with a … Read more
Back in the last century (in 1999) I built a Shaker tall clock similar to one made by famous Shaker clockmaker brother Benjamin Youngs. It was a Popular Woodworking Magazine project that has since found a permanent place in our home, giving me the opportunity to observe how it has aged. When I built it, … Read more
It’s not every day you need a sawmill operator to slice up a log that’s come into your possession, but when you do they can be hard to find. They don’t exactly grow on trees (sorry about that). Another problem is the nearly impossible task of moving a heavy log to a sawmill site. Wood-Mizer, … Read more
