Here’s the latest video on the shop wall renovation. Not a whole lot of progress, but I did manage to finish the last of the electrical access panel frames.This last frame was the tricky one, incorporating a door to reach the electrical panel.

I’m not the biggest fan of YouTube, but I will say that it’s ubiquity means that it is where I consume most of my internet video. With the advent of the ChromeCast, watching YouTube on my flat screen has now become the absolute easiest choice to consume video in my living room.

YouTube is also nice because it’s easy to watch in my shop on a mobile device and it’s easy to share via embedded video here on the blog.

This announcement means that it’s even easier to watch +Marc Spagnuolo. Now that the entire Wood Whisperer catalog will be available, I’ll be able to watch even more.Dont forget about the +Modern Woodworkers Association Podcast. We talk woodworking with Guests from around the world of woodworking every other week. Subscribe to the RSS feed or iTunes today.

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The Modern Woodworkers Association on Shop Talk Live

Last week fellow +Modern Woodworkers Association member +Rob Bois and I headed up to Newtown, Connecticut to meet up with the +Fine Woodworking crew and represent the MWA on their podcast, Shop Talk Live.

Publishers, and just all around nice guys who love woodworking.

We had a great time and really appreciate the invitation.

On the podcast we joined +Asa Christiana, +Matthew Kenney & +Ed Pirnik to talk woodworking. The specific topics discussed ranged from the pro & cons of sliding compound miter saws (Im on the Pro side) to the dangers of drinking shellac.

Matt Kenney sits down in their decked out podcasting studio

Yours truly, behind the mic.

Ed Pirnik made this decked out mic stand just to accommodate us.

You can check out the podcast on their site here, you can also download and subscribe to it on iTunes here. And if you do listen using iTunes, please leave a review. +Ed Pirnik will really appreciate it.

Rob & Matt talk shop.

Yes, Rob, jointers do come that big (By the choice, he won a Bad Axe Tenon saw).

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Finally 1 Day Passes to Fine Woodworking Live

Last year I would have saved a lot of money if theyd offered 1-day passes to Fine Woodworking Live. It conflicted with my family vacation, and after paying for the whole weekend I had to go home on Friday night.

Im a die hard woodworking conference fanatic, so I knew what I was getting into when I bought the full pass. Still, I would have appreciated saving the $175.00 by only buying a 1-day pass.
Thankfully theyve just announced that 1-day passes are available for Fine Woodworking Live 2013. If youve been holding out because you cant make for the whole event and dont want to pay for the whole event, nows the time to book. Even if you just come for one day youll have a great time learning and hanging out with your woodworking friends (if your one day is Saturday, youll even see me).

Hopefully thell let idiots into the conference in 2013 too.

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Modern Woodworkers At Fine Woodworking Live 2012

Next week, the inagural Fine Woodworking Live event begins at SUNY New Paltz.

Fine Woodworking Live is the first conference put on by the folks at Fine Woodworking Magazine and FineWoodworking.com. Its a three (3) day day event. To let them describe it:
The first-ever Fine Woodworking Live event, where you can see the pages of Fine Woodworking magazine brought to life before your eyes. Meet the experts behind the magazine that you love, and spend time with fellow woodworkers sharing experience and knowledge.If youre anywhere near the New Paltz, NY, or if you like last minutes airfare rates, be sure to register for the conference before its too late.

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For those of you who are going, please come join us on Thursday night after registration. The Modern Woodworkers Assocation will be hosting a get together at Bacchus Resturant in New Paltz. You can read all about the detail here on the MWA site. If youre going to join us, or you just thinking about joining us, please be sure to fill out the survey on the page so that we can let Bacchus know about how many woodworkers to expect.
As were looking to have as many folk there as possible, please let others know and tell your friends.
Ill see everyone in New Paltz, where nothings shiny, except your future.

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3 Years On Ive Still Not Found The Ultimate Woodshop

It was three years ago today that I published my first post here, at the Penultimate Woodshop. It was a fairly routine first post. I introduced myself and thanked the online woodworking community.
As I reflect on it, Im now more thankful to the online community than ever. Im thankful for the help, instruction and friendship that Ive received from the community. While woodworking is often a solo activity, I know that sharing it with a community of fellow woodworkers enriches the experience beyond measure.
So please keep woodworking, keep participating and keep sharing. Thank you for reading (you can keep doing that too).
Dyami
com

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A Thankful If Meandering Post

As part of his day job at an information officer for Penalla County, Tom Iovino of tomsworkbench.com has been in Brooklyn for the past week and a half helping to manage the logistics of the Citys response to Hurricane Sandy. When they finally changed from 12 to 8 hour shifts, Tom and I met up when he got off work and made a trip to Tools for Working Wood (just to find it closed). We then headed back to Long Island to have some dinner, provide Tom some respite from the City and hang out the Penultimate Woodshop. We finished the night with a jaunt to Tim Hortons for a double double and a cruller before I dropped Tom back off at his hotel.

A closed Tools for Working Wood makes for a sad shop monkey.

This was a fun night, because Ive become friends with Tom since first meeting him at Woodworking in America 2009.

Nights like this (& the ones weve had at Woodworking in America and Fine Woodworking Live) have truly developed my passion for woodworking. Its one thing to sit alone in your shop and build something. Its something entirely different to sit around with fellow woodworkers and discuss the craft you love. Combining them is what has turned woodworking from a hobby to a passion for me.

Meeting and getting to know other woodworkers is what makes
woodworking events special.

As I meet more and more woodworkers, I feel confident saying that this is true for most (if not all). Its not about the wood, its about the community. Meet other woodworkers. Ultimately, thats just as important as the woodworking itself.

This Thanksgiving lets be thankful not just for the big things (like making it through Sandy) and the small things (like a four day weekend), but also for the now routine things (like interacting with other woodworkers online) that werent possible just a few years ago.

A few years ago, whod have imagined a dinner of readers, Fine Woodworking
editors and Lie-Nielsen staff.

Personally, I’m thankful to Chris Adkins for starting the Modern Woodworkers Association. It’s been great to play the supporting role I’ve been able to play and help spread our love of woodworking to others. Hopefully we’re helping to spread the craft and community we’re all so thankful for.

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Build Your Pants Off At Fine Woodworking Live 2013

With the announcement of the FWW Live Build-Off, Fine Woodworking Live 2013 just got a lot more interesting.

When FWWLive 2013 was first announced, the change in format and speaker list showed it would be even better than last year (and last year was great). When +Asa Christiana appeared on our Modern Woodworkers Association podcast to discuss FWWLive 2013, he let the cat out of the bag and mentioned that as an evening activity during the conference there would be a build-off. The details were sketchy, but the idea of conference attendees using limited tools, time and materials to build a project and then judging them against each other sounded like the kind of competition I could get behind.

Last week the formal FWW Live Buildoff announcement was made:

Weve filled in the final blank in the packed schedule with a Friday-night build-off open to all conference attendees. Whether you want to join a team or just hang out and watch the action unfold, you are sure to have a great time as show-goers partner up to design and build a piece of furniture using only 2x4s and screws.

Teams (made up of any attendee who wants to participate) will have about an hour and a half to design and build a piece of furniture. The type of furniture being build will not be announced until the day of the Build-Off (I bet they don’t know yet).

Bosch has stepped up to supply these brave woodworkers with jigsaws, cordless drills, and bits. FWW will supply the wood, screws, and sawhorses to work on. Along with bragging rights for the next calendar year, the top three teams will take home some of those very tools and supplies, plus theyll be featured on FineWoodworking.com.

Unfortunately, I don’t think I’ll be getting to FWW Live 2013 until Saturday morning, but here and now I’m publicly calling out +Christopher Adkins and all other MWA members who’ll be in attendance. I expect us to have a team, to build a kick ass piece, and talk more smack than all the other teams combined.

If you’re going to FWW Live 2013, be sure to build a piece of furniture while you’re there.

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The 5 board bench video is now live on YouTube! Click play on the video box below to check it out!

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Safety Week Be Careful About Your Router

Originally Posted June 12, 2011:A few weeks ago for safety week I wrote about a friend of mine who lost two (2) fingers to his table saw. In that post I emphasized that you must respect your tools.Listen to that advice: Respect Your Tools. By that I mean pay attention; know how they work, where they are & what theyre doing.It is important you do as I say, not as I do. For if you do as I do, then youll be an idiot too.

My Birds Mouth Jig

You see, last Sunday I wasnt paying attention,I wasn’t heeding my router any respect. I was routing some birds mouths for some window trim. Completing each joint took many back & forth passes with the router. As I finished the last pass, I wasnt paying attention. My right arm maintained the fluid back and forth motion as the router came off the jig. I’m not sure what my left hand was doing, but the next thing I can remember is pulling my left hand achoice, realizing that I had just made contact between my palm and the 1” x ¾” pattern bit which was fully extended beneath the router base.

Thankfully a trip to the ER revealed nothing more serious than a laceration about an inch long just below where my index finger connects to the palm. Eight (8) stitches later I got back home and finished the trim piece I was making.

My Trusty Old Porter-Cable 6912 D-Handle.

Why’d I make out so well? Just dumb luck. The router I was using was a trigger activated D-handled 1-1/4 HP Porter-Cable, actually the first power tool I ever owned. Thankfully, though the bit was still spinning when the accident occurred, I had already released the trigger, turning the machine off and leaving no power behind the rotation.

Will you be as luckly? We can only hope so. Better yet, Respect Your Tools. Don’t let your mind wander off and your router wander into your hand in the first place.

Have you been an idiot too? Comment here or use the hash tag #WWSW (WoodWorkers Safety Week) on twitter.
Update: Thankfully, since I first wrote this my hand has healed fine. Nothing more than a small scar. I hope any accident you have ends up just as well.

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Dads Benchtop Bench Part V

With the bench built, all that was left was to screw in the two veneer press screws which held on the front vise jaw.

The completed benchtop bench.

While they fit fine, I unfortunately found that once I tightened them, the handles came off the screw shaft. It seemed that since they were meant to exert pressure between the vise nut and the end of the screw shaft, Shop Fox hadnt bothered to attach the handles with anything more than friction.

Nope. That handle wasnt meant to exert clamping pressure.

While the discovery of this issue after I thought I was done did give me pause, I thought about it for a night and by morning I’d come up with a solution.

The pins and drill bits. I only needed 2. I bought 4 just in case.

Locked and ready to drill.

I headed down to the hardware store and picked up some metal pins. After drilling through the handle and screw shaft with my drill press, the pins were easy to knock in with a hammer.

Locked and ready for action.

Once the handles were pinned on, the vise worked great.

Clamping like a champ.

I’m very happy with the choice the benchtop bench came out, and my Dad appreciated it as a father’s day gift.

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What Would You Like To Know About Fine Woodworking Live

I know Im starting to sound like a broken record here, but if you havent already seen it on the MWA site, twitter or Google+, please check out this posting at the Modern Woodworkers Association. Ill be interviewing Asa Christiana, the Editor of Fine Woodworking about Fine Woodworking Live, and Id love to know what youd like to know about the event.
Click here for the original post.
In order to keep you questions organized, please post them as comments to the original post, not here.

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Fine Woodworking Live

This is going to be a great summer & fall for woodworkers. In addition to the two (2) previously announced WIA events, Fine Woodworking has just announced Fine Woodworking Live.

FWW is billing it as:

Your chance to enjoy the company of other passionate craftspeople as you learn from the experts whose work youve seen in our pages. Live demonstrations and hands-on workshops are at the heart of this limited-attendance event.This three-day conference will give you the opportunity to enjoy a range of sessions created specifically for this event. Friday and Saturday will each start with a general session, followed by three complete small-group sessions on topics by each expert. On Sunday, a range of additional sessions will be offered for specific concentrations on detailed areas of interest.

Its being held in New Paltz, NY on August 2nd through the 5th. New Paltz is in my backyard (at least compared to Cincinnati), so Ill at least be in attendance for the beginning of the conference. Unfortunately, since FWW forgot to check with me before booking, I start my weeks vacation in Lake George on August 4th. That vacation is a 30 year family tradition and Ill not be missing it.
But for you, my friends, keep that first weekend in August open, and hike it up to New Paltz. From what Ive heard this will be a great weekend of woodworking instruction. If we all participate we can also make it a great weekend for woodworking camaraderie.
As we used to say in high school; Nothing is shinny in New Platz, except your future.

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