For almost fifteen years I’ve been meeting a friend of mine, Ken, on Friday mornings. He’s retired, but he still does a few small jobs. Sometimes he gets one that is a little over the top and asks me to help. Recently, he pulled out a picture of a door and said, “Do you think we could make one of these?” Another builder friend of his had a client who had to have the door, until they found out the price! Read the full article…
While this article won’t teach you everything about crown molding, it will get you started on the right foot!
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If you’re a finish carpenter and have never incorporated a work bench with dog holes and vertical clamping into your onsite tool-kit, it’s time to change your thinking. Similar to the Fein MultiMaster plunge-cut saw, there are many tools available that you come across and wonder, “How often will I really use that?” But once you own it and use it, you think, “How did I ever live without this tool?” That’s how I feel about our “Multi-Function Slab,” dog-holed worktop. Read the full article…
Over the years, I’ve done my share of beam work, but I didn’t get a taste of real timber framing until a few years ago, during the recession, when a friend and I salvaged an old barn—there wasn’t much work around and the opportunity presented itself. Even though the barn had outlived its useful days and the roof had failed, most of the timber framing was still stable. And here’s why—joinery. Read the full article…
This is a pretty simple process for making radius jamb heads. To ensure perfect accuracy, we made plywood form plates using a router and trammel arm. Read the full article…
For the 2014 IBS show, Plastpro asked me to produce a special presentation on installing an SDS unit. They shipped me all the materials so I could practice the presentation and shoot a video before the event. I was kind of surprised when the freight delivery arrived and the package was so small—the entire unit came knocked down, which reminded me of the olden days. Read the full article…
Co-written by Emanuel Silva
In my last article, I wrote about installing a fence post. Although it was dirty and hard work, I enjoyed every minute of it. Seeing that fence post today, standing plumb and solid, makes me feel glad that all the steps I did were well worth it. Read the full article…
So much was happening back in the first weeks of September 2001. Reading the news and watching videos of the Twin Towers, few of us knew that Roger Cliffe passed way, after suffering a heart attack while riding his bike. While some people knew him as Dr. Cliffe, because he taught technology classes at Northern Illinois University, many of us knew Roger as a prolific author of woodworking books (Table Saw Techniques, Radial Arm Saw Basics, The Shaper Handbook, etc. ), and as an extremely approachable woodworking instructor. Read the full article…
I’ve been using a SawStop cabinet saw for more almost ten years. And for nearly that long, I’ve been hoping they would come out with a real portable table saw. Sure, a few years ago they introduced their Contractors Saw, but that monster weighs 310 lbs.! Definitely not my idea of portable. Read the full article…
In 2011, I was given the opportunity to frame up four small houses with Dutch Hip roofs on a remote island in the tropics. I planned to use the experience to teach the contractor’s crew western style framing. Read the full article…
We live in a society that undervalues blue-collar work. In the late 80s and early 90s, when computer technology grew by leaps and bounds, industrial arts classrooms were turned into computer labs; students were taught that a four-year degree was the only accepted path after high school. Today, we see a huge increase in the number of college graduates that cannot find a job in their field because a flood of new graduates—in addition to the existing workforce—are competing for the same job. Read the full article…
Our stop in Clinton wasn’t just about the changes in the millwork industry due to advances in technology. It was really a study of the consequences (often unseen) that resulted from leaps in technology. The technological leap that took place in Clinton, Iowa in 1870 was ultimately the result of the Industrial Revolution. Other leaps for homes occurred as power tools came on the job, and these leaps continue today as computer controlled machines (CNC) take over our shops and mills. It is a strange and ironic fact that an increased level of technology and the increase use of technology in building does not necessarily lead to higher quality or more beautiful homes. Read the full article…
Our story begins in Chicago. Though the hammer was not invented here, it is where the current use of the hammer was born. Up until the early 1800s, if you were going to build a house or a building, you did so with large timbers that were cut and fitted together like a large, well-made chair. Using mortise and tenon joints, along with pegs, large timbers—6 or 8 in. across—were cut and fit together yielding a house of mass and strength. All houses and buildings of wood, pre-1830/40, were built with timbers; they were all timber-framed. Read the full article…
I recently worked on a video series for Festool in which I covered examples of how you might use a Festool track saw in a shop or on the jobsite. In the following videos, I demonstrate how a track saw produces exceptional results when trimming down doors, how using a track saw can save time and additional steps when back beveling a door, and how a track saw offers a better solution than a table saw for making complex bevel or miter cuts. Read the full article…