blair

Virginia-Highland Summerfest

May 312007
 

This weekend the Virgina-Highland Civic Association will be hosting Summerfest right here in our neighborhood. When you come in for woodworking supplies, take some extra time to check out the festival. For more information, click on the logo.

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Summerfest celebrates the beginning of summer with diverse arts, great food, live musical performances and much more. The festival takes place along Virginia Avenue, in the heart of historic Virginia-Highland.
Voted the “Best Neighborhood Festival” in Creative Loafing and consistently revered by art professionals as one of the best artists’ markets in the southeast, Summerfest is a great event for the entire family. Make sure you stick around and explore the unique shopping and eclectic dining throughout the Virginia-Highland neighborhood.

If you are coming in early to shop or take a class, be advised that there will be a 5K Fun Run in the neighborhood. Some streets will be blocked off from about 7:45am until about 9:00am. Click here for a map of the race route.

Blair

Festool Domino Special Ends Today!

May 312007
 


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Hey everybody, today is the last day of the Festool Domino Introductory Pricing promotion! On June 1st, the Domino tool, all Domino packages and the Domino Cutter & Tenon Assortment all go up by $40. Place your order before midnight to take advantage of this offer.
Blair

A new PBS Woodworking show!

May 302007
 

PBS plans to premier a new woodworking show early next year. It”s called Woodworking Together and is hosted by Gail O’Rourke. See the details and trailer below.

“Woodworking Together” is the first new woodworking show to come to public television in more than 10 years and features the very first woman to host a true woodworking show, Boston-area cabinetmaker Gail O’Rourke.
Our show is geared toward woodworkers of all skill levels, with a special emphasis on beginners.
Woodworking Together will premiere nationwide on PBS stations in January of 2008.


Good luck Gail. It’s always great to have more woodworking on TV.
Blair

Protect ALL Body Parts!

May 282007
 

Foreign object in eyeThe other day I had a slight mishap in the shop that as in most cases, was completely avoidable. After breaking out into that “Jeez, THAT was a close one!” sweat, all I could think was “This is exactly how accidents happen – sheer oversight and carelessness.”
I was cutting thin slivers of wood from pen blanks on the miter saw to make segmented pieces. Since the blanks are roughly 3/4″ x 3/4″ x 6″, I was very concerned with how to hold them while cutting. After a lot of thought, I made a simple sled with a toggle clamp to hold the blank, which allowed me to keep my fingers far away from the blade as I chopped. I went so far as to use double-stick tape to further secure the smaller pieces to the sled, since I couldn’t clamp some of them down as well as I would have liked.
So I’m cutting away, carefully taping and clamping each piece, when a piece manages to fly up and hit me squarely in my right eye. Why? BECAUSE I WASN’T WEARING EYE PROTECTION!!! I took all that time to plan out my cuts and protect my hands, yet completely neglected my eyes and face. My eye seemed okay after the initial shock, and you can bet I put on a faceshield for the rest of my cuts!
Later I noticed my eye felt a little sore, so I looked at it in the mirror. I had a small chunk of wood about 1/16″ x 3/16″ stuck in the inside corner of my eye! No wonder it hurt when I blinked and even more so when I rubbed my eye! Fortunately I was able to remove the wood without incident. Again I felt my body flush with sweat as I considered how seriously I could have injured myself.
From the Merck Manual Home Edition:
The most common eye injuries are those to the cornea and outer surface of the eye (conjunctiva) caused by foreign objects. Although most of these injuries are minor, some—such as penetration of the cornea or development of an infection from a cut or scratch on the cornea—can be serious.
I guess shop safety entails protecting ALL body parts!!! Shop for safety equipment at Highland Woodworking
* Send us your account of a shop injury or close call for a future Wood News Online feature: woodnews@highlandwoodworking.com.

The best vacs in the business!

May 252007
 

Who has the best tool-triggered vacs around? We do! Fine Homebuilding says that we have the best vacs around.

OK, that’s not quite what they said, but they rated the Fein Turbo II Vac is their “Author’s Choice for Best Value”.

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Fine Homebuilding also says that their “Author’s Choice for Best Overall” is the Festool CT33!

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The best in the business are both available at Highland Woodworking.

I’ve had my Fein Turbo II for 9 years now and I love it! Now that I’ve used a Festool, I’m considering adding it to my shop. Not to replace the Fein, but to cover the other end of the shop.

Blair

Festool Domino Special Expires Soon!

May 242007
 


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Hey everybody, there’s only one week left in the Festool Domino Introductory pricing promotion! On June 1st, the Domino tool, all Domino packages and the Domino Cutter & Tenon Assortment all go up by $40. If you are considering a Festool Domino, take advantage of this special pricing while it lasts.
Blair