If you are new to woodworking and you are looking for information on the Internet, you have found a rich source of information.  With the Internet you will get the good as well as the bad.  Although, I do feel there is more good out there then bad.  I’m only bring this up, because it came somewhat of shock to me, when I encountered my first overly-opinionated-flaming-troll.  I personally choose not to visit the sites/forums that don’t police these kinds of posters.

With that said, there is a lot of good information and friendly people, who are willing help woodworkers of all levels.  I’m amazed at the number of professionals and highly skilled woodworkers, that freely share their experience and advice.  The Internet is truly a wealth of information for the woodworking community.

Below are links to Internet resource I have found, during my travels on the Internet.  They are sites I still visit on a regular basis and people that still influence me.  This is hardly a comprehensive list, but more of a starting point.  Each of these sites will lead you other sites that interest you.  You will soon have a large list of Favorites saved and your RSS Reader will start to overflow!

Bloggers
There are countless woodworking Bloggers out there.  It would be impossible to list them all.  I haven’t counted them, but my RSS Reader might have 100+ Woodworking related blogs in it.  You will find Bloggers come and go and content changes.  You will find people and topics that interest you and that can change over time.

http://tomsworkbench.com/ (A special shout out to Tom Iovino, the organizer of Get Woodworking Week!)
http://www.thewoodwhisperer.com/ (Great video content for beginners and a advance woodworkers)
http://mattsbasementworkshop.com// (One of the first podcaster/bloggers I came across)
http://blog.lostartpress.com/ (If you want to learn about Hand Tools, Christopher Schwarz is a great resource)
http://www.popularwoodworking.com/woodworking-blogs/chris-schwarz-blog (I really like what Christopher Schwarz writes about, so he gets 2 links)
http://www.modernwoodworkersassociation.com/ (Because I’m the Seattle Chapter Head, I would remiss not to include the MWA)

Forums
There are more forums out there, but these are two I enjoy and they will police the content if it gets out of hand.

http://www.woodtalkonline.com/
http://lumberjocks.com/

Tools
http://www.lie-nielsen.com/ (Hand tools and Educational DVDs)
http://www.leevalley.com/us/ (Hand tools and more)
http://www.toolsforworkingwood.com/ (Hand tools, power tools and more)
http://www.craftsmanstudio.com/ (Fast shipping and good prices)
http://www.sawstop.com/ (Only because I truly love my table saw)

Magazines
http://www.popularwoodworking.com/ (Currently my favorite Magazine)
http://www.woodworkersinstitute.com/page.asp?p=2 (Furniture & Cabinetmaking Magazine.  I really like this magazine.  It’s published in England, and can be expensive to get in print, but the electronic version is reasonably priced.)
http://www.finewoodworking.com/ (Good magazine with some nice online content.  Some of the content does require a yearly membership.)

Podcasts
http://woodtalkshow.com
http://www.modernwoodworkersassociation.com/

Paid Online Resources
These are resources I’ve paid for and have found they are worth the money.
http://thewoodwhispererguild.com (Always topnotch woodworking content)
http://www.renaissancewoodworker.com/ (Online hand tool school)
http://robcosman.memberlodge.com/ (Hand Tool and Power Tool workshops)

In the meantime checkout Episode #8 of the Modern Woodworkers Association podcast.

If you like the video version, subscribe on YouTube (ModernWoodworkers Channel).  You can always listen to past episodes and subscribe to the audio-only podcast here.

Tune in LIVE when we broadcast each show (you can do that by adding MWA’s G+ page to your circles and watch for show announcements in your stream, watch Live on the YouTube Feed, Watch for announcements and links Tweeted by @MWA_National, and participate in real time by tweeting your questions to@MWA_National or @MWALive, or commenting in the G+ stream, or in the YouTube comments. phew…so many ways to participate!

For anyone in the Seattle area, and wants to be part of the Seattle MWA, drop me a line.  I’ll add you to the Seattle MWA mailing list, and you will hear about our meetups and other activities.

I’ve had some time to start on the TV Stand/Console.  There have been some ups and downs with this project.  The construction has been moving along quite nicely, without any real issues.  An “incident” that happened during the project, was that my planer spun the pulley that was connected to the cutting head.

When the pulley came loose, it also damaged the cutting head.  I would have had to replace the pulley and the cutting head.  This planer is a “lunchbox” style planer from Grizzly (G0505).  The “good” thing about Grizzly, is that you can order just about any part for their machines and the cost isn’t that bad.  I’ve never been happy with this planer, so I took this opportunity to replace it.  I ended up going with a Dewalt DW375.  I’ve used it to surface a few boards and I’m loving this machine!  The finished surface is pretty smooth for power planer, and the Snipe is much less than my Grizzly.

As for the TV stand, I’ve made some pretty good progress on the base.  I have the ends assembled, and was working on the back this weekend.  The back is Frame and Panel construction (like just about everything else on this project).

The back is divided up into 2 panels.  I got to the point where I need to cut and install the center Stile.  Measuring for the length of the Stile, is next to impossible.  I really don’t use a rule/tape very much, only for the first few pieces of a project.  Then the rest is cut to fit.

I cut my Stile over sized, then clamped in place.  After making sure it was square, I then used a Marking Knife to mark the top and bottom.

After I had those marks, I just added the length of my Tenons and cut them to final size.  This approach is quick, accurate and nearly foolproof.

I then needed to cut the back panels to size.  Cutting them to width is pretty easy, with a couple rip cuts on the Table Saw.  Crosscutting to length was another issue.  These panels were too wide for my Miter Gauge or Crosscut Sled.

I struck a knife line square across one of the panels.  I then lined the two panels together, then clamped them in the vise.

My current project will be a new TV Stand for our Living Room.  I’m building the stand out of European Beech.  I’ve started milling some of the lumber and have started on the legs and stretches of the base.

This project is going to have a lot of Mortise & Tenons and Frame & Panels in it.  The project is all solid wood, no plywood for the panels or top.  Although I was tempted.

Today I cut some grooves using my Veritas Plow Plane.  When I first got this plane, I had mixed results with it.  First, I discovered I using it wrong.  Chris Schwarz has blogged a couple times on how to properly use these kinds for jointery planes.  The key is (if you are right handed) to allow your right hand do the pushing forward, and use your left hand to apply lateral pressure to the fence.  Don’t be tempted to use your left hand to push forward, it will only cause you to be unbalanced.

The other key, was to add a larger auxiliary fence to the plane.  The small metal one just isn’t larger enough, to give you a good reference surface.  I think I can go even larger on mine, but this was a big improvement.

As you might remember, I’m not using power routers anymore.  Cutting these grooves would have been a task for the router.  I’m quite sure I cut these grooves just as fast with the hand plane, then I would have with the router!  One router task checked off the list.

It is getting into the Winter and Holiday months. Weekends do tend to be busy and cold (in an unheated garage shop). So maybe the timing is good, if I really have to cut back. There are some small projects I think I can do, that won’t irritate the arm. So I don’t think I have to go cold turkey on this! I have my first Psychical Therapy appointment tomorrow, I’ll know more after that. Stay tuned, I plan to keep something going on the blog in the mean time.

Chris Schwarz sure started something with these Moxon Vises.  Some people might look at this as a fad, but I know it solves a problem I’ve had for a while, a tired back.  I solved the tried back problem a couple years ago, when I built what I called a Benchtop Bench.  This worked well, to raise your work up, so you aren’t hunched over while cutting joinery.  The only real issue I had with my Benchtop Bench, was storage.  Even though it’s kind of small, it was bulkly and difficult to find a home for.  I have a spot where I think the Moxon Vise can hang the wall.  It will make it easy to get to, which means I will use it more.A lot people are making their own screws and handles for their Moxon Vise and I admire that.  I recently bought some bench vise hardware from Benchcrafted, for a new bench I’m planning to build.  Even though I haven’t used the hardware yet, I was very impressed by the quality.  So much so, I decided to order their Moxon hardware.In the kit you get:  handles (hand-wheels), screws, nuts, washers, and suede leather for the chop.

You can use just about any wood for the vise.  The day I went to the lumber yard, Maple was the best choice.  I also looked at Ash and Beech, but selection was poor.  You really don’t need that much for the project.  You also don’t need to make the vise as large as the plans suggest.  The plans even show some shorter versions.

I did use the drill press to drill the ¾” holes through the two main pieces.  The holes on the front chop do get elongated, to allow the chop pivot a little.  This will let you hold some irregular shaped pieces if needed, and it just makes sliding the front chop easier.

The nut on the inside, needs to recessed.  You could just bore a round hole and slip the nut in, or even route a square hole with a template.  I wanted a clean tight fit.  I bolted the nut in place, and marked around it with a marking knife.

Then I bored out some of the waste using the drill press, then clean up the rest with a chisel.

Besides gluing the back clamping bar to the back, that’s all of the hard stuff.  After putting it together the first time.  I chose to flush up the top pieces.  It was pretty close, but it needed a few swipes with a plane.

The handles come as raw cast iron.  I’m sure they would develop a patina over time, but rust could be a problem.  Recently Jameel posted on his blog, a couple ways to patina the handles.  The first was to season the cast iron, like you would cast iron cookware.  I love my cast iron cookware, so I’m familiar with the process.  The only issue for me, was the logo button attached to the handles.  I asked Jameel if the plastic button would stand up to the heat of the oven and he said not likely.  Brenchcrafted is now shipping their handles without attaching the logo buttons, in case you want to do the oven approach.  The good news, Jameel had another option, Gun Bluing.  I’m no expert on Gun Bluing, but it’s a chemical process that adds a patina to the metal, to help protect it.

I picked a small bottle of the solution. I followed the instructions and added a few coats.  I got a nice deep patina on the handles.  Jameel then recommends adding a couple coats of Minwax Antique Oil Finish, to the handles.

My camera really doesn’t do the handles justice.  They look really nice, and I’m happy with this process.

The last step was to add the suede to the front chop.  I just used spray adhesive to attach the leather.  The leather really is optional.  I tested the vise before I put the leather on, and the holding power is amazing.  With the leather, it’s just out of this world.  I’ve had vises where I had to put a considerable amount of pressure on it and things still slipped, this isn’t the case with this vise.  The wheels spin fast and freely.  A moderate spin is all you need, to lock a piece in place.  I’ve never had vise work that well before.

Other people have made accessories for their Moxon Vise.  I may add a detachable support off the back, like a benchtop.  Other people have shown how this can help with transferring dovetails.  Others have made this a permanent fixture on the vise, but I’d like to make it detachable.  If it’s permanent, I’m back to a benchtop bench and storage because an issue again.

The Benchcrafted hardware is a luxury.  I’ve been selling some of the tools I don’t use anymore, and I decided to treat myself to something nice.  I don’t regret my purchase, and I can’t wait to start on the new bench!

Chris Schwarz has gotten a lot praise and criticism for his latest book “The Anarchist’s Tool Chest”. Some people were really put off by the fact that he used the word Anarchist in the book’s title. Me, I was intrigued. I’ve met Chris before, and I read just about everything he writes. I was quite sure the book didn’t have anything to do with the overthrow of the government or causing social unrest. After readying the book, he might be going for a little social unrest, in the furniture world. When I got the book, I couldn’t put it down once I started. I love woodworking and I read a lot about woodworking, but most of the writing out there is pretty dry (I’m no exception). Chris has away of making a dry topic more enjoyable and interesting to read. I’m not intending this to be a review of Chris’s book, because others have done some nice reviews of his book. This is more about the affect the book had on me.

The State of Furniture
Besides talking about hand tools and tool chests, Chris expresses his disdain of today’s manufactured furniture and our willingness to pay money for it. I know a lot of what my wife and I have bought, might fall in the throwaway category. Although at the time, I don’t think we had a lot choices and didn’t know there was better stuff out there. Recently I wanted to buy a new TV for for our Living Room and needed a new TV stand/cabinet for it.  Not having time to build a TV stand, I started looking for manufactured TV stands. I’m not sure why, but TV stands are disproportionately expensive for what you get! It’s like the furniture manufactures have figured out, we are willing to pay for crap. Now they are seeing how much we are really willing to pay and still sell us crap! I just couldn’t do it. I said if I had to wait to buy the TV, until I could make something, that is what I was going to do. I have bought my last particle, pressboard, fake wood, throwaway piece of furniture!

Tools
The Anarchist’s Tool Chest focus is really around hand tools, but Chris does talk about a few power tools. So Chris isn’t totally against power. I consider myself a “blended” woodworker, but passionate about hand tools. I still use power tools like the: Table Saw, Bandsaw, Jointer and Planer. It may be a long time before I would consider giving up my Table Saw and/or Bandsaw. Although, with my recent discovery of the power of the Fore Plane, the Jointer and Planer could be at risk. Although the Planer might be the hardest to ever give up. For now they are safe, but other tools aren’t going to be so lucky.

Now for a bit of Tool Anarchy. Even before Chris’s book, I found I was using power hand tools less and less. Of these power hand tools, the King has to be the Router. Who doesn’t own at least one these beasts! I have always had a love hate relationship with the router, mostly hate! It’s the loudest, dustiest tool in my shop. Also, there has been a lot press lately about Table Saw safety, but I feel this screaming demon is more dangerous than a Table Saw. I don’t have a study to prove it, but I’ve had far more close calls with routers, than I have had with Table Saws! Even though I really don’t like routers, I somehow ended up with 4 of them! Damn you Norm!! Full disclosure, I really like Norm and credit him for getting me really excited about woodworking.

So, I have vowed to rid my shop of all routers and never let them back in! So far I have posted 2 of them on eBay, along with my Router Lift. No more router table! Now I need to fill that hole in my Table Saw extension! The last 2 routers will be posted on eBay soon. I plan to use the revenue from the router sales to buy a few molding planes, to do edge profiles the router would have done. I also used the router to cut mortises, and now that will be done by hand. If that becomes a hassle, I’m not opposed to get a Mortising Machine. I’ve never ban a tool from my shop before. I feel liberated!

Thank you Chris, your brand of anarchy feels kinda good! Viva the revolution!

I had some Curly Maple leftover from a previous project. I was able to find some pretty straight grained pieces, for this project. You don’t need much lumber, you might find what you need in your scrap bin.

You need to glue the brass pins into the handles. The instructions recommend Epoxy. I used a couple blocks with holes drilled in them, to act as cauls while clamping.

You only need 3 pieces of wood for the saw. I milled and sized the pieces according to the plans.

Most of the work is in shaping the the side pieces. The plans include full scale drawings of the pieces. I used some carbon paper, to transfer the shape of the sides.

The transfer isn’t pretty, but close enough to get the job done. I then used my band saw to rough out the shape.

I then used: spokeshaves, rasps, planes, and sandpaper to refine the shape. There are a few tapers and chamfers on the pieces. This helps reduce the weight of the saw. The plans give you recommendations on these tapers and chamfers.

Stringing up the saw is pretty straightforward. I used 100lbs test braided fishing line. I wrapped 4 loops around the saw, and tied it off. I made my toggle out of some Oak dowel I had. I’d like to turn a matching toggle someday, but for now I’ll use what I have.

I don’t like film finishes on many of my wooden tools. I quite often sand off the factory finish, for tools I’ve bought! I prefer to feel the wood, and I think you get a better grip with “raw” wood. I just put a nice coat of Boiled Linseed Oil on the saw. The saw tensioned up without cracking. I’ve done a few short test cuts, and it’s cutting very well. I weighed the finished saw, and it came in at 11.1oz. It’s about the same weight as my Lie-Nielsen Dovetail saw. I was amazed, I thought the Bow Saw would have been heavier!  It was fun project.  I recommend the kit and the project to anyone looking to add a Bow Saw to their Tool Chest.

There are a few people on the Internet that do sell good “user” tools, and have a great reputation for quality user tools and service.  There are other sites, but I’ve purchased tools from both of these sites, and have been very pleased.  The first is hyperkitten.com (Joshua Clark).  Joshua will ship a tool to look at, before you even pay.  If you like it, pay for it.  If you don’t, ship it back.  I don’t think anyone else does that.  The other is Brass City Records and Old Tools (Walt).  You have to love a guy that is into old tools and vinyl records.

I sent an email off to Walt, telling him what I was looking for.  He quickly sent back a message with a couple options.  One was an older Stanley #6 and the other was a Keen Kutter K6.  Just so you know, I’m not a tool “collector” and don’t plan to be one.  So my first thought was, what is this Keen Kutter plane he is talking about?  I want a Stanley of course!  Walt described Keen Kutter planes, as a “poor man’s” Bedrock.  I did a quick Google search for Keen Kutter, and found out Stanley manufactured these planes for the Simmons Hardware Company, way back when.  I’m not the greatest of historians, but I do plan to find out more about Simmons Hardware and Keen Kutter.

I was intrigued, so I went with the Keen Kutter K6, for $55.  I’m not sure how to date Keen Kutter planes, so I really don’t know what era this plane comes from.  This plane is in pretty good condition.

The sole was pretty flat, but I did a little work on it, to clean it up.  What makes this plane a “poor man’s” Bedrock, is the massive surface contact area for the Frog.

This plane has the large mating surface as a Stanley Bedrock does, but not the easy Frog adjustment.  This isn’t a be deal, because I will most likely set the Frog and never move it again.  I didn’t do any work on the Frog or it’s mating surfaces.  These surfaces were very clean, with no real rust on them.  I might have spent maybe 30 minutes total, cleaning the plane and working on the sole.  That’s never been the case for me, for old tools.

Next I wanted to shape the blade for rough work.  I created a template out of MDF with an 8” radius, to help establish the camber on the blade.

I then wanted to see how flat the back of the iron was.  There was a significant drop off at the edge of the iron.  I think I worked on the back for about 30 minutes using course stones and sand paper, and really wasn’t getting anywhere.

Because I was going to be putting a large camber on this iron, I decided to grind the low edge off.  The grinder made quick work, of shaping the iron.

A quick hone and polish on the sharpening stones, then a test drive.  The plane works great, it’s exactly what I was looking for.  For now, I’m not planning to dimension all my lumber by hand, but it is a skill I want to develop.  There are a couple projects I’m planning and I want to see how many power tools I can do without.  Who knows, I might turn into a Knuckle-Dragging Neanderthal if I’m not careful!

A dry assembly of backs showed the joints were coming together pretty well.

After all of the joinery was cut, it was time to cleanup all of the back stats, 10 in all.  I used verity of tools to get this done, including:  spokeshaves, rasps, and lots of hand sanding.  To help hold the slats while working on them, I clamped pipe clamp in my vise.  I then clamped the slat in the pipe clamp.  This worked really well.

The final assembly and glue up went pretty quick.  I have one back glued up, and the second will be finished this weekend.

I’m getting really close to finishing these chairs.  I think it’s time my wife and I start looking at upholstery!