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Tool Maker InsiderFrom the June 19, 2007 issue of Woodworker's Journal eZine The Exotic-Looking Wood Next Door
That's one of the questions we frequently get here at the magazine, often followed by the explanation "I'd use fancy exotic wood but it is too unstable, too expensive, rough on tools and environmentally irresponsible." Until now the answer was always no, so imagine my surprise when I ran across just such a product at a woodworking show recently. There in front of me sat an assortment of solid wood boards, colored all the way through and made to look like cherry, walnut, ebony and a variety of other old friends, all sold under the trade name Alowood. When I delved further, I was in for even more surprises. Not only does Alowood look good, it behaves itself as well, offering more stability and less wood movement than the exotics it imitates. Because it is offered as already dressed boards, it is easier to use and is typically cheaper than the wood it mimics. Best of all, it is made from easily available, fully sustainable wood. "Alowood," explained John Gibb, the managing director of EverTech, the company responsible for its creation, "is a dyed, stabilized version of very sustainable and available wood made to look like its more exotic or desirable brethren. The process starts with a wood like Radiata pine. Plant starch is dissolved and injected back into the wood with a crosslinking thermoset polymer. We fill up the cells of the wood with dye and starch, crosslink it, then evaporate off the water. The result is pine that is denser, stronger and harder than the original wood, and can be made in any possible color. "In terms of twisting, cupping and bowing, Alowood is more stable than Radiata pine, and much more stable than many exotics. It will move like other woods, but less than most other woods. In fact, it moves about 30 percent less than Radiata, a wood already considered to be one of the more stable woods out there." "Alowood is perfect for people desiring to use unsustainable hardwoods," added Karen New, the company's director of marketing, "but who want real wood that looks and acts different than what is plentiful. In many ways it is the best of both worlds.
Though it hardly seems necessary with pre-colored wood, Alowood will take stain or dye. Of course, it is easily glued with all common wood adhesives. "Ironically," Gibb pointed out, "the dyes we use will gradually fade, but only at the very surface of the wood, so it returns to the color you started with if you sand it. In that respect, it behaves exactly like the real thing, though we have found that Alowood fades much slower than most richly colored hardwoods. "For a hobby woodworker who wants an exotic-looking coffee table but can't afford ebony, for example, Alowood is ideal. It is easier to use than real exotic hardwood, and it's not as hard on your tools. One teacher we sell to likes giving his students Alowood because they can make things that might be problematic using the real thing. We sell clear, sixteen-foot, one inch by six inch boards that are all identical. You can buy a stack of boards that have no knots, imperfections or wainy edges to get 100 percent yield and consistent color." Equally remarkable is that this product came about almost by accident. EverTech, the company responsible for it, is a joint venture between Chemco and MeadWestvaco. Chemco is a wood treatment and wood technology company that does, among other things, fire retardant pressure treatment using nontoxic materials. MeadWestvaco has a specialty chemical division that tries to find ways to recycle byproducts from their papermaking and packaging operations. "One of the side effects of fire retardant is that it makes wood harder and more brittle," Gibb explained. "We have always fought that because nailed shingles will break more easily. We spent years trying to get wood fire resistant but not hard. Conversely, there is a large wood modification industry in Europe trying to harden softwoods. This combination of needs, along with a declining market in fire retarding wood roofing, led us to explore another avenue. "Meanwhile, a Japanese company named ADWorlz asked us to produce hardened Radiata pine with no phenolic or formaldehyde. We created a formaldehyde-free formulation that hardened wood and let us add color as well. After selling wood to them, we came to the attention of MeadWestvaco, which was trying to use pine extractives to harden wood for the flooring industry. They felt we were further along, so we got together and became a joint venture to take the wood to market. The result is Alowood. "Though we currently use mostly yellow, Radiata and Ponderosa pine, the process can also be done on other woods, including some of the softer hardwoods like poplar, aspen and even soft maple. We are currently working with local hemlock to get that to work, and also working with Canada to treat otherwise wasted lodgepole pine trees that were killed by mountain pine beetles. The projection is that up to 50 percent of these trees will be destroyed by the beetle. Beetles used to get killed by freezing, but the warming global temperatures mean they are thriving, surviving year-round, multiplying and destroying lots of wood. We may be able to take this low value wood and improve both the quality and market value of it." One weakness of Alowood is that it is only appropriate for indoor use, but even that may soon change. "We are pursuing a technology that would take waste wood from pine, put it back into pine and create a wood that could be used outdoors," Gibb explained. "Hopefully, it will be available by 2008." Conscious of the environmental impact of shipping, they aim to diminish that by selling the chemicals that create Alowood. You need pressure treating and kiln drying capabilities to thermoset the polymer, but they will sell to whomever would like to become a licensee. "We hope to set up more regional manufacturing facilities that would allow people to treat locally grown wood rather than shipping wood all over the world. That is the ultimate environmental footprint. "We have frequently talked about the environment and how the average woodworker can make a difference," Karen added. "All of our materials are both Greenguard certified, a status that relates to indoor air quality, and Forest Stewardship Council certified. We use plantation grown, sustainable, quickly grown wood for our products. This is wood you can feel really good about using." "Once this is readily available," Gibb noted, "it will offer a wood that is easy to work with, exotic-looking, affordable and environmentally responsible." That sounds to us like a woodworker's dream. The "Johnny Appleseed" of Costa Rica
In 1991, Steve and Sherry Brunner starting planting teak, nargusta and suradan trees, along with a few other species, on tracts of land they own in Costa Rica. So far, they have planted some two million trees and show no signs of slowing down. Chapman's goal was to provide pioneer settlers with apples, but Steve and Sherry set out to grow wood, and lots of it. "Once we saw those little trees coming up," Steve said, "Sherry and I decided to devote the rest of our lives to doing this." They created Tropical American Tree Farms, and estimate that just the trees they currently have under cultivation may eventually yield some 200 million board feet of wood. Extrapolating from current prices, that works out to two billion dollars worth of wood.
"I graduated from law school in 1969," Steve recounted, "and went into the real estate business. In 1974, I wanted to buy some warm weather oceanfront property for investment purposes, but land was too expensive in the U.S. Instead, Sherry and I bought 2,500 acres in four segments in Costa Rica, a country with a thriving economy, a long-standing stable democracy, and constitutional protection of private land ownership. I managed the property, flying back and forth between Costa Rica and Columbus, Ohio. "Flying during the dry season, I would often see smoke rising. Farmers were cutting down the trees as fast as they could and burning them to get them out of the way. Their goal was to create cattle grazing land to feed the American beef market. You could literally see the rain forest disappearing, and it really bothered me. This was also causing the price of lumber to keep rising in the area. "During the 1980s, I did a lot of investigating into wood prices and the feasibility of tree farming in the tropics. In 1991, Sherry and I decided to buy an inland farm to start a tree farm for ourselves. Our intention was to plant trees and harvest them 25 years later, but along the way we learned that we might not have to wait that long. There are some very fast-growing trees in that region.
"Initially, we started buying land to prevent it from being deforested as well as land that had already been clear cut. We used the already cleared land for planting. We have never cut down any forest or any trees in the forest. Instead, we protect existing forest, and plant for production on other land. It should be clear, though, that what we create are tree plantations, not forests. "Using local labor, we planted about 63,000 teak, nargusta and suradan trees, along with several other species, on about 150 acres. After the trees are planted, it is a non-stop process of weeding, and eventually pruning and thinning. The plantations all need to be thinned at various stages. Thinning starts after about seven years for some of the faster growing species, and for most species is done every three to four years after that. During thinning we take out the least desirable trees. "Meanwhile, my wife's father, who had been following our progress, asked to invest in the venture. We came up with the idea of selling live trees to others for investment purposes. The idea was that we would take care of them, but the trees would be owned by investors. When the woodworking community found out, we started getting invitations to speak to woodworking clubs. "It's grown from there, and today we have over two million trees under cultivation. We currently grow 14 different species for tree owners and 51 species for ourselves. More than half of the trees are owned by tree owners. Some do it for investment reasons, others for the wood, and a few are using it as an excuse to write off fishing trips to Costa Rica. We sell in multiples of 100 trees at about 50 dollars per tree. Each person owns specific trees with locations laid out by row and column.
"When it was time for the first thinning, we already had some tree owners besides ourselves. We went in naively thinking the small dimension wood from the thinning would be saleable, but were disappointed to find it had little or no value. Rather than throw the wood away, we set up a workshop to find out what we could do with it. The first thinning was teak, yielding boards four inches and under. To our surprise, we discovered that young teak is even more beautiful than older teak, showing even more chatoyance and depth. We decided to use the wood to make really high-end furniture and veneer. With that, a second company, which we named Raleo®, was born. "Raleo is a Spanish word meaning 'a thinning' and ,true to its name, the wood for Raleo furniture and wall treatments comes from the wood harvested during the thinning process. We made a lot of samples of various surfaces on small pieces of wood and took them to an upscale builder's show. The response was overwhelming.
"To put it simply, Raleo, which Sherry and I own outright, creates value for underappreciated wood taken from early thinnings, then buys this otherwise low value wood from the tree owners. We pay a higher than market rate for the wood, often two and half to five times the going rate. The upshot is that it makes earlier monetary returns likely for tree owners. "Of course, the bulk of the value for tree owners is still in the final harvest, which will far surpass whatever they glean from thinnings. The end goal is to produce not just sawn wood, but veneer quality logs, which have far more value per tree. We have been able to get veneer from trees as young as seven years old. It makes the prospects for this venture much better than it looks at first blush. "Some of our tree owners have already gotten more back than what they paid for their trees just from the rewards of the first thinning, and they still have all their best trees growing larger. On the other hand, some are still waiting. We do not take any money from new investors to pay older investors. What you get depends entirely on what happens with your trees, and in part, how patient you are, since waiting longer usually yields a better pay out." Though investors are increasing, it is not due to active selling. "We try to graciously answer questions," Steve admitted, "but that is it. If you are interested in finding out more, we invite you to browse the web site. There's enough information there to help you decide whether this is for you." It must be right for a lot of people. At present, they have some 300 employees, thousands of tree owners, and own one tenth of one percent of all the land in Costa Rica. "Profit and love for the environment can go hand in hand," Steve insists. "You can run a profitable business that also helps the environment and takes very good care of the land." To guarantee that the company continues long after he and Sherry are no longer in the picture, they set up a trust that will continue to run it according to their values and the responsibility they feel to their tree owners. "We really believe that being good stewards of both trees and people is our mission in life. We don't use herbicides or pesticides, and we don't allow hunting in the farms. As a result, a lot of animal species that are considered scarce are returning, and these rarely seen animals will often come right up to the door. Some, like kinkajou and coatimundi, come right into our farmhouse." Lush surroundings, a good business and the satisfaction that you are doing right for both customers and the environment seems like a perfect combination, but there is still one more vicarious joy Steve admits to feeling. "More than a thousand tree owners have been down here to see their trees and go through the rain forest," Steve told me. "Seeing the rain forest for the first time is a hard-to-describe experience. Watching their reaction is almost as good."
"To Infinity and Beyond!"
As soon as I laid the Router Emergency Kit on the table at my guild's board meeting, I knew I'd have to keep an eye on it. As it passed from hand to hand ,the comments ranged from, "Now, that's a good idea; it's exactly what I need" to the inevitable, "Can I have it?" No wonder. The kit is a clever assortment of replacement bearings, screws, washers and stop collars for router bits. It's the perfect solution for anyone who has ever grappled with failed bearings or incorrect sizes on bearing-mounted router bits. The kit contains 10 replacement bearing screws, four hex keys, two bearing dust shields and 13 bearings, some of which have inserts for different size bit shafts. Fortunately, I was able to stave off those tool hungry wolves by pointing out that it only costs 40 dollars, and they could easily afford their own. In fact, it is innovation that sets this company apart from its wealth of competitors. The company comes by that honestly, because when it comes to tool design, Infinity's owner, David Venditto, boasts a very respectable lineage. "I grew up around the wood cutting tool business," David informed me rather modestly, adding, "My father ran a large cutting tool manufacturing company that makes saw blades and router bits."
In fact, his father's story is well known in the woodworking field. The former president of Freud, David's father left to start his own company, Jesada. He came up with the company name by stringing together the first two letters of the names of each of his three children, Jessica, Sabrina and David. "Meanwhile, Infinity had been created in 2003 by Corey Spann, an importer/distributor who was trying to set up a line of cutters. It never got off the ground, and Corey, whom I knew as a former employee of my father, gave me the name. I started a brand-new company around it but kept the name because it reminds me of the infinite opportunities to make infinitely better products.
There is certainly no shortage of variety in the product line. David's catalog is awash with cutters that make you say, "I didn't know you could buy that." Things like flush-trim carbide spiral cutters, specially sized wing cutters for fitting odd thickness plywood panels, trim cutters with both a top and bottom bearing, replaceable insert cutters, rabbet cutters with multiple bearings and a host of cutters to make things like box joints, finger joints, floating letters, beads and coves, and just about anything your heart desires. The same sort of variety is available in their shaper cutters, too, but they don't stop there. One of the products David is proudest of is the Dadonator, a whimsically named eight-inch dado set that occupies a place of honor within his line of table saw blades.
In addition to cutters, Infinity also turns their designing talents to accessories. "Our coping sled, for example," David told me, "is a very unique product. It is a massive, solid aluminum, CNC-machined eight-pound router crosscut sled. That combination reduces vibration, is safer and makes for more accurate repeat cuts. The sled has a comfortable, ergonomically correct handle, three 500-pound toggle clamps and a Lexan® safety visor that runs against the router table fence. The Lexan not only protects you from flying debris, it also keeps the base of the sled away from the spinning router bit. On some coping sleds, the base itself runs against the fence, allowing it to come in contact, albeit accidentally, with the bit. This sled makes cross grain or cope cutting fast, safe and easy."
"The only thing that exceeds the quality of what we make is our customer service. It is one of the pillars of our existence. We return calls, return emails, address any concerns our customers have, and offer a lifetime guarantee on everything we sell. We've had a lot of praise for our attitude and approach, and that is critical to us. The bottom line is that our customers have learned to trust us to provide superior quality and service, and we try to meet that expectation every day." The Domino Effect
Touted as the quickest, easiest and ultimately cheapest way to make accurate mortise and tenon joinery, Domino has been making a splash on print and web site ad pages for the past few weeks. The buzz is that Domino appears to be the most revolutionary advance in joinery since the biscuit, and one that makes a giant leap forward from that technology. To get some firsthand information, I called Bob Marino, a former woodworker and a regular on woodworking message boards. In fact, he is known as the "go-to guy" for online Festool advice, and one of the country's largest dealers. All Festool dealers are allowed to sell anywhere in the country, but Bob says there's a good reason he has such a loyal following.
It was not hard to get him to talk about the Domino. "Most woodworkers agree that mortise and tenon is one of the strongest joints available," Bob pointed out, "but one that can be difficult and time-consuming to make correctly. On the other hand, biscuit joinery is one of easiest to make, but offers substantially less strength. Domino is the marriage of the best of both. The Domino looks a bit like a biscuit joiner, but in actuality it is the only portable floating tenon joinery machine on the market.
"The dominos themselves come in five thickness and length combinations that correspond to four different bit options in the machine. The machine comes with the five mm cutter, which is fine for light work. Most purchasers in Europe, where it was first introduced, buy the assortment that comes with four cutters and 1,000 dominos. The four cutters are 5, 6, 8, and 10 mm. The lengths range from 30 mm for the five mm cutter to 50 mm for the ten mm. By adjusting the depth, the 8 mm cutter works with both a 40 and 50 mm domino. "Any cut you can make with a biscuit joiner, you can make with this machine. Domino is essentially maintenance-free. The cutters themselves, which cost about 30 dollars, are carbide-tipped and will last for up to 5,000 cuts in hardwood, and up to 15,000 in softwood. Dominos themselves start at about three cents apiece, which makes them cheaper than the amount of wood used up in cutting a fixed tenon.
Festool is a relative newcomer in the U.S., but in Germany, they boast the largest market share across a wide swath of woodworking. Their entry into the American market was both tentative and a bit unusual in approach. "Originally," Bob recounted, "most sales agents were carpenters and professional woodworkers who were actually using the tools and showing them to coworkers on the job site. Until a couple of years ago, no one was allowed to stock tools. They were drop shipped from one of two warehouses. I would go out to shops and woodworking shows and do demonstrations of Festool tools, then sell them online. As the Internet grew, my involvement with Festool grew. One big break came when I demonstrated Festool to the Silva brothers of This Old House fame, and they started using them on the show." Today there is a widespread dealer network across the country in addition to online sellers.
"Professionals will prize Domino for its savings in time," Bob insisted, "while hobby woodworkers may see it as something that alleviates aggravation. I suspect that many hobby woodworkers will use the Domino to attempt joinery projects they might otherwise have avoided. With it, anyone can make floating tenon joinery flawlessly. Mortise and tenon joinery was never so safe, accurate, and dust-free. "My prediction is that Domino will soon become the generic term for this type of machine in the same way that many people call all brands of reciprocating saws a Sawzall ™, and all nylon abrasive pads Scotchbrite ™. I feel certain that this machine will change the way people do woodworking." ShopBot: CNC For the Rest Of UsRemember those clever all-in-one tools like the Shopsmith? The idea was to have one machine that took up limited space but could do almost every woodworking task. Well, say hello to ShopBot, the modern answer to that age-old problem. Grafted Coatings, Inc.: The Guitarmaking World's Secret Finish
Wood Essence: Canada's 'Go To' Supplier of Hard to Find Finish Materials
Robert Larson Company, Inc.: A Fourth Generation Hardware Vendor with First-Generation ValuesMany woodworkers, myself included, have bought tools from Robert Larson without ever knowing it. No, we are not wandering around in a dream state: it is simply that his eponymous business, Robert Larson Company, Inc., only sells indirectly. "End use customers can not buy directly from us," Robert explained, "but in fact, most of your readers have bought from us. We sell to the stores they frequent. Laguna Tools: The European Gold Standard Goes Platinum
Unimat: "Honest, Honey, I Bought It for the Kids."Let's face it. All parents and grandparents know this simple truth: the best toys to buy for kids are the ones you want to play with after they are asleep. With that in mind, you can stop shopping right now ,because I have found the ultimate gift. Meet Unimat, the serious tool that masquerades as a toy. Jet Tools: Spicing up the Holidays with Great Tool InnovationsJET Tools is at it again. They are heading into tool gift season with a spate of new offerings and a host of improvements on their already impressive line of power tools. Included in the "new and improved" category are a cleverly designed planer jointer combo; a new category of table saw that offers the advantages of a cabinet saw with the low price and easy transport of a contractor saw; helical replacement cutter heads for their jointers and planers; and their newest cabinet saw incarnation, the Deluxe Xacta Saw. North House Folk School: Where Wood Meets FolkehøjskoleThere are dozens of woodworking schools where you can go to learn furniture making, turning and even carving, so it is quite refreshing to find one that stands out from that crowd. The North House Folk School, tucked away on the shores of Lake Superior in tiny Grand Marais, Minnesota, does just that with a unique approach that can be summed up in one word: folkehojskole. The Woodworking Shows: The Phoenix up from the Ashes
GRR-Ripper: The 'Ne Plus Ultra' of Push SticksGazing at the shingle cutting machine at the Washington State History museum is enough to give a modern woodworker chills. Shingle weavers, as they were called, pushed blocks of cedar through a large, unguarded saw blade with hands perilously close to the teeth. Lost fingers, and worse injuries, were common. With that in mind, it's not hard to imagine a worker deciding it was safer to push with wood scraps, and thus creating a primitive push stick.  "In a nutshell, the GRR-Ripper is an adjustable push block that holds the wood on both sides of the blade. That not only gives you total control of forward motion, but also allows you to safely keep the stock against the fence. Moreover, it protects your hands by completely covering the blade. The original has an adjustable handle so you can secure it directly over the cut line, the ideal spot for it. An optional MJ Handle Bridge gives you four-point contact and allows you to cant the handle at an angle, which makes it even easier to keep pressure against the fence. "My intention in designing it was to solve the problems inherent in existing push sticks. For instance, a narrow push stick that hooks to the back of the board gives you no control in keeping the wood against the fence. Sometimes those thin push sticks even push the back corner of the wood toward the fence, making the front corner head out toward the back of the blade. That's a recipe for kickback. The other problem with hooking push sticks is that they don't work with stock that extends off the front of the table. On the other hand, most push blocks that are wide enough to offer control of the wood are designed to go between the fence and the blade, but that limits you in width.  "The GRR-Ripper solves all those problems. It is designed with a flat side that rides along the fence, keeping the push stick itself moving in a straight line. The bottom is covered with non-slip sticky material to hold the wood securely without leaving residue. Once you grab the wood with the GRR-Ripper, you can keep it properly oriented and going in a straight line relative to the fence and the blade. Two long feet on the bottom straddle the blade so that the wood is both held and pushed securely on both sides of the blade. Because the gripper is rigid and the feet grab the wood, there's no chance of either side of the wood slipping or tipping into the back of the blade. "In essence, it applies pressure in three directions to the wood on both sides of the blade: forward pressure, downward or hold-down pressure and pressure to keep the board against the fence. As you use it, the blade passes through a tunnel under the GRR-Ripper, making it a sort of blade guard that travels with your hand. In a sense, it does everything your hands do without letting them get to the blade, but because it controls both sides, there is no need to use either hand to push stock or guide the wood. Thus, you have complete control and total safety, but there's more. "Look at the GRR-Ripper and you will see three legs, all different widths. All three legs are removable, and both the handle and center leg are adjustable. One side has a quarter-inch leg, which lets you rip down to a quarter inch wide without damaging the unit. The other side is a half-inch leg, and the center one is one inch wide. The center leg slides back and forth between the other two legs to provide complete support while still missing the blade no matter what the width of the cut. The handle moves the same way, so your pressure is always where you want it. "The GRR-Ripper itself is three and five-eighths of an inch wide, so the only problem you can run across is if you have to make a three-and-a-half-inch cut. To solve that problem, you can add a spacer to the side, or remove one leg to give it a two-legged stance. Furthermore, you can use it for both routing and sawing operations in a host of different configurations. When routing, you can even prevent the wood from moving into the outfeed fence at the end of a cut; the gripper keeps the wood in its original position from the start of the cut because it rides against the fence instead of the wood having to do so. "Because it is so secure, you can even cut wood that is not against the fence. Because the GRR-Ripper holds the wood, and because one side is square and flat to travel along the fence, the board itself does not have to be against the fence. Thus, you could cut a freehand taper safely without a taper jig. You can even safely cut a straight edge on stock with two irregular edges. It will do bevel cuts using two hands, cut veneer at an angle, or make repeat crosscuts, all safely and with no other jigs. Since both pieces of the wood are being held, neither side can fly up in kickback."  While it is certainly the headliner on the Micro Jig website, the GRR-Ripper is not Henry's only product. He also offers the pop-in, pop-out MJ Splitter, a small splitter that sits securely behind the blade. "The holes in which the splitter sits are accurately drilled into a zero-clearance throat plate using a supplied hole drilling guide," Henry explained. "The splitter kit comes with the guide, a sized drill bit and two polycarbonate splitters. "Each splitter is two-sided. The plus sign on one side indicates a three-thousandths offset. By flipping the splitter over, you can tighten up the gap between board and fence by three thousands of an inch. That makes the splitter act like a gentle featherboard rubbing against the side of the new cut and helps the stock stay against the fence on the far side of the cut. Other splitters have six- and nine-thousandths offsets, should you need it." Finding one won't be difficult, since for years the GRR-Ripper has been the number one seller at many woodworking shows, and is available at most woodworking specialty stores. Many also carry the MJ Splitter system as well. There is one thing I must warn you about, though. When you get the GRR-Ripper, you must assemble it yourself. That's intentional. "I want the user to understand completely how this tool works," Henry insists, "and assembling it is the best way to do that. We do make it easy, though. For example, to make certain that you don't lose screws when assembling or changing configuration, the screws are held in place by tiny O-rings. "The bottom line is that I truly hope all my customers enjoy woodworking, but to do that, you must stay safe. The whole point of the GRR-Ripper is to make woodworking more enjoyable not only by helping you work safer, but by making your cuts cleaner and more accurate as well." Microplane: A Sharper Way to Shape Wood
Quality VAKuum Products: Superior Clamps That, Well… SuckThe myriad of clamps we all own work quite nicely for most simple assembly tasks. Two jobs, though, present a consistent challenge: veneering and holding parts for machining. Veneering a large area requires getting uniform pressure over the entire surface, a challenge for flat panels and a near nightmare for contoured ones. When holding parts for machining, no matter how you approach it, the clamps seem to get in the way. Far and away, the best solution for both these troublesome clamping chores is to use vacuum.
"Venturis are the most significant portion of the business. For every electric pump we sell, we sell four or five venturis. Electric pumps mostly go to those who don't have the compressed air capacity. "We have venturis that draw two cubic feet (cfm) per minute at 85 pounds per square inch (psi) and can work off a small pancake compressor, and pumps that draw 20 cfm. They all develop the same vacuum; the only real difference is how fast it gets there. For example, a 5 cfm venturi will evacuate a four-by-eight bag with a flat panel in it in about a minute and a half. A two cfm would take almost four minutes. A 20 cfm will do it in about 20 seconds. The bottom line is that you can do the job with any size venturi pump; the real difference is all about speed. "If you have a flat panel, speed doesn't matter, but if you have a complex shape in a large bag, or many laminates, time can be important. In that case, you would want a larger pump. The most common pump we sell is the five cfm unit. A manual venturi with a two- by four-foot bag starts at around $250 dollars, and more complex or larger automatic systems go up from there.  "Another good investment is an automatic controller, which lets the system use as little air as possible by shutting off the compressor once the vacuum is drawn. For example, a glue-up of a four-by-eight flat panel using urea glue might take about four hours to cure. Instead of the compressor running for four hours, an automatic system would have the compressor running only about one minute per hour of glue-up. Of course, you could also keep an eye on the gauge and constantly turn the compressor on and off as needed, but most serious woodworkers won't waste that time. "We sell direct from our web site, and there are distributors around the country. However, because the parts are fairly small and are both safe and easy to ship, it makes a lot of sense to buy online. Personally, I like people to call on our 800 number and discuss their application. Then we can hone in very specifically on their needs, make a recommendation and give them a quote right there on the phone. That way they get everything they need and nothing extraneous. We have a huge product line, and we'll do custom or special orders, including any types of bags, frame presses and special venturi equipment. "We also allow for future upgrades. If you start with a $250 manual unit, and decide you want to upgrade to an automatic unit, you can send it back and we will put the venturi into a larger unit, so you never lose your investment. In fact, you can upgrade repeatedly and indefinitely without ever losing your original investment. For those who need an introduction to the potential uses, there are dozens of pdf files with explanations of how the equipment works and the various things you can do with it on the instructions page of our web site. "Both pro and hobby woodworkers will go out and spend a couple hundred dollars on a router," Ed pointed out, "yet they will often ignore something as simple as a vacuum press. Vacuum can add both beauty and safety to your efforts. It can take your woodworking to a higher level of quality and allow you to attempt things you would never try otherwise. From a woodworker's point of view, what could be better?" Lignomat: Moisture Meters for the Masses
In a sense, the American side of the Lignomat story starts with Robert Hildebrand. He owned an engineering company in Germany that made kilns and the control systems to go with them. His son-in-law and daughter, Ulrich and Grete Heimerdinger, came to the U.S. in 1975 in order to start a branch of the company here. While Ulrich concentrated on selling kiln control systems, Grete started her own company in 1981 offering the mini-Ligno. "The inexpensive handheld moisture meter Grete chose to introduce was made by a German company called Lignomat," explained their daughter, Martina, the marketing manager for the family owned company. "That company was started about f45 years ago by Horst Klinkmueller. My mother started off with 100 mini-Lignos and began contacting people in the woodworking field to see if they needed a moisture meter. At the time, she knew little about woodworking, having been a math and physics teacher in Germany." "I started selling at woodworking shows," Grete recounted, taking over the story for her daughter, "and got a lot of interest immediately. That's because the mini-Ligno is affordable, durable, reliable and accurate. In fact, it was the first small, affordable, handheld moisture meter for woodworkers introduced to North America. Though we started with woodworking shows, these days we sell through woodworking stores like Rockler, through online venues like Amazon.com, and directly from our web site. "When I first arrived here people would ask me 'why do I need a moisture meter?' I told them if the wood is not properly dried it will shrink, move or warp and may very well destroy what you build. The challenge of woodworking starts with choosing the right lumber. If the wood is not right, even the best tools and craftsmanship can't guarantee a quality product. "Once we started selling the mini-Ligno, a ton of immediate positive feedback came in about the tool's efficacy, simplicity and durability. I feel very comfortable selling these and telling people it is a good product. It is accurate, keeps its calibration and is comfortable to use. Some people have even told me they never had to change the batteries in five years. In short, it is the ideal tool for hobby, small shop and professional woodworkers." Once Grete realized what a good product it was, she went even further. "In 1985, we bought the rights to the mini-Ligno from the German company who made it," Grete explained, "and started assembling them here in Oregon using German-made parts. We're still a small, family-owned business, with everything assembled, sold and supported from one facility in Portland, Oregon. However, we sell all over. In fact, we now sell the mini-Ligno back to the German Lignomat company, who list it on their web site and sells it in Europe. "We also offer more intricate meters in addition to the mini-Ligno, with more calibrations and a wide range of optional equipment for monitoring the lumber inside kilns and the kilns themselves. We sell both pin type, in which two tiny pins are stuck into the wood to read the moisture content, and pinless meters that do not make holes in the wood. There's even a model called the Versa-Tec which works as either a pinless or pin type.  "While pinless meters do not make holes in the wood, they are substantially more expensive and are generally a bit less accurate than pin type. That's because pin meters read water content directly by measuring electrical resistance, which varies depending on the moisture in the wood. Pinless meters measure electrical capacity, and it changes with the specific gravity of the wood. Granted, more moisture means a higher specific gravity, but it can also mean the wood is denser in that spot. Hence, with a pinless meter you can get a higher reading than the amount of moisture would warrant.
"For most hobby woodworkers, the mini-Ligno E/D model is the best entry-level moisture meter. It covers a wide range of moisture content, (from 6 to 45 percent) has a digital readout, is comfortable, extremely easy to use, and retails for just over a hundred dollars. There are two sets of pins provided for two different depth readings. The deeper ones, which store inside the case, are for thicker lumber to get a more accurate core reading. This particular model has been sold for two years, and we've never gotten one returned. "For professionals, I usually suggest the DX/C, which has settings for a larger variety of species, including many exotic woods. You can also plug in a slide hammer electrode that allows even deeper readings. Another option is to hook up any of a wide variety of in-kiln probes of different sizes and lengths to get accurate readings while wood is being dried. "The range in calibration settings is one of the things that differentiates various models. For instance, the E/D has two calibration setting options. The model K has more than 120 settings. A card comes with each model listing the various wood species and tells you which calibration to read each one on. "Perhaps the biggest challenge as far as research goes is keeping track of new woods that show up on the market for which we don't yet have a calibration. As part of our customer service, we encourage our customers to send us a sample of whatever wood they are using and we will test it, for free, and tell them what setting to use. I do it by reading the wood on a meter with 20 different calibrations. I take at least nine readings, weigh the wood, dry it until it contains zero moisture, weigh it again, and calculate the moisture loss. That tells me what the meter should have read, and consequently which setting on the meter was the appropriate one. Of course, you can do that yourself, but we are happy to do it for you. If we do it, we add the wood permanently to our list of woods, as we did not long ago when Lyptus® came on the market.
"Personally," insists Grete, "I think every woodworker should have a moisture meter. You should always check your lumber before you use it, especially if you buy from places like box stores. Those stores may buy lumber that is kiln dried, but storage on-site can send it off the ideal range. A lot can happen, even if it was initially dried, before you get it. That is why people need a moisture meter, and for the money, we feel ours is the best one on the market." Powermatic PM 1200 AFS: Take a Deep Breath – of Clean AirFor Barry Schwaiger, the Director of the Powermatic Division of the WMH Tool Group, the issue of sawdust is all about health, and he's concerned that not all of us go far enough in dealing with the problem.
I asked him to explain why, since I am sure to some this seems like overkill. "There are particles that make it through the filter media of most dust collectors," Barry pointed out. "A bag type dust collector can leak particles as large as 30 microns. Canister type dust collectors, which use a pleated filter inside a cylinder, grab down to two microns. That's better, but not good enough. Sadly, the particles that are most dangerous to our lungs are the ones we can't see, typically between five microns and 0.3 microns, and these are precisely the ones that can slip past even a canister filter. "Particles from four to five microns are usually filtered out either by a canister filter or, if they get past that, by our body's own filtration systems, like nose hairs. Those smaller than that, all the way down to 0.3 micron, pose the biggest health risk. They can get past our natural defenses and get past our typical shop filters as well. Clearly, we need another line of defense.
"The best way to do that is with an air filtration system (AFS). Although this is usually the last thing a woodworker adds to his dust collection arsenal, in my opinion, it should probably be the second, right after tool-mounted dust collectors. An AFS can filter the air and rid it of harmful airborne products vastly faster than your lungs can do the job working through the small surface area of a dust mask.
"First and foremost," Barry told me, "the PM 1200 AFS was designed with convenience in mind. A radio frequency remote, which does not require a line of sight sensor to work, turns on the unit from anywhere in the room or even outside the room. The remote itself has a liquid crystal display (LCD) showing things like fan speed, timer settings, battery levels: pretty much everything you need to know. A built-in panel on the box itself sports all the same controls, allowing you to also operate the unit without the remote, in the event you misplace it.
"Inside are three separate filter banks, all covered by a pair of protective end caps reminiscent of stylish pickup truck grills. The caps and the filters behind them come off and go back on quickly with no tools required. There's even a 'change filter' reminder light that comes on after 200 hours of use. The outer filter is a standard size 12 by 24 HVAC filter available at any home store, making it easy and inexpensive to change filters when needed. If you prefer, you can clean the filter many times before you need to replace it. I clean mine by sliding the filter into a garbage bag and tapping it to release the dust into the bag. "Behind the first filter is a high efficiency inner bag filter with a huge surface area that traps 85 percent of 1 micron particles on each pass of air. It slides out as easily as the first filter, and can also be cleaned numerous times. Drawing the air through both these filters is a squirrel cage fan designed to work with the high efficiency induction motor to generate the greatest amount of airflow possible. In order to avoid stirring up more dust by dumping high speed air back into the shop, the exhaust air passes through a mesh screen filter that acts as a diffuser to gently reintroduce the clean air.
"When it comes to your health," Barry insists, "you shouldn't take chances. You need a system that performs well and is convenient enough to make you likely to use it. The Powermatic PM1200 AFS was created to do just that." Editor's Note: In the March/April 2008 issue of the print Woodworker's Journal, currently on newsstands, you'll find an article by Sandor Nagyszalanczy on the correct installation and placement of air filtration systems and other forms of dust collection. Vintage Hardware: Past Perfect ParaphernaliaImagine you've spent umpteen hours restoring a piece of vintage furniture or building a perfect reproduction right down to the period appropriate finish, and are now standing before a wall of woefully inappropriate modern hardware choices at the local big box store. Frustrating? You bet, but you don't have to settle for the wrong fittings, not as long as Vintage Hardware has your back.
"I just wish everyone could come to the shop and kick the tires," Kelly says somewhat ruefully. "Of course, if you can make it to Port Townsend, Washington, by all means come and visit. I'm certain you will walk away amazed." -- Click on Any of the Images Above to View Larger Versions. -- Warp Be Gone: The Straight Dope for Twisted Wood"The original idea for Warp Be Gone," explained Gustav Wynde, the product's inventor, "came to me while I was using Pentacryl. That's the stuff that you put on green wood to prevent it from cracking as it dries. It works far better than the PEG I used to use, and that made me realize there was potential for another great product. After all, if you can prevent wood from cracking while it dries, why can't you prevent drying wood from warping, twisting or cupping? Better yet, why can't you flatten already warped wood?
"While they had already developed ways to speed up tree growth, which in turn increased wood yield per acre, my job was different. I was part of a team trying to develop chemicals to make trees grow straighter, since that, too, increased the usable wood per tree. Warp Be Gone was an outgrowth of what I learned during that research. Unfortunately, after only four years with Weyerhaeuser, I was laid off during a market fluctuation. "I had long done woodworking as a hobby, so to make up for lost income, I bought a Woodmizer. With it, I'd go on-site to people's property and turn downed trees into usable lumber. Naturally, I did the same for myself, seeing it as a cheap way to get decent quantities of wood. When you cut wood for others, the job is over as soon as the wood is stacked, so you never know how things worked out. However, while drying my own wood, I was distressed to discover how much wood I lost to warping, cupping and bowing. "I set up a small lab in my basement and went to work. Within two years, I had come up with my first product, DryRight. By soaking green boards in it, you were assured of having them dry straight and true. The problem was that most people don't get wood green. In fact, most people go out of their way to buy kiln dried wood. I realized there was a larger audience for a product that straightened already warped boards. I started reading up on the chemistry of hair care products used to straighten curly hair, and before long, developed Warp Be Gone. "As with DryRight, you pretty much have to soak the board with it, but that is not as difficult as it sounds. I usually take several boards, soak them well on all sides and ends, then wrap the bundle tightly in plastic sheeting to keep them wet. Sheeting is very inexpensive and comes in rolls of 10-foot wide plastic, quadruple folded to fit on a manageable roll, in 100- and 200-foot lengths. Once I have the bundle wrapped, I tape the seams and ends with duck tape. "For one-inch lumber, it takes about five to seven days of soaking, which leaves the wood somewhat pliable. Thicker boards take longer. I have a chart on my web site that shows the soaking time needed for various thicknesses and species of wood. After a week, remove the wood, sticker and stack it with a modest amount of weight on top and a flat surface beneath. That way it will stay straight as it dries. The residual liquid evaporates fairly quickly depending on heat, humidity and ventilation. "The material itself is waterbased and not particularly harmful, though I do suggest wearing gloves and making sure you don't get it in your eyes or mouth. It's also a good idea to wash your hands thoroughly after handling it. Initially, I figured the market for this would be large wood processors and sellers like home centers, and perhaps some large furniture manufacturers, but I've found that many of my customers are small shop and hobby woodworkers just like myself. "The important thing for me was saving wood. Not only is it environmentally correct to avoid wasting any resource, but it also helps your bottom line to be able to use all the wood you buy. Many customers, though, have told me what really mattered to them was being able to save and eventually use a particularly beautiful piece of lumber that would otherwise have ended up as firewood.
Jack McDaniel: He's Out to 'Eliminate' Turning ProblemsTurning is fun, which is why so many woodworkers turn. Even professional woodworkers who don't need the lathe for their regular work admit it's the tool they turn to for pleasure. Still, there are a few gremlins. For those turning bowls, they include catches, tearouts, chattering and the interruption of having to constantly stop and resharpen.
"After my stint in the Air Force," Jack recounted to me, "I worked in construction for more than two decades, from 1958 to 1979. As luck would have it, I bought a farm in Moses Lake, Washington on May 16, 1980, just two days before Mount St. Helens blew its top and covered the entire farm with four inches of ash. The next year, my wife and I started showing dogs and training field dogs. We formed the Academy of Canine Behavior that embodies our approach to dog training: that dogs are like two-year-old children. "Along about 1997, I started turning wood, my first venture into hobby woodworking. Initially, I decided I wanted to make a cane, so I bought a lathe and some tools. I had no idea how to turn, so I took lessons from a local woodturner. I was immediately hooked on turning, and soon joined the Seattle chapter of the AAW, of which I am currently president. Before long, I started turning bowls. "Much of my work is making trophies, which I donate to various dog clubs. I never really intended to sell my turning work, but started JewelWood Studio about five years ago so I could buy supplies from companies that only sell to businesses. A little more than two years ago, I bought a CNC milling machine with an eye to using it for making trophies. Eventually, I added a CNC lathe. "Several people I know had been experimenting with scraper type hollowing tools. The problem is they tend to catch, tear wood and need sharpening frequently. I was looking for a better tool, one that would shear rather than tear wood, and realized that if you held a cutter at just the right angle, it cut beautifully. I took a carbide cup cutter from my metal lathe and mounted it on the end of a round bar, but quickly found that if the angle shifted to the wrong orientation, disaster could result. Working inside a hollow vessel, you had no idea what was happening since you could not see the cutter engaging the wood. There was no way to tell at what angle the cutter sat.
"The bar on which the cutter is mounted is mild steel, which tends to absorb vibration better than harder steels. The smallest bar is a half-inch diameter with a quarter-inch diameter cutting bit. There's also a three-quarter bar with a three-eighths cutter, and a one-inch with a half-inch cutter. The two smaller ones are 12 inches long, and the largest one is 16 inches long. I sell them with a tenon on the end that fits into the readily available handles on the market. That also makes them easier to break down for travel.
"At first I started selling them to my fellow guild members. The company is only a year and a half old, and I have sold over 500 of them. Recently, two wood turning specialty companies, Packard Woodworks and Crafts Supply, picked them up, as did a single woodworking specialty store. Because of those arrangements, I do not sell direct from my web site.
"I do a demonstration with the largest cutter in which I mount a bowl blank on a mini lathe, set the rest out 13 inches away, and with one hand, make a perfect cut. The point I am making is that you can easily cut 13 inches into a large bowl with no worries. "However, the coolest aspect of this tool is that I can take a person who has never touched a lathe, put the tool in their hands without worrying about them hurting themselves, and watch as they make a perfect cut the first time out. It's almost foolproof used the way it was designed. "Try it," Jack summed up with assurance. "You'll like it." Wenzloff & Sons: Custom Hand Saws for the Discerning Neanderthal
I found myself wondering not only what goes into making such fine quality tools by hand, but also why in this modern age these stalwart folks would choose such an unusual, almost anachronistic, endeavor. To learn more, I called and chatted with Mike himself, and asked him to tell me the story from the very beginning.
"In 1988, I accidentally rolled a skidder down a hillside, which left me both injured and deeply in dept. We sold everything to get out of debt and moved back to Oregon, where I got my GED and went on to college. To pay for all that, I started a graphics design business doing technical illustration and writing.
"Throughout my life, my equivalent of a paper route was sharpening saws. It is something I have always done, along with making furniture, a craft I had learned from my grandfather, a Washington State prison guard, and my great-uncle, who was a logger. In 2005, I started building custom furniture full-time along with two of my now-adult sons. A health issue cropped up almost immediately which forced me to lay off my sons and shut down the shop. "That same year, I was approached by a customer who had seen some of the saws I had made for myself, and he asked me to build a set of 20 saws for him. I made them, and continued to take in sharpening. By tax time, I realized I made more money making and sharpening saws than making furniture. Besides, I love making saws, so I kept the name Wenzloff and Sons and simply switched to making handmade saws. "Just before Christmas of 2005, I announced to the online community that I was going to make my living making saws, and would go live on January first, 2006. Within a month, I was swamped with orders. I brought my sons back into the business, but even with all three of us, we soon had more than a 30-week waiting period. My nephew joined us recently, so there are now four of us. The three of us made and shipped about 30 saws per week; with the newest employee we should soon be able to do 50. Nevertheless, our current backlog is well over 3,000 saws."
"Most of our handles are replicas of traditional shapes and sizes. Such handle sizes and shapes had been perfected from the mid-1700s on up until 1928. As machinery came in, some very comfortable handles, which were very difficult to make on shapers and routers, went away. The handle on our number nine saw is a good example. Complex curves went out, and single radius curves came in. "We find that there is a broad range of people who will fit the average saw handle. However, we will make any saw with any handle. Most of our handles are done in bubinga and beech, but we also do rosewood, jatoba, imbuya, mesquite, African blackwood, ebony, figured walnut, figured maple, pink ivorywood or nearly any other wood that will make a decent handle. "Hobby woodworkers make up some 80 percent of our business. They have more discretionary income, less brand loyalty and a greater appreciation of both quality and aesthetics. These same people prefer to be involved in the process of making their tools, which is why we, as a custom saw maker, appeal to them. Ironically, we use eight different vintage hand saws in the production of the saws we make. "We also sharpen saws differently depending on whether you are cutting mostly softwoods as opposed to hardwoods. Softwood saws get a more aggressive rake. I always ask what woods my customers typically use. Oak and ash, the ring-porous woods, for example, are some of the worst case woods, and require a more relaxed rake than normal when sharpening."
For some, though, there are some very good reasons to buy these handcrafted gems. "Great saws appeal at a level different than mere functionality," Mike points out. "If you want to have a hand in custom filing, custom wood and handle shape, and end up with a saw that works well and comfortably, you probably want a custom saw. The bottom line, though, is that the skill of the person using the saw is a lot more important than the saw." Gorilla Glue: The Gorilla Grows with New Glues
From there it grew, soon becoming a household name among woodworkers. Now, in a move sure to position Gorilla Glue as an even more significant force in the adhesives industry, the company is expanding beyond polyurethanes. They are adding three more glues sure to delight the woodworking world as much as did the original. To understand not only what changes are afoot but also how they arrived where they are today, I asked Pete Ragland, the president of Gorilla Glue, to give me a bit of history on the company before pulling back the veil on their new products.
"At that time, Mark was selling almost exclusively to woodworkers. We saw a larger audience. Instead of restricting ourselves to only woodworking specialty stores, we focussed on mom and pop hardware stores and lumberyards. We sent a sample of glue to every store we could find, over 20,000 in all. That worked very well. People started using the glue, realized its uniqueness, and felt it was something they could talk about to their customers. "We also started putting it in smaller bottles in addition to the pints and quarts that Mark had been selling. Eventually, our fame spread, and we moved into the big box stores as well. These days we sell to contractors, carpenters and all manner of do-it-yourself types through box stores, mass merchants and craft stores, as well as hardware stores, lumberyards and woodworking specialty stores.
Once I had a good grasp of their history, I asked Pete to tell me a bit more about both the original Gorilla Glue and the company's newer entries into the field of sticking one thing to another. "Gorilla Glue is a single-component polyurethane that is 100 percent waterproof and bonds to all porous surfaces very well," Pete explained. "Outside of some plastics, it bonds to pretty much everything, including stone, ceramic, granite, glass, wood and metal. "The glue expands three to four times as it cures, which means it will bond even loose fits pretty well. Consequently, it makes a great repair adhesive, but it does foam as it cures. That means it must be well clamped or the foaming will push a seam or joint apart. Glue foam is not particularly strong, so Gorilla Glue is not considered a gap-filling adhesive. In other words, it will work well on a slip joint that is not all that snug, but not necessarily on a very sloppy one. If you over apply the glue, you will get glue foaming out of the joint. Once it is cured, there is no solvent to break it down, so squeeze-out must be physically removed.
"About a year ago, we decided to expand into other adhesives, but only if we could develop a superior product to what was already out there. We introduced a faster curing version of Gorilla Glue that dries in 20 minutes as opposed to an hour and dries white instead of brown. It comes in both regular bottles and in a glue pen for precision application. "We also tested dozens of cyanoacrylate adhesives and found there was little difference between them, so we went back to our roots in the industrial realm. What we found was rubber-toughened adhesive that is less brittle and has more impact resistance. Because it tolerates shocks better, repairs with Gorilla Super Glue will last longer and not break on impact the way some other cyanoacrylate adhesives will.
"We had assumed that all our competitors were putting wood fibers in their products, but found that was not the case. We saw an opportunity. Instead of using dyes to make the glue yellow, we add only wood fibers, which both adds strength and gives it a more natural wood color. As a consequence, our glue dries to a natural-looking glue line.
"Of course, it won't end there. We will continue to look at different adhesive categories, and if we can come out with a single formula that we feel is better than everyone else's, we will enter that category. We're trying to create products that have a specific purpose, but still allow for simple decision making. "I hope people try these new products," Pete said earnestly. "I think they will find that they will do exactly what we say they will do. They are good products. We don't cut corners. We sell a premium product and won't offer our customers anything less." The Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding: Hope Floats
"One of the things I always wanted to do was build boats," Pete confessed when I asked about his connection with the school. "My father was a doctor whose hobby was woodworking, and most of my life I was a hobby woodworker. There's always a shop on a Navy base, so I always had access to tools and wood where I could make furniture and toys.
"As for its history, the school was started in 1981 by Libby Palmer and Henry Yeaton. Those two approached Bob Prothero, a master boat builder from Seattle who'd been building boats for some half a century. By 1970, wooden boatbuilding of large boats as a commercial industry was just about dead. Libby and Henry wanted to preserve wooden boatbuilding and felt others wanted to as well. They convinced Prothero, with their help, to start the school in 1981.
"Gradually, the student body changed, and the school started hiring teachers and expanding classes. There are currently five full-time instructors and about 40 to 45 students, both men and women, ranging in age from 18 to 72. Each class has a primary instructor ,and two classes also have an assistant instructor. The school is fully accredited, and offers six-, nine- and 12-month diploma courses. "Courses at the school teach how to build both traditional and contemporary styles ranging from eight-foot to 50-foot boats. Tuition is about $4,000 for a three-month semester. A full-time student will spend $16,000 per year. There are several scholarships offered, funded by the local Rotary Club, a yacht club, and even the school itself. If someone really wants to come here, the school will find a way to make that happen.
"Students are taught to use a full range of hand tools and power tools when they first arrive. In some cases, we start with people who've never worked wood or handled tools, and they end up with the ability to work in the field. These days, about one third are still young people hoping to do this as a profession, a third are looking for a career change, and a third are retired people interested in boat building more as a hobby than a profession. I am in that last third, and I see myself working in historical restoration and building small boats on the side. "While many students go on to boat building, some go into high-end residential and commercial woodworking. The reason is that there is a perception that boat building embodies the most difficult aspects of woodworking, in part because it involves so much solid, watertight curved joinery.
"Once the students complete a boat, it is sold. In fact, most are sold before they are built. While a few are on spec, the majority are commissioned. A 14-foot cedar skiff, which is a type of rowboat, goes for about $3,200 dollars, including oars. At the high end, a 23-foot open powerboat with a 90-horsepower engine, designed as a fishing boat, will go for $40,000. A 36-foot motorized sailboat that was recently launched went for over $100,000.
"There are also courses on things like building kayaks and other styles of boats, rigging, sail making, oar making and even blacksmithing." In fact, the school is currently making sails for Washington's own two tall ships, the Lady Washington and the Hawaiian Chieftain, both of which are scheduled to participate in Tacoma's Tall Ships event in July of this year. School implies tests, and being able to pass them. In this school, that process is about as unambiguous as it can be. "The boats students make have to float, not leak, and look good, pretty much in that order," Pete explained. " The final exam is putting the boat in the water, and there's no way to cheat on that test." Eureka Woodworks: A Woodworking Business on a Silver Platter
It all started because Harry Wilk tried to buy into just such an opportunity, only to realize he could do it much better. Of course, Harry had a lot of background on which to rely. "My grandfather started Wilk Hardware and Tool company in the early 1900s," he recounted, "and my father took it over. Both my father and grandfather were avid woodworkers, so I did woodworking as far back as I can remember, even as a child. After getting a business degree in college, I went to work in the transportation parts industry and stayed there until 1983, when I started my own import parts business. In 1991, I sold the company and went into insurance and financial planning.
"I built and sold outdoor furniture for two years and had a blast doing it, in part because it was great for the ego. People were constantly coming up to me saying how wonderful, comfortable and well designed the furniture was. I also made a lot of money at it; although I did it only as a part-time endeavor, I made an average of 5,000 dollars a month net profit. "It turns out that I was one of the first of very few people to buy his program. Shortly thereafter, he decided he really didn't enjoy the business of setting up others in business, and sold the whole endeavor to me in 2003. His was a basic program with an operation manual, assembly jigs, cutting jigs, templates, limited sales tools, a lumber source and a hardware source. There was no customer support or serious training. It had the basics, but was missing a lot of key elements to make it an easy path to success.
"My son joined me in the business, and we immediately saw ways to improve almost everything about it. We set out to do just that, upgrading the manual and providing all the sales and marketing tools someone would need to get the business off the ground. We also contracted with a much better lumber source and a better hardware source. "With the aid of a fellow who was making my templates and jigs, we came up with a whole new design that eventually became known as our FactoryTrac™ jig and fixture system. This new system is easier to use, faster, more efficient and, most importantly, is complete. With our jig system, you can make an Adirondack chair, start to finish, in under two hours. I've done it in as little as 45 minutes, including cutting, sanding and assembly.
"We also increased the product line. What started with Adirondack chairs now includes over 40 different pieces of high quality, handcrafted outdoor furniture including gliders, rockers, tables, swings and even children's furniture. Along the way we've grown to seven employees in a state-of-the-art facility with CNC machinery to make accurate fixtures. There's also a complete training center in Dallas in which we can take a neophyte and have him or her building successfully in just two days, one of which is spent actually building the furniture. As part of our sales and marketing research, we continue to make and sell our own furniture, checking everything in the program to make sure it is working perfectly.
"To avoid waste, we design our furniture to use limited lumber sizes, and we supply all of it cut to two widths and three lengths. Every piece of lumber is visually inspected and comes to our producing partners defect-free. All of it is kiln-dried, furniture grade, tight knot Western red cedar. It comes one inch thick, not three quarter, which makes a big difference both in the strength and appearance of the furniture. You can continue to buy wood and hardware from us, and most people do because it is less expensive and of a higher quality, but you don't have to. We can even sell you any major tools you need, thanks to a recent agreement with JET and Powermatic. No matter what, we continue support to all of our producer partners."
"One of the things we hear most often is, 'I know I can build it, but how do I sell it?' To that end," Harry explained, "we include advertising materials, advice on where and how to sell, a point of sale web site to enable you to sell online and even four-color brochure blanks that let you embed your own information using a regular computer printer. We teach you how to sell retail, wholesale and even how to sell kits. In short, we have taken the guesswork out of starting a business. Everything you need, from training and marketing information to wood and fixtures, is all there. "Of course, we also suggest selling price points for the furniture you make, which we feel are so good that if you show the furniture, it sells itself. However, to help create even more demand, we are setting up a national sales web site called EurekaChairs.com that will be among the top spots in online search engines. Through the web site, someone from any part of the country can order Eureka furniture online, and the order goes to the closest producer to where the order originated. Another new option will be the ability to sell Adirondack furniture adorned with full-color college, fraternity and sorority logos, thanks to a marketing agreement we are working on. That can be a real boon for builders near college campuses." From all indications, they've got an idea with widespread appeal. "Our partners hail from all walks of life," Harry pointed out proudly. "About 20 percent of our producers are women, and close to 50 percent are husband and wife teams. We see it as a perfect family business. One pair of brothers in South Carolina signed up to do a show even before they got their initial delivery. Based on a couple of samples they took with them, they accepted 7,000 dollars in orders, then had to go back and figure out how to build them. They now have a very successful business."
The bottom line is that Eureka is offering woodworkers a turnkey business that itself offers a healthy bottom line. Perhaps even better is that it is one of those rare business that can seem like more fun than work. I think Harry summed it up nicely when he told me, "If you'd like to turn your hobby or passion into a moneymaking business, and have fun while you are doing it, this is definitely the way to go." TOOLClad: Math, Measuring, Marring and Magnets
"The initial idea was mine," Randy told me, "and it was developed as much out of personal need as any other reason. I originally studied to become an airplane mechanic, but I stayed in school while working, and graduated with an engineering degree. With that, I went to work as a mechanical engineer. In 1998, I got married and bought a new house. Since I had always been a hands-on sort of person, I decided to do all the improvements myself. I built a fireplace mantel and some built-in cabinets, and that was enough introduction to woodworking to let me know that I needed to learn more of it. I went to a woodworking school and learned to build furniture. By that time, woodworking had become entrenched as a serious hobby. "My largest purchase was a Unisaw. I'm a bike rider, and used to hang my bike from the rafters above my table saw. One day, I came out to find that my water bottle had leaked onto my table saw. My shop's pride and joy now sported a huge rust spot. I put the bike in the basement and set to work to remove the rust, but it did not end there. Since I often used my saw as a workbench, it often became graced with scratches, glue, and more rust. I realized I was not the only one in this position, and came up with a solution: a magnetic cover.
"I chose flexible magnetic vinyl because it adheres easily, comes off easily and can be quickly rolled up into a tube for storage. The biggest challenge was finding it in large enough sheets. Once the piece was in place, I started thinking how nice it would be to have all the reference information I needed printed right there on my work surface. As luck would have it, printing on the surface was quite feasible, and I decided to put on the things I, or another woodworker, might want. That would make it not only protective, but incredibly handy. "Printed directly on the TOOLClad table saw cover is: • a decimal equivalent chart • a wood hardness chart • a volumetric and linear unit conversion chart • a pilot hole chart for identifying the right size bit to drill for screws • a multiplication table • horizontal and vertical rulers • a protractor for setting angles • a chart of angles needed for three- through 12-sided boxes • a dovetail gauge • common formulas for calculating board feet, geometric perimeters and areas, and the formula for the Golden Rectangle
"As far as I know, there is nothing else like this on the market. I think it is a must for anyone who has a table saw, but those of us with small shops who use our table saws for multiple purposes absolutely shouldn't be without TOOLClad. We don't sell direct, but if you got to the web site, there is a list of dealers near you." For Randy, this is both a solution to his problem and a new business venture. For me, it's an excuse to continue using my table saw as a bench, but without feeling so guilty about it. Stockroom Supply's V Drum Sander: A Unique Drum that's Anything but Humdrum
Paul Moore, its creator, is an inveterate problem solver with a long history of tool design. By combining that with some advice from a former shop teacher, Paul was able to devise an under-the-table drum sander that works entirely differently than any you've seen before. The result is a tool that drops its own dust out of the way, does not clog or burn sandpaper or wood, and puts almost no pressure on the wood it sands. "I was brought up in a farming community in Ontario, Canada, where my dad was the local mechanic," Paul recounted by way of explanation. "As a kid, I worked with him, learning to fix everything and anything. We welded, machined and cobbled all sorts of tooling. In time, I became an ironworker, welder and fitter. I managed a hardware store in a small community in the early 1980s, and later got hired as the tool manager of a large hardware store.  "By 1985, I was directly importing tools from China for Stamford Hardware, at the time the largest tool dealer in Ontario. I'm an efficiency freak, so I was always redesigning tools in my head and sharing that information with the company. Then in 1987, Black and Decker hired me as an advisor for their new tool line. That let me deal with ergonomics and how people use tools. "My wife and I decided to start our own company in 1997 selling sandpaper, sanding belts and disks, buffing compounds and other abrasive media. We called the company Stockroom Supply, an allusion to the fact that most large companies have stockrooms workers can call for needed supplies. That same year, we introduced the sanding mop by changing an existing metalworking tool to one that used abrasives more appropriate to woodworking. Although we came up with the name, we don't currently own it. Instead, we allowed it to become the generic term for profile sanders made of multiple fingers of flexible sanding cloth on a mandrel.
"What was needed for the first problem was a sander that sanded from the bottom up instead of the top down. That way you did not sand through your own sawdust, and gravity made the swarf fall below the sanding area. The other problem was solved by remembering advice from a shop teacher who would routinely tell me to stop pushing and let the sandpaper cut. For that, we created a sander that exerted no excessive pressure on the paper. We did that by leaving the drum below the table and having only the sandpaper itself protrude above it. With those two characteristics in place, the V Drum Sander was born.
"While other sanders rely on pressure applied by the drum or roller to the wood, ours relies on consistent grit size across the surface. In a sense, the drum has nothing to do with the sanding process. It's actually sandpaper floating in air relative to the outside of the drum. The hook and loop mechanism is what lets this happen. "Since the hook and loop is the same for each paper, and each moves the same amount from the drum, the difference in sanding is controlled by the difference in the size of the abrasive. For example, 220-grit will cut two thousandths of an inch, because that is the size of the grit. Eighty-grit will cut fifteen thousandths per pass.
"We originally called it the Velcro® Drum sander, because we use Velcro brand hook and loop fastener material on the drum. In spite of the fact that we still use their product, the company objected to the name, so we changed it to V Drum. We chose materials for the drum itself that would minimize static charge, which is what causes sawdust to cling. That allows sanding swarf to drop down below the table and off the drum, even without dust collection. However, we suggest you use dust collection anyway. "Initially, we introduced it as a six-inch upright sander that fitted to your drill press, but customers wanted a larger drum, so we laid it down and made it 18 inches long. Soon customers starting asking for larger drums, and we added a 24-inch and a 30-inch model. "Figuring that woodworkers could make their own cases out of wood, we sold them only the drum, bearings and link belt needed to create the tool, along with instructions on how to do it. That meant you could use a motor that you have, since it requires only a quarter horsepower motor, and you'd save both shipping and assembly by doing it yourself. That appealed to woodworkers tremendously, and it allowed us to offer the tool for only $180. The price has since risen to $225, but I still discount them at woodworking shows for $180.
"All of our products are manufactured right here in Canada, and to keep prices down, we sell only direct from our web site or at woodworking shows. In my opinion, the people who are really up to speed in their woodworking circles are the ones who take the time to go to woodworking shows and see firsthand what is new. I think that's the best thing you can do." Paul even had some good advice to offer about how to deal with both show dealers and tool evaluation. "Don't just stand there and watch someone use the tool," he suggests. "Ask if you can try it. "Make sure you evaluate the new products on the market and don't just stick with the old standards. Because of new technologies, some of the newer ways of doing things are so much more efficient, and it would be a shame for you to miss out on them." Delta/Porter- Cable: Still Innovating After All These Years
Omnijig® First up, on the Porter Cable side, is a newly designed dovetail jig that stands out from the myriad of other such jigs on the market. “This is the dovetail jig that does it all,” Chuck said proudly, “with adjustable finger templates for custom positioning and the capability of doing both dovetails and box joints in full size or miniature. On top of that, our jig is much easier to use than others, thanks to “set and forget” positioning stops. The positioning stops minimize the need for test cuts and offer repeatability across changing applications. That saves a ton of time. The stops come pre-set from the factory, but you can adjust them if you choose. There's also a router bit depth gauge to simplify the task of setting the bit depth.” Nailers and Staplers
Low-Profile ROS
Those are just the tools that have already been released; there's even more to come. “In the second half of the year,” Chuck promised, “Porter Cable will be launching a new line of lithium ion cordless tools." Drum Sander
Two New Dust Collectors
“Inside, a curved blade impellor produces maximum air velocity; in this case 650 cfm. That’s pretty impressive for a one horse motor. The whole collector has a smaller than normal footprint, and sits on four sturdy casters. That lets it move around easily instead of handling like a laundry cart. In spite of its small stature, the enclosed steel base is surprisingly stable.” Planer
Once again, it seems, Delta and Porter-Cable are going out of their way to prove that just because you are venerable does not mean you have to be stodgy. Baker Hardwoods: Slab Happy
“There are some really huge walnut trees that are dying in California,” Jim explained, “and we are making usable slabs from them. We locate large trees that are dying or are being removed with the proper permits, and then cut, mill and dry the slabs. They are rare; we sometimes get fewer than one per year, but when they do come along, they are spectacular. When we find one, we go mill it on site. It’s like a party.”
“The reason I went to Japan was to train for the 1964 Olympics in judo. I didn’t make the team, but I met my wife there. I got a master's degree in Asian studies while in Japan, then came home and went back to school to get teaching credentials. I took a job teaching at the university level in 1966. In addition, I started a judo club in Silicone Valley, which I ran until last year.
“We’d collect small logs for woodworking, so I eventually picked up a small chainsaw mill to deal with them. Then, in 1989, I met the man who claimed to have invented the Alaskan Chainsaw Mill, and learned how to process California walnut from him. He sold me a larger sawmill, and I started sawing wood and stacking it up. We eventually bought even larger mills that could handle wood up to 66 inches wide. Gradually, I started selling a bit of it, and before I knew it I had a side business in processing and selling walnut. In 1996, I retired from the teaching job, and my hobby business became a real business.
“Claro walnut lives up to 250 years, but once the tree starts to decline, it is often taken down. We don’t cut the trees down ourselves, but we will go on site to mill those that are too big to move. In one case, a retirement home was being enlarged and the tree had to go; in another, a huge tree came down in a storm and had to be removed. I just have to be patient until we get a call for a tree, and that can be months. It is not as if you can go into the forest and simply choose it.
“There’s not too much competition in this field, since most people won’t wait four years for big slabs to dry. Cutting it is easy; it’s the drying that’s the problem. Fortunately, this is not really a serious business for me; I do it because I enjoy it, selling mostly via word of mouth and through the Internet.”
That sounds like a delightful wood smorgasbord for hungry woodworkers, and one well worth visiting frequently. Mortise Pal: A Friend Indeed
“Woodworking had always intrigued me and had a romantic appeal, so I took it up as a hobby in 2001. My grandfather was a hobby woodworker, and my father had been a shop teacher in the school system, but oddly, I never got into it as a kid. Perhaps, though, it was in my genes.
“Oddly, it was inspired by an old-style doweling jig along with other fixtures that paired plunge routers and bushings. As a result, when I started to expand the jig’s capability, I adapted it to also work as a doweling jig. Once loose tenon joinery got a big boost with the introduction of the Domino®, which came while I was midway through development, it confirmed to me that there was a market for loose tenon joinery as well. My jig is perfect for that as well. In fact, I have seen it called the 'poor man’s Domino. The fact that loose tenon stock is now widely available was a real boon. All I had to do was offer cutters that fit both the standard tenon sizes and standard American router shaft sizes. As luck would have it, Whiteside was already doing that.
“At present, Mortise Pal, which first went on sale in December 2007, is only sold through my website. I handle all day-to-day operations personally, and have outside machine shops here in California manufacturing certain parts for me. However, I am currently in the process of moving all manufacturing in-house so that I can continue to ensure the quality of the parts.”
I can’t think of a more important characteristic for those of us who, like me, read instructions only as a last resort. For that alone we’d lift our glasses in thanks, but the fact that such simplicity comes paired with high quality and versatility leaves us even more grateful. Excuse me. I think I want to go cut some mortises. Epilog Laser: 'Light' Woodworking
Mike, along with his two partners, Steve Garnier and John Doran, owns Epilog Laser, a company taking firm aim at the woodworking market. Although large shops and specialized manufacturers have been using lasers to cut wood for some time, Epilog is working to put that technology within our grasp.
“While the Zing is a great entry-level laser, our most popular laser is our Helix model. It has a 24- by 18-inch work area, a 45-watt laser, and costs about $19,000. The laser tubes themselves change technology as they go into higher wattage. That change occurs at about the 50-watt level, where they get significantly more expensive, so a 45-watt gives you the biggest bang for the buck. Our second most popular is the Helix with 75 watts, because on your second machine, you always buy as much power as you can afford.”
“Today, Epilog has some 70 employees,” Mike told me, “as well as independent distributors throughout the world in about 50 countries. Situated in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Golden, Colorado, we occupy a 35,000 square foot facility designed specifically for what we do. All our lasers are made right here in the U.S.
“The laser beam is invisible, so watching it cut is fascinating. You can see where it contacts the material, but not the beam itself. Because the beam can both burn you and damage your eyes, we always keep it in an enclosed cabinet for safety reasons.
“Virtually any Windows-based program will translate into either raster or vector, so you not limited in either text or drawing programs. Epilog works with Corel, Illustrator, PageMaker, AutoCAD, Word, Excel, and any other Windows-based program. You set up your artwork and print. All of our machines hook up with a standard USB or ethernet connection directly to your computer. You can do your work on your laptop, take it out to the shop, and plug into the Epilog. It is really that easy.”
The good news for us is that, according to Mike, Epilog plans to expand in both directions. “We want to grow our CO2 line with larger and more powerful machines on one end, and less expensive ones on the other.” You know, I think I could make room in my shop for a laser before Father’s Day rolls around. Perhaps it’s time to start dropping hints. Varathane: EZ, Foam Home!
Work Sharp Wide Blade Attachment: When Size Does Matter“We’re passionate about making sharpening easier and better,” Kyle Crawford, Product Manager for Work Sharp told me, “and we listen to our customers.”
“When we launched Work Sharp at the end of 2007,” Kyle recounted, “we immediately started listening to customer feedback. It was overwhelmingly positive. Nevertheless, we still asked our customers the question ‘If you could improve it one way, what would it do?’ “The most common answer was ‘make coffee.’ Next, in a more serious vein, was that it have the ability to sharpen wider blades with the same accuracy and ease that Work Sharp brings to chisels and small plane irons. I got together with our engineering team, and at the beginning of this month, we released the Work Sharp Wide Blade Attachment. “We knew the design intent was to handle blades larger than the current two-inch capacity of the Work Sharp. Although you could use the top tool-rest for wide blades on the original machine, consumers wanted a more precision solution. We began with a flat surface, but knew there was also an opportunity for developing an innovative honing guide to work with it. When we looked at the guides already on the market, we concluded that side clamping offered more consistent results than top clamping types. They offer more consistent edges by preventing the blade from skewing during sharpening. “However, you also need a registered surface to hold the blade flat. We started with two rods that form registration points to hold the blade flat, but we did not stop there. In order to effectively hold wide but short blades, such as those from spokeshaves, we added flats on the sides of the clamping mechanism. The flats are flush with the top of the rods, allowing you to clamp even blades that are too small to span the inch and a quarter gap of the rods, yet still protrude enough to reach the spinning disk. Those ridges also help stabilize larger blades.
“After giving one user an early prototype, he mentioned that he did not want to have to make 72 turns on a threaded rod for clamping the blade. To make clamping faster, we incorporated a quick release lever for the threaded rod. It works similar to the quick release lever on most clamps and bench vises. All you have to do is set the blade on the two rods, press the release, and squeeze. It’s that quick. “The ‘L’ shaped blade alignment fixture lets you quickly establish the blade in the holder using two different scales, amber and white. Simply set the pin with its arrow facing away from the blade into the hole corresponding to the desired bevel angle. Push the blade forward until it touches the bottom of the rectangular headed pin. That sets the blade for the primary bevel angle. Once you are done sharpening, should you desire a microbevel, simply turn the pin around with the arrow facing toward the blade, reset the blade, and hone again. This creates a one degree microbevel on a 25 degree angle. “People also mentioned that it would be helpful to have a bevel angle reader so you could figure out the angle on an existing blade. We added that to the side of the alignment fixture so it would always be close at hand. Two key slots on the fixture allow you to mount it to your bench or sharpening area. As an added bonus, the fixture itself forms a try square so you can check your blade squareness during and after sharpening. It puts everything you need for perfect sharpening right at hand in one tool.” Sounds great, but at what cost? “Our suggested list price is $85, but the street price is often as low $70 at places like Rockler and Amazon.com.”
“Several woodworkers at shows have told me they keep their ratcheting wrenches clinging to their band saws with magnets. That keeps the tool handy for adjusting the blade guides under the table, where there is little room to swing even a hex key. Sets of nine keys are available in both standard and metric versions for $17 list price, but are selling for $10 through some venues. You’ll find them at Sears, Amazon.com and other hardware stores.” What’s next for this gaggle of creative toolmakers? I have no idea, but judging by how much these folks have impressed me with their other tools, I can’t wait to find out. Personally, I’m hoping they will create an attachment to sharpen kitchen and hunting knives that’s as good and versatile as what they’ve created for woodworking tools. For now, though, I’m content that all my planes, chisels, spoke shaves and shop tools are mirror-sharp. Thanks, guys! Dispozablade®: You Can Never Go Hone Again
The story of the company is actually the story of two companies, one here and one in Germany. The U.S. portion begins about two decades ago with Aaron Robinson, a sawmill owner who also did millwork and flooring in New York. At the Hanover show in Germany, he stumbled across Esta-Snied, a company that made a replacement knife system for jointers and planers. It piqued his interest, so he went back to the booth the next day and struck up a deal to import the product to the U.S. and set up a distributorship. With that, Dispozablade® was born, though the official company name is Esta-USA, which explains the website URL (www.estausa.com).
“I was born and raised in the country in the rural part of New York state,” Dave Dean recounted to me. “My father was a custom home builder, and we built cabinets at home in the evening. After high school I studied architecture at the University of Miami, but wound up in the home building industry. I used to buy lumber from Aaron, and one day at his place, I saw the Dispozablade® and was amazed by it. Because he was busy with other things, he really wasn’t marketing it well. I decided that something this good deserved wider exposure, because the sad truth is that 90 percent of the machines in this country are run on dull knives, because changing the blades is such a nightmare.
“Over the past 15 years, we’ve tried to make the system more user-friendly. First came Posi-Set®, about eight years ago. It’s a set of rare earth magnets that take the place of jackscrews or springs as the setting agent. We simply take the measurement from the bottom of the pocket of your knife head slot to the cutting edge of a properly installed knife. From that, we subtract the size of an assembled Dispozablade® system, and make up the difference with Posi-Set® magnets, which can range from twenty thousandths of an inch to half an inch think. Once they are in place, they act as both a referenced bottom and a holder for the knife and holder. All you need do is pop in the knife holder set and tighten the gib screws.
“Most cutterheads are perfectly round because they are turned on a lathe. Since the outside circumference is a constant, Self-Set® takes advantage of that with a knife holder with integral stops built right into the back of the holder. The stops automatically set the blade holder exactly where it needs to be relative to the circumference of the head. Thus, there is no measuring needed, and in most cases, it eliminates the need even for the Posi-Set® magnets. To replace the blade, you remove the blade and holder, flip the blade over to the second sharp side, and pop the holder back into place.
“We are the only manufacturer who makes a system that will retrofit into any conventional machine,” Dean insisted. “All the others require that you buy a specialized cutterhead, and that can get very expensive. With us, it’s substantially cheaper. Anyone who owns a jointer or planer in any size from six inches to 30 inches, and wants easy, accurate installation and sharp knives at their beck and call, should have this system. Our customers range from hobby shops to industrial manufacturers. “We still sell both systems, and there is a reason. Those machines that take an especially heavy knife, usually older industrial machines, work better with the Posi-Set® system. Most popular hobby and small woodworking machines work best with Self-Set®. “We have dealers throughout North America, but we also sell direct from our website. To make like easier for both us and our customers, the Posi-Set® and Self-Set® versions are the same price. For instance, a setup for a three-knife, six-inch jointer will cost about $223 initially, and a set of replacement double-edge knives, when you need them, will run about 25 dollars. Obviously, that’s a whole lot cheaper than the 600 or 800 dollars that replacement heads would set you back. On top of that, changing a head itself is a huge, difficult, time-eating chore. “To us, customer service is first and foremost. If our customers have any problems or issues, we work diligently to solve them. The other thing is that we maintain an inventory so that pretty much any order received before 2 p.m. will be shipped the same day. As a result, over 95 percent of our orders are shipped the same day they are received. Naturally, we also maintain an 800 number (800 557-8092) so you can reach us quickly and easily if you do need to speak to someone in person.” “My advice, though, is to do your research before you buy. If you do, I think you will find that we will give you the most affordable quick-change knife system available.” GI Woodshop: For Want of a Nail…
“As luck would have it, I happen to live in Dallas, just two miles from the headquarters of the base exchange. I went to them to find out if they were providing tools and materials in either an online catalog or at the forward area bases. The mini shops they did have focused on things like shaving cream, toothpaste, candy and socks, but not tools.
“For instance, one popular item is the BRO (Big Red One) Buddy Racks to hang IOTV gear on when not wearing them. (IOTV = Improved Ordnance Tactical Vest). By the time you take your vest, helmet and weaponry off, you’ve removed 80 pounds of equipment. Throw it on the floor and it collects dirt, scratches and scorpions, and they would never completely dry out from the sweat by the next day when they had to put them back on. Clothes hangers would not support the weight, so a sergeant in my brother’s camp came up with a simple design for a rack to hold the gear. It was wonderful, and the guys loved them. The idea spread like wildfire.
“I print out wish lists that I got emailed to me by GIs overseas through the website, and I try to fill the wish lists with the things I buy with the money and cards. Naturally, there are more requests than donations, so often I will send fasteners and hand tools, but sadly, can’t send as many power tools as are requested. I buy in bulk and come up with creative ways to get as much as possible to as many troops as possible, but I do have to set some priorities. I try to deal with the most critical things first.
exceed the size limits for shipping. In many cases, I’ve had to take things apart and ship them in separate packages for the troops to reassemble. “At present, I do it all myself, though it has been a bit overwhelming. I took a sabbatical from my job, and that has allowed me to devote a lot of time to this project. I am a member of DAV (Disabled American Veterans), and once they saw what I was doing, they stepped forward to help with money, packing, shipping and even fundraising. It’s great, but we need a lot more help.”
“Being a woodworker myself, I just love woodworkers. I think they are the greatest people in the world, but in order for troops to do something as simple as hanging a picture of their loved ones on the wall, they first have to find a nail, then appropriate a hammer, or use their boot to nail it. Our packages mean a lot to these guys.” Vintage Delta Parts: Buddy, Can You Spare a Part?
“On Badger Pond I had a reputation for machine rebuilding, and had as much interest in that as in actual woodworking. Perhaps because of that, I was contacted in 2002 by someone from Delta looking for someone who might be interested in acquiring obsolete parts. Since I was unemployed at the time, I decided to go into the obsolete parts business.
“When Delta was sold to Black and Decker in 2004, they went to a third party service parts supplier. You could no longer call Delta and get them to either send or make the part for you. The third party group did not want to stock as many parts. They wanted to send me 10 tractor trailer loads in 2005. I found some warehouse space and took them. All told, there have been 13 loads so far. I have some very old items, but the bulk of the parts I stock are from the 1980s and newer. I even have some parts, albeit very few, from machines currently in production.
“Oddly enough, I now sell back to Delta. If someone calls them looking for a part that they don’t stock anymore, and it is one of those that Delta knows that I carry, they buy it back from me at wholesale prices and then sell it to their customer. In essence, they are using me as a warehouse so they can continue to supply parts without actually having to maintain the space and personnel needed to do that on-site. As a result, Delta is by far my largest customer.
“I do have a phone number, but far and away the best way to contact me is through my email address, john@weberwoodworking.com. Frankly, if you need to talk to someone about finding a part, it's better to go through Delta. They are better at turning a description into a part number. If you are not sure what you need, definitely call Delta. The order will still come back to me, but they will act as interpreter to get you from a general description to a specific part number.
“Personally, I feel there’s a lot to be said for buying and keeping old tools. I, for instance, have the lathe I took middle school woodshop on. It’s solid, runs great, and is a beautiful machine.”
“Granted, there is sentimentality involved in owning old tools,” John admitted, “but there’s a lot to be said for reusing, rebuilding and restoring old metal. The old tools were built well, built heavily and built to last.” Now, thanks to him, they can be rebuilt when needed as well. WoodLINKS USA: Generating woodworkers for the industry
“As a result, not only are good people not being steered toward vocational education; they are actively steered away from it. It’s documented that as you remove vocational education from a school system, graduation rates plummet. Meanwhile, only 15 percent of our nation’s students graduate from a four-year college, while the wood industry is screaming for skilled workers.
WoodLINKS came along a bit too late to help Mark, but he managed to channel his education, and frustration, into helping them. “I got a degree in industrial technology with teacher certification” he recounted, “and became an Industrial Arts teacher. I taught for 13 years, but it was a constant battle. I saw cases where high school counselors actually told students, in so many words, that woodworking was not a worthwhile endeavor to pursue.
“At least once a year, I would attend an industry trade show. In 1999, the year WoodLINKS first came down to the U.S. from Canada, I met Jerry Finch staffing their booth at the show. WoodLINKS seemed to share my vision, so I told them I wanted to get involved. They invited me to go to [the International Woodworking Fair] in the summer of 2000, where I was first exposed to just how high-tech the wood industry had become. It also validated what I always believed: that the wood industry is a good career choice.
“Their site license agreement ensures the teacher gets up-to-date training to familiarize students about the current conditions, processes and careers in the wood industry. When you come on board, they offer the school a $120,000 donation package in the form of software, hardware, materials and teaching tools. That’s a pretty hefty immediate return on a five grand investment.
“For their part, WoodLINKS requires proof of students getting placed in jobs, internships and post secondary education. The teacher is also encouraged to put out a newsletter that goes to students, industry partners, and to WoodLINKS. What we are encouraging is a dynamic shift in how industry and education work together. At present, it seems that industry and education simply do not understand or communicate with one another.
“Of course, no teacher knows everything. Any woodworker, professional or hobby level, knows things that the local IA teacher does not. To make use of that, local hobby and professional woodworkers will often come in and teach various techniques to our students. WoodLINKS encourages that by helping the teachers develop this local support network, helping them find the right people, and showing them how to make those contacts. Many hobby woodworkers, like your readers, contact us to see how they can help once they find out about us.” Want to get involved? You can log on to the website, find a teacher in your area and offer to teach what you know, or you can email Mark at woodlinksusa@netcare-il.com. Uneeda Enterprizes Inc.: Rough Products for Smooth Results
Vermont Natural Coatings: Say Cheese for a New 'Whey' to Finish
Traditional Woodworker: Timber!
Painter’s Pyramid: Sometimes a Great Notion
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"Is there any way to dye solid wood all the way through?" 
"Because it is colored throughout," she continued "it has the look and characteristics of fancier hardwood but is both cheaper and more consistent. It also offers the ability to mix wood colors together that otherwise would be problematic due to wood movement differentials. Because they all have the same property but look different, you can make more stable pieces that look like unstable exotic combinations." 
Back in 1797, just 20 years after America declared its independence from Britain, John Chapman started planting orchards of apple trees on tracts of land he owned throughout Ohio and Indiana. This earned him the sobriquet "Johnny Appleseed."
Perhaps best of all, they welcome anyone else who shares their vision to invest and become a partner in this unusual and earth-friendly venture. Obviously, there is more to this story than meets the eye, so I spoke with Steve to learn a bit of history and get a peek into the future. 
"There is a risk, of course," Steve was quick to point out. "Your trees could die while the ones nearby owned by someone else thrive. In 1996, for example, a hurricane came through, and we lost about 40,000 trees, all owned by tree owners. However, rather than let them take the hit, we replaced them with our own trees of about the same age. That way, no investor lost any trees. It's not in our contract, but if truth be known, we would do the same thing again as long as we can afford it. 
"We moved to a 10,000 square foot shop in San Jose, Costa Rica, hired some people, and started selling processed finished wood surfaces and furniture at high prices to upscale markets. We still sell strictly to designers and architects. In time, the facility has grown to 40,000 square feet, and the current demand outstrips what we can produce. 
As slick as it is, the Router Emergency Kit is only one of close to a thousand items sold by 
"I went back to my experience in the mail order tool distribution field and fashioned Infinity into a company that designs, engineers and distributes premium cutting tools for woodworkers. That includes router bits, shaper cutters, saw blades, and woodworking accessories, like pattern door templates, sleds, and other gear that revolves around the router, shaper and table saw. We have a catalog and only sell direct, either by phone or through our web site. Selling direct and avoiding secondary distribution sites allows us to price our cutters competitively."
"Our Dadonator has won multiple awards from several magazines," Dave announced proudly. "The outside blades are nickel-coated, which prevents moisture from entering the metal plate, thus preventing rust and pitting and extending the life of the blade. Nickel also adds lubricity similar to the Teflon® some companies apply to their blades. Inside are six-tooth chippers rather than the more common two- or four-tooth ones. The chipper is more solid with a larger plate and more mass to reduce vibration, which translates into smoother, clean-bottom cuts. The outer blades have 24 alternate bevel teeth with a 20-degree grind, a higher angle which results in less chip-out and smoother cuts in difficult woods, such as veneered surfaces. The result is a very clean, square, flat bottom cut on all types of wood and plywood." 
David's pride in both his products and his background are understandable. "I know of no other web distributor that has the sort of experience in the field that we do," he insists. "That experience allows us to design superior cutting products. Our customer is the quality-conscious hobby or pro woodworker. We don't target those looking for throwaway bits. We use the best carbide, high quality resilient steel that will not break or crack, and the best shear and cutting angles devised to ensure clean, burn-free cutting. Simply put, our tools yield a cleaner finish and have a longer life. 
A few weeks ago, a reader asked what was the most efficient, fastest and easiest way to cut mortises and tenons on a production scale. That would have been a tough question a year or two ago, but as of April second of this year, there's a simple answer: the 
"All the pricing is the same," Bob explained, "so many of my customers come to me because of the service that I offer. I try to be honest with people, and make every attempt to make sure people buy the right tool for their needs. After the sale, I make certain that I give them support. On forums, I have tried to be more of a resource person than a sales person." 
"The way it works is that a rotating and oscillating cutter plunges into the wood to cut a consistently uniform mortise. After both sides are cut, a pre-formed domino-shaped floating tenon is glued in. The tenon is solid beech 
"The machine itself is 
Not surprisingly, this sort of quality and innovation does not come cheaply. A package consisting of the machine, cutter assortment and dominos will set you back almost a thousand dollars. Clearly, this is a tool aimed at professionals and serious hobby woodworkers. 
The entry-level ShopBot is a tabletop tool that theoretically could replace every tool in your shop. It cuts, carves and shapes, can do just about every wood cutting task from the mundane to the frighteningly accurate and specialized, and will never cut a finger off. 
CNC, which stands for computer numerically controlled, simply means that a computer tells the cutter exactly where to go and what to cut. The level of precision is beyond what most of us can routinely accomplish or even need, and once it has its program in place, it works quickly, efficiently and tirelessly. While CNC machines are not new to the field, something affordable is a serious departure from the norm. For that, we can thank an academic who wanted to make a boat. 
"I built my first router-based CNC machine out of plywood. It consisted of a table with a gantry, or moving beam, along which a router can ride. That allows you to cut in two dimensions. By adding another, smaller beam you can also let the router move up and down, adding the third dimension. In addition to a plywood frame, I used an assortment of common hardware like patio door wheels, cables, nuts and bolts and stepper motors. A stepper motor is a unique, brushless motor that makes digital positioning moves, which interfaces nicely to computers. The computer can tell it to make a step of any size, and it can do that. That first one cost just a few hundred dollars in motors and electronics, but took several months of my spare time. 
"I thought my customers would be hobby woodworkers and assumed that for a couple thousand bucks everyone would want one. Instead, my first customers were small cabinet shops and sign makers. They knew what a CNC tool was, had wanted one for a decade, but couldn't afford one. They expected to make a buck with it the day after they got it. They all said they would pay a bit more if it were a little faster, a bit more powerful, and already put together, so we did that. We morphed the kit into something that merely needed to be assembled. In fact, we went through four stages of changes, from 'make most of it yourself' to working models that have only four parts to assemble. 
"We still want to grow the low end of the CNC market. There's a big part of me that is interested in getting CNC into the shops and garages of DIY woodworkers. We call our tools PRS or personal robotic systems because we want to orient the tools to be used by people, not large companies. We made something that might not have the speed and power of a huge commercial tool, but is accurate and easy enough to be usable by an ordinary person. That does not mean larger companies don't appreciate them. Companies like Boeing buy them as well. The largest custom cabinet company in the U.S., a company with 2,000 employees, has 12 ShopBots. Nevertheless, I feel robotic tools are wonderful for individuals in their small shops at home, so we continue to work on getting the cost and size down so that they fit into both the shop space and budget of the hobby woodworker.
In what may be the clearest example of the tail wagging the dog, a family-owned manufacturer which set out to create coatings for the door and window market has recently become the darling of an elite segment of wood finishers: guitar makers. 
It started with Tim's father, 74-year-old James A. Bolton Jr. "After graduating from Providence College with a degree in biology," Tim recounted, "he sold insurance, was a road salesman for Coca-Cola, and was a pharmaceutical industry salesman who worked his way up the company. During the height of the first energy crunch in the 1970s, he left abruptly to sell insulation. He'd locate bad insulation jobs by inspecting for heat loss with an infrared scanner. His intent was to sell insulation, but it also had the effect of indicating poor workmanship, which inspired him to go out on his own. 
"People want windows that look like wood but are maintenance-free," Tim pointed out. "As a result, the vinyl manufacturers try to make their windows look like wood, and the wood people try to make theirs act like vinyl. What makes a wood window act like vinyl is the coating. When we started making wood window systems, we noticed that finishing was one of the most expensive parts of the process. A lot of that was due to the setup costs for solvent-based systems and dealing with the resultant VOC regulations. Waterbased seemed to be not only the better way to go, but a cheaper way to go as well. Not happy with the options out there, we started making our own coatings in 1992.
"Initially, we formed a separate company to sell waterbased coatings to the millwork industry, but a few years ago, one of our sales reps introduced our product to the guitar making industry, and before we knew it, we had a niche market. We made some changes that made it more appropriate for luthiers and came up with a coating that is harder, has higher solids and better clarity, an amber tint to make it look more like solvent-based lacquers, and the ability to build multiple coats in a day, all in a brushable material. Of course, you can also spray it. 
Tim is quick to point out, though, that their definition of family extends far beyond mere blood lines. "My father envisioned this as a family company. We're a big family, and a growing one, because we treat our employees like family, too. Our goal is to make safe products in a safe work environment and sell things we are proud of to loyal customers. 
To make amends to our northern neighbors, I'm devoting this issue's Industry Interview to a Canadian finish supplier, but not just any supplier. As owner Jeff Richardson says about his company, "
"Shellac flakes, colored waxes, dyes, grain filler and pigment concentrates were rare as hen's teeth around here, so I decided to make them available to others. I opened Wood Essence in Saskatoon, a city of about 200,000 people in the heart of Saskatchewan, and quickly became the conduit for specialized American and European finishing products into Canada." 
"We started with only three or four products: dyes, shellacs and fillers," Jeff explained, "but soon added waterborne finishes, which I see as the future of finishing. The trend is for customers to switch to waterborne finishes both for their own safety and for environmental reasons. Since then, we've added waxes, pigments, gel stains and even spray equipment, and will continue to add products as our customers request them. We are a niche market and intend to stay that way, so don't expect to ever see us carry the products you find at the local hardware or home store. 
"One exclusive product line is our ColorFX dyes, which is our own brand of liquid dye concentrates. As far as I know, we are the only ones in Canada offering this sort of thing. They are very convenient, easy to use and mix, and will go into a wide variety of materials. There is no need to wait for powdered dyes to dissolve or to pre-mix anything. You can simply add them, a drop at a time, to get exactly the color you need in a wide range of compatible mediums." 
"At the typical home store, people tend to settle for what is available rather than getting exactly what they need. For example, you can't find grain filler or dyes at a home store, but you can at Wood Essence. Here, we offer the specialty items that they could be using, and perhaps most importantly, a lot of good advice on what to use and how to use it. In part, that is because we don't have online ordering, which means we get to talk to most of our customers directly by phone. That allows us to make certain they are getting finishes that suit the task and are compatible with their other products. It also gives us a chance to do a good bit of teaching.
"People often build a complete project and wait until their last day before considering their finishing schedule, and because of that, frequently end up disappointed with their results. I recommend they spend 10 or 15 minutes at the end of every day during the building of the project testing and practicing with whatever finish materials they have chosen. That way, by the end of the project they have worked out all the bugs, know what to expect and know that everything works. 
"For example, we are the exclusive importer for the German tool company Two Cherries, which makes chisels, saws, scrapers and carving tools. We also import Sjoberg benches from Sweden, Anant hand planes from India, Colt drills and Kunz spokeshaves, draw knives and scorps from Germany, Stern boring tools from Austria, handmade varnish brushes from France, and Keller dovetail jigs from right here in the U.S. There's even a line of gardening tools from the 800-year-old Clarington Forge in Lancashire, England, a company founded by Cistercian monks. It is the last forge in England still producing gardening tools.
"Possibly the most unusual line of tools we offer, at least as far as most woodworkers are concerned, is our timber framing collection. It includes one-person timber and log saws, two-person crosscut saws, axes, barking spuds, froes, adzes, draw knives, inshaves and scorps. These tools are common among green woodworkers, but most woodworkers today have never handled them."
"The first line I imported, about 30 years ago, was Two Cherries. I still had the hardware store, but was starting to sell to other stores as well, because it is very difficult to import products for one store. We found that other stores were also interested in being able to get their hands on high quality imports and started selling to them in 1979. The business grew, and somewhere around 1982 we closed the hardware store to concentrate entirely on the import and distribution business. 
That's not to say that there are no Robert Larsen tools. There are. "Perhaps the line most often associated with this company is our own line of Robert Larson turning tools," Robert told me. I asked him to explain their origin. 
"That finish was entirely intentional. When your hands get sweaty from working, oil-finished wood gives you a better grip. These days, the handles are turned in Maine, and the blades are made in England, but the final tool is assembled right here in our own facility."
"Up until very recently, we've been a rather snobbish company," Torben admitted, "selling only European tools. We did so because they were distinctly better. Nevertheless, we always kept an eye on the Taiwanese and Chinese imports and noticed them getting better and better. We watched as both American and European manufacturers bought more and more components and even complete machines from those countries. The difference between price and quality has now narrowed to the point where it makes sense to start importing from there.
"We feel this is the right time to introduce the Laguna Platinum Line. It allows us to sell to people who do not have three thousand dollars in the budget for a table saw. Those customers want very good quality, but at a price they can afford. At present, the Platinum line contains American style cabinet table saws, jointers, planers, horizontal and chisel mortisers, drum sanders, European style panel saws with sliding tables and scoring blades, various sanders, lathes, combination machines and even dust collectors. Soon to come will be band saws that have the distinct features our customers have come to love on their Laguna tools." 
"The people we bought the tools from, though, wanted to do business in the United States. Along with what we needed, we agreed to also bring in a couple of Robland multi-function machines, a type of tool that was common in Europe but at the time, not very common here. The next year, I became a partner in both Canyon Woodworks and the newly named Laguna Tools, and started going to woodworking shows trying to sell machines. Customers had a positive reaction, but that's a long way from getting money out of them. As a result, we continued to make our living as cabinet makers. 
"We hired salespeople, got a warehouse and started advertising in woodworking magazines. At first, we brought in an Italian made band saw and some Belgian and Austrian combination machines, and sold them under the Laguna name. We soon added other manufacturers, always pairing European quality with American preferences. In the beginning of the '90s, I bought out my two partners. One of them remained a cabinetmaker, but the other became a winemaker. Today, Laguna Tools boasts 35 employees handling at least 60 different machines, and many more accessories. 
"It's quite possible, though, that your readership knows us as the company who introduced the European combination machine to North America. They may also see us as the people who took band saws to another level with saws that cut smoother, straighter and with more resaw capacity. That was intentional. We want people to do their ripping on the band saw. It is a lot safer, has no kickback, eats less kerf, creates less dust and uses less power. It is simply not as intimidating." 
"Simply put, Unimat is a kit that contains beds, ways, motors, heads and holders, all of which can be assembled in a number of ways, and all of which can be upgraded to some degree. The ways are made of extruded aluminum and high impact plastic, making them light, strong and versatile. The heart of the system is a special connector which locks the parts together. All of the bases are four-sided extruded tracks joined by the connector which lets you slide, turn or move everything in a wide range of configurations. 
"Next comes the Classic, which you can create from a Basic with an upgrade kit if you prefer. It has six tools: a jigsaw, a wood lathe, a metal lathe with a three-jaw chuck, a drill press, a milling and boring machine, and a sander. The drill and sander can be removed and used as handheld tools as well. Like all metal lathes and mills, it has a cross slide. With various accessories, you can take this machine all the way up to a six-axis mill. Not surprisingly, the Classic is our biggest seller in the U.S., especially among hobby builders. The only limit is that we don't recommend it for steel, mostly because it cuts steel too slowly. However, in addition to wood, it handles nonferrous metals, soft stone and plastics with ease and accuracy.
"Rounding out the line is Styro-Cut 3D, a hot wire tool that cuts Styrofoam and similar synthetic materials. Styro-Cut 3D uses a common steel wire heated to 850 degrees Celsius. The steel wire is economical, has a very long life, and can be formed into any shape, allowing it to cut any profile. A lot of woodworkers use it to prototype in foam what will eventually be wood parts."
Planer jointer combo 
"All that allows us to collapse the saw so it takes up less room, and permits us to use a cabinet saw type trunnion. Unlike a contractor saw, the arbor moves, but the motor does not. The net result is a machine that not only takes up less space, but runs smoother and quieter with far less vibration than a contractor's saw. Fixing the motor allows us to beef it up as well. We added a one and three quarter horsepower motor, the largest we could use that still plugs into a standard 110-volt power outlet. 
"Although it is not yet available on the combination jointer planer," Curry told me, "you can now get a helical head on JET's six-inch and eight-inch jointers, and on the 15- and 20-inch planers. 
"The type of learning that is emphasized here is inspired by the Scandinavian folkehøjskole," explained Scott Pollock, the school's Program Director, "where learning is valued for its own sake. Though students sign up for a project, they walk away with an experience far greater than any product can offer. It is about meeting other people and exploring and sharing stories. Of course, a lot of the classes we offer are eminently practical, but this is not a trade school. Our intention is to enrich lives and build community. 
"Our tradition is teaching Northern crafts: everything from North American Inuit and Ojibwe to Scandinavian and Northern European. In short, anything from the northern hemisphere. We define North House as an educational organization that focuses on that northern tradition. 
"One of the most unusual and interesting woodworking skills we teach is Spån Fågel, pronounced shpahn fahgle, which means 'shaving bird.' Though it is hard to believe, this delicate bird, with its wide fan of many feathers, is all carved from one piece of wood with one knife. The feathers are not separated, but all cut from a single block of green wood and fanned out without ever being detached from the piece of wood. It is believed that this carving technique originally comes from Russia and Finland. Our course is taught by Del Stubbs, a man more famous perhaps for turning. He picked up the skill during his travels throughout various folk schools in Scandinavia. 
We're a lot luckier today. The push stick, an absolute must-have safety item for the table saw, has come a long way. Each new generation of tinkers refines it further, but I think I have finally seen the state-of-the-art. That conviction came after watching a demonstration of the 
"Around 1999, I found myself having to cut and glue a lot of very narrow strips for laminated cutting and chopping boards. For safety, I would only cut them from the offcut side, which means you must move the fence and recalculate for each cut. By the time you get the board down to about four inches, it is too narrow to cut safely with typical push blocks. That was wasting material. Like many woodworkers, I was always seeking jigs and methods to build things easier and quicker, so to solve that problem, I came up with what would eventually become the GRR-Ripper. 
What happens when a business owner with a very fertile imagination and a penchant for woodworking starts tinkering with some dangerously sharp metal parts? Apparently, you get 
"One thing they learned was that not only were the edges they created precise, they were also sharp. In fact, people were always getting cut handling parts. Stainless steel is one of those materials that is notoriously difficult to machine and sharpen, but Grace's patented process allowed them to make extremely sharp edges in it." 
"They started by etching a series of holes into a metal sheet. Richard was quick to try it on all the desks, using it to file away the edges. The first thing they noticed was that their process created edges that slice cleanly rather than tearing the way normal rasp teeth do. The second was that they would cut wood in any direction regardless of grain orientation. It was obviously an idea worth pursuing. 
"About that same time, we came out with rotary shapers in two diameters, meant to replace drum sanders. Fine edges cut the wood as the fine wood shavings are pushed out through the larger holes. The top and bottom sport a fan system to help evacuate the shavings. There's also an available rotary shaper follower kit that turns the drum into a pattern cutting tool. 
"Most recently, Richard came out with stainless steel sanding disks. He was looking for an alternative to sandpaper disks and came up with one that would cut faster and cleaner, and would last longer. Perhaps most importantly, though, is that it creates shavings instead of annoying and dangerous sanding dust. The way he designed them was a bit odd. He was getting his tires rotated one day and looking at the shapes of some fancy slotted rims. That gave him the idea for the patterns on the slotted sanding disks. We started selling them with hook and loop backings in five-inch disks for both five- and eight-hole pads, and they soon became our best-selling product. 
"That's just in woodworking. Microplane has since moved into the kitchen and bathroom as well. Our biggest division, generating over 60 percent of sales, is kitchen tools. Graters for a variety of foods, from nutmeg and hard cheese to lemon zest and chocolate, are essentially modified Microplane tools. 
"Perhaps the strangest use reported to us was one that was to spawn a whole new line. Several people called to tell us they were using our kitchen tools to remove calluses on their feet. As a consequence, we developed tools just for that, and in 2004 we came out with our line of foot care products."
I still remember my first moisture meter. Twenty-five years ago. I bought a mini-Ligno handheld model for about a hundred dollars and immediately ran around sticking the pins into every piece of wood in grabbing distance. This, I concluded, is one of the coolest toys ever, and I could justify it because it actually performed a vital service: telling me when boards were dry enough for me to build with them. 
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Once upon a time, stain was colored liquid. It changed the color of wood just fine, but was messy and tended to drip. Eventually, gel stain appeared on the horizon, offering less drip and a bit more convenience. Now Varathane, one of the most respected names in wood finishing, has gone a step further. Say hello to 
“Until 2001, when it was acquired by Rustoleum, a division of RPM,” Matt explained, “Varathane was part of the Flecto company. At the time, Varathane made only clear finishes. We both improved the clear formulas and added new products, including stains, gel stains, touchup and repair products, and tinted topcoats. We are constantly adding new products that we think will make wood finishing easier, more convenient and more enjoyable. To that end, our latest new product launch is Varathane Foam Stain. 
“What customers tell us they like best is that there is no stirring, there’s less potential to make a mess and no chance to tip the can over. It takes the dread out of staining because it behaves so well; it goes only where you direct it to go with the rag. Even complete novices have an easy time of creating ideal results with Foam Stain. In a field that too many people regard with distaste, this stuff actually makes staining fun. By November, we expect Foam Stain to be available at Home Depot, but you can always locate a retailer on our website. 
I asked Matt if there were any other hot new products to make finishing easier for us long suffering woodworkers. It turns out there are. 
“While it was a great product, there was a minor problem. While the first coat is easy to get uniform, poor brush work on subsequent coats can lead to uneven bands of color. That becomes a bit more tricky on vertical application, since drips and runs become very obvious. In short, it is a great product, but has its challenges. 
While we were on the subject of aerosols, I asked Matt to tell me about another aerosol I had seen advertised on television called Rustoleum Universal. 
“This is the one spray finish that we feel eliminates the need for all others. One can on your shelf replaces primers and top coats of both indoor and outdoor paints. It’s the ultimate in flexibility and makes choosing the right paint as easy as remembering the name Universal. It’s available in a variety of colors in gloss and satin as well as in hammered texture and metallic colors. You might have seen our ads on TV already, and you can find it at all the major hardware stores and at home improvement centers like Home Depot and Lowe's®. ))
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Their name may not be quite as well known as some of their competitors, but many people who have found out about the sandpaper and related abrasives sold by 
“Herman hooked up with the Ekamant product line, a Swedish company that has manufactured products specifically for woodworking since 1927. Uneeda is now the exclusive distributor for Ekamant in North America. Prior to 1967, Ekamant had no presence in the United States, but Herman felt the quality was very good and he felt the woodworking niche was one that was comfortable for him. 
“Our current headquarters are in Spring Valley north of Manhattan in a 60,000 square foot facility with about 100 employees handling thousands of products. In terms of manufacturing, we import master rolls of abrasives and convert them into wide belts, narrow belts, discs, sheets, bushes, mops, sanding sponges and even non-woven abrasive pads. Four warehouses around the country support the distribution network and drop ship to customers directly.” 
I asked Bruce what was different about the sandpaper he sells. “Our paper contains a more consistent abrasive that yields a higher quality finish,” he explained, “and the paper lasts longer as well. Ekamant uses the best quality grit, resins and backings, and their manufacturing technology allows them to be extremely consistent, resulting in very high quality abrasive products. The proof is in the pudding; some of the largest kitchen cabinet and hardwood floor manufacturers are using our products, and it is not because we are less expensive. We sell to some of the biggest names in the industry in cabinets, flooring and furniture. 
“One of our newest products, for instance, is our UAOFR sanding discs, sold under the rubric Ruby Red. Until recently, abrasives were either cloth-backed or paper-backed. Within the past decade or so, people started putting grit onto polyester film backings. The problem with cloth is that because it is woven, it has peaks and valleys. That means the grit is not at as consistent a height. On a smoother surface, like paper or film, the grit tips are more consistent, which gives you a more consistent scratch pattern. When disc sanding, the film gives you the strength of cloth with the superior finish quality of paper. Film is much stronger than paper, and is less likely to tear. In short, it offers the advantages of both, giving you both a more consistent scratch pattern and longer abrasive life. 
“Recently, we opened an online store which will sell to anyone, including individual hobby woodworkers. The store offers discontinued or overstocked products at bargain prices. That’s the only thing we sell online. Everything else is sold through our distribution network. 
I asked Bruce what sets Uneeda apart from other abrasives suppliers. “We sell only one superior quality level of abrasive,” Bruce pointed out, “no matter where you buy it. That’s not necessarily true for the entire industry. Some companies sell different qualities of papers to different buyer markets. 
“If life gives you lemons,” goes the popular expression, “make lemonade.” That sort of resourcefulness seems to be at work for Andrew Meyer. Life gave him whey, a waste byproduct of the cheesemaking process, and believe it or not, he uses it to make waterbased wood finishes at a company called 
“I took environmental studies at University of Vermont, got a job in the department of agriculture, then worked in Washington, DC for Senator Jim Jeffords advising on agricultural policy. While I was there in the late 1990s, the food science department of the University of Vermont came to the senator asking for funding for research into using whey, a byproduct of cheese making, to create waterbased finishes for wood. 
“It’s the whey that contributes so heavily to the durability of our finishes. Lab testing shows that our whey-based finishes have superior durability compared to some of the other waterbased finishes in the field. For the user, our coatings dry within about two hours and have a neutral odor that most users find essentially nonexistent.” 
“In general, the wood coatings industry is shifting toward safer finishing products. The challenge is to create products that actually work as well as their predecessors. The advantage we have is that our finish is performing at such a high level that it is considered a high performance product. Our coatings flow out well, dry quickly and, thanks to a high solids content, may require fewer coats than some other traditional finishes. 
“There are currently about 45 stores in 13 states around the country selling our coatings, and we are actively looking for more dealers. Often you can find us at stores that specialize in ecologically sound products, but more and more we are finding non-chain lumberyards and hardware stores more interested in carrying our greener line of products. In a pinch, you can always order direct from the website. 
Ever get the unbridled urge to buy a throwing axe, and wonder just where one would go for such an item? Turns out there is a company that sells them, along with broad axes, splitting mauls, commanders, froes, scorps, adzes, peaveys, cant hooks, log saws, bark spuds, plumb bobs . . . you get the idea. The company is called, appropriately enough, 
“My first career was as a finish carpenter in Sweden,” explained owner Erik Edstrom. “The trades are not as specialized in Sweden as they are here, so a carpenter was expected to do everything from setting rebar to building cabinets. When there is not enough work doing what you prefer, you have to be prepared to do pretty much anything, and inevitably, you end up outside pouring concrete foundations in the cold. I did not like that, so I went back to school, became a banker and moved to the U.S. to take a banking job here.
“I was made redundant from my banking job about six years ago, and along with my wife, who had been in marketing and advertising, decided to open a store. I did not want to go through the trauma of relying on someone else for my job. I wanted to be in charge of my own destiny, so we took a gamble and plunged all our savings into starting the company. 
“Since I knew the field of woodworking, we decided to stick with that, and set out to find a niche that the larger woodworking specialty store chains did not exploit. We originally chose the name Traditional Woodworker to reflect our desire to carry hand tools, such as planes, rasps and spokeshaves, but the name works nicely for log and green wood tools as well. 
“Take a Forstner bit, for example. A cheap Chinese bit may cost a quarter of what a high quality bit will cost, but after five holes it is dull. In contrast, a good quality German bit may go 20 times as long before it dulls. You end up being able to do better work with better tools as well as working them longer. Ironically, drill bits are one item where we offer an inexpensive alternative for those who need a one- or two-time use tool, but in our catalog, they are the exception rather than the rule. 
“Some of our tools are a bit unusual, even for woodworkers. We carry throwing axes, for instance, because they are made by the company whose regular axe line we carry. Axe throwing is a popular hobby among many of the same people who use axes for work. 
“Typically, we sell to people who have decided to build something the old-fashioned way, often as a matter of principle rather than expediency. For instance, someone who decides to build a log cabin, a storage shed or even furniture will need material handling tools that are very different than what you may have in your shop. A good example is a cant hook or peavey, which is about four and a half feet long with a hickory handle. At the end there’s an iron hook that goes around a log, and you use the handle to roll the log. A hookeroon is also used to move logs; it is an axe handle with a sharp hook on the end. You swing it, jam the sharp point into the end of a log, then use it to drag the log. 
“If you are making log furniture, you might turn to a tenon cutter, which is like a giant pencil sharpener. For those handling firewood, we offer old-fashioned one- and two-man crosscut saws and splitting mauls. If you need to split wood more precisely, or make shingles, a froe is the tool of choice, paired with a wooden mallet. 
“Bark spuds and draw knives are the tools of choice to remove the bark from a log. To square up or shape logs, you’d go to a broad axe and an adze. Once you have shaped the logs and their ends, a commander, which is a huge mallet, is used to coax the logs into position. Typically it weighs about eight and a half pounds. Of course, you could also use it for setting tent pins in the circus.” 
While you may not be in the market for a circus-sized mallet, Traditional Woodworker nevertheless offers a delightful romp through the tools that our forebears knew well. Truth be told, there are a lot of good reasons to renew their acquaintance.
Sometimes great inventions emerge out of little frustrations. That was the case with Michael Bucci, the inventor of a simple, versatile, stackable, colorful and astonishingly helpful little tool called the 
"The base is open so that they can stack, not only for storage, but also as a means of creating a taller pyramid by stacking. That lets you get the piece higher, or even set it on an angle by using taller ones on one side. Taller pyramid stacks are handy even when you are not painting. In fact, they are ideal for gluing a case together. Stand the case on pyramids and you have clearance for the clamps even below the bottom board, and glues won't stick to them either. We offer them in the primary colors and pink because people like choices, and some colors are easier to spot on the shop floor, should you drop one."
"I tried them out and they worked like a charm. They left a tiny but insignificant mark, one I could live with, and they saved me a whole lot of time. I liked it so much I decided to patent it. I thought it would be neat to have my own patent, but at the time had no immediate plans to exploit it.
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