Although for me, IWF was about representing my sponsors and meeting up with readers/viewers, nearly everyone else has one thing on their mind: tools. So we did our best to get some footage of the most talked about tools of the show. I know we missed quite a few (specifically, Jet’s new oscillating drum sander). But with our tight schedule and impending exhaustion, we did the best we could. Nothing fancy, nothing funny, just tools!

Here are the companies we visited:

Leigh, Blum Tool Co., Ex-Factory, DeWalt, Powermatic, Delta, and Laguna.

For more IWF coverage, check out these great resources:
Fine Woodworking Editors Blog
Popular Woodworking Blog

General:
* This season on New Yankee Workshop, Norm is building… kitchen cabinets!? Do you find watching Norm build cabinets interesting? Or is this season a bit boring to you? Let us know what you think!
* Check out Dave Noftz’s website and podcast at modernwoodshop.com.
* Matt signed up for a handsaw class with Chris Schwarz.
* There are lots of new blogs and podcasts about woodworking starting up.
– The Teenage Woodworker (http://lumberjocks.com/teenagewoodworker/blog/3383)
– Dave Noftz (http://www.modernwoodshop.com)
– Kaleo (http://www.kaleosworkshop.com) (Note, no longer active)
– Gord Graff (http://blip.tv/gord-graff) (http://www.gordgraff.com/)
* Matt is thinking of upgrading his table saw. But, should he upgrade or buy new? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
* Glen Huey: Article on Popular Woodworking’s blog about new plunge cut saws (similar to Festool’s) being made by DeWalt and Makita available in Europe. (http://www.popularwoodworking.com/article/plunge-cut-saws-available-in-europe)

Voicemails / Emails:
* Skee – Minnesota
I’m in Minnesota where it’s cold. My workshop is out in a detached garage. If I put a big portable heater out there and temporarily heat the space for a day at a time, am I going to harm my tools or hurt the wood by letting it cycle through hot and cold if I heat the garage up to 50 or 60 to stand being out there, then it drops down to 20 degrees at night? I know I can’t do glue-ups and finishing in this weather, but what about milling the wood and doing cuts? Then I can wait till the Spring to do the glue-ups and finishing. What do you think?

* Roberto – Voicemail
I have a question concerning a type of wood species. I am going to build an entire bedroom set. I’m looking for kiln-dried Manayo wood. I’ve been looking on the internet, and I can’t find it at all. Maybe it goes by another name?
We couldn’t find anything, but if you know of a source for Manayo wood, leave us a comment, send us an email, or leave us a voicemail so we can pass the information along.

* Dan – Florida
I have three quick questions for you:
1) what do you think of the Leigh Isoloc dovetail jig templates? Would you buy them? Do you like them? Would you use them?
2) I’m pretty new, and when I apply my polyurethane after I stain, I get bubbles on the surface. Is that from the kind of brush I’m using or the way I’m putting it on?
3) I’m in the market for a Powermatic Jointer. I can probably only fit a 6″ in the shop, but I’ve been looking at their 8″ jointers. Which one would you guys go with? I’ve been looking at the 8″ model 60B or the parallelogram one.

Leigh Isoloc templates

* Bob – California (It’s currently raining… and he’s in the car.)
Just wanted to check out your new technology and give you a shout out. I was at a furniture restoration store, and a guy was refinishing a piece using a wax that was already stained. The wax looked like it already had stain in it. (It looks like Bob got cut off here, but we’re going to answer the question he was probably going to ask about tinted wax!)

Most of you know by now that my schedule has been a little packed lately due to a long series of commissions. I promised you that once they were over, I would be able to focus nearly all of my efforts on The Wood Whisperer. And now its time to deliver. I am finally on the last of that series of projects and will be done within the next 7-10 days. This particular episode represents a taste of whats to come. With some new editing software, a new camera, and a little more knowledge and experience on my part, we are able to offer higher quality videos and higher quality content. The new format of the show represents what we would like to think of as “Season 2″. I hope you enjoy it.

I would have to say the most commonly requested episode so far has been dovetails. Handcut, machine cut, through or half blind……..you guys love your dovetails! Well, I have held off for a while because I wanted to make sure I did the process justice. This particular episode is a glimpse into the world of machine-cut through dovetails. Even though the episode is 30 minutes long, I feel like I just barely scratched the surface. The devil is in the details! And each jig differs in those little details. Fortunately, there are some common elements to all these jigs that make this episode useful to anyone, regardless of what jig you use. I happened to use what I consider to be the best jig on the market: the Leigh D4R.

No matter what jig you use or even if you cut them by hand, there’s no denying the “cool factor” surrounding dovetails. If you haven’t made them yet, they are easier than they look and it is certainly worth your time to learn the process. So watch the video and find out what it sounds like, when dovetails cry……….

***Error note*** Thanks to Steve and Brian in the comments section for bringing this to my attention. During the filming of the podcasts, I was using “props” for my cuts and consequently was not as careful with my organization as I should have been. Now you see why I use props. lol. I accidentally reversed the pins and tails. My rule is to cut the tails in the sides and the pins in the fronts and backs. I did the opposite in the video. I guess thats what happens when you are focused on filming and getting the right shot, instead of making proper dovetails. So don’t get confused. As long as you remember the rule (and you don’t try to make a show out of everything you do), you should be fine.