96 – 2009 Fresh Wood Student Competition
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“The 2009 Fresh Wood Student Competition highlights outstanding construction and design achievements by students from the best high school and post-secondary woodworking programs in North America.” That’s according to the AWFS website. But the competition is so much more. There were so many fantastic pieces on display and unfortunately I couldn’t film them all. But I got the vast majority and I hope you enjoy the footage. Some of the talent in this competition is simply mind boggling.
Music courtesy of MusicAlley.com. The first track was Juxtaposition by B.D. Lenz and the second track was Phideauxs Strut by Brian McRae.
75- Wood Werks Supply, Inc.
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Some of you may recall our visit to Ohio last spring. While we were there, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to visit a woodworking store that I had heard great things about: The Wood Werks Store in Columbus, OH. Pictures just can’t do this place justice! Wall to wall tools, lumber from floor to ceiling, and a Rockler store built-in! Amazing! Since this store is essentially a woodworkers playground, I thought it would be fun to give you a little tour. Wood Werks has also made great efforts to bring the magic of their retail location online. So you can now shop for all the latest and greatest tools and supplies at WoodWerks.com. And I can’t forget to mention Wood Werks’ Powermatic Custom program. Its a PM2000 on steroids!!
Wood Acclimation in Hawaii – Question of the Week
This week’s question comes from Robert. He writes:
“I live on an island in Hawaii (surrounded by water of course) where the humidity is always high and it rains a lot. All the material that I’ve been reading says to dry your wood to about 6% before working on it. Then you leave it in your shop for several days to let it become equal to your humidity. My humidity is always super high. A lot of times in the 80’s and above. Do I still dry my wood to this dryness (6%) even though it will probably go up to 12 to 14 % after acclimated to my place (I do my work in a garage that is open on two sides)? Do I store my wood here in the open garage or somewhere else? What % humidity should I be working on my wood? BTW, the items will probably stay here in Hawaii and we don’t use heating and not a lot of us use air conditioning in their homes. So I believe the humidity inside and out are pretty similar. And it rains a lot here. Sometimes 3 to 5 times a week. I’ve seen charts that show the moisture in wood left on its own here will have between 11 and 14% moisture content throughout the whole year.”
And here was my reply:
“If you are buying kiln dried wood, it will most likely be shipped in at around 6-8%. But if it sits in a lumber yard for a while, you can count on the moisture content going higher and higher every day, until it reaches equilibrium with the environment. So by the time you get it, it is probably up in that higher range anyway. And just like in anyone else’s shop anywhere in the world, you want to let those boards acclimate to your shop’s conditions. And if there is a lot of humidity, your boards will have a higher than average moisture content. Remember that humidity is not necessarily our enemy. CHANGES is humidity are the real problem. So if its relatively constant inside and outside, you should have no problems working with wood that has as higher than average moisture content. Probably not a bad idea to get a moisture meter so you can monitor theses things and figure out just what percentage these boards get to and how they change over the course of the year. But it sounds like you already have a head start on the research. You are wise to be cautious. But I think your actual workflow will not be all that different from anyone else’s.”
For more information on wood, the science behind it, and proper ways to dry it, check out these great articles provided by our friends at FineWoodWorking.com:
All about Wood Science
Wood Talk Online – Episode 27
We covered a bunch of topics in Episode 27, including The Wood Whisperer Network, Kaleo’s new baby Taz, Christmas gifts, Matt’s Stretchy Pants, Chris Schwarz’s new book Workbenches, the new Woodworking Magazine announcement, flattening workbenches, and new changes at The Woodworking Channel.
We also answered a few great emails. David wanted our opinions concerning copying other woodworkers’ designs. Brian has a small shop and needs some pointers for using the space efficiently. And finally Tony asks about using a fence with his new #7 plane.
And don’t forget to download your free issue of Woodworking Magazine.
If you have a woodworking question, please feel free to email us at WoodTalkOnline@gmail.com or call us at (623) 242-2450.
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