Woodworking and Art come together for Charity

In a previous post I talked about the awesome woodworking community and how woodworkers go out of their way to help other woodworkers.  Well that desire to help others doesn't stop with just other woodworkers.  One of the more popular YouTube woodworkers is Steve Ramsey from Woodworking for Mere Mortals.  Lately he has been auctioning off his weekly projects to the Make-A-Wish Foundation where 100% of the proceeds go to the charity.  Well this week he did a little something extra and teamed up with another YouTuber, Xiaonan Sun of ThePortraitArt YouTube Channel.  Xiaonan creates these unbelievable works of art via time-lapse video.  So this week Xiaonan created a beautiful picture of a child staring at a candle and Steve built a equally beautiful custom frame for it.  Please check out their videos and please share.  When you share you will be helping great people who are putting out great videos for a great cause.

Click here for Steve's Video

Click here for Xiaonan's Video

Click here the eBay Listing

Edge Jointing without the Jointer

So one of the cool things about woodworking tools is that there is a special tool for almost every activity involved in working with wood.  Unfortunately that also means it can get very expense, very quickly.  So what we have to do is find ways to combine task with tools we already have.  At this point a jointer clearly falls into my "like to have bucket".  But it does serve a important purpose in the shop.  It allows you to create perfect straight edges to your boards for glue ups.  So while the tool is a "like to have" the task it performs is a "must have".  So what's a new woodworker to do?  Here are two VERY simple ways to turn either your router or table saw into a jointer!

Using a router as an edge-jointer by Steve Ramsey from Woodworking for Mere Mortals

and

Simple Jig to turn your table saw into a jointer by Izzy Swan from Think Wood Works

Thanks guys for helping us save a little money....now I can look into that planer. ;-)

2 quick finishing tips

In any woodworking project it simply comes down to 4 steps

1. Design/Plan
2. Cut
3. Assembly
4. Finish

Everyone enjoys or doesn't enjoy as much particular steps.  Personally my least favorite is the finishing portion of the project.  I think it's just cause you put so much work into the first 3 steps that if you don't do the last one well it could ruin all your hard work.  Well here are 2 quick yet effective tips to help anyone close the deal and wrap up that project.


How to apply a fast and easy wood finish by Steve Ramsey over at Woodworking for Mere Mortals

Easy Wood Finish Rustic Style! by Izzy Swan (the Jig Master!....that's my name for him)

Homemade Dust Collection for your Circular Saw

When I think about the workshop I will build this spring Dust Collection is the one thing that keeps me up at night.  Like most of us, our workshops are not as big as we would like.  Mine will be in the garage sharing space with my wife's car and our other garage junk.  So keeping a shared small workplace clean and organized has to be a priority.  I plan on doing a lot of talking, planning and building around dust collection and this simple yet amazing project from Jay Bates just moved to the top of my to do list.

Check the video out over at JaysCustomCreations.com

Adding Dust Collection To A Circular Saw

Easy way to dress up some wood from Woodworking for Mere Mortals!

I really enjoy Steve Ramsey's YouTube Channel Woodworking for Mere Mortals.  He has a great passion, awesome sense of humor and something I think something that gets over looked but he has a true joy of woodworking.  He never over complicates things or takes himself too seriously.  I eagerly wait for his weekly Friday videos cause I learn something new from each and every one of his videos.  To be honest it was his call to action in his video blog Mere Minutes that prompted me to start this blog.

Check out his super quick tip video on how to add a graphic to any wood project 

How to transfer an inkjet photo to wood

And check out his website and channel as he has over 6 years of free woodworking videos and plans out there.

www.woodworkingformeremortals.com

Modified French Cleat idea from Father Thomas at Monkwerks.org

The French Cleat system is an easy and flexible way to hang virtually anything on a wall.  While it has been mostly used in hanging cabinets it can be used to hang shelves, pictures or racks for tool storage.  It's generally a 3 to 4 inch wide (3/4 inch to 1 inch thick) piece of wood or plywood cut at a 45 degree angle.  One piece gets securely mounted to the wall while the other piece of wood gets mounted to whatever it is you need to hang.  Put the two together and you get a very secure connection.  Lately they have been a ton of french cleat tool storage videos on YouTube but as Father Thomas from MonkWerks.org points out there are some issues when using the system for racks/shelf tool storage.  But like any good woodworker he doesn't just point out the issue he provides a great workaround tip.  

Check out his article & video: MonkWerks: French Cleat Clamp Rack

Thanks for the tip Father Thomas!

Congratulations to Steve Carmichael from the Carmichael Workshop!

Steve Carmichael from the Carmichael Workshop attended the Woodworking show in Atlanta this weekend.  He submitted his Wooden Sandwich made from a 2x4 into the "Other" category and won second place!

Steve has one of the best YouTube channels around not only cause he provides great instructions but I like that he uses different tools for different woodworking projects.  He will do projects on the scroll saw, the band saw or the lathe.  One thing I really appreciate is Steve takes us with him as he does his projects so if he makes a mistake (we all do) or has to make a change in the design we see that and observe how he makes the corrections/changes. 

Check out his website -> www.thecarmichaelworkshop.com

2x4 Footlong Wooden Sandwich -> YouTube: Wooden Sandwich

One of the best bandsaw projects I have found ->YouTube: Bandsaw Vase project