352 days ago
by Peter O |
9 comments »
Some common kinds of jigs are available for sale at woodworking stores and even big-box retailers. Every time I see a jig for sale I think, “I could make that.” I imagine most of us think that! If I see a jig for sale that seems like something I could make, I try to be realistic about whether it is worth the time and effort.
I’m a cheapskate, and I almost always build jigs out of scrap, so the expense to build is very low. If you enjoy building jigs, then even if it takes an hour or tw...
Read this entry »
389 days ago
by Peter O |
1 comment »
Workshop SafetyI can’t overstate the importance of workshop safety. Don’t wear loose clothing, jewelry, or hair. Your tools come with guards for a reason – use them! If you aren’t sure the action you are about to take is safe, then assume it isn’t and figure out a better way to do it. Keep your work area clean, especially underfoot. If you are using a tool – power tool or hand tool – wear eye protection. The best protection against injury is your brain – it m...
Read this entry »
391 days ago
by Peter O |
11 comments »
The story is told that after the Great Fire of 1666, the architect Sir Christopher Wren was commissioned to rebuild St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. Upon the completion of this huge undertaking, Queen Anne reviewed the work and is said to have declared that it was, “Awful, amusing, and wholly artificial.” Wren was quite pleased to receive such a compliment from the Queen! The English language has a sneaky way of changing over time, and a lot of woodworking definitions have changed or ...
Read this entry »
391 days ago
by Peter O |
4 comments »
I grew up on a ranch, a place where you have to be able to do just about everything yourself. Plumber, mechanic, veterinarian, heavy equipment operator, you name it. Having been raised that way, I can’t stand to pay anyone for anything I think I can do myself – my wife would say that is why nothing gets done around here! I make a lot of my own jigs and fixtures. Some of them only get used once, some of them are used so much they almost never get put away. Either way, they are tools ...
Read this entry »
460 days ago
by Mark Mazzo |
1 comment »
Sometimes after you complete a task, you wonder why you procrastinated so long to do it. I had a good day in the shop yesterday doing a simple but, long-overdue upgrade to my drill press. If you are considering a similar upgrade, or you are just looking for some inspiration to tackle a project that you’ve been putting off, you might want to take a look at the post about it on my blog. Thanks for reading and let me know what you think!
Read this entry »
606 days ago
by Jeff |
18 comments »
I made this fixture as part of the puttering around I did in the shop this weekend. It wish I had already had it built the other day when I made my shelf pin jig since it would have sped up that process considerably. Building the fixture was the thing that did go smoothly this weekend. My work on the closet shelf/cabinet could have gone more smoothly (I messed up pretty badly with the flush trim bit since I didn’t really have enough surface to support the router’s base). Alas, I d...
Read this entry »
