This Week in the Shop: Tool Rack

This Week in the Shop we build tool holders for my recently installed tool wall. An organized workspace is a functional workspace, especially in community shops. When everything has its place, every part of the shop seems to work quicker. So this week, I put together a few tool holders to put up some screwdrivers, chisels, pliers and nail sets.

Tool Racks

There are tons of storage solutions out there. I prefer tool walls, both in my personal shop and at community shops. The plywood provides a solid anchoring surface and custom tool holders can be rearranged as needed. Tool holders can be customized for each tool and can be made from small scraps for next to nothing. Lastly, they can be painted, stained, chalkboarded and more. A tool wall fits any work are, whether craft, machine, woodworking, leather or whatever else.

I have used pegboard, hanging tool-o-dexes, tool chests and more to help organize my workspace. Pegs fall out, hanging tool-o-dexes cost too much for their value, and tool chests attract clutter. Commercial systems never seem to be worth the bang for the buck (nor are they as much fun to install as designing your own tool holder).

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Continue reading “This Week in the Shop: Tool Rack”

Tool Primer: The #Table Saw Buyer’s Guide

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.

2

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!

Continue reading “Tool Primer: The #Table Saw Buyer’s Guide”

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

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: Hand Saws for #Woodworking

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.

dsc_1912

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.

Continue reading “Tool Primer: Hand Saws for #Woodworking”