Category Archives: Woodworking Plans

How to Make a Homemade Woodworking Jigs

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Woodworking Jigs: A must have in every woodworkers kit.

A woodworking jig is a must have in every woodworkers kit. To put it simply, it’s the one thing that can save you, as a woodworker, a whole lot of time measuring something over and over when you wish to make duplicates of a design. To simply put it; the jig is basically a sort of template that guides you as you make several copies of the same piece from the same material. The common jig can be bought off the shelves of any woodworking store, but being a person who likes to make things from scratch, you can make your own. The things that you would need include a tape measure, circular saw, power drill, chalk line, clamps, a pencil and some paper. Woodworking Jigs

Woodworking Jigs: Your first step would be to start by measuring.

Woodworking JigsUsing the tape measure, find the distance between the inside of the blade on your circular saw and the outside of the base plate of the saw. By adding an extra two inches to this measurement, cut a plywood board by that measurement in width and 48 inches in length. Plywood is fairly easy to cut using the same circular saw, so you shouldn’t encounter any difficulties. If you find it hard to cut out the exact measurements then have a professional help you or use this as a learning process. When you’ve finish with that board, cut out another piece that is 2 by 48 inches.
Using some wood glue, place the smaller board on the right side of the first board and hold them in place using the screws and the power drill. Be careful to drill only enough to accommodate the positioning and do not ruin the wood. On the plywood, measure and make marks on the parts which need to cut off. You can use the chalk lines to guide you but if you have none a marker or pencil could work too. You now have a new homemade jig. Dust it and wipe it down then place the new jig on the chalk line. Trying to follow the measurements exactly, try to align the two inch edge of the jig so that it is on the right side of the chalk line then secure the jig to the wood that you wish to cut using clamps. Woodworking Jigs
Your next step would be to get down to cutting the plywood with your circular saw. You can remove the clamps to finish of the cutting and then repeat the steps again for as many pieces you need that require a straight edge cut. You can use your jig for as many pieces as you could possibly want. The only flaw in a homemade jig is that it might not last as long as you’d like it too because it may fall apart after you saw on it continuously. It would also wear out faster as compared to store bought ones but this depends on the quality of the material used. Woodworking Jigs
So what are you waiting for? Get to it and make your very own jig to save you a lot of time when working on your next project!

Woodworking Jigs

Learn About Simple Woodturning Projects

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Woodturning ProjectsA woodturning projects is basically the process of making a beautiful piece of wooden craft using the mechanical lathe. It’s a great machine, invented many years ago to help the process of shaping and designing wood. It is commonly used to produce long, thin, shapely pieces such as fancy door knobs, bed post, furniture legs, wooden whistles, pens and so on. If you’ve got the interest in woodturning projects then don’t stop reading yet!

Woodturning Projects - The main element in woodturning projects would be the lathe.

So get one, borrow one or think of something else to get your hands on one so that you can play with it and learn how to use it as effectively as possible. To help you get familiar with woodturning projects, you first need to be familiar with the lathe. So have a professional guide you through the mechanics of it or simply pick up a manual and read it cover to cover. You need to know how it works before anything else. Once you’re good with the lathe, put your skills to the test by starting on a small project such as a slim line pen. To make the pen you’ll use the very basics of woodturning skills. All it involves is modifying a square or rectangular piece of wood into a spindle that will be the pen.

To start on this project, you need to make a hole in the blanks and glue in a pen tube into the pen. Use a power drill to make the hole as it’s the best and easiest way to do it. Wait on the glue for it to dry thoroughly before you place the blanks and spacers onto the mandrel. The spacers are meant to give you enough room to work between the blanks and to guide you to deciding on the diameter of the spindles. Next, mount the mandrel into its position by placing it carefully between the head and tail, right in the middle. Secure it in place and make sure that the mandrel and the blanks are placed in the center of the lathe.

To get the shape of your pen, you would need to use a few lathe tools. A roughing gouge or a spindle gouge would work just fine to remove the straight edges off the blanks, giving you the round shape to the spindle. When you have the shape you desire, use the spindle gouge and shape the piece down to its detail but making it a little bigger than what you want the finished size to be. The wood won’t be perfect so rub it down with sand paper working from the 100 grit to the 1200 grit. When it’s as smooth as you want it to be, apply your desired finish and polish.

Woodturning Projects – Learning Process

The learning process of woodturning projects can be quite a tedious one, but remember that when you work with wood, mistakes can always be corrected because it’s very versatile. So, don’t worry, if you’ve chipped off more than necessary, it simply means that you can alter the shape and make the piece more unique. Once you’ve mastered the pen, move on the bigger and more challenging projects for a great experience of woodturning projects.

Woodturning Projects

Woodworking Magazine

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Woodworking Magazine: look out for the best woodworking magazines

Woodworking MagazineAs bestsellers hit the racks at your favorite newsstands, look out for the best woodworking magazines too. There are quite a few that are highly recommended if you’ve got the interest in woodwork and want to keep updates on the industry.
Woodcraft magazine has 6 issues a year and sells for $3.33 a copy. This magazine is perfect for those who already have got their nose poked in the industry and have got some familiarity of woodworking. This is so because there are many great projects in this magazine but not many of them are meant for the beginners’ level. Woodworking Magazine

If you’re new to all of this then pick up a copy of Fine Woodworking that sells at $4.99 per issue. It has lots of different things for you to work on and there’s something for everybody regardless of your level in the woodworking world. It encourages those who have no experience and inspires those with lots. Woodworking Magazine

Besides the mentioned two, there are a handful of other good ones such as Popular Woodworking, Woodworking, Arts and Crafts Woodworking and so on. Pick up a copy or better yet, subscribe to a title that appeals to you best and indulge in a whole new world of wood with great woodworking magazine.

Miter Saw Stand Plans

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Miter Saw Stand Plans – Build your own miter saw stand

Miter Saw Stand PlansIf you’re a woodworker and want to build your own miter saw stand, start with a plan. If you’re new to jargons such as these then you ought to know that the miter saw is a very useful power tool to any woodworker. It’s a type of saw that is typically used to cut long pieces of wood or boards. It’s best to have because it’s the safest way to cut up your boards and it can also help with spacing problems in small workshops. What’s great about the miter saw stand is that it runs on wheels, making it portable and even more useful when you’re hard at work. It’s easy to make if you know and understand the details and concept of woodworking and the miter saw stand. Miter Saw Stand Plans

This tool has been around for the longest time and has helped many people in the wood industry to safely and effectively speed up their work process. Before you can make your very own one, know that the stand should be strong and durable enough to tolerate intense levels of abuse over time. This is so because as you work around your woodshop, not everything is neat, tidy, organized and powdery. It’s a rough world of wood and tools so everything has to be of good quality. The stand is meant to support both the saw and the lumber you’d work on, so make sure it’s got the strength to do so and doesn’t fall apart in a few weeks. Miter Saw Stand Plans

Miter Saw Stand Plans – Building Process

When you’re starting the building process, the planning stage doesn’t only involve knowledge but details as well. You need to roughly sketch out the design of your miter saw stand plan so that you’ll know what the outcome should look like. It would help if you attached a tear sheet of the picture to your plan as well. In addition to that, know what tools and supplies you’ll need as well. You wouldn’t want to have started your project only to realize you’re short of wood or a certain tool. Miter Saw Stand Plans

To create a typical miter saw stand, you would need the following:

•    4 pieces of  2-inch by 4-inch by 52-inch pine boards
•    4 pieces of 2-inch by 4-inch by 21-inch pine boards
•    4 pieces of  3-inch by 3-inch by 40-inch pine boards
•    1 pieces of 3/4-inch by 25-inch by 52-inch piece of plywood
•    Miter saw with hardware
•    1 piece of 2-inch by 12-inch by 10-inch pine board
•    Screw gun
•    68 wood screws of 3inches
•    Tape measure

If you feel like you’d like to alter the height of the stand, then carefully calculate the additional length and add that to your plans as well. It’s important to include all the details so that you don’t make any mistakes.  While gathering all the equipment to build the stand is vital, it’s also necessary that you take into account your own personal safety. Include a pair of safety goggles to your list of things to have because you need to protect your eyes from all the dust and debris as well. When you’ve got everything, your plan is done and it’s time to start building.

Miter Saw Stand Plans

Basic Guide to Woodworkers Hardware

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Woodworkers HardwareA woodworkers hardware is the essence of his work.

Woodworking is an enjoyable activity that requires patience, dedication and a whole lot of imagination. If you’re the sort of person who likes working with your hands and see yourself working away in a woodshop to the sound of grinders and hammer on nails, then woodworking could  make a great hobby for you if not a fantastic career. There are a few essential tools for every woodworker to have so here is the basic guide to woodworkers hardware.

There is the carving knife which is a cutting tool that has been designed to allow you to pare, cut and smooth wood pieces. You use carving knives to carve out figures, patterns and designs into your final artwork and it usually works best on soft woods such as pine and fir. If you tend to work with hard and sturdy wood, then it would be wiser to do it the old school way and use an ordinary knife or a big chisel and carving tool. A carving knife is a must have in every woodworkers hardware kit.

Besides that, there is also the most basic and essential; hammer. Hammers and chisels usually go hand in hand together and they come in a variety of sizes. You would want to use them both together when you’re trying to get a specific size or dimension from your woodwork. It’s great when creating large wood pieces and sculpted statues because a good chisel can remove big chunks of wood, regardless of its hardness.

Another woodworkers hardware that is vital to his collection would be the sanding wheel and power sanders which is typically used to sand and polish up any wood piece. These tools work the same way as sandpaper but for much bigger wood surfaces. It also is a great help when you need to sand a lot of wood because it uses up less energy and saves you so much time as compared to using sandpaper for everything. If you want to keep your woodwork to a small scale and work on small items, then a sander wouldn’t be too necessary. Once you start growing and work on bigger things then it should be top of your to-buy list.

For the creative artsy woodworkers, invest in a wood-burning pen that is used to burn wood to form patterns and designs. It’s a form of wood art that gives your end pieces an edgy and unique feel to it. A wood burning pen is also one of the tools that can help you put in the little details to furniture pieces, instruments, and make wooden plaques and so on. If you’re making unique pieces, you can even burn in your initials into the piece as a way of marking your creations. Woodworkers Hardware

There are many other essential tools to perfect the woodworking process, so long as there is drive, passion and dedication, it will be more than enough to turn a creative hobby into an amazing career. Since the tools are pretty costly, let the job buy the tools for you by making a good profit and expanding your business along with your woodworkers’ hardware collection.

Woodworkers Hardware