Highland Staff

Peter Galbert’s Old Brown Glue Tip

Mar 292016
 

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Peter Galbert was at Highland all last week teaching his Windsor Chair class. After so many years learning his craft, Pete’s brain is full of useful nuggets like this one on how to maximize a bottle of Old Brown Glue.

The problem: constant re-heating of the glue bottle was causing the unused glue to get clumpy and unusable before you can actually use all of the contents of the bottle.

The solution: empty the glue into an old ice cube tray you aren’t using anymore, and put the ice cube tray in the refrigerator (not the freezer!) The cold turns the glue into gelatin-like cubes that you can store individually in a ziploc bag in the refrigerator and then easily pull out, one at a time. One cube is usually enough for the glue-up of a single chair! Thanks, Peter!

The #GetWoodworking Week Round-up

Mar 262016
 

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Thanks to everyone who submitted their blogs, videos, and social media updates for #GetWoodworking Week this year! Our main goal is to promote woodworking to our community and get new people interested in it.  It also acts as a reminder to people who may have not gotten into their shops for awhile to go out and make something.

Here is a round-up of some of the highlights of this year’s #GetWoodworking Week:

Blogs

Wilbur Pan – The problem with buying a Japanese saw, 2016 edition

Ethan Frei- GetWoodworking: How I Got Started

Matt Cremona- What’s Matt Up To This Week

Stephany Wilkes (West by Midwest)- Build Up, Beginning Woodworker, The Accidental Aesthetic Anarchist

Steve Johnson (The Down to Earth Woodworker)- The Luckiest Woodworker, The Goal is More Woodworkers, Right?, Marketing to Potential New Woodworkers

Justin Starr- A Reason To #Getwoodworkingweek

Jim Ashley (The Wood Lab)- Thoughts When Starting Out

Videos

Manhattan Wood Project – Cedar Plank Porch Gardens

Manhattan Wood Project – Finding Decent Wood at a Good Price

Dominic Bender – 14 Ways to make a Tealight Holder

Instagram

All she can do until the glue dries. #getwoodworkingweek #woodworkaustralia #woodworking #shopfriend #plattcavecreations

A photo posted by Tony Platt (@plattcavecreations) on

Guess I am participating in #GetWoodworkingWeek Finally got my Stanley no.5 tuned up. A photo posted by @davidclyell on

Blizzard outside, so I’ll work on my #getwoodworkingweek project. I need a bench stat!

A photo posted by @lynchnathaniel on

 

Feeling groovy. #woodworking humor #getwoodworkingweek

 

A photo posted by Nathan Merrill (@merrillrx) on

Hickory up front, oak in the back. #woodworking #dowoodworking #mallet #hickory #oak #danishoil #getwoodworkingweek A photo posted by Colin Gregory Beckstrand (@colinwalin) on

 

My first attempt at spoon carving #woodworking #spoon #getwoodworking #maker

 

A photo posted by Cale Blalock (@cabwoodworking) on

The Highland Woodworker featured on Fine Woodworking’s Shop Talk Live!

Mar 102016
 

Highland Woodworking and our WEB TV show, The Highland Woodworker were recently featured on Fine Woodworking’s Shop Talk Live, where both organizations were introduced as new partners with Fine Woodworking. In this episode, Charles Brock, host of The Highland Woodworker, discusses his woodworking background and how both Highland Woodworking and Fine Woodworking had an influence on his woodworking beginnings in the late 1970’s. They also discuss the origins of The Highland Woodworker (the idea all started over a pizza) and how Chuck was able to get Highland Woodworking on board. The whole podcast is a great listen, but if you want to go straight to the interview with Chuck and the Shop Talk guys, you can fast forward to 33:50 of the podcast.

As an added bonus, the most recent episode of The Highland Woodworker features a “Finer Points” segment with one of Shop Talk Live’s hosts, Matt Kenney, who discusses how to cut dovetails on a tablesaw.

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The Highland Woodturner, January 2016

Jan 202016
 

hwtfrontWelcome to 2016 with a brand new issue of The Highland Woodturner, Highland Woodworking’s newsletter geared toward turners from beginning to advanced!

In this month’s issue:

A Case for Prototyping: The Vise Project– Curtis Turner discusses a recent project where he turned a new round handle to replace one of his customer’s traditional vise handles. In this article, Curtis discusses his process for the project as well as the problems he encountered while working on the project.

What’s the “Right” Way to Use Friction Polish?– Rick Morris discusses different types of Friction Polish that are out on the market for your finishing needs. He also performs several tests to find out the following:

  • Should friction polish be applied with the lathe running or stopped?
  • What type of applicator should the polish be applied with?
  • What speed should the lathe be running while polishing?
  • How much sanding is enough for the friction polish to make a high-gloss finish?

Show Us Your Woodturning- Aaron Thomas– Aaron is a disabled war veteran who has turned to woodworking, specifically turning, in order to help him cope with PTSD. He specializes in Native American Flutes, as well as table lamps, standing lamps, and oil lamps.

Phil’s Turning Tip: Making a Morse Taper Reamer– If you have a morse taper that won’t sit properly in the quill, you’ll want to check out Phil’s tip on making a reamer to clean the quill.

Featured Products:

Rikon 70-220VSR 12-1/2 inch Midi Lathe– If you’re looking for a new lathe to replace your old one or to get started in woodturning, the Rikon 70-220 is a great solution, which is designed to handle a wide variety of projects.

Flex Arm Magnetic LED Work Light– One of our most popular items, this work light will help save your eyes and brighten up your workspace for improved accuracy.

The November 2015 issue of Wood News Online

Nov 042015
 

novwoodnewsWe’ve just published another great issue of Wood News Online. This month’s issue includes:

Building a 3-Sided Farm Woodshed– Jon Rubin is known for over-engineering when it comes to his woodworking projects, and it was no different for his recent woodshed that he built on his farm. In this article, Jon discusses his over-engineering and his methods he used to build the woodshed.

Show Us Your Shop– We’re sharing the Edmond, OK workshop of Lance Wroblewski, who started woodworking in 2011 and has been building up his workshop ever since.

Show Us Your Woodworking– This month we’re sharing the woodworking projects of disabled veteran, Steve Adams, who enjoys building anything from small inlaid boxes to full-size houses.

Show Us Your Carving– Ron Latour enjoys transforming 2-D artwork into 3-D deep relief wood sculptures, as well as creating boxes with carved tops.

This month’s woodworking tip columns include:

The Down to Earth Woodworker– This month, Steve discusses the advantages of his new favorite tape measure, wonders who it is out there that makes the decision of “good” vs “bad” when it comes to judging woodworking projects, and shares some new woodworking invention ideas.

 

Woodworking Safety Tip–  This month’s reader-contributed safety tip comes from John all the way in County Limerick, Ireland, who shares his list of must-do’s before turning on his power saws.

Finishing Tip– Alan has several tips when it comes to painting laminates and the best ways to resurface them.

Ask the Staff– This month our staff was asked for a good recommendation for slow setting epoxy.

Tips from Sticks in the Mud– This month Jim has tips on drilling pilot holes and reusing parts from a foam paint brush to assist your sander.

We’ve also got reviews on the following:

Woodpeckers Woodworking Rule and T-Square– Jeff Fleisher explains how these 2 tools are what you need to help you make precision measurements and cuts.

And a few added bonuses:

Roy Underhill’s recent visit to Highland Woodworking

Poll: Are Most Woodworkers Also General-Purpose DIY-ers?

All of this and more in our November 2015 issue of Wood News Online.

The Highland Woodturner, October 2015 issue

Oct 222015
 

HWT55This month, we’ve got a great new issue of The Highland Woodturner with 2 project ideas, some great woodturning tools, and more!

This month’s issue includes:

Turning Beads– Curtis Turner teaches us how to turn small beads that you can either use to keep strings together on a lanyard, or you can turn a bunch of them and make a beautiful piece of jewelry for that special someone.

Turning a String ‘n Ring Puzzle– If you’ve ever been a fan of wooden mind puzzles or know of someone who is, you should check out this project article from Temple Blackwood, who goes over the step-by-step directions of how to make your own!

Show Us Your Woodturning– This month we’re featuring the woodturning projects of Dave Morgan, including several turned bowls, urns, and ornaments.

Phil’s Woodturning Tip– This month Phil has a tip on how you can recondition your drive centers if you notice they have been damaged.

We’ve also got some great turning products being featured this month, including the Tormek Bench Grind Mount as well as a a sale on the Tormek Universal Gouge Jig.

And if you’re in the Atlanta area and want to improve your turning skills (or learn some new ones), make sure you check out our upcoming turning classes!

Check out all of this and more in our October 2015 issue of The Highland Woodturner!

Wood News Online, October 2015 issue

Oct 092015
 

wn122We just published our new October 2015 issue of Wood News Online full of some great woodworking tips, projects, and product reviews.

This month’s issue includes:

Roy Underhill and the Highland Woodworking Open House– This month we have our big open house at our Atlanta store with special guest, Roy Underhill. The event will run on Saturday, October 17th from 9am-4:30pm and will feature Roy giving “Coffin-Making” demonstrations (it was Roy’s idea). Also on October 18th, Roy will be teaching a full day class on The Dovetail Variations, featuring a full day of dovetails. There are still a few spots available in the class, which costs $95 and can be reserved online.

An Evolution in Light– Neil Murphy discusses his longterm project of combining hardwoods with contemporary lighting and the results are beautiful!

Build an Improved Marking/Cutting Gauge– Chris Black discusses how to make your own marking/cutting gauge, which is one of the most essential tools that a woodworker needs.

Woodworking in America 2015– A few of us from Highland Woodworking attended WIA 2015 in Kansas City, MO a few weeks ago and we wanted to share our experiences, pictures, and videos with our readers and customers.

Show Us Your Shop– This month our most popular column features Oliver Apitius’ shop in Shelburne, Ontario, Canada. Oliver is a mandolin maker who just recently built a new shop in 2014 after his financial circumstances turned around and he was able to build a shop with some great special features.

Show Us Your Woodworking– This month we’re sharing the woodworking projects of Frank Zemberi, a 70 year old woodworker born in Slovakia, who specializes in Grandfather clocks and Santa/Reindeer figurines.

Show Us Your Woodcarving– This month we’re featuring the Marvin the Martian carvings made by Blair Swing, who just had his carvings and turnings featured in the Texas State Fair.

As always, Wood News features several different woodworking tip columns, including:

The Down to Earth Woodworker– Steve has a variety of tips this month, which include:

  • Using dust as a lubricant in your shop.
  • The advantages of micro-fiber cloths over tack cloths.
  • How people watching in a furniture store can help determine how good the furniture is.
  • How multi-tasking in the shop can lead to epic stupidity.

Finishing with Alan Noel– This month Alan shares 10 tips on how to remove mold from your finely crafted furniture.

Tips From Sticks-In-The-Mud– Jim has some note leaving tips, including note reminders in the shop and letting the sanitation crew (and yourself) know when a trash can contains glass or other hazardous materials.

2 Minute Safety Tip– This month’s reader contributed safety tip comes from Bob Clement, who says to make sure the blades on all of your tools are sharpened before using them, especially on power tools!

Ask the Staff– This month we received an Ask the Staff question asking if it is okay to apply pure or polymerized tung oil over an existing, fully cured oil finish. Check out the answer HERE.

We’ve also got reviews on the Earlex Sprayport and Andre Roubo’s L’Art du Menuisier (The Book of Plates), in addition to several new products, including the Vesper Double Square, Festool Brushless Sanders, Virtuoso DVD, and By Hound & Eye (the workbook companion to By Hand & Eye).

All of this and more in our October 2015 issue of Wood News Online.