Woodworker Haiku

Some are from phrases I heard other places and just Haiku-ified; others from personal experience. More about the above character here.

When you are in doubt
There is no doubt to it
Go the safer route.

Sharp teeth eat the meat
Woodworking tools have teeth
I am made of meat.

Blood sweat and teardrops
All are inappropriate
in a fine finish

Stacks of wood I have
Plenty of tools I have too
No confidence though

Still have 10 fingers
But upon them I see clues:
safety should come first

Irregular no,
Custom hand made wood art, yes
Sometimes you need "spin"

My favorite Woodworking magazines

This entry is kind of ironic, as I'm currently reducing the amount of paper I subscribe to (and subsequently have to store!) But, I may go through withdrawal and resubscribe to a few, will have to see. This entry is a (short) list of my favorite woodworking magazines and what they are about. But really the best way to evaluate magazines is to look for yourself at a newsstand & then subscribe at once! Most subscriptions are cheaper than paying retail for 3 or 4 issues.
Fine Woodworking published by Taunton Press is a wealth of information, although not necessarily for the beginning woodworker. My favorite articles are the how-to and reader galleries - inspiring to see how other folk do things. Very often there is an article that will take you step by step through a project. There are some really good online resources on the Fine Woodworking website too. I particularly like this plan with video of each step - unfortunately this is one of many of the website's project links require membership which is an extra cost over and above the magazine subscription cost. At least you can look at many of the pictures for free. I like many of the Taunton Press Woodworking and Homebuilding books. Be aware that some of their books are simply compliations of magazine articles and that some have original text but use pictures previously published in their family of magazines. This is a nice bookcase plan by the same author of the above table, but is a free download. Other free plans are available if you subscribe to their eletter.
Popular Woodworking is a great all-around magazine. Christopher Schwarz is the editor and I really enjoy anything he writes. His blog for the magazine is great, as is his personal blog. Honestly, as I type up this entry I feel like I'm assigning homework, but my other feeling is that I'm passing out keys to treasure chests or golden tickets to chocolate factories! If I was going to pick one magazine for the intermediate level woodworker, Popular Woodworking would be it. It has a good balance of power tool and galoot woodworking articles & the articles are long enough to fully explore whatever topic they are covering. They also have a regular beginners column that makes this the most well rounded of all the issues reviewed here.
American Woodworker is a pretty good magazine - chatty, many short articles, good exploded views of projects so that you can see how it all goes together. Some regular columns that are a lot of fun including one called "Tool Nut" that I like. I also like the profiles they do on various woodworker's work, often with detail on how they achieve some of their results. I would say the audience is beginner to intermediate & it covers most of the different types of woodworking including turning occasionally. Pick up an issue and thumb through it to see if it is for you.
Woodsmith - last but not least. The only magazine that doesn't have ANY advertising. Yep, none - well, the page inside the back cover does do a sneak peek at the next month's projects, but that is it. Pound for pound the most project-dense magazine. It comes 3 hole punched for binder storage, and is printed on a heavy weight non-gloss paper. I think there is a business relationship with Rockler, but that doesn't fuss me. There is also an associated Woodsmith TV show, that is showing on some PBS stations.

Buying an initial set of hobbyist woodworking tools

If you are just starting out making things out of wood, the first thing to do is acquire a good basic tool kit to get you through your first projects. I think people generally start doing woodworking 3 different ways:
1) They were exposed young, either through a family tradition of craftsmanship, school shop program, or an innate desire to make things.
2) They've done a few projects around the house like assembling kit furniture, fence or furniture repair and desire to expand their repertory.
3) Basic need - a desire to make furniture better than they can afford to buy, or satisfy immediate furniture needs as cheaply as possible.
Whichever route we take, most people accumulate tools to accomplish the job at hand. Sure, sometimes people dive right in and purchase a bunch of tools all at once, but most people don't have the means, desire, or even the knowledge to pick out tools that way.
Years ago I wrote an article that was published by The Guild of Oregon Woodworkers about buying second hand tools from garage sales. I do recommend buying your first tools as inexpensively as possible without sacrificing quality (click here to read it) but that isn't the focus of this blog entry.
TIP - join a local woodworker's guild or club to learn from others rather than solely your own mistakes. Some mistakes are bigger than others - most folk start off with hearing, 10 digits on their two hands and 2 eyes; at a minimum you should at least hang on to those - safety first!

Here is my minimum list of equipment for making furniture from surfaced and (mostly) square lumber from a Home Center:
1) Eye protection - safety glasses are a must. Buy extra for any helpers!
2) Hearing protection - in ear or over ear, use whatever form you like every time you turn on a power tool. The important part is to never forget to use, and to use properly. Again, make sure you have protection for your helpers too.
3) Circular Saw - really, almost any will do, what is important is the blade, and how square the blade is to the shoe. For construction almost any blade will do, but you'll want a high quality blade if you are trying to make good looking furniture. I like Freud crosscut blades for their clean cutting action - get one that fits your saw.
4) A fence / sawing guide - for the shoe of the Circular saw to ride against. It can be homemade, or a fancy self-clamping guide. The important thing is that it be perfectly straight as the fence turns your lowly hand-held circular saw into a precision instrument. It has to be long enough to cut the pieces you are making. You may even need two - a short one and a long one depending on your projects.
5) A drill - a reversible, corded, variable speed hand-held drill with a 1/2" chuck, with a set of bradpoint drillbits in the common small sizes. Why 1/2" and not 3/8" ? Because this is one piece of equipment that you won't grow out of, or need to replace if you buy a good one the first time. Cordless and impact drivers may be tools that you add to your arsenal, but you'll be reaching for your larger drill more often than you think. Kreg Pocketscrews or Dowels or Miller dowels, they all rely on a good handheld drill. I also prefer a chuck with a key rather than a hand-tightened keyless chuck. I like a key chuck because I think they hold more securely and I've had keyless chucks bind and be hard to loosen, especially when wearing gloves or with sweaty hands.
6) Squares. You'll want a couple and for a few different reasons. A Speed square, a framing square, and a combination square are good ones to start off with. A good large combination square would be my first purchase in this category.
7) Sanding - at a bare minimum, a selection of sand papers in various grits up to 220 or higher, and a sanding block or two. First upgrade in this category would be a random orbital sander. My personal favorite is the Porter Cable Quicksand - of their current models, the 343K would do nicely.
8) Rules and tape measures. A good straight accurate rule and a quality 12' tape measure are handy for getting sizes right. When it is critical always be sure to use the same measuring device for all tightly fitting joinery because small differences occur between various types of rules.
9) A workbench, or at least a work surface. The Black & Decker Workmates come in a variety of sizes, the larger of which is a small workbench! A undrilled solid exterior door and a couple of sawhorses can be a great initial bench. Using a sawing guide on your bench can mean cutting into the bench itself, one method to protect your work surface is a 4'x8' piece of rigid foam to put under the board being cut, so the protruding blade divots the foam instead of bench or floor.
10) Clamps - good clamps are expensive, but pay for themselves in ease of use. I got my initial bunch of clamps from Harbor Freight (ugh) and still use some of them today... However, if you can afford at least 4 Bessey K-body clamps large enough to build your initial projects, you will save yourself a lot of grief. There are a lot of different clamps and types of clamps out there, but the Bessey K-body is a gold standard. Other clamping types are needed too, like "C" and "F" clamps or other small adjustable clamps for holding things in place. Mostly buy as you need, but always in groups - clamps of a common size from one manufacturer are easier to use together. "You can never have too many clamps"
11) A handsaw - doesn't have to be fancy, but a circular saw does poorly on inside cuts. Use a handsaw to finish what the circular saw starts. A handheld jigsaw would be the first upgrade in this category & would allow for some curves in your work.
12) Hand powered screw drivers in a range of sizes, both Philips and straight bladed - especially important if you are driving brass screws. TIP - cut grooves for brass screws by using a steel screw of the exact same size first, then back it out and hand-drive in the brass screw. This will save a lot of wear and tear on the "swear jar" as you won't break or damage as many brass screws that way. I like drills for putting in most screws, except for exposed / decorative ones.
13) Consumables - pencils, glue (I like Titebond III as a general purpose glue) and screws, sure; but also whatever finish you are going to apply, and the proper applicators and cleanup for that finish.

The above list is by no means exhaustive, but with the above equipment you can build nearly anything. Equipment beyond this will allow you to do so more quickly and attractively / with greater detail. Popular Woodworking has a special "I Can Do That" program that has a similar basic list of tools. Their PDF Manual is an amazing free download.