Stickley-Style Mirror - Project of the Week

February 29, 2008 | Filed Under Blog, Project of the Week | 8 Comments 

This week’s project was made by Brad Ferguson, a chat room regular (TreeFrogFurniture). Here’s what he had to say: “My wife has been after me for a full length mirror so I decided to kill two tasks with one blow and made it for her christmas gift. I chose a Stickley-style cheval mirror but could only find pictures of it online so I used these to draw up my own plan. Its made of quarter sawn white oak backed with 1/4 inch oak plywood. I wanted a visual joint to add to the arts and crafts style or the mirror, I decided to go with a half-lap dovetail joint at all 4 corners, this would allow me to have a strong connection as well as a focal point in an otherwise plain frame. For the base I used straight side stretchers with two arched cross stretchers connected with wedged through tenons. A finish of sedona red stain followed by amber shellac and finished with dark wax let me keep the color light while still highlighting the grain in the quartersawn white oak. The addition of a beveled edge mirror and the finish gives this project the antique feel I was looking for. It was a fun project to build and my wife loves it.”

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Wanna see more of Brad’s work? Check out his blog at http://treefrogfurniture.blogspot.com/.

Powerful New Custom Search Engine

February 28, 2008 | Filed Under Blog | 7 Comments 

After some discussion in the chat room last night, it was obvious that we needed a more powerful and relevant search engine here at TheWood Whisperer.com. So I looked into it and found a pretty cool solution. Whenever you visit our Power Search page (the link will always be in the navbar above), you have the option of using three powerful custom search engines. The first allows you to search the entire Wood Whisperer site, just as before. The second one I am REALLY excited about. It allows you to search all of the major woodworking forums in one shot. Looking for information on a technique, or a plan you saw posted months ago? Just type in a few keywords and you should find what you’re looking for within seconds. The third option is to search the woodworking blogs. This is a search that includes all of the sites within The Wood Whisperer Network! How cool is that?!?!

Now the search engines are powered by Google and unfortunately there are a few minor bugs here and there. But the search is still functional and accurate and should help you find exactly what you are looking for. So give it a shot and SEARCH your heart out!

Episode 41 - End Table (Pt. 5)

February 27, 2008 | Filed Under Blog, Projects, Video | 25 Comments 

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High Resolution Version


We have some big design decisions to make. And thanks to all the great suggestions from you folks, I had a lot to think about! But I finally made a decision. I show you how I use a Kutzall carving burr and a die grinder to blend in the protruding center piece, and I discuss the creation of the template for the top. I also show you how I rout the grooves for the steel dowels that will suspend the tabletop in the middle of the piece (you’ll understand when you see it).

February Contest Reminder

February 27, 2008 | Filed Under Blog | Leave a Comment 

Just a quick reminder about our two big contests this month:

The Fescool Giveaway and The Wood Whisperer Giveaway.

Don’t miss out on your chance to get some free stuff!!

Wood Talk Online - 30

February 25, 2008 | Filed Under Blog, Wood Talk Online | 16 Comments 

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Topics:
Lee Valley’s Woodworking Catalog, Matt shaving with his chisels, Marc’s table top, the concept of designing on the fly, can woodworking clubs survive, fitting drawers to a carcass, safety gear, filling termite holes, biographical woodworking books, and router bit diameters.

Relevant Links:
Workbenches
Kaleo’s Workshop
The Impractical Cabinetmaker
Woodworking Wit & Wisdom

If you want to leave us a voicemail
623-242-2450

PVA Glue Expiration? - Question of the Week

February 25, 2008 | Filed Under Blog, Question of the Week | 2 Comments 

This week’s question comes from Knothead. He writes:
“I’ve heard that PVA glue has an expiration date of about 1year after opening. Is this tuely so, or does it just start hardening in the bottle? I bought a gallon jug and didn’t get it used up within a year but it still pours out. Can I use it until it is too thick to pour?”

And here was my reply: “Hey Knothead. The recommended shelf life on PVA glue is generally a way for the company to cover its butt. One year is simply the length of time they will guarantee the quality level. But most glues can go for two years or more if stored consistently at room temp. And fortunately, the glue will show signs of problems when it is bad. So if it still flows nice and smooth and its not clumpy and stringy, you should have no problems using the product. Here is a link to the Titebond FAQ where they cover these topics extensively.

From Titebond: “…as long as products like Titebond Original, Titebond II and Titebond III remain fluid, without drastic change in appearance, they will continue to perform as intended. Most of our yellow and white glues, including Titebond Original and Titebond II, remain usable beyond two years. Should Titebond Original become thick and stringy, or Titebond II turns into an orange colored gel, these changes signify that the glue is no longer usable.”

Segmented Turning - Project of the Week

February 22, 2008 | Filed Under Blog, Project of the Week | 5 Comments 

This week’s project comes from Austin. It’s an incredibly beautiful segment turning. Here’s what Austin had to say: “This segmented vase is made up of 223 pieces of, yellow heart, ash, mahogany, maple, cherry and walnut veneer. 16 pieces make up each ring. The feature ring is a diamond pattern made of maple and cherry. At the widest part it is 11.5 inches in diameter. There is well over 20 hours put into a piece like this, I hope you will appreciate the time I put into it.”

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You can read more about Austin and his wood projects on his blog Dienner Woodworks

I hate to do it…….

February 22, 2008 | Filed Under Blog | 9 Comments 

But, I have no choice. I have to make a change to our RSS feed address. Why? Well, those of you who subscribe to our show in iTunes know that only the last 10 or 12 episodes are available there. This is because the RSS feed is just too darn big. Our feed contains videos AND all of our text posts. Unfortunately, RSS feeds have an upper limit for how much content they can hold before they break.

So does this affect you? If you are an email subscriber or you use a feed reader to get your Wood Whisperer updates, this AFFECTS YOU. So here’s what you need to do (very simple). Just re-subscribe using the following link: Subscribe to The Wood Whisperer by Email. Or you can subscribe anytime on the site itself by using the little subscription form. And don’t worry about unsubscribing to the old feed, I will be turning off the email notifications next week.

Now if you subscribe in a feed reader like Google Reader, the new feed address is: http://feeds.feedburner.com/tww

I apologize for the inconvenience. I will add this notice to the next few posts just to make sure everyone sees it. Thanks for your understanding as we try to streamline the system.

Wednesday Night Chat 2/20

February 21, 2008 | Filed Under Blog, Wednesday Chat | 5 Comments 

Here’s a little snippet from last night’s 3 hour chat. The chat room is getting busier and busier each week! If you haven’t stopped by yet, you really should. It’s a lot of fun!

Be sure to hit the little “Full Screen” button on the player, otherwise you wont be able to read the chat. Thanks everybody


Fun Festool Videos

February 21, 2008 | Filed Under Blog | 10 Comments 

I wanted to bring your attention to a video I created recently for one of our sponsors, Festool. The video highlights the great features of their CT line of dust extractors. You can find it in the current Sysnotes (Festool’s Newsletter) or use this direct link. If you are a fan of Festool tools, you might want to sign up for the newsletter so you can receive automatic updates on Festool products and events.

I am in the process of doing a number of these videos for Festool and it sure is a lot of fun. But, I have to accompany this post with a disclaimer. This is NOT a Wood Whisperer episode. This is a video I created in cooperation with Festool as promotional material for their product line. So why am I linking to it? Well first off, I am proud of it. Many of you know I enjoy making videos nearly as much as woodworking itself. Second, we have a lot of Festool fans in our viewership, and a product-based video like this might be of interest to you. Enjoy!

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