Kelley Bagby

I grew up around woodworking tools (see picture, age 4-5ish) but only recently started doing some of my own woodworking.

Woodworking Safety Week 2011: We Read our Instruction Manuals

May 032011
 

For Woodworkers Safety Week 2011, we are posting a daily safety tip from our online newsletter, Wood News.

Safety isn’t something we are always focused on when we are working away in our shops. But these readers have reminded us that it is important to pay attention to safety, from when you walk into your shop to when you leave at the end of the day.

Today’s tip comes from Laura Jack of Rabun County, Georgia. She confesses to being a ‘manual reader’ and thinks all of us should do the same. We agree with Laura:

I have a Makita dual compound sliding miter saw which came with hold down clamps.

I know it is not “done”, but the first thing I did was read the instructions from cover to cover. Those hold down clamps are there to keep my fingers attached to me, so I use them. When I use them, I only need one hand to operate the saw. The other hand I put behind my back before I start the saw.

My husband who was scared to death of the saw, now uses it with confidence once I taught him the hand-behind-the-back rule.

And I now use hold down clamps with my “little” 10 inch miter saw so my hand is never near the blade.

I would rather take the extra time, use hold down clamps, and know I won’t get hurt than take the time to go to the emergency room and suffer ever afterwards.

Keep focusing on safety in your shops, and happy woodworking!

Do you have a great idea for staying alert and helping to avoid injuries in your workshop? If so, we want to hear about it!. Receive a $25 store gift card if we feature your tip in a future issue of Wood News.

Woodworking Safety Week 2011: A week of two-minute safety tips

May 022011
 

Amazingly enough it is already May, which means it is already time for another Woodworker’s Safety Week. For the 2011 edition, we wanted to post some of the excellent two-minute safety tips we have featured in our online woodworking newsletter, Wood News.

Today’s tip was a favorite of all of us at Highland Woodworking, not to mention many of our customers who read it. Bill Peterson wrote:

As I grow more “antiqueish”, I have found an old comfortable chair to be one of the safest tools in my shop. Whenever I get puzzled over the next step or feel at all frazzled, I shuffle over to my deerskin covered chair and take a few minutes to close my eyes. Then I talk to myself about the problems I might be having with my current project, how to solve it, and then think about my next steps. I take a few bites out of my apple, and get back to work. These breaks don’t take many minutes out of the day and are cheap insurance against a missing digit or two.

We appreciate all of the tips that our readers have sent in over the past year. Highlighting good safety practices in the shop is important all year round, but we are committed to devote a special focus to it this week here on our blog.

Stay safe in your shops everyone, and happy woodworking!

Do you have a great idea for staying alert and helping to avoid injuries in your workshop? If so, we want to hear about it!. Receive a $25 store gift card if we feature your tip in a future issue of Wood News.

Woodturning Newsletter: The Highland Woodturner is NOW AVAILABLE!

Apr 222011
 

We’ve been cooking up something good in the back offices of Highland Woodworking, and now it is ready for you to see: our new WOODTURNING-SPECIFIC newsletter, The Highland Woodturner! This will be a monthly publication devoted to all things woodturning, including useful tips, woodturning-specific shops, the latest woodturning tools and more!

This month we feature Ken Gaidos’ beautiful converted barn turning shop, as well as a time-saving turning tip from Highland Woodworking’s own Phil Colson and an entertaining review of Highland Woodworking’s skew chisel class by Highland blogger Terry Chapman. Featured tools this month include the new top-of-the-line Serious Woodworks turning tools and a mini texturing tool kit that will help you add professional decoration to your turning projects.

Take a look inside here. And if you would like to subscribe to receive it monthly, sign up here!

Happy Woodturning, everybody!

The EZ CNC Machine – Highland Woodworking’s newest resident

Mar 252011
 

The rumors are true – Highland Woodworking has a CNC in-house, and we are taking orders for more! We have joined with EZCNC, a company that is based  in Dallas, Texas. They are known for building their machines using only American-made industrial-grade components, so these will not be lightweight CNC machines that need a lot of maintenance.

EZCNC was founded on the idea that most CNC systems on the market today are too difficult or technical to be a practical tool in the small to medium shop, and has created a system that is as easy to use as your home computer printer. The powerful software is easily mastered. There are only 10 commands that you need to learn to make most any cut.

Highland’s 24×36 CNC machine features industrial quality bearings and motors and is designed for years of low maintenance service. You may equip the machine with your own router to power the cuts, or add the optional 1 HP brushless spindle motor that runs much quieter than a regular router, and allows unlimited variable speed between 100 RPM and 18,000 RPM. Because of its brushless design, its delivered torque is equal to that of a regular 3 HP router.

This machine is also capable of controlling tools other than a router. It can be optionally equipped with anything from a plasma cutter to a sharpie marker, and even a pin nailer can be actuated on its z-axis.

To find out more, check out the EZCNC on our website, or if you are in Atlanta, come by our store and check it out in person!

Big sale on chairmaking plans at Highland!

Mar 242011
 

Save now on two great chairmaking plans

Charles Brock’s comprehensive plan bundles have inspired and assisted woodworkers who have undertaken these challenging but rewarding woodworking projects. Each chair’s plan bundle includes an easy-to-understand DVD, book and full-size patterns that help turn what for most of us would be a daunting project into something that is both doable as well as enjoyable.

Rocking Chair Plan Bundle

by Charles Brock

SALE $69.99 thru April 4, 2011

regular $89.99

Buy now and save $20

CLICK HERE for details and how to order:
CLICK HERE to watch a 4-minute intro video:

Lowback Chair Plan Bundle

by Charles Brock

SALE $49.99 thru April 4, 2011

regular $89.99

Buy now and save $40!

CLICK HERE for details and how to order:
CLICK HERE to watch a 4-minute intro video:

Product Video: The NEW Festool Rotex RO 90 DX Sander

Mar 162011
 

Have you heard about Festool’s new Rotex sander, but still aren’t quite sure what its capabilities include? Check out this short video from the Highland Woodworking YouTube Channel to find out a few ways this versatile sander can make your life a little easier.





Click here for more information on Festool’s Rotex RO 90 Sander.