Router Jointing

When you need to joint a long edge of a wide board, use your router. Clamp a straight edge to the board, and chuck a straight bit in your router, and make your cut from left to right. It's a lot safer and easier than trying to maneuver an unwieldy board over your jointer. You can use a length of ply, or you can purchase a metal edge; Lee Valley makes an excellent one (item 05J50.01).

Storage for Small Stuff

It's sometimes hard to keep track of all the small stuff in the shop. This handy storage container does the job nicely. It's made from 35mm plastic film canisters. They are just the right size to hold small screws, washers, hinges, brads and the like. I used scrap 1/4" ply for the box then cut a piece of Plexiglas and mounted it to the box with a hinge. Plexi enables me to see what is in the box with out opening the cover, as I have several of these storage containers in my shop. [tip courtesy of Ted Duquette].

HowStuffWorks

I have to admit it, I don't know everything. Sad but true. So, once in a while I turn to a few reliable resources. This site is one of them. HowStuffWorks has well written and illustrated articles on how a wide range of things work - home stuff, car stuff, hobby stuff, electronic stuff, and lots of other stuff. But don't expect to see much on woodworking. Guess you'll have to rely on Canadian Woodworking Magazine to fill that gap.

Do It Yourself Network

One of our loyal readers sent us this link. The DIY Network claims more than 15,000 on-line projects with complete step-by-step instructions, resources and related links. There's a woodworking section that has furniture projects, articles on building a shop, finishing, marquetry and turning.

Lee Valley

The good folks at Lee Valley have some early spring treats for us. There is a pair of Blending Curves (as for blending a straight line into a curved line) in 18" and 36" lengths ($19.95 and $36.50); a mini saw guide system, for making the perfect 90° and 45° cuts ($46.50); a vacuum veneer press ($69.50), which we'll be reviewing in an upcoming issue of Canadian Woodworking Magazine; and an offset router base ($24.50), that looks exceptionally easy to use.

www.leevalley.com

Self-Opening Hinge

Wood Technology, Inc. introduces the new Self-Opening hinge from Danco. The reverse action hinge enables a wood or aluminum door to slowly swing open on its own, hands-free. The door is held in the closed position with a touch latch and when gently pushed, the door releases and opens by itself. This hinge eliminates the need to install a knob or pull on the door and provides numerous other benefits.

   Knife review and carving by David Bruce

   Johnson (see David's regular carving

   article in each issue of Canadian

   Woodworking Magazine).

Cape Forge Knife

There are few things I enjoy more than taking a nice knife for a test-carve. The Cape Forge General knife is a nice one and a treat to use. With a 1 1/2” blade, the #1 General knife fit my hand perfectly when I was using the “carving away” technique. For my large hands, the 1 1/2” blade is about as long as the middle joint in my thumb. That means the knife tip remains well clear of my index finger when whittling.

At first glance, the handle of the Cape Forge knife seems large compared to the delicate blade. But that’s just appearance. The handle is perfectly compatible with the blade. It fits comfortably in the hand and is suitably long to provide excellent leverage. From the outset, the knife felt like it was made for my hand and I was able to carve as long as I wanted without feeling the least bit of fatigue in my hand.

The blade may seem delicate but it is very robust. It is quite stiff and, through some abusive cutting that I wouldn't recommend to anyone, I found the tip to be quite strong. (I probably would have broken the tip off my other knives.) Most important, the knife held its edge very well. I probably should have stropped the blade at some point but there didn't seem to be any need to do so.

If you're looking for a robust, comfortable, effective knife, a Cape Forge tool would get my endorsement. Affordably priced at $32 US.

Turned Chessmen

Mike Darlow is a well respected Aussie turner and author. His "Fundamentals of Woodturning" is one of my favorites. While his new book (in fact, his fifth!) is essentially geared to woodturners, it will be appreciated by anyone with an interest in chess.

The first third of the book provides a fascinating overview of the history of chess, from its beginnings in India round about 550 AD up to our century. This is followed by a short gallery of chess pieces, and a discussion of the piece symbols suitable for turning.

The next third of the book delves into the realm of chess piece design. A lot of this seemed, well, serious, to me - "communicative intentions", "restraints", "signatures" and all that.

"Where's the beef?" you say. Well, in my opinion it's in the last third of the book. Here we get ten pages of scaled drawings, along with detailed instructions on the tools and techniques to make any of them. The illustrations are excellent, the photos are crisp, and the writing is clear and succinct.

An excellent book that will give you hours of wonderful turning. Softcover, 168pp, ISBN: 1-56523-259-3, $24.95US.

Turned Chessmen is published by "Fox Chapel Publishing". Check out their web site. Fox Chapel also publishes two magazines, "Wood Carving Illustrated" and "Scroll Saw Workshop".

  Sample page from "Turned Chessmen"

The Merlin School of Traditional Fine Woodworking offers a range of classes for those seeking to learn woodworking with a focus on traditional techniques and hand tool skills. Courses starting in March. The school is located at 1000 Rue Bedard in Hudson, Quebec. (450) 458-0813

Red Deer College (Red Deer, AB) is offering a 5 day "Introduction to Woodcarving" course beginning July 4. This entry-level course is a step-by-step introduction to the basic tools and techniques used in working with wood.

The Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (Edmonton, AB) offers an 8 month two semester program that merges traditional woodworking techniques with the most contemporary machining and drafting methods. If full-time training is not for you they also offer a range of shorter evening courses. 780-471-8664

Learn fine woodstrip/epoxy construction while building an elegant touring kayak or canoe with Ted Moores, innovative boat builder, author and small craft historian. The Bear Mountain Boat Shop has 7 day courses starting in April. While some of the courses are given at their Peterborough, ON location, others are offered in Quebec and the USA.

Builders Without Borders isn't a school, but it is looking for a few talented volunteers with woodworking skills to teach woodworking to young people in Haiti. The course is 10 weeks duration, and besides wanting to help people make a difference in their lives, you have to speak French. A great opportunity to make a difference!

These matching pine bedside tables were built by Ed Reynolds from Winnipeg. They're part of a set that includes a Shaker style bed and Armoire.

Gilbert Tremblay from Dartmouth, NS, sent us this picture of the computer workstation he made. Nice job Gilbert.

John Looser doesn't make them small! This amazing bird house is constructed from 150 year old barn boards. Its 64" wide, 54" high and 40" deep. It has 4 decks, 19 dormers, 6 entrances, 3 bay windows and over 50 other windows. We can imagine what John's house looks like. Great job John!

Al McCarney from Aurora, ON, made this display unit for his wife last Christmas. It is made from oak and has a mirrored back and glass shelves and top, with an interior light.

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