Last week, Chris wondered if you use CAD and which program in particular you prefer. Thanks to all who share their experiences here. – Editor “I have been using SketchUp for many years, starting with the free version and now Pro with an annual subscription. I am retired and woodworking as a hobbyist. I almost never touch a blade to wood without drawing in SketchUp. It has helped me figure out tool setup with angles, etc. I designed my entire basement project from walls to cabinets and even figuring square footage for flooring. It is an invaluable tool. It also helps my wife visualize and provi ..read more

No matter how carefully I cut and fit my box joints, if they aren’t clamped thoroughly at glue-up, there’s no guarantee all the pins and slots will be pushed fully together. The key to effective clamping, however, is applying pressure against every pin. That’s where Rockler’s Box Joint Cauls are the ideal solution. Their inner surfaces are laid out with alternating pin-and-slot patterns to match whatever common joint I’m making — 1/4″, 3/8″, 1/2″ or 3/4″. Thin slots on their rounded outer corners enable pennies to be inserted to keep strap clamps from falling down when they’re tightened. These ..read more

The Greenville Woodworkers Guild is bigger than many, both in membership and in physical space. Roughly 950 people are part of the South Carolina organization, which owns a building with over 20,000 square ft of space that houses both a shop and a lecture hall that regularly hosts woodworkers from across the country. In 2016, the Guild celebrated its 35th anniversary with founding members Art Welling and Bob Harvey, Bobby Hartness, founder Michael McDunn and longtime member Bob Ripley. What’s the secret to the Guild’s success? Current president Charlie LeGrand says, “The mission is what has se ..read more

This article, “A Stool with Stretchers,” is from the pages of American Woodturner and is brought to you by the America Association of Woodturners (AAW) in partnership with Woodworker’s Journal. If you can turn a spindle, then making a stool is not above your abilities. I often see turners making simple three-legged stools that look like a milking or foot stool. This is a great beginning point for stool and chairmaking, but with just a few extra steps, it is easy to make a more sophisticated chair, barstool, or bench with stretchers. Stretchers can provide a place for your foot to res ..read more

Just the other day on Facebook, Rockler asked its customers how they go about drawing their project designs. The answers ran the gamut, from “I don’t draw anything and design on the fly” to folks who still kick it old school with pencil and paper and, of course, others who have adopted computer-aided design (CAD) programs. I’ve used the same version of CAD since 2002, running on a vintage Mac. Trouble is, I haven’t moved forward with SketchUp or otherwise, because hopping onto my old CAD program feels faster and easier than taking the time to learn something completely new. It’s a bad excuse ..read more

Last week, Chris asked for your woodworking book recommendations. Here are your picks. – Editor “Here a couple of old classics by Eric Sloan who had a true love of wood: ‘A Reverence for Wood,’ and ‘A Museum of Early American Tools.’ If you can find one of the older versions, (they were done in the mid 1960s), it will be much better than the newer versions that can have poor quality. Both are good reads for someone who has an appreciation of working with wood.” – Steve Zagame “I full-heartedly agree with you regarding Box Flexner’s book. Of the 50 to 100 woodworking books I have on my shelf, t ..read more

How many cordless tools do you own? Probably more than two, like I do. But if you leave your chargers plugged into various outlets 24/7 with the batteries still trickle-charging, you’re wasting watts and money. So, consider plugging them all into a power strip with an On/Off switch. Before you leave the shop for the day, turn off the strip. Most chargers fully recharge a battery in an hour or less, so your batteries will be ready the next time you need them anyway. Turn the power strip back on only when you need to for recharging. After all, saving every little bit of energy just makes “cents ..read more

Those of you who subscribe to our print magazine have probably seen a tinted box on the Stumpers page called “Insights.” It’s an opportunity for me to peruse my woodworking library and find (at least to me) really great quotes from noteworthy woodworking authors. I don’t own hundreds of woodworking books — true confession! — but I do have some really good titles. One of my favorites is Bob Flexner’s “Understanding Wood Finishing.” I’ll go so far as to say every single woodworker who wonders about wood finishes or wants to get better at the art and science of finishing wood should read Bob’s b ..read more

Last week, Chris wondered whether you have ever bought more lumber than you actually could use. It seems several of you have! – Editor “I know the feeling of the allure for more wood to feed my hobby! I have a cabin in the mountains, and we had a bunch of cherry and walnut trees fall down. I had previously taken some logs to a mill, but this was close to thirty 8′ logs. I started to figure what it would cost to be milled, then saw an ad for a Woodland Mills sawmill for about the same price. I bought the mill and sawed up the lumber but afterwards needed a place to store the mill and lumber. My ..read more

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