August 1, 2009 — I have been very slow getting my strength back. Quite aggravating.
But here is a story continuation from before hospital.

	Elena gets a chance to use two new cordless screwdrivers from Festool, and we both work at creating a simulated drawer for the bottom mounted slides for the cabinet. Show me
	Last week, Sal and Elena worked on a workbench for Sal's garage. It was a great  one day project using 2 x 4's and  simple butt, glue and screw  joinery. coming next month

July 1, 2009 — The entire month of June got by me thanks to a lengthy hospital
visit. It is July 5 and this is first day that I am "normal." I am getting
too old for those visits.
Sal is up for the summer months and we have a good number of projects
we want to take on.

June 1, 2009 — Where oh where did May go?  Our kitchen
cabinet project is coming fine .... just slow, or is that me.


"Puppies" Pic of the Month
Gabby and Jasper are real buddies now.

Elena breaks down her test cabinet and glues it back together. The project is coming along fine (no mistakes to admit to) and will be a good "learning curve" unit. Show me

May 15, 2009 — Sorry for the delay in posting this. Elena and I have been doing
some new things and this update just got pushed aside.
First thing, my trusty shop dog, Gabriella, got a playmate
this month. Say hello to Jasper. We found him at the local
animal shelter. He is a black lab mix, just two years old and
a great running mate for Gabby. They have hit it off very well. He
is a real find — just a great dog.

"Puppies" Pic of the Month
They take a break from some dog sparring.

I get a bit anxious that we have been spending too much time making one cabinet. I hope that I haven't lost you in the process. We will be actually be making 18 or so cabinets and are just trying to work out our methods. I hope you are enjoying the trip. Show me

April 21, 2009 — I know that it isn't the usual time for me to post but Elena and I did
something so very simple that I thought it would be timely here.

Our Kapex sliding miter saw has a 12" limit. Of course you can cut half, flip the board and cut the other half — no trick there. BUT, the new Kapex has such an accurate laser that we can make cut and flip cuts dead on accurate each and every time. Show me

April 8, 2009 — Happy Easter. Elena and I were able to make some headway in
our cabinetmaking  project so I will add the pages now. More to come in a week or so.

We looked over any number of corner clamps to help put the cabinet together. Show me

April 1, 2009 — Spring is here and it is quite welcomed. I have had
enough of snow, ice and cold. The bones are just too old.
There have been some good sales of the CD-ROM PDF file. And
more importantly, I am receiving emails on how nice it is to use.
Without a doubt, it is speedy.  To be able to search through 3584 pages
in seconds is a real plus. I thought the readers would be searching for one
or more of my attractive assistants, but it seems they are looking for
how-PTO's on woodworking. Can you imagine that?

Making kitchen cabinets can really test your joinery methods. Think of it this way: a given cabinet may be holding 40 or more pounds of precious china and glassware. It is not the time to see if the cabinet is going to hold. Show me

This doesn't get a full page — just the mention here. I am delighted to have my tool honer back in service. It is a low cost 1" x 30" belt sander that I have installed a leather strop on. Load it with a honing rouge and it is ready for use. After sharpening or in between sharpening, just add a little rouge and touch the cutting surface to the belt and it is a finely honed edge. The belt I just got from Klingspor and the sander I got from Woodworkers Supply some 20 years ago.

March 15, 2009 — Surprise!  I am posting a few pages on my favorite
subject "parallel and perpendicular." It may not be your favorite
subject but making cabinets and furniture that are square should be.

	If all four sides of   panel are parallel is the cabinet going to be square? No, of course not,  but we can easily be sucked into thinking this is the truth. I have a shop rule or two that I have developed as SOP's for making things square.                              Show me

March 1, 2009 - Where did the month go? There were some nice warm days
and I got the feeling that spring was here.  A snow storm outside right now suggests otherwise.
Elena and I had a good week of working in the shop. It is getting to be a
joy to work out there.
Last month I published a composite picture of the rearranged shop. It was terrible.
Here is one that is recent and of better quality, I hope. Can you
tell how many pictures were pasted together for this panorama?

"Puppy" Pic of the Month
After a couple of warm days outside and playing catch, she is not too
pleased to have a major snow fall.
The answer is: eight pics were combined for the panorama.
No tripod was used, just moved the ole bod.

	Elena and I have been making minor improvemetns to the shop and the workstation layut.                           Show me
	We did get the new Festool Parallel Guide Set in and have had a chance to test it. It is a really very well designed and manufactured item. It is a great addition to our Festool side of the shop but I am not sure yet how it fits into the overall scheme. More on this when we post the story. Coming Soon

January 11, 2009 (update) — I said that  would give you a tour in a week. Snow days
have made it impossible for Elena to get here, so I will just show you
a bit of where we are going.

That's 7 pictures pieced together. It needs work but can give you the
"new look" of the shop. We have room to build things, and that is a welcomed
change. I am also laying out the shop with multi-tasking workstations. This
is for cabinetmaking but should handle furniture building as well. If the
snow allows, I will get this posted soon. It is a fun project for me.



January 1, 2009 — Happy New Year! This is going to be a good
year for all of us (too much negative thought around.)

February 1,  2009 — Brrrrrrr!! It has been very cold, but I think everyone has
had smilar  weather.  It's nice to have a heated shop.

"Puppy" Pic of the Month
She doesnt look all happy but she loves the snow. She
puts her head down to the point when her nose is in it, and she just
runs and lets the snow pile up on  her face.
Late again - more computer problems but now resolved, and my sanity is still questionable.

Finally, I have re-organized my shop and laid it out as a serioes of workstations. Come on in to get a complete tour of these workstations. Let me know what you think about it.                           Show me

"Puppy" Pic of the Month
Is this a relaxed puppy or what?

and a message from me:

Last year was a  year of missed  deadlines and projects half started.
It annoyed you and wasn't too pleasing to me either. No matter what the excuse of the moment,
fact is I am getting old and my 72 year old body isn't allowing me to keep up with my mind.
Over the past months, the "quit the site" idea came into my thoughts all too often. This is
what I have concluded: I do not want to quit it or woodworking. They are just too
important to me. So I am changing a few things to make life simpler. First
and foremost, we have been rearranging the shop so that I can do woodworking projects
and very few product reviews. Elena and Sal have helped me completely change the look
of my shop. I will present it as a complete tour and "philosophy" in a week. I think you will like it.
I do respect all of my readers — you are important to me...you always have been. I trust
that you will accept my position and continue as good, loyal readers. John Lucas





December 1, 2008 — The season is passing so quickly.
I usually try to stay away form any commercialism, but someone asked for
some suggestions  and I had   just gotten a couple of new products to
review. They would be great stocking stuffers.


"Puppy" Pic of the Season
This is a PhotoShop montage. Gabby doesn't stay
in one place long enough for a picture.

	Dust control is probably our weakest suit in Woodshopdemos. We make the dust  but leave it to gravity to settle.  So when Rockler offered the "Dust  Right Master System", I jumped at the opportunity to make use of it.  It is a kit that has a few key parts to a dust control system. You can buy them individually, but the kit assembly made getting things in order that much easier.                              Show me
	This is Rockler' Painters Pyramids a natural stock stuffer for every one of us. Show me
	Another great stocking stuffer...the Rockler MagLite. Show me

November 1, 2008 — The days seem to go by faster and faster...or I am just getting
slower and slower. Nahhh. There are only three pages in this update and I have some
dozen or so already shot but needing pagination. Check back during the month. I
will try to publish more on the interim Sundays.

I shot the start of this story in July and am just now getting to posting it. But for those who like to keep abreast of router table advances — welcome. I am installing a new table top and then installing the new QuickLift — both products from Woodpeckers.                              Show me

The 12 drawer chest that we have been working on this past month is finished and I think it looks great.                              Show me

Follow up to my first look as reported below.  Sal and I  both set our minds to using this jig with the scales and adjustments that are built into it, and we couldn't get it to work exactly as we would have liked. When this happens, I put the device aside, but not forgotten. Some day soon, I will take a new look at it and see if I can make sense of it. What I have learned is that it does cut very nice mortises....it is just that I haven't figured out the instructions for setting the several variables.

 

October 1, 2008 — A good update — Sal and I have had fun (and hard work) making the 12 drawer sideboard. It is done and looks great. Sal goes back to Florida for the winter, and I will try making furniture projects starting with a real nice Mission Style table. The plan I will be using is courtesy of American Furniture. I don't usually use plans so it will be interesting to see if I can, and if it will save time and money.

September 21, 2008 — Special update:  Did somebody call for a nurse?
Our favorite shop assistant, Elena and now an RN, stopped by
to see how things were going.  We hope to work out schedules so that we
can get some shop time with her.
 

and one "hot" item:                                                                     

The Jessem Zip Slot Mortise Mill was one of many new products released at this summer's IWF Show in Atlanta.  I received a copy for review and I started that review which I am posting here.  For the October 1 main update, I will have more on this cool tool along with the completion of the chest of drawers Sal and I have been working on.                                  Show me

September 1, 3008 — Does the summer feel like it is over so quickly. It does to me.
 Cool and cold is just around the corner. No complaints though. Sal and I have been building a real piece of furniture
and that is a nice change.

"Puppy" Pic of the Month
Gabby is in her morning stance looking for Sal.
He arrives at 9. She starts her wait at 8:50 — uncanny.

	Sal stands by the sideboard with what will be 12 drawers. We have done something different this time. We put as much time as we could into building this chest.  We tried to get it done for this update but instead will post the 7 pages we have and will post the rest when done — probably by this coming Sunday.                                  Show me
	Lisa is a new shop assistant and I put her to work helping me figure out the new Porter Cable Omni Jig. I will be preparing these pages in this coming week and post them when I am done with them...whoops. Spent way too much time of Guide.                              Coming Soon - believe it or not, we are still working                        on this story — we did get side tracked onto a couple of others.
	This story is totally shot but I have to create the pages. I will try to post it in a week or so. The top picture shows Sal with two router table tops. The smaller one is a standard top and one I have been using for the last two years. The one underneath is considerably larger. While it has a greater space requirement, I love the roominess for some large project pieces.    The lower pic is the new coping sled. What a joy to use for holding small parts safely.  Both of these products are new from Woodpeckers. I will be getting their new PRL-V2 lift...it is due in September. (click here for Woodpeckers.)

August 1, 2008 — I have enjoyed having Sal nearby for the summer. He is a great
friend and a super great help in the shop, just not as pretty as Elena and Lisa.

"Puppy" Pic of the Month
Gabby is almost one (8th of August) and is so, so pretty and
pretty mischievous, pretty terrible at times, pretty destructive, pretty loud at times, but all
in all, a very pretty puppy. She is in her photo position, lying in my wife's chair mode.
But she is nothing if not fair — she will let my wife sit on her sofa.

	Lisa and Sal have been helping  me complete the storage base for one of the MFTs in the shop. I could have shown Sal, but somehow I think Lisa looks better — or at least the picture shows more of what the story is about.                                  Show me
	I am leaving this "job aid" up — there have been so many readers who have accessed the page. What I knew about installing crown molding was zilch, nada or worse. Bob and Per Swenson came  to the shop and in a few hours had trained me and Elena. I have developed this one page Guide to help any of you who are "new" to crown molding installation.                          Show me
	Lisa is a new shop assistant and I put her to work helping me figure out the new Porter Cable Omni Jig. I will be preparing these pages in this coming week and post them when I am done with them...whoops. Spent way too much time of Guide.                              Coming Soon - believe it or not, we are still working                        on this story — we did get side tracked onto a couple of others.
	This story is totally shot but I have to create the pages. I will try to post it in a week or so. The top picture shows Sal with two router table tops. The smaller one is a standard top and one I have been using for the last two years. The one underneath is considerably larger. While it has a greater space requirement, I love the roominess for some large project pieces.    The lower pic is the new coping sled. What a joy to use for holding small parts safely.  Both of these products are new from Woodpeckers. I will be getting their new PRL-V2 lift...it is due in September. (click here for Woodpeckers.)

July 15, 2008 — It is not the first of the month, but I wanted to post a single page
based on the first Festool Fest RI which he had here last Sunday.
 

"Festool Fest -- Rhode Island 2008" 


Here's the small but talented group. Front row, left to tight: Tinker, Elena;
Back row, Rich, John Lucas, Charles.

We had a small group, but I am not sure that my shop could have handled much more. What the group lacked in numbers, it made up for it in quality of conversations.
	Charlie came with a desire to discuss the VS600 dovetail machine vs. other jigs.  There is nothing quite like being able to see the actual system than just to read about it.
We moved to where I have the new PC Omnijig. Is it better? It all depends on what you plan to do with either jig — and a good discussion went from there.
	The new Festool Kapex Sliding Miter Saw was probably the single most product of interest. Here Elena gives Tinker a run down.  I demo'd to the group how to cut inside and outside corners with the Festool MiterFast Jig.
Rich gets the feel of it and checks out the laser for accuracy. Right on, of course.

And Elena wins hands down as the best shop assistant...and she has the ice cold beer.   Rich brought two pies that his daughter had baked a few hours before he came up.    Pictures courtesy of Elena's boyfriend Jay.

July 1, 2008 — We've been busy here and hopefully, there is a lot to
show for it.  You can see that two stories are still being worked on.
 I will post them as soon as they are ready — probably by July 4th.
And speaking of the 4th, have a very happy and safe July 4th. Join me
in saluting all men and women in uniform who are fighting to keep us safe.
But first a pic of Elena who is having her Nursing pin awarded her at a
recent graduation ceremony. Managing to take the nursing course and keep
two jobs going had been rough, but she now is employed at an area hospital as a graduate nurse.
We all cheer her on doing this. She  promises to save time for visits to WoodShopDemos.

"Puppy" Pic of the Month
Gabby seeking the coolest spot in the house — the entrance to my office.

	The new Festool Kapex Sliding Miter Saw goes on sale July 1st,   and we have had a month to play with it. It is truly a beautiful machine. Accuracy and precision are designed into it at every turn. I asked Per Swenson and father Bob to come up and teach us how to do crown molding. The Kapex is the tool of choice for this task.                                  Show me
	What I knew about installing crown molding was zilch, nada or worse. Bob and Per Swenson came  to the shop and in a few hours had trained me and Elena. I have developed this one page Guide to help any of you who are "new" to crown molding installation.                          Show me
	Lisa is a new shop assistant and I put her to work helping me figure out the new Porter Cable Omni Jig. I will be preparing these pages in this coming week and post them when I am done with them...whoops. Spent way too much time of Guide. Will post this during the week.                              Coming Soon
	Sal and Elena made good headway with the shop layout — the extension legs for the Festool Kapex and the cabinet for one of the MFT's. I hope to have these up by July 4th too.                                        Coming Soon

June 1, 2008 — We have had a busy month and I hope there is a lot to show for it.
But First, a new picture of Gabby. This was taken 5 minutes ago after
she had spent some time running through the water of a flower watering hose.

"Puppy" Pic of the Week

	Well finally, we have the new Porter Cable Omnijig to review. It was a little difficult to get started, but now we are off like gang busters. They have built in a number of  very clever aids...you just have to find them.                                  Show me
	This is a product shot of Festool's new Multi Function Table (MFT). When the company announced that it would be coming, I was hard pressed to know why it would be new and improved. The old ones work so well. Sal put it together and we soon became acquainted with the new features. It was worth the wait.                                Show me
	Elena holds the latest Pinnacle product — it is a 24" T-square that boasts the high precision which we have grown accustomed to with this brand. It is made by Woodpeckers and sold at Woodcraft.                                        Show me

May 1, 2008 — Well, I am getting strength back very slowly. Thanks to
Elena, I can post a review. She is a dear. She tells me to sit down,
 and then she does all the work. Beat that!

That's me on April 30 feeling quite good and getting better each day. Again, I thank every one
 of you who had special thoughts for me over the past couple of months. I appreciate them all.
And on the Gabby front, she (we) had visit from Gail (Hometown Woodworking). She and
Gabby hit it off very well, as you can see. Gabby has good taste.

	This story doesn't take much telling. It is about the Woodpecker Story Stick. I liked it when I first saw it on their website and before I ordered one. Now that I have seen it and used it, I want more.  You will too.                                  Show me
	Elena reads the new instructions for the CMT Enlock Joining System. You can see from here, it is an illustrated step-by-step guide — very nice to have. In fact, A DVD also accompanies the product. It is a neat device and system.                                coming soon
	Do you remember this bookshelf. I made it here 3 or 4 years ago.  I loved using it then and even more so now. In fact, I probably will make another unit for my wife's office. It is both attractive and sturdy and very useful. I am posting this again because so many people ask for it.                                        Show me

Thanks to the many readers who have been using the Woodcraft and Rockler links
here to make their purchases. I do get a small  commission which always
helps — especially with the bandwidth this website is currently using. I
will never complain about high bandwidth usage —
that is an indicator  of website  popularity and ours is off the chart.
*PS - Rockler has just cut back their commission so if
all else is the same, buy from Woodcraft.

April 8, 2008 — I am at home and recovering well for an 80 yo. Unfortunately, I am only 71 (humor on my part.)
In for 14 days and I thought I would never get rid of the strains of bugs that were keeping me in there.
While I can joke, there is one thing that is no joke, and that is the prayers and thoughts
 of you people here. I don't even want to suggest what it would have
 been like without your good thoughts. Wife Sandy who did Herculean effort to
keep me sane also appreciated your thoughts and the part they played.
I have some rehab ahead and then lots of things for woodshopdemos.com. No, I did
not locate any potential woodshop assistants.
With the meds I was on, I wouldn't trust my otherwise spotless impressions.

March 30, 2008--This is not an April Fools Joke!! 

John is in the hospital recovering from surgery. 

He had a very nasty gallbladder removed and spent some time in intensive care, but he is on the mend.

His recovery may take some time, but I expect he'll be back in the woodshop and on the site very soon.

March 12, 2008 — Most of you (not all) have been very understanding
of my not posting every week as I did for the first 5 years. I am slowing down
no doubt about it. But I enjoy this task immensely and will keep on
doing it as long as I physically can.
One reader suggested making the updates once a month, that way
he and others who constantly come to the site for the update, will not be disappointed
if there is no weekly update. I like that idea so April 1 will be the next update.
Right now, Elena and I are cleaning and
organizing the shop. You have heard that before, I know.
The difference this time is that we are doing a "deep" cleaning —
not just pushing things around to gain a few square feet
of room to shoot. The  downside of getting products to review
is that you become a "depot" of goodies.  It is not a fun shop to work
in if you have to constantly push things around. So this time it will be a
complete overhaul and I will shoot a panorama of the
entire shop and create a mini-tour. 
 

February 10, 2008 —  We put the cabinet story aside for a week or
two so that we could get started reviewing new products. This first one was
lots of fun and promises to be a good new jig for the shop.
 

Elena and I had a chance to try out the new CMT Enlock Joining System.  It is a clever jig that is very well made and does what it is supposed to do — cut dovetail keys.                                  Show me

"Puppy" Pic of the Week

More than one reader suggested that Gabby is getting to be
larger than a "puppy" so this is the last "Puppy of the Week" pic.
 

February 3, 2008 — A little progress on the under table cabinet and a few
of the new products opened up and reviews started.

Elena starts joining the  pieces with Festool Domino mortises and tenons.                                  Show me

 
Puppy Pic of the Week
Gabby is really growing. The small inset picture is one that we shot in November, and in
a full stretch she barely filled the chair. She doesn't know it, but she is too large for chair now.

January 27, 2008 — The month is flying by. The shop has a number of
really fun looking new products. Oh to have more time and energy to get
to them. Next week.

Elena continues cutting pieces of white melamine particle core board for the MFT storage cabinet.                                  Show me

January 13, 2008 — Happy New Year.


Puppy Pic of the Week
 

We are into a new project in the shop - a cabinet base for one of the Festool MFT's. Elena is installing a clever caster set that has a different style locking mechanism. I purchased the set so that I could "invent" a method to lock the wheels without kneeling down or kicking a brake.                                  Show me

December 21, 2007 —

Puppy Pic of the Week and Seasons Greetings
from all of us at woodshopdemos.com

The best way I can think of to test the ability of my shop to cut things square is to build a cube with mitered corners. Elena and I do this with the Festool plunge saw.                                    Show me

December 2, 2007 — Five snow flakes were seen yesterday. Winter is coming.

Puppy Pic of the Week
Gaby reluctantly shares her tv chair with me. It is Sunday morning and "Meet the Pest" —
just kidding. She is a wonderful puppy and still of the puppy  weight where visits
like this can be ok. But she is really growing.
 

Elena and I have finished the clamp rack. It is happily storing about  75 of my clamps. It is very heavy (est. 300#) but the Woodcraft 4" swivel casters seem to do the job.                                     Show me

 

 November 18, 2007 —  Brrr. Each year at this time, I realize why I
don't like the North East. It isn't that cold but the change from the
warm and balmy is more than these old bones can handle. But the shop is warm,
so what am  I complaining about.

Puppy Pic of the Week
Does this look like an overworked
shop puppy?  That is my TV viewing chair — or
was mine.

	In the last couple of weeks I showed some drill assortments and screw assortments. This week I am showing this special edition case from Festool — with drills and drivers and a lot more. They are all designed for use with the Festool Centrotec chuck.                                        Show me
	We are back on the clamp rack and will finish it this coming week.                                       Show me

November 11, 2007 —  First: Happy Veterans' Day.
For those of you who are keeping track of Puppy Gabriella, she is
going through the biting stage. Her owner/trainer (me) is going through the "being bit stage."
Sharp little teeth, scary sharp, in fact. But she is so adorable.


Puppy Pic of the Week

As to shop projects: Elena, Andrea and I have made some progress
with the clamp rack — and one mistake. We made the first base the wrong dimensions.
 We will get that project back on track this coming week.

	One of the many new products that came my way after AWFS in Las Vega last July, was this cabinet hinge boring machine from CMT. It is great — it drills the 3 holes for cabinet hinges all at one time, perfectly spaced and to the right depth. There are a lot of jigs that have helped me over the years but nothing like this.                                         Show me
	If you are at all like me, you have quite a few drill bit kits with more than a few drills missing. I really don't know where they go — just that they are  gone. So when Woodcraft displayed these "monster sets" of drills, I was very quick to send in an order. In fact, I got one of the brad point and one of the twist drills.                                       Show me

October 28, 2007 — My daughter asked me months ago if I knew how much time puppies took,
I don't recall what I said but I am sure it was something like "piece of cake." Gaby is one
real piece of cake...and takes every minute you can give her, and then some. But
she is so damn cute and soft — and who said that socks were supposed to
have matching pairs.  Asleep, she is always so good.

 

To the many people who think I have a screw loose, not any more. I finally decided to organize all my screws into one handy Systainer — well actually, it will be in two handy Systainers.                                       Show me

October 21, 2007 — My new shop puppy - Gabriella or Gaby

All of 9 weeks and a little charmer with a touch of rascal.

October 7, 2007 — My wife and I took a quick vacation to the other coast
 and visited with my son, his wife and two kids. What a wonderful
young family. It is so fulfilling to visit them. And we had a lot of good food.

Three generations of Lucases.


And once again my wife and I were able to meet up with this old Navy buddy
 and his wife. We served together in the early '60's and have stayed
 in touch all the tween years. Great friends are too far and in between.

And this week's add:

Andrea and I work on creating some angled legs for the clamps rack.                                       Show me

 

JessEm/Milwaukee 3.5 HP EVES Motor & Switch  ($489.00) Never reach under your router table again! Remote control box offers convenient access to both power and variable speed. Just flip the paddle switch on and dial in your desired RPM setting. Features ..    This is now available at Rocklers and Woodcraft

 

 

August 19, 2007 — We have been working on a DVD on cabinetmaking.
It is using the Festool side of the shop. But if you do not have any Festool products,
I hope you will still be able to make use of this on-going feature.
It is started today and will continue over the coming weeks.
At the same time, we will still be reviewing some new tools and jigs.

  Show me

 

August 5, 2007 — Well, long time friend Sal has been visiting for a week and
has been setting the pace for work in the shop. Here he poses  with Elena.
 A point of information: isn't it my job to pose with her? (He pulled rank.)

 

	This is a story about installing and using the Jessem/Milwaukee router motor and remote controller. We spent an afternoon installing it in a Festool MFT,  but it could have been in any router table. And then we put it to the important test of making raised panel doors — and it was great.                                       Show me
	I have been using FastCap 2P-10 CA Adhesives for several years,  but I just received this starter kit — and I love it.  It is the ideal way to sample the different thicknesses.   And when you only use drops each time, the 1 oz. bottles are a good  size.                                        Show me

 

 

July 22, 2009 — I just get slower and slower. Oh well, as long as there is forward progress.
And thanks to all those readers who sent me a person note on the loss of Jakie. There are
a lot of animal lovers out there, and that is all good.
 

Last week I thought I came up with a good jig to help determine the number and type of chippers that I would use to make tight dados. But one perfect dado doesn't make a jig success story. This week I tested on a couple more wood thicknesses.                                       Show me                                                         This is one of those products that has been sitting on my "to do" pile. It hard to believe that I have been reminding the manufacture for a year to send one for review. It is from Jessem  and is the Jessem/Milwaukee router table motor and remote speed dial and switch. I am really looking forward to installing it.                     Coming next week

July7, 2007  — I have mentioned dear Jake a number of times here. He has
been a great shop dog. Do you remember the story when Jake visited  the
shop; tilted a bottle of water that was on the floor; unscrewed the top with his too long nails and
then drank from the puddle. It sounds like a fish tale doesn't it.
Well he did it twice and both times I had witnesses.   Anyway, shop dog Jake
stopped breathing on July 4th. He was 12+.


And two stories — actually, one is pretty important.

If you look closely at that dado, you will witness the best looking walls and bottom that a dado has ever had. At least, that is how I feel.  We had a chance to review the CMT Pro Dado set.  When I first opened the box, I thought this was going to be a "me too" product. After all, doesn't my current dado set give me pretty good dados. We had a lot to learn.                                                      ShowMe

In the picture at the left, I am using The Extractor from Lee Valley to remove tight Dominos after dry fitting a cabinet together.  It works well.  What it was designed for is removing the nail that finds its own way.  I find that when I use the narrow crown stapler on particle core board, I get my fair share of "strays", and they can be a devli to remove. The Extractor was designed for this, and I do like the way it works.                                                     Show Me

June 24, 2007 — It seems like I am treading water with a lead jacket pulling me down.
A lot of time since the last post. Too many things started. Nothing finished, but this week I do
have some stories.

Welcome to my office. You would think I would have great woodworking projects or pictures.
But noooooooooo. First love is the Navy. I got out in 1963 and I still picture myself on my favorite destroyer in one of
the typhoons of the Pacific. The picture on my PC is of the destroyer going alongside a carrier for
refueling. The "rough" seas were quite typical. The carrier hardly felt them.
To all those who are in now or have served, I salute you...not just on veterans and flag day, but every day.

	Several weeks ago, I posted a story on how to keep things square and in that story I showed a number of squares that we use here in the shop. A number of readers suggested that the "1281" square made by Woodpeckers should be  on my list. So I got two squares from them and the readers were right — they are great squares.                                       ShowMe
	We said we were going to review the WorkSharp and we did. We have more to do, but here is the first section. We have used it enough to know that it works and is easy to use.                                         ShowMe
	Elena and I use the Festool Parallel fence for accurate and repetitive rip cuts.                                             ShowMe

June3, 2007 — Last week, I promised to finish the 3 stories I had
started  and  that we did.

	The Work Sharp is a new tool to make sharpening of all blades easier and better. We have just started working with it and  about 1/2 way through the story. Next week we will have it done. I think you will like it.                                       Coming next week
	Elena, Andrea and I have been testing the new Pro Dado set from CMT.  It brings to dados and rabbets what the glue line rip blade does for those cuts — an absolutely smooth bottom. If you have had dado bottoms that showed ridges, you will love this new set. And when I say it gives smooth bottoms, I am talking smooth, real smooth.                                         Coming next week
	We have been using a brand new set of drills available exclusively at Rockler.  They are of a new design that is meant to cut better and deeper holes.  We made our first test to be the hardest — drilling a 3/4" hole 4" deep in very hard Brazilian Rosewood. It is a 2" thick board that I paid pretty money for and we will be making jewelry chest's, but I had to use one end just to test these drills. I will tell you now that our first use was amazing. It made the hole as easy at drilling a cake of Ivory, and the hole was smooth with an almost perfectly flat bottom. We would publish this story but want to test the bits in a hand held cordless drill and in other woods.                                             Coming next week

May 28, 2007 — Happy memorial day. Up here, we are enjoying a really nice
 early summer day, and my wife is already in the pool soaking up the sun. Before she
went out there, she put AC in my office window and uncovered the AC for the shop so that
I can be comfortable. Can't find a better wife than that.
To date, we have never made mention of what we are working on — just what
we have completed.  We are almost done with three new products
so I thought I would, at least, tell you what's coming. And we have a
lot more tools waiting for us.

May 20, 2007 — Last time,  I posted a page on making square cuts. There was
a lot of interest in that page and the subject. So today
I am discussing the alternate method — parallel cuts.

 

Making parallel cuts is as important as making square cuts. We find that for every panel cut list, square and parallel cuts almost always alternate in the overall process.                                                      ShowMe

May 8, 2007 — Way too long between updates. Bad cold/cough took over
last two weeks and kept old, 84 yo frame down and out (Yes, I know
I am only 70, but frame is that of an 84 yo, it can seem at times.)

	Maegan helps me test a new glue line ripping blade from CMT.  And we do a quick comparison of all three of their rip blades.                                                           ShowMe
	Andrea, Elena and I take on the subject of square.  How square must you be to be "in square?"                                   ShowMe

April 21, 2007 — Announcement: I made a real boo boo and since the readers here
often praise me for admitting  them, here goes.
The mistake is in the review of the CMT Pro Dado Set. That review should
have been this week, but I made a second error...so next week.
But in the meantime, here is a very good "add" to the shop. Elena, yes, but I was referring to the GG.

Can you spell "easier lifting." That is what you have if you have this new product — the Gorilla Gripper."  It has many uses, but in this shop is works great lifting the heavy, slippery white melamine particle core panels. Just ask Elena.                                                      ShowMe

March 25, 2007 — Many readers have written me and said that I spend too much time
 reporting on Festool products. I am guilty. There is only one reason why I do this: I find them excellent tools
and they have done a lot to change my way of doing cabinetry and other basic woodworking jobs.
In my "credo", I say that I will review those products that I would want in my shop. That doesn't mean
only Festool. I have a years worth of other products that will be on these pages and in my shop. And
I will be doing more work with Festool products. When I do a story like the one today, it is
a Festool story that should be of interest to all woodworkers. The digital fence I am installing
on a Festool product, can be done anywhere in the shop. As a matter of fact, I will be installing it on
my Incra cut off sled and on my Delta planer. I always try to be fair. And I appreciate it when
you, my readers, email me and suggest that I am not being fair.

We have seen many new digital measuring devices in the recent years. Here is one that is a part of a longer sensor that I have installed in one of the Festool MFT (multi function tables.) I like it because it works.                                                      ShowMe

 

 

	Recognize those router bits. They are the lock miter bit and the reverse glue bit. They can be very difficult to setup. I have prepared a couple of  pages to show you the "Lucas way" and it works for me.                                                      ShowMe
	Here is the final page from the Swenson and Swenson bar building pages.  I can't say enough about their skills in creating beautiful wood masterpieces. Rarely do we get a chance to see such magnificent work — a tribute to the beautiful wood that it is.                                                        ShowMe

 

February 25, 2007 — I really am alive and well, just way behind in adding new pages.
I have some new products that are on the bench right now and will have them reviewed by the weekend.


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