Here’s a recent project I built that organizes my DVD collection.
It’s a very simple project to build for those who have a limited tool collection but lends itself to more complex joinery if you so desire.

All the best
Gord

I was encouraged by a number of members here to post the tool review I shot not long ago regarding the Mortise Pal jig.

I must warn you, this video tool review is not for the faint at heart, it’s a full 27 minutes long. I can assure you that I didn’t gloss over this jig for the sake of doing a tool review.

As always, give the player a minute to load.

All the best
Gord

Here is a video I recently shot at the Lee Valley West Store in Toronto On. that features a pair of very talented woodworking instructors, Jennifer Hart and Betty Woo.

Jennifer and Betty are not only accomplished woodworking instructors; they are passionate and dedicated to their craft and to sharing it with other women.

Sit back and watch how the attendees at the seminar were encouraged and empowered through the careful guidance of both Jennifer and Betty.

By the way, it’ll take the player a minute to load…....................enjoy.

All the best

Gord Graff

Exciting news! There’s a new woodworking show coming to the internet in September called ‘Into The Workshop’. This is an independent production brought to you by the combined forces of three outstanding woodworkers, John Sillaots, Ken Tunnard and myself, Gord Graff.

Follow this link to the show’s video trailer……http://blip.tv/file/942711/

John Sillaots you may remember as host of ‘In The Workshop’ an HGTV production. John has written many articles for a variety of publications and continues to travel across Canada doing presentations on a variety of topics from home renos to woodworking. John is well known for inspiring do-it-yourselfers and is looking forward to sharing his many tips with you.

Ken Tunnard is a professional woodworker, author and instructor with an artistic talent for creating classic pieces with unconventional detailing. His well planned projects often include turnings, veneers and steam bending – talk about pushing the inspirational button!!

And, of course, there’s me Gord Graff, a woodworking instructor, author and pod caster, with a special interest in woodworking jigs. It’s been said that my success lies in the ability to combine a woodworking talent with an artistic flair. I am passionately creative and am looking forward to demystifying the woodworking experience with you.

I’ll be in great company hosting along side John and Ken. The combined woodworking talent, experience, passion and commitment that we all share will be entertaining as well as an inspiration to all who are interested in woodworking regardless of skill level. We are committed to delivering ‘Into The Workshop’ in an honest, up-beat and positive manner.

Watch for upcoming information about start dates and show times and if you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to email me at gordgraff@rogers.com

Get ready to clear off your workbench ‘Into The Workshop’ is just around the corner.

All the best
Gord

Hello All,

Yes it’s been a long time since I’ve been able to sit down at the computer and to say I’ve been very busy is an understatement.

However, that being said, I come to you with a gift of sorts. It’s a four part video series that features the construction of a simple tall clock similar to the one I gave my youngest daughter and my son in law last year as a moving away gift. That particular clock is now featured in the June/July 2008 issue of Canadian Woodworking Magazine where you’ll find it featured on page 8.

If you are interested in the original, which by the way is seen in the video, you’ll have to run out and purchase the magazine where you’ll find all the particulars on its construction.

I’ve made several of these clocks out of different wood species and one with a stone face but the general construction is the same in all of them. It is a clock of my design and it was specifically designed with my daughter Jessica and my son in law Mike in mind.

By the way, this video was the very first video that I ever shot and it was shot last summer…………………….so please be kind. Things have come a long way since that time and they’re only getting better.

The following link will take you to the four part video series which is archived on Blip TV…………..
http://gordgraff.blip.tv/posts?view=archive&nsfw=dc

I’ve embedded “Part 1” of the 4 part series below, for the remaining 3 parts of the series, click on the link above.

All the best
Gord

Here is part 2 of the Pine Hall Mirror project and if you think I never make a mistake when it comes to building a project, you’d be wrong. I made a minor one here on this project and I’m going to show it to you with the hope that you don’t make the same one.

I’ve also finished this project with my all time favourite finish for pine but you’ll have to wait until the end of the video to see what it is.

I hope you’ve had as much fun watching this project as I have presenting it to you.

You can view part 2 of this video here…… http://gordgraff.blip.tv/file/711381/

All the best
Gord

A number of years ago when pine furniture was the “in thing”, I was asked to design and build a hall mirror that was not only practical but also visually appealing. After a number of designs I came up with the one you see below. I made dozens and dozens of these mirrors that were sold through a couple of stores in downtown Toronto.

The challenge for me at the time was keeping my costs down while producing a marketable product. I designed this mirror to be made from those inexpensive ($2 each) 12”X12” mirrors that can be found at any big bulk store and a single 1”X10” X6’ pine board. With these two rather inexpensive elements and a few shaker pegs, I was able to keep my costs down while maximizing profits.

At the time I was making these mirrors my mother in law couldn’t stand the look of them but something changed in way of thinking and now she just has to have one, go figure. So why don’t you come along with me and watch how a couple of cheap mirrors and a single pine board can be transformed into something that appealed to many people, now including my mother in law.

This is a 2 part video (part 2 next week), part one deals with design and the construction of the mirror frame itself, part 2 covers the rest of the construction and my favourite finish for smaller pine pieces like this one. I’m going through “growing pains” in this video dealing with video mikes but I promise to have those bugs ironed out before long, your patience is appreciated while I get a handle on this.

You can view part one here, on Blip TV. http://blip.tv/file/688794/ or watch it below, hope you like it.

All the best
Gord

PINE HALL MIRROR (PART 1)

Well, here’s Part 2 of this two part video on making a shop built mitre gauge. In this video I’ll show you how I built the mitre gauge body and attached it to the mitre gauge bar to form an accurate, inexpensive mitre gauge.

I’ll also cover “dialing in” that shop built mitre gauge to your existing mitre slot no matter what machine you’re using it for. Once you’ve seen how to do this, you’ll be able to “dial in” your mitre gauge to within one thousandth of an inch………………….how’s that for accuracy?

And for those who have a mitre gauge bar that is equipped with 3 set screws for achieving virtually no play in the mitre slot………………..check out the ending of the video.

Click the link to watch this video on Blip TV. http://gordgraff.blip.tv/#678818

All the best
Gord

Have you ever needed an extra mitre gauge for your table saw, band saw, router table or disc sander and didn’t want to spend the bucks to buy one, well have I got good news for you.

In part one of this two part video I’ll show you how to use a few simple metal working techniques (yes, that’s right, metal working techniques) to create a shop built mitre gauge that is extremely accurate and costs less than $10 to make.

Part one of this video is dedicated to working with the steel needed to make the mitre gauge bar, pivot point and locking knob. Believe me when I tell you that it’s not that difficult because it really isn’t. We are woodworkers so working with this stuff is a breeze, right?

Part two of this video (coming soon) will show you how to make the mitre gauge body and tie the two pieces together to form an accurate, inexpensive mitre gauge. Part two will also cover “dialling in” that mitre gauge to your existing mitre slot no matter what machine you’re using it for. Once you’ve seen how to do this, you’ll be able to “dial in” your mitre gauge to within one thousandth of an inch………………….how’s that for accuracy?

This is a 2 part video version of a written post I did awhile back found here http://lumberjocks.com/jocks/Gord/blog/2052 but because of numerous emails about that post I decided to commit the topic to video.

All the best
Gord

It’s been quite awhile since I’ve been able to sit down in front of the computer both physically and mentally.
I’m out of the woods now………………………......... so let’s get at it.

Here’s a simple “how-to” video on eliminating those nasty black stains on wood panels during glue ups, I hope you like it and let me know what you think.

Just follow the link below and don’t forget to turn up the volume, I sound good in stereo, my looks however, I’ll have to work on.

Oh and by the way, many thanks to all my friends for their support…………………..I didn’t know I had so many friends.
I truly am a blessed man.

P.S. If anyone can help me embed this video into this post, I’d be a happy camper.

All the best
Gord

http://gordgraff.blip.tv/file/641891/

It’s been quite awhile since I’ve been able to sit down in front of the computer both physically and mentally.
I’m out of the woods now………………………......... so let’s get at it.

Here’s a simple “how-to” on eliminating those nasty black stains on wood panels during glue ups, I hope you like it.

Oh and by the way, many thanks to all my friends for their support…………………..I didn’t know I had so many friends.
I truly am a blessed man.

All the best
Gord

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Feather boards have been around in one form or another for a long time and for most woodworkers they are invaluable. It’s like having a second or third pair of hands that never get tired. Below are two methods that I’ve used to make feather boards over the years, one is a band saw method and the other is a table saw method.

The feather board below is typical of what you’ll find in your local woodworking store, it does the job but we can improve on it greatly.

First, I start with a pair of “blanks” that will eventually be made into feather boards. The first blank is a piece of Maple, ¾”X 7 ½”X 28”, I’ll use this blank to cut a feather board on the band saw. The second blank is a piece of Beech 1 ½”X 5 ½”X 22” and I’ll use the table saw method to cut the fingers for this one.

I start by cutting the ends of the blanks at a 30 degree angle on the table saw or the miter saw.

A square line is drawn across the blanks 1 ½” in from the shortest leg of the blank. This tells me where to stop the saw blade on either the band saw or the table saw. This line indicates the length of the “fingers” of the feather board. The next thing I need is a gauge stick, the one I’m using is a ¾”X 5/16”X 24” and can be made from any scrap lying around the shop. Using this thickness of gauge stick will create a 3/16” thick finger with the thin kerf saw blade that’s in the saw. When used on the band saw, this gauge stick will create a ¼” finger. Different thicknesses of this gauge stick will produce different thicknesses of fingers.

I place the Beech blank against the fence of the table saw and slide the fence over so that there is a ¼” between the fence and the blade. When this first cut is made, it will become the first or shortest finger of the feather board. The first finger is cut to the line and the saw is turned off while the stock is held in place.

With the saw shut off, I now move the fence over enough to place the gauge stick in between the stock and the fence and lock the fence in this position. I remove the gauge stick, retract the stock from the blade and place the stock against the fence and cut the next finger. This is continued until the width of the feather board is cut. The next three photos should give you an idea of the process.

Once the feather board’s fingers are cut I now draw a line across the width of the board 1” below the stop point of the cut fingers. This line represents the length of the saw’s cut on the underside of the blank.

Even with the saw blade raised to its maximum height, it still cuts farther on the underside of the blank by 1”. The band saw method does not have this undercutting issue.

The Bandsaw Method….........................................................................................

The band saw method of cutting the fingers is almost the same as the table saw method except I prefer to start with the longest finger first. The rest is pretty much straight forward and the following photos show that.

I now mark both the blanks with a straight line across the width, the Maple blank needs a line ¾” from the base of the fingers and the Beech blank requires a line ¾” past the line previously marked, indicating the undercut from the table saw blade. A ¼”X 4” groove is routed through both blanks, 2 ½” from the bottom edge for the Maple blank and 1 ¼” from the bottom edge for the Beech blank. This groove will allow the completed feather board to adjust on the saw by means of a ¼”X20 machine screw, more on that later.

To secure the feather board in the miter slot of the table saw, a hardwood runner must be made. Here I’ve used Oak to produce the 12” hardwood runner that’s been milled to a thickness of 3/8” and a width of ¾”, a perfect fit for the table saw’s miter slot. The runner is drilled with a ¼” brad point bit in the center of the runner, marked with a line through the center 2” on either side of the center hole and counter sunk with an appropriate bit. A narrow jig saw blade is then used to cut the line through the runner to a length of 4”. The accompanying photos show the stages that the runner goes through, the top runner in the photo being the first step and followed by the next and so on.

The following photo show what the completed hardwood runner should look like. When the large jig nut is tightened down on the feather board, the head of the ¼”X 20 machine screw is forced up into the runner spreading the runner against the sides of the miter slot, locking it in place.

Looking at the completed feather board you can see that not only does it have the same adjustability as the store bought feather board but the shop made feather board has the ability to be clamped to the saw, something missing in the store bought one. Two points of fixation are a lot more desirable than the single point that the store bought feather board offers.

I’ve made dozens of feather boards over the years and I like these two the best.

I hope that somewhere down the line this information will be of help to someone. I’m always on the hunt for ways of improving my feather board collection and I doubt that I’ll stop here, it’s an ongoing process.

All the best
Gord

I cannot believe what a warm welcome this simple woodworker has received here at Lumberjocks. To say that I’m flattered by your hospitality is an understatement, thank you one and all for all your kind words and comments.

Woodworking has opened many doors for me over the years and I’m grateful to this craft for that and I’m proud to say that I’m a woodworker. I only hope that I can give back some of which has been given to me.

So, let’s get off the couch and let’s get at it…..........................

All the best
Gord

Recently a friend of mine complained to me that his Hitachi M12v didn’t have a large enough throat opening to accommodate the larger horizontal panel raising bits. It’s a simple process to cut the offending template bushing “ears” off but what if you wanted to use a template bushing after removing these “ears”, you’re out of luck.

I’ve come up with a very simple way to solve the problem of removing the template bushing ears by replacing them with a lexan sub base. So now you can remove the offending ears and still use a standard Porter Cable set of template bushings.

Rather than try to explain my remedy for this obstacle over the phone I decided to put it in picture form. I hope that it helps others who may have the same issues.

It’s a simple process to remove the template bushing ears; I removed mine by simply cutting them off with a jig saw and a metal blade. Of course the base assembly was removed from the router first.

One must be careful not to remove too much material in this area and compromise the structural integrity of the router base. Careful machining and sanding results in a nice clean opening.

With the ears removed I can now concentrate on making a new base plate for the router that will hold the template bushing. By the way, I prefer to use the standard 1 3/8” Porter Cable type template bushing and the brass bushings seem to hold together a lot better than the regular steel ones.

My new base plate material is a piece of ¼” Lexan that was laying around the shop and is perfect for this, it wears well, easy to machine with woodworking tools and is almost bullet proof. The original base plate was removed from the router and clamped onto the new blank in order to accurately drill the mounting holes; care must be taken here when drilling these holes to assure a perfect fit to the router base.

Once the holes are drilled, the footprint of the original base plate is traced onto the new blank to be cut out later. Best to do it now while it’s all clamped together. There is one more machining step to do before I can proceed, the blank is now flipped over and the holes that were just drilled are countersunk to accommodate the original base screws.

With the blank now installed on the router the next step is to install a ¼” spiral bit into the router. I’ve chosen this size router bit because it matches the pilot drill bit in the mandrel of my hole saw set, more about that in a minute. The spiral bit is plunged through the Lexan and then the blank is removed from the router.

The next step for me was to place the blank “bottom side” up on the drill press table. The bottom side is the surface with the countersunk screw holes facing up. The ¼” pilot bit in the mandrel of my hole saw is lined up perfectly with the ¼” hole that was plunged by the router and clamped securely to the drill press table. The size of the hole saw that is required to make the through hole in the blank is 1 3/16”. This is the size of hole that is required for my Porter Cable type template bushings.

Once this through hole is drilled, the hole saw is removed from the drill press chuck and replaced with a 1 3/8” forstner bit. The 1 3/8” forstner bit will provide a very clean and accurate hole for the template bushing to fit into. Care must be taken to drill this hole to the right depth, I’m looking for the bushing to “just” sit shy of the surface of the Lexan.

From start to finish attention to careful machining will yield this as a result. Take my word for it; the router bit is exactly centered in the opening.

All in all, this is simply just one way of solving the problem of accommodating using large router bits in a router that doesn’t have a large factory opening and still being able to do template routing. The tools that were required were few and found in almost every woodworking shop. What you may not have doesn’t cost very much to procure. Hope this helps.

All the best
Gord

Like most woodworkers, I embraced biscuit joinery many years ago and like most woodworkers, I never seem to have enough flat usable space to register the joiner off of when joining ¾” material. Using my bench as a flat surface to register my biscuit joiner off of is a crapshoot most days as it is covered with dried on glue drops and whatnots. My solution to this has always been a simple modified bench hook that serves a number of biscuit joinery scenarios. Not only does this jig give you a flat smooth surface to work off of when working with ¾” material, the jig’s fence makes a great stop for working with thicker material when using the biscuit joiner’s fence to register off of.

Would you trust this bench surface to be accurate?

The jig starts off with nothing more than a piece of 12” X 16” X ¾” melamine and two pieces of 2”X18” X ¾” plywood. With a handful of #8 X 1 ¼” particle board screws you’ve got all you need to make this little jig.

The first step is to take the 2” wide plywood and cut a ¼”X ¼ “ rabbet along one edge, this will act as nothing more than a place for stray dust to collect instead of the area between the fence and the work piece.

Photo #4 show the completed fence installed on the piece of ¾” melamine using 4, #8 X 1 ¼” particle board screws. These screws are great for biting into melamine coated particle board or plywood.

After the first plywood fence is installed, turn the piece over and install the second piece of 2”X18” X ¾” plywood fence on the underside of the melamine, this fence will become our “split fence”. Here is what the fence should look like installed but go to Photo #6 before you start installing this fence as there are a few details (screw placement) you need to know about.

The fence is installed as one piece (screwed top and bottom) and the 2”X4” cut-out is then marked on the fence, the fence then removed and the cut-out made. I prefer to do it this way so that the fence, when its center section is removed will go back into its original place while remaining square to the sides of the melamine.

Photo #7 simply shows the placement of the two extra screws that are needed for extra strength in the split fence and they are installed on the opposite side to what we’ve been working on thus far.

While the split fence is off the melamine having its center section removed, it’s a good time to sand a small radius on the ends of the fence that border the opening. I’m going to be wedging material against these ends and I don’t want them to be sharp and mar my material.

The finished split fence.

In use, here’s what it looks like using the regular fence and an 8” wide board.

Again, using the regular fence and a 3” wide board.

Using the jig in the “split fence” mode to cut a biscuit slot in one half of a mitered joint is a breeze. The mitered 3 ½” wide piece of pine is simply “wedged” by mere operator pressure against the ends of the split fence to hold the piece from moving around.

Cutting the other side of the miter joint is equally as easy. Note the ample room for the biscuit joiner to travel on.

Cutting a slot in the end of a 3 ½” wide board that’s cut at a 90 degree angle is no big deal for this jig. All one has to do is side the board through the split fence, wedge it into the opening by applying a little sideways pressure against both fences and cut the slot, it’s that easy and it’s that fast.

To say that this jig is easy to build and easy to use is an understatement, in real time, it took me no more than 20 minutes to make it.

It’s my hope that this simple little jig will be able to help someone out there be a little safer, quicker and a lot more accurate than they were yesterday.

All the best
Gord

I’ve made a number of mitre gauges over the years using different methods and giving this one away was an opportunity to make another one and document the process for others.
In real time, it took less than an hour to make what you see below. I hope this helps someone or gives somebody an idea on how to improve the design.

The hardware that is needed for this project is cheap and easy to find. The 3/8” X ¾” cold rolled steel miter gauge bar was purchased from Metal Supermarket at a cost of $2.25 a foot and is a total of 18” long. The ¼” X 20 hardware in the picture below needed to complete the project can be found at any big bulk store.

The first step in this project is to mark and centre punch the location for the holes to be drilled into the 3/8” X ¾” miter gauge bar. Photo #3 shows the bar marked and center punched ready for the drill press. The bar is then clamped onto the drill press and drilled with a #7 drill. Once the bar is drilled, it is tapped with a 1/4” X 20 tap; these two holes will now be able to accept the hardware that is required for the project. If you’ve never tapped into steel, don’t be alarmed, it’s not as difficult as you might think and information on tapping can be found on the internet or in you local library.

The next step is to remove a section of the ¼” X 20 X 2” bolt that is needed for the pivot post of the miter gauge. Photo #4 shows the sequence of events leading from a complete bolt to the desired section required for the miter gauge. I run a nut up to the desired length of thread needed (3/8” long) and then cut the excess thread off the bolt with a hacksaw. The nut is then backed off the thread which removes any burrs created by the hacksaw.

Photo #5 is what the pivot post should look like when it’s finished.

The completed bar with its two holes drilled and tapped into it along with the knob and pivot post installed.

The main body of the miter gauge is nothing more than a piece of ¾” plywood that is cut to 6” X 7 ½”. Here I’ve used Baltic Birch plywood but in the past I’ve used any ¾” plywood that comes out of the scrap bin. I’ve put the measurements on the picture to try and make it easier to understand.

Photo #8 is what the completed layout should look like.

Photo #9 shows the area to be removed by the router (in red) the router’s pivot point and the scrap that will be left over after machining. A compass is used to draw the arcs that show these.

The next step is to install a sub base on the router that you don’t mind drilling with a 1/8” drill bit to install a split pin or as some call it, a roll pin. These pins are great for using as a pivot point when routing a circle or a half circle here in our case. A 1/8” hole is drilled into the sub base exactly 2 ½” from the center of the router bit. Here I have installed a centering bit into the router that is machined to a point so I can accurately measure the distance required to the center of the split pin, 2 ½”. Once the split pin is driven into the router’s sub base, I’m ready to route the 3/8” curved slot that is required.

The blank is now screwed, (into the areas that will be cut off later) to a scrap piece of wood and clamped to the workbench for routing. A 1/8” hole is drilled into the blank to receive the split pin that was installed into the router’s sub base. This pivot point will hold the router firm and only allow it to route in a 2 ½” arc.

Photo #12 shows the routing completed. The scrap material under the blank allows me to route completely through the blank with no tear out on the bottom side of the blank and no fear of routing into my workbench. I routed this slot using a 3/8” straight cutting bit but I would have preferred using a 3/8” up spiral bit, the up spiral bit cuts faster and without the effort that this straight bit took to cut. None the less, the straight bit got the job done.

The miter gauge body needs a place to pivot on the bar; I’ve cut the threaded stud to fit into the miter gauge bar (photo # 5 ) but I can’t just drill a ¼” hole into the plywood and expect it to last any length of time pivoting on the plywood alone……………….I need an insert.

The inserts that I’ve come to rely on these days is something that can be found at the local big box store and is usually sold as a “knock in insert”. The inside is threaded to accept a ¼” X 20 bolt and costs about $.40 each. The name, “knock in insert” fits it well, as all you need to do is to drill a hole to accept the body of the insert and drive it in with a hammer. The barbs on the insert keep it from moving within the hole and keep it from pulling out.

Photo #14 shows the finished blank with its scrap cut off and the insert installed. I’ve installed the insert into the blank and countersunk it using a 9/16” drill bit just to keep the insert below the surface of the blank. The insert was driven into the appropriate size hole using a hammer and a piece of ½” steel rod.

The insert is of no use to me at this point with the 1/4” X 20 threads still intact. The next step is to take the blank to the drill press and drill a ¼” hole through the insert, removing the threads. This provides a smooth surface on the inside of the insert that the pivot post can easily and effortlessly pivot.

Photo # 16 shows the body of the miter gauge and the bar brought together. You can see why I’ve used the 3/8” router bit to cut the slot into the blank and the ¼” threaded knob. It just gives you that little bit of extra room between the two sizes in case you make a little error in the layout or machining procedures.

The miter gauge is almost complete. Here I’ve added a 2 ½” tall fence and a couple of support blocks. The fence is secured with three “8 X 1 ½” particle board screws and some glue, while the support blocks are added with a little glue and some brads.

With the addition of a piece of 2 ½” X 24” plywood as a fence extension, screwed but not glued to the miter gauge, I’m ready to square it to the saw and cut wood.

I suppose one could get a little more elaborate and add some metal track with an adjustable stop block and perhaps even a self adhesive measuring tape but hey, all I wanted was a simple miter gauge.

All the best
Gord