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Edition #250.1

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Edition #250.1

Woodworking Technique

Peacock Oil Finish

The finish on a tool handle needs to be durable, yet easy on the hands. You don't want the finish to be so polished that it's slippery. Here, Logan shares his favorite tool handle finish - Peacock Oil. Don't worry, no peacocks were harmed in the making of it.

Router Workshop

Routing Finger Notches

Cutting finger notches can be done a couple of ways. You can drill it, cut it, or sand it. But here, Phil shows one of his favorite ways - using an easy router table setup to get the perfect finger notch.

Shop Tip

Sanding Drum Secrets

A sanding drum is a deceptively simple shop tool. However, chucked in the drill press, it has the ability to quickly eat through more material than you want and leaves you with a wavy surface. Phil shares his secrets for using the sanding drum.

Edition #250.2

Woodworking Technique

Finish a Chisel Handle

To wrap up the chisel handle, Logan only has a couple of things left to do. The first is to add the final layer of protection: A top layer of a resin-wax blend. Then, the handle gets wrapped up by adding a brass ferrule.

Shop Tip

Chopstick Mixer

A number of years ago, Logan found himself with a bunch of leftover chopsticks. After shoving them into a shop drawer for a number of years, he finally found a use for them. They make the perfect epoxy spreader and finishing stir stick.

Edition #250.3

Woodworking Technique

Bending Jig

At first glance, this jig looks like some kind of board game. You know, the one where you jump pegs and try to end up with a single peg in the middle hole. But in reality, this is a metal bending jig. This jig allows you to bend metal rods and bars into curves by hand. With it, you can make your own hardware items such as shelf brackets, hooks, and handles.

Woodworking Technique

Blunt Edge Chisel Trick

Making clean cuts in dense hardwoods or across end grain can challenge even the sharpest edges. One interesting solution is to skip a knife-like edge and go blunt. Logan Wittmer shows how to create a high-angle cutting edge for fine, polished chisel cuts.

Shop Tip

Flap Sander

Sanding drums are great tools for smoothing curves. But for tight radii and small holes, there isn't a sanding drum that will fit. But you can make a custom flap sander using some regular sandpaper, a dowel, and a hand drill.

Edition #250.4

Project

Candle Lantern: Making the Sides

While you may not use lanterns as our main source of light anymore, after building a few of these beautiful lanterns, you'll probably use them more than you expected (or want a few more for decoration). Phil Huber decided to build a couple for Christmas presents, and he kicks off building one of these by creating the sides.

Edition #250.5

Project

Candle Lantern: Gluing & Assembly

Once Phil has finished shaping the sides, now comes the tricky part - gluing and assembling those long, tapered miters. But, with a little bit of prep work and some patience, the glue-up can go without a hitch. Watch to learn how!

Edition #250.6

Project

Candle Lantern: Brass Handle & Finishing

Wrapping up the candle lantern involves some of the usual suspects: sanding and finishing. But there is one last surprise: making a curved brass handle. Phil Huber knows that you can't do anything about the sanding, but for the finish, you can use a water-based outdoor finish. It provides great color with fast drying times. And with the brass handle, you can easily bend the brass to a pleasing shape.

Edition #250.7

Great Gear

Toolbox Tour

Traditionally, woodworkers or carpenters would keep their tools in a toolbox or tool chest. And building a chest or box can be seen as a right of passage. Join Phil as he gives you an overview on one of the toolboxes that he's built, and the tool box that will be appearing on the next season of The Woodsmith Shop.

Shop Tip

Shop-Made Knob

We don't hide the fact that we love to build jigs and fixtures here at Woodsmith. Finding the right size knob for the project at hand can often be the most difficult part however. Either the knob is the wrong size, or the thread size is off. Here, John shows us a simple technique to make shop-made knobs that you can customize to nearly any size.

Edition #250.8

Great Gear

Unboxing a Band Saw

When it comes to tools, bigger is almost always seen as "better". However, great things can come in small packages. John shows us his most recent addition to his shop - a miniature version of the bandsaw from the Woodsmith Shop set.