Category: Tool Primer

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Tool Primer: The #Table Saw Buyer’s Guide

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In the modern woodshop, the table saw is king. A table saw can rip, crosscut, bevel and miter.  It can create coves, tapers, even cut circles with the right jigs and fixtures.

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Table saws allow more accurate, precise and repeatable cuts in a multitude of materials.  Even more complex joinery, such as tenons and finger joints, can be created on the table saw.

Which table saw should I buy?  Why buy used?  Why shouldn’t I buy used?  How do I pick out a great table saw?  How do I avoid bad table saws?

Glad you asked.  In today’s Tool Primer, we will walk through the various types of table saws and discuss the different features.  Then, I’ll break down which features I find most useful in the shop.  Lastly, I will discuss the used table saw market.  Lastly, I will make a recommendation of which saw to buy.

Lets get cutting!

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Home Makerspace, This Week In the Shop, Tool PrimerLeave a comment

Tool Primer: Understanding Common Glues for #Maker Project

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GLUESooner or later during a Maker project, you have to stick it together.  You need glue.  Better yet, you need the right glue.

 

Some glues are formulated to work best porous materials such as paper, wood, or leather.  Some are made to work between two different substrates, say plastic and metals.  Some are made for smooth, hard materials.  Knowing the difference can be the difference between a success and failure in the Home #Makerspace. Continue reading “Tool Primer: Understanding Common Glues for #Maker Project”

Education, Home Makerspace, Maker Eduation, Tool Primer, Tool Review, Tools, Woodworking1 Comment

Home #Makerspace: A Young #Maker ‘s First Saw Kit

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3 Saws and a Miter Box. A beginning woodworker needs enough equipment to make only two types of cuts; the cross cut and curve.   For cross cuts, I suggest a Japanese-style “pistol grip” carpenter’s saw for older makers, age 7 & … Continue reading Home #Makerspace: A Young #Maker ‘s First Saw Kit

Tool Primer, Tools, Woodworking2 Comments

Tool Primer: Hand Saws for #Woodworking

woodshopcowboy

Every tool has a purpose.  The Tool Primer Series explores common #makerspace and #woodworking tools.  You can check out the entire series here.

When a problem’s too big in my shop, I cut it down to size with a hand saw.  Hand saws have several inherent  advantages over power saws.  They don’t run out of batteries, so makers can use them all day.  The light weight means novice and  smaller makers can comfortably use the tool reasonably safe.  Hand saws can make delicate joinery and also rip through 3” slabs.  No circular saw or table saw has that type of range.

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Hand saws are not made equal.  Each hand saw excels at certain tasks.  In this tool primer, we will examine the Western & Japanese-style divide, learn to match the saw to the cut direction and classify saws by type and function.

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Classroom Project, Maker Eduation, Maker Project, Tool PrimerLeave a comment

Home #Makerspace: Natural Material Sculptures & Glue Gun Safety

woodshopcowboy

Rachelle Dooley of TinkerLab is one of my go-to arts blogs and one of my favorite small-person maker-educators.  She has a fantastic book, Tinkerlab: A Hands-On Guide for Little Inventors, and blog, TinkerLab.  She recently posted a skill building tutorial for glue guns in small hands.  Check it out here.

My boys and I took her idea and moved it over into the “Dad” realm.  We used natural materials, stone, sticks, bark, and some scraps from a recent rocking chair repair to create some “rock gardens”.

According to my sons, dragons eat the rocks that grow in rock gardens.  And if dragons derive energy from rocks breaking apart, that means they have somehow created controlled nuclear reactors in their stomachs.  Which is the start of a Hollywood Sci-Fi movie script, and if it’s not, it should be.

After the jump, check out a few tips and safety pointers for glue guns at different developmental levels.

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Tool Primer, Tool Review, Tool SafetyLeave a comment

Tool Primer: How to Select and Use a Router

woodshopcowboy

The router can do an incredible number of tasks: cut grooves and dados, used with guides to make parts, do complex or simple joinery and create edge treatments for wood.  The router can be mounted on a bench or table top or it can be manipulated by hand.  The router is the single most versatile tool in the woodworker’s power tool box.

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This Week In the Shop, Tool Primer1 Comment

Tool Primer: How to Finish Your Project: Film Finishes

woodshopcowboy

This is the third Tool Primer article on finishing your woodworking project.  You can find Part One:  Sanding here and Part Two: Penetrating Oils here.

DSC03801_thumb.jpgIn this article I will discuss the film finishes available for woodworking projects at most local big-box hardware stores.  The first step is creating a clean, dust-free uniform surface by sanding all a parts to a high grit.  I detailed my process in Part One.  The finishing process is the difference between a good woodworking project and a heirloom piece of furniture.  When I want to really knock a project out of the park, I focus much of my energy on choosing and creating a proper finish.

Continue reading “Tool Primer: How to Finish Your Project: Film Finishes”

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Tool Primer: How to Finish your Project: Penetrating Oils

woodshopcowboy

This is the second Tool Primer article on finishing your woodworking project.  You can find Part One:  Sanding here.

In this article I will discuss the finishes available for woodworking projects at most local big-box hardware stores.  The first step is creating a clean, dust-free uniform surface by sanding all a parts to a high grit.  I detailed my process in Part One.  The finishing process is the difference between a good woodworking project and a heirloom piece of furniture.  When I want to really knock a project out of the park, I focus much of my energy on choosing and creating a proper finish.

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Keep reading for the breakdown and uses of the common penetrating oils found in your local big box home improvement and hardware stores.

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Tool Primer: How To Finish Your Woodworking Project: Sanding

woodshopcowboy

In the next two Tool Primer articles, I will discuss my process for finishing a woodworking project.   The finishing process is the difference between a good woodworking project and a heirloom piece of furniture.  When I want to really knock a project out of the park, I focus much of my energy on choosing and creating a proper finish.

Boiled Linseed Oil, Shellac, Paste Wax
Boiled Linseed Oil, Shellac, Paste Wax

So here’s my advice: sand it well and thin it as well.
In this article, I’ll  focus on sanding.  More after the jump!
Continue reading “Tool Primer: How To Finish Your Woodworking Project: Sanding”