Oct 122012
 
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Morton is a big fan of his SawStop PCS, and he wants to tell you why in this video product tour. The video includes a rarely-seen explanation of the steps you take to get your saw working again AFTER the brake is engaged if you ever unfortunately do your own “real life hot-dog demo”!

Oct 112012
 
Morton's Shop: Full Size Leg Template
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Although I work from drawings and plans, I often need to see things in full scale to get a look at how I’m going to interact with a piece.  I quickly made up the leg from 1/8″ scraps. The middle and top were fine, but I made three or four different “foot” pieces. These pieces […]

Oct 102012
 
Re-assessing a 25-year old chisel
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When you purchase a chisel, depending on whether it is new or used, the bevel angle could either be what the maker decided was optimal for its intended usage, or a middle-of-the-road balance. Now if it is a used chisel, the angle could be just about anything, depending on the previous owner’s choices. Ultimately, once you own the chisel, […]

Oct 092012
 
Morton's Shop: Patch Nail Holes in a Template
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When I created the curved template for the legs, I actually bent a thin strip of wood around nails to get a very consistent curve that highly matched the grain of the crotch walnut. I use this technique all the time, but it can leave nail holes in the template when you cut it out! […]

Oct 082012
 
The Down to Earth Woodworker: The Beards of Woodworking
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In his column this month, our Down to Earth Woodworker, Steven Johnson, defines a word that many of us had never heard before: Pogonotrophy. The word “pogonotrophy” is from the Greek “pogon,” meaning beard, and in this form literally means “beard feeding.” Think of it as the science (or art) of beard growth. I’ve been […]

Oct 052012
 
Woodworking Bookshelf: A Trio of Reviews
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I am reading three books right now. The first is Larry Haun’s memoir “A Carpenter’s Life — as told by houses”, published by The Taunton Press. It covers the arc of his life through the houses he lived in and houses he built during a lifetime as a carpenter. Haun would probably come in third […]