Rex Krueger
Published 23 Dec 2024Whoever made this plane certainly had their head in the stars.
December 24, 2024
Did I RUIN this woodworking antique?
Comments Off on Did I RUIN this woodworking antique?
David Friedman on elegant solutions to problems
Sometimes the solution to a problem is obvious … at least once someone else has pointed it out:
Recently, when writing a check, it occurred to me that requiring the amount to be given separately in both words and number was a simple and ingenious solution to the problem of reducing error. It is possible, if your handwriting is as sloppy as mine, to write a letter or number that can be misread as a different letter or number. If redundancy consisted of writing the amount of the check twice as numbers or twice as words the same error could appear in both versions. It is a great deal less likely to make two errors, one in letters and one in numbers, that happen to produce the same mistaken result. It reduces the risk of fraud as well, for a similar reason.
That is one example of a simple and elegant solution to a problem, so simple that until today it had never occurred to me to wonder why checks were written that way. Another example of the same pattern is a nurse or pharmacist checking both your name and date of birth to confirm your identity.1
That started me thinking about other examples:
The design of rubber spatulas, one bottom corner a right angle, the other a quarter circle. One of the uses of the device is to scrape up the contents of containers, jars and bowls and such. Some containers have curved bottoms, some flat bottoms at a right angle to the wall. The standard design fits both.
Manhole covers are round because it is the one simple shape such that there is no way of turning it that lets it fall through the hole it fits over.
Consider an analog meter with a needle and a scale behind it. If you read it at a slight angle you get the reading a little high or low. Add a section of mirror behind the needle and line up the image behind the needle. Problem solved.
If you try to turn a small screw with a large screwdriver it doesn’t fit into the slot. Turning a large screw with a small screwdriver isn’t always impossible but if the screw is at all tight you are likely to damage the screwdriver doing it. The solution is the Phillips screwdriver. The tip of a large Phillips screwdriver is identical to a smaller one so can be used on a range of screw sizes.2
Ziplock bags have been around since the sixties. Inventing them was not simple but a new application is: packaging that consists of a sealed plastic bag with a Ziplock below the seal. After you cut open the bag you can use the ziplock to keep the contents from spilling or drying. I do not know how recent an innovation it is but I cannot recall an example from more than a decade ago.
1. This one and some of the others were suggested by posters on the web forum Data Secrets Lox.
2. I am told that the solution is not perfect, doesn’t work for very small screws, which require a smaller size of driver.
Comments Off on David Friedman on elegant solutions to problems
December 18, 2024
How to Make a Wallclock | Episode 1
Paul Sellers
Published Jul 19, 2024Why are we making another Wallclock? Find out here: https://woodworkingmasterclasses.com/…
The basis for everything Paul has taught in woodworking to woodworkers around the world has been that with three joints and ten hand tools, you can make just about anything from wood. Each of these joints is irreplaceable and so each one stands alone in its importance of use.
The variations on the joints can triple, and in the case of the housing dado, there are but two additional versions. In this project, we take the most complex of the three versions to make our clock.
By the time you have made this joint and the clock, you will be fully equipped to make the other two versions. The tools you will use for all three variations are the same. We walk you through each step to bring total clarity to the tools, the joinery, and the methods and techniques. You will love making this oak wallclock project as much as Paul has in the dozens he has made since he designed it.
Remember, all the methods used will be adopted for dozens upon dozens of other projects throughout your life.
(more…)
Comments Off on How to Make a Wallclock | Episode 1
December 14, 2024
I Tried All The Cheap Bench Grinders … Here’s what happened
Rex Krueger
Published Aug 14, 2024GRINDERS!!!
Comments Off on I Tried All The Cheap Bench Grinders … Here’s what happened
December 1, 2024
Retrofitting Aluminium Clamps | Paul Sellers
Paul Sellers
Published Jul 26, 2024Aluminium clamps are lightweight and ideal for 99% of woodworking.
I have tried almost all of them and been disappointed because they can look the same on the outside, but it’s the thickness of the walls of the box section that counts. This is how I retrofit all of my ‘U’ shaped rectangular bar sash clamps.
It takes only a few minutes to do each one, but what a difference it makes when you do. Lightweight but with great strength; once done, my clamps are up there with the best of the best.
(more…)
Comments Off on Retrofitting Aluminium Clamps | Paul Sellers
November 20, 2024
What on earth is a Buck Board Bench?
Rex Krueger
Published Jul 25, 2024Furniture Forensics returns thanks to the mysterious Buck Board bench.
Comments Off on What on earth is a Buck Board Bench?
November 15, 2024
Three Ways to Cut a Housing Dado | Paul Sellers
Paul Sellers
Published Jul 5, 2024At least half of my woodworking life has been dedicated to demystifying the art of hand tool woodworking, and this video proves the truth of it.
The simplicity is this though; with just a handful of hand tools, I create three housing dadoes in 4″ wide hard maple, and the watch strapped to my wrist tells it all. I hope you enjoy seeing this video as much as we had making it.
We wanted to show you exactly how hand tools are still current technology at its best, and it’s available for everyone, including your kids!
——————–
(more…)
Comments Off on Three Ways to Cut a Housing Dado | Paul Sellers
November 6, 2024
You Don’t Need Plans for Woodworking
Rex Krueger
Published Jul 11, 2024Doing it yourself? All part of the plan.
Comments Off on You Don’t Need Plans for Woodworking
November 2, 2024
I’m only buying tools HERE
Rex Krueger
Published 1 Nov 2024The new platform for buying and selling woodworking tools.
Use the code: STARTNOW to save $5 off ANY first purchase.
To celebrate our launch, we’re running No Fee November! For the entire month of November, sell unlimited tools. NO MARKETPLACE FEES!
Comments Off on I’m only buying tools HERE
October 25, 2024
How to Make a Simple Picture Frame | Episode 2
Paul Sellers
Published Jun 21, 2024This is a uniquely different way to make a picture frame, but Paul designed it specifically to work with hand tools.
Sizing the eight components with the level of precision needed can be tricky, but two guides make the whole process quick and simple. We have dispensed with the mitres normally associated with picture frames altogether, giving these frames an assembly process and look you’ve never seen before.
It’s a step-by-step process with accuracy and we walk you through every step.
(more…)
Comments Off on How to Make a Simple Picture Frame | Episode 2
October 9, 2024
How to Make a Simple Picture Frame | Episode 1
Paul Sellers
Published Jun 7, 2024This is a uniquely different way to make a picture frame, but Paul designed it specifically to work with hand tools.
Sizing the eight components with the level of precision needed can be tricky, but two guides make the whole process quick and simple. We have dispensed with the mitres normally associated with picture frames altogether, giving these frames an assembly process and look you’ve never seen before.
It’s a step-by-step process with accuracy and we walk you through every step.
(more…)
Comments Off on How to Make a Simple Picture Frame | Episode 1
September 28, 2024
How to Make a Ladle | Episode 3
Paul Sellers
Published May 24, 2024This is the last third of making a substantial kitchen utensil from solid hardwood. It’s a lifetime kitchen tool designed to develop your carving and shaping skills with substantive insight into how we must learn to work our wood according to the changing direction of the wood grain.
This last episode focuses on shaping the back of the bowl, and for this, we use different spokeshaves, saws, and rasps to get the shape we want for the best-looking ladle.
(more…)
Comments Off on How to Make a Ladle | Episode 3
September 9, 2024
How to Make a Ladle | Episode 2
Paul Sellers
Published May 10, 2024Shaping any wood has a therapeutic effect on all of us, and this ladle is no different. With the bowl scalloped, we now focus on shaping the handle using tools ranging from flat chisels, saws, card scrapers, and rasps.
Remember, when you’re shaping a handle, you use just the same tools and techniques as you would for the neck of cellos, violins, and guitars.
By the time you have shaped your handle, you will feel relaxed and satisfied.
(more…)
Comments Off on How to Make a Ladle | Episode 2
September 6, 2024
Saw Straight Every Time with These Simple Tricks
Rex Krueger
Published May 29, 2024Learn to use layout and body mechanics to saw straight and square.
Comments Off on Saw Straight Every Time with These Simple Tricks
August 31, 2024
This Hand Plane Couldn’t Take a Single Shaving
Rex Krueger
Published May 22, 2024You never really know what to expect when it comes to tool restoration.
Comments Off on This Hand Plane Couldn’t Take a Single Shaving
