Kelley Bagby

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

2012 Rikon Pro Bandsaw Giveaway: Interview with the Winner!

Jan 282013
 

Congratulations to John Rinehart of Marble Falls, TX on winning Highland Woodworking’s 2012 Rikon Pro Bandsaw Giveaway!

John won a Rikon Model 10-350 Professional Bandsaw and a Wood Slicer resaw blade! We had a quick chat with him about winning the contest and how he plans to use his new band saw:

HW: Can you give us a history of your own woodworking? What types of woodworking do you do? How did you get started?

John: At the age of 75 I have been in and out of woodworking all my life. I started in junior high working for my two uncle’s one in home repair and one in boat repair after high school I went to work for the General Furniture company by the age of 21 I was the head supervisor of the wood department. After that I spent 4 yrs. with the State of Ohio and then 43 yrs. with the local power company. After retiring and moving to Texas, I decided to get back into woodworking as a hobby. Luckily my wife had the eye of an artist and we started to make our own Christmas gifts. Every year we make 60 wooden cards to send to family and friends – this project starts on July 1st and we mail them on Dec 1st.

HW: How did you find out about the contest?

John: I look at a lot of different wood working web sites and a friend suggested I look at yours…turns out it was a good suggestion!

HW: Can you describe your reaction on finding out that you won?

John: I have won small prizes in the past but never anything like this and at 75 you don’t jump up and down. I was totally overwhelmed and was not sure I had even filled out the paper work right when I sent it in.

HW: What do you plan on using your new tools for? What will you do first?

John: Talk about winning something at the right time – this last year we lost 10 oak and 5 mesquite trees and I was trying to come up with a way to convert all that wood into usable lumber to fit my woodworking needs and my poor old Tradesman Bandsaw just didn’t have the power to do this (now donated to a good cause).

HW: Any final words?

John: I AM GOING TO MAKE A LOT OF SAWDUST! Thank you – you made it so that I am going to have a lot of fun.

The 2013 Lie Nielsen Giveaway is ending this Thursday, January 31st, at noon. Get your entries in now!

Top Woodworking Books: Looking for a Good Read?

Jan 232013
 

These were our bestselling books of 2012 – if you are looking for a couple of books to get for the shop, or just to pass the time after a glue-up, take a look at this list for some good ones!

#1: Grandpa’s Workshop by Maurice Pommier

Grandpa’s Workshop is absolutely the most engaging children’s book that we’ve seen about woodworking. It will be a source of inspiration and entertainment for both kids and adults, and is the perfect medium for capturing the imagination of a child you would like to introduce to woodworking.

 

#2: The Anarchist’s Tool Chest by Chris Schwarz

The Anarchist’s Tool Chest is an incredible resource for woodworkers of all levels. After researching lists of the core tools one needs to build furniture that were published from 1678 to 1973, former Popular Woodworking Editor Chris Schwarz made a list of the 48 hand tools that he considers essential. He sold off the unnecessary tools in his shop and focused his efforts on fewer – but higher quality – tools.

 

#3: Making Wood Tools with John Wilson

Making Wood Tools features over 275 photographs and 50 detailed drawings of a dozen wood bodied hand tools and nine tool keeping and holding projects, including the Home Shop workbench. Interesting stories, innovative designs, and detailed plans engage craftsmen in the age old art of making the tools you use to work wood.

 

#4: The New Complete Guide To The Band Saw by Mark Duginske

Many woodworking experts would agree that the first machine to purchase for a home workshop is the band saw. From simple cuts to joinery to intricate designs, chances are whatever you need to do, you can do it with a band saw. Now, from Mark Duginske, professional woodworker and band saw expert, comes The New Complete Guide to the Band Saw, the only book you’ll need to master this versatile, safe, and indispensable power tool.

 

#5: Keeping the Cutting Edge: Setting & Sharpening Hand & Power Saws

Keeping the Cutting Edge is a clearly illustrated booklet which covers sharpening saws of all types, from carpenters’ hand saws to circular saw blades to chain saws.

 

Those are just the top Five – CLICK HERE to see our list of the Top 20 Woodworking Books of 2012 and pick up a few for yourself today!

A Cabin Built with a Gransfors-Bruks Axe

Jan 212013
 

We were very impressed with a few pictures we recently received from a customer. The picture of the cabin shown above came with a note saying:

I built this cabin using your Carpenter’s Axe and little else (no power tools). What a great tool!
Turns out the note came from Tony Berardino, a professional farrier from Napa, CA. When we chatted with him by phone, we learned he always wanted to build a cabin. The year he built this one, there had been a forest fire up behind where the cabin is located now, and a bunch of logs were cut down to try to stop the fire spread – Tony went up and grabbed the logs and they became the main material he used. He is proud to say he didn’t require any power tools to build the cabin, and his Gransfors Bruks Carpenter’s Axe ended up being the main tool he used. He found it useful for making the saddle cuts for the logs, as well as shaping some of the logs so they would fit into the structure without much gap in between them.

Tony has several axes, but found that the Carpenter’s Axe was really perfect for the work he needed to do to build the cabin.

In his opinion, each axe by Gransfors Bruks is perfect for the purpose it is made for.

As for his interests outside of building cabins and farrier work, Tony says ‘the simpler the better’ – he likes to make rustic furniture and wood carvings. He says he isn’t in a hurry, and tries to do things by hand and without power tools just for the fun of it, and because he finds the results to be very rewarding.

Tony works as a farrier all throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. He also works as a general contractor.

Woodworking Resolutions for 2013 – What are your resolutions for your workshop?

Jan 102013
 

Last week we heard from some of our woodworking friends on what they would like to improve in their workshops this year, now we want to hear from you! What sort of changes in the shop would help your woodworking? What skills are you looking to take to the next level?

For some ideas, you can look back at posts from other woodworkers:

Steve Johnson, Down to Earth Woodworker

Lee Laird, hand plane expert

Curtis Turner, woodturning guru

Terry Chapman, woodturner and chair builder extraordinaire

And for a few more suggestions (10 to be exact!) check out this week’s email from Highland

Leave your resolutions in the comments – we’d love to hear from you!

Show Us Your Carving Followup: Philip Malenfant

Jan 092013
 

We featured Philip Malenfant’s intricate fish carvings in the woodcarving column in the July 2012 issue of Wood News. He recently updated us on some of his most recent carving work:

My Son caught a large silver salmon last fall while fishing in the Valdez area of alaska. I was fishing with him at the time he caught this fish, and opted to carve it for him. He said okay, and so I took measurements off the fish at that time, and when I got home here in North Pole I had a chunk of bass wood in my garage and used it to carve out his fish. I did the fins and put them in separately and then I painted the whole fish.

I am not a professional woodcarver by any means. I am retired and like to grab a piece of wood now and then and carve on it. I have no power carving tool, just hand chisels, and they are limited as well.

Philip Malenfant
North Pole, Alaska

Toggle Clamp Jig Design Contest: Win up to $100 Gift Card

Jan 082013
 

Toggle clamps are definitely at the top of our list of favorite accessories. We hear from our customers all the time that one of their best uses is for securing workpieces in their shop-made jigs.

We thought this sounded like a great opportunity to share your shop tricks and maybe even win an award for your trouble! We’ll provide a $100, $50 and $25 Highland gift cards for the top designs submitted by our customers for their shop-made accessory jigs that use one or more toggle clamps.

Just provide us with a sketch of your design along with a brief description for how the jig works. Email the whole thing to us at jigcontest@highlandwoodworking.com for your chance to win!

We’ll feature the winning entries in a future issue of Wood News Online. Deadline to enter is February 15, 2013.

And just go get you on the right track, here’s a link to a simple table saw tenon jig (pictured) that we drew up awhile back.

Take a look at our full selection of Toggle Clamps: