Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Bluetooth Earbud Shootout

For years I have relied on ear muffs with speakers (and more recently bluetooth) to protect my hearing while also providing a source of entertainment in the shop. But sometimes, a full set of ear muffs can be uncomfortable whether it’s because of conflicts with eye protection or simply the weight of a device sitting on my melon. So as an alternative option, I thought it was time to dip into the bluetooth earbud/earplug market. There are a few that boast some level of noise reduction but almost any earbud can be modified with aftermarket foam tips that will impart some level of protection. There are a lot of brands and a wide range of prices so I set out to test four brands that were frequently recommended to me. As usual, my testing procedures are about as non-scientific as they can be and because these tests involve things like sound quality and comfort, it’s nearly impossible to be completely objective and unbiased. I can’t stress enough that what follows are my personal observations and nothing more. Depending on your preferences, your level of perception, and how the earbuds fit your ears, you could walk away with a very different opinion. With that said, check out the results below.

ISOTunes PRO – $89.99 – 3rd Place Overall

ISOTunes probably is the most recognized brand in this lineup thanks to their marketing and partnership efforts in the maker space in the last year or two. This was the first set I purchased and my initial disappointment in the sound quality is what kicked off this crazy tangent in the first place. Regardless of how I rate this product, it’s the only one in the lineup that is OSHA compliant. If your job requires OSHA-compliant gear this may be your only reasonably-priced earbud option. The set features a memory wire for wrapping around your ear and seems to be of sturdy construction. Battery life is listed at 10 hours, 2 more than any other set in the lineup. Regarding comfort, I would have no problem wearing these all day.

It comes with three sizes of Comply ear tips and has a certified 27 dB noise reduction rating. In my shop and with my ears, however, ISOTunes scored a 3rd place tie for Sound Isolation. 

Sound quality was just OK. If you’re not too picky about sound, you’ll like them. But in my opinion, they lacked the low-end that can be found in other brands. ISOTunes scored a 3rd place tie for Sound Quality.

I gave ISOTunes PRO 3rd place overall.

Shure SE215 – $149 – 4th Place Overall

I played in rock and punk bands all thoughout high school and college and nearly every gig I ever played involved Shure microphones. So it makes me happy when I see a cool modern product like these earbuds bearing their name and I had high hopes given the price point. These certainly look cool with their translucent cases and they feature a memory wire for wrapping around the ear. The set comes with both rubber and foam ear buds as well as a nice little cleaning tool. But the isolation wasn’t as good as I had hoped so I tried a large pair of Comply tips instead. The buds actually swivel and I suppose that’s a feature, but for me it just made inserting them into my ears a little bit tricky. Battery life is listed at 8 hours. And just a cool extra feature I’ll mention is that the voice in the earbuds announces the battery life in hours every time you turn it on.

Shure refers to these as “sound isolating” and claims they block up to 37 dB of ambient noise. In practice though, the sound isolation wasn’t very good at all and even with the aftermarket Comply tips the Shure set scored a 3rd Place tie for Sound Isolation.

Unfortunately, the sound quality was average. Everything was crystal clear but it lacked the low-end punch I like to hear. Shure scored a 3rd Place tie for Sound Quality.

I gave Shure SE215 4th Place Overall. While it is comparable to ISOTunes in many ways, it costs a lot more.

SoundPEATS Q30 – $27.99 – 2nd Place Overall

The SoundPEATS are the most budget-friendly earbuds in the lineup. In spite of a price that’s almost too good to be true, they seem well-built and nothing about them says “cheap” to me. This set is an in-ear style with those hook-shaped dealies that help keep the buds in your ears. The set comes with a generous size range of tips from XS to XL as well as three sizes of ear hooks. Battery life is listed as 8 hrs. The one oddity regarding the battery is that the company recommends low voltage charging. So you’re probably looking at a computer USB port instead of one of those wall chargers most of us have for our phones. They are comfortable enough for regular use and I really prefer the in-ear style over the memory wire.

The company makes no claims about sound isolation and not surprisingly the included tips are inadequate for shop use. I purchased aftermarket Comply tips and that boosted the sound isolation considerably. SoundPEATS scores 2nd place in Sound Isolation.

Sound quality was surprisingly good. There was a nice full range including a substantial amount of low-end base. SoundPEATS scored 2nd place in Sound Quality.

I gave SoundPEATS Q30 2nd Place Overall, thanks to the high-quality sound, adequate protection, and exceptional price.

Jaybird X3 – $129 – 1st Place Overall

At this price range, you would expect this set to be pretty good. But as I found out with the Shure buds, that’s not always the case. An interesting sidenote is that I actually purchased these for only $99 on Amazon. I don’t know how or why, but that’s what I paid. Now it seems that they can only be found for $129 so I guess I just got lucky. This set features an in-ear design and hooks to keep the buds in place. The set comes with three sizes each of the rubber tips as well as Comply foam tips. They also have a few extra ear hooks. Battery life is the standard 8 hours. As for comfort, they are on par with the rest of the pack. This unit also announces the remaining battery life, but as a percentage instead of hours. I should also mention the odd charging cradle. This is the only one in this test that requires an additional adapter. Lose the adapter and you can’t charge your buds.

The company makes no claims about sound isolation that I could find, yet they include the Comply tips much like ISOTunes. As a result, these ear buds took the top spot for sound isolation. When standing just a few feet away from my cyclone, these made me feel like I was wearing actual ear plugs, with no unpleasant frequencies hitting my ear drums. With music playing at a modest volume, the shop noise all but disappears. This set scores 1st Place in Sound Isolation.

Jaybirds sound great! In fact they are on par with my Apple Air Pods and other wired ear buds. I was already planning on giving them the top spot for sound quality when I remembered that they have an EQ app. This app took the sound quality to a whole new level. Jabird X3 scores 1st Place in Sound Quality, by a large margin.

I gave Jaybird X3 1st Place Overall thanks to killer sound quality and excellent sound isolation that outperforms the other three. They aren’t cheap, but if you like good quality sound and want to protect your hearing, I feel it’s worth the asking price. I’ll be keeping the Jaybird X3s for my personal use.

If you’re interested, here’s a quick reference chart I made up for the shootout.

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How to Joint Two Boards at Once with Your Router

You can use a router to joint two boards at once. This is a really handy trick if you don’t have a long-bed jointer or you don’t have a jointer at all, and you’re working with really long stock. The trick is to rout both boards at the same time, so the edges mirror each other. Bowed or not, they’ll always fit tightly. To set this trick up, mill three spacer […]

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Tuesday, February 27, 2018

Why Change? This Video Will Help You!

In 2018 our plans for continued training must be more efficient so that we can continue unfettered support for woodworkers around the world. We’ve actually been planning for new output for about three years, so as the first piece of the puzzle slid directly into place these last couple weeks, our move evoked a lot […]

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A Video Guide to Measuring Tools in the Workshop

Over the last few weeks, I’ve made several posts about measuring tools in the series Precision Instruments for Woodworkers. The purpose of the series is to introduce the idea of precision through establish standards for your measuring tools and to test all your measuring tools. It’s a simple theory: If you start with a few quality tools and make sure the other measuring tools you’ve chosen are tested or calibrated […]

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Apple Home Pod and White Rings on Wood Tables.

You may be familiar with the problem Apple is having with their newly released Home Pods and the white rings they sometimes leave on wood surfaces. Apple explains that they come from the vibration-damping silicone attached to the bottom of the Home Pods. “The marks can be caused by oils diffusing between the silicone base and the table surface.” Apple says the marks can be removed by wiping the wood […]

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Monday, February 26, 2018

21st-century Gothic: Book giveaway!

Blame it on the martini I had the night before. Or maybe on the dribble of eleventh-hour requests for illustration proofing related to my forthcoming book on English Arts & Crafts furniture. Whatever the reason, while I was sanding the 2″-thick edges of a current commission one day last week, trying to decide how much of the torn grain my client might want me to leave, it occurred to me […]

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Saturday, February 24, 2018

PopWood Playback #8 | Top Woodworking Videos of the Week

First, I’d like to say, I didn’t mean to pick all walnut build videos this week. It just sort of happened and we didn’t notice it until we were in post-production. Perhaps I have a pent-up walnut design that’s leaking out of the subconscious – I don’t know. Either way, I hope you enjoy this small collection of the best woodworking videos of the week on YouTube! The Top Woodworking Videos of the […]

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Friday, February 23, 2018

News: It is Time to Buy Hardware

After the death of Nancy Cogger of Londonderry Brasses, Horton Brasses acquired the company’s stock and is selling many existing pieces at 50 percent off. Orion Henderson estimated there are more than 23,000 pieces of Londonderry hardware now for sale on the Horton site. If this is all the information you need, get your credit card out and load up. Here’s the link. I swooped in and bought about 50 […]

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The Workbench Success Story

In the last 10 hours 8,900 woodworkers have watched part 8 of making my workbench on YouTube alone. That of course does not include how many have watched the other 7 parts in the series. On woodworkingmasterclasses.com the series has been going out two weeks earlier. I am not sure how many have seen it […]

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Episode 2: Live To Sk8, Sk8 To Lives

Skateboarding is a childhood obsession of a few members of the PW team. In this episode of Afterlife of Trees, we talk to a Cincinnati-based custom longboard builders, Jeff Risinger and Val Woodham, whose stunning skateboards are also works of art. We then speak to Martinus Pool of Adrian Martinus Custom Woodworking – artists who create furniture and new objects from old skateboards.   The Afterlife of Trees is Popular […]

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Thursday, February 22, 2018

How to Follow WorkbenchCon 2018 – A Conference for Makers and Influencers

WorkbenchCon, A brand new maker conference, kicks off tomorrow and runs through Saturday in Atlanta, Georgia. It represents a departure from the woodworking show model of vendors and manufacturers setting up booths and focuses on influence, branding, and networking. Tickets are $399 and will not be available at the door. They describe the conference on their website: Our mission is to relate to the influencer, DIYer and business person in YOU…HOW? Our […]

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How to Tap Wood for a Bolt

Recently I needed to install two thumb screws into a makeshift fence that was intended for my petite table saw. By threading a hole in the wooden fence I was able to provide my hardware of choice (thumb screws) sufficient purchase to attach the new fence to the one supplied by the manufacturer. This method also allowed me to loosen and tighten the fence as needed, and even dismantle it […]

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How to Rivet Furniture Parts Together

I built a folding bookstand (above) for an upcoming issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine that uses traditional copper rivets to join the components and allow them to pivot. After posting a few photos of the bookstand, a lot of people were curious about how to use copper rivets. So here is a quick tutorial – full details and measured drawings will be in the June 2018 issue of the magazine. […]

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Association of Woodturners Appoints John Kelsey as New Editor of Woodturning FUNdamentals

(Saint Paul, February 21, 2018)-The American Association of Woodturners (AAW) is pleased to announce that its Board of Directors has rededicated Woodturning FUNdamentals, AAW’s digital publication for new and beginning woodturners, and appointed John Kelsey as its new editor. The online periodical will continue to help newer turners build foundational woodturning expertise and skills, serving as an authoritative, practical, and pertinent guide to learning the art and craft of woodturning. […]

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Wednesday, February 21, 2018

How to Maintain a Workbench Top – Shawn Graham

Check for flatness with winding sticks. Determine areas that need to be planed down. Plane the surface with a jack plane. Use a toothed plane blade to add roughness to the top. Go over the surface with 36 grit sandpaper on a random orbit sander. Shawn Graham of Worth Effort Woodworking, shared a video on YouTube detailing his approach to flattening and preparing a workbench top. I know that many […]

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Finish Thickness Determines Water Resistance More Than Type of Finish

I’ve written this many times and said it many more. The film thickness of a finish is much more important for preventing water getting through to the wood than the type of finish. For example, polyurethane is more water resistant than shellac. But three coats of shellac is much more water resistant than one coat of wipe-on polyurethane. It makes sense if you think about it. Likewise, an oil finish, […]

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Tuesday, February 20, 2018

How to Create Precise Joints in Reclaimed Lumber

A board with a straight, flat face with one square edge is widely considered a fundamental requirement for precision work like joinery. Given this basic condition, all good things are possible (at least, in principle): accurate measurements, square shoulders, straight tenons. But a current dining table commission challenged how I think about this set of conditions and forced me to come up with an alternative that would facilitate solid work. […]

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Monday, February 19, 2018

Moved Out!

A little out of sequence with my blog but we put together a video saying goodbye to all the friends we made at the Sylva Wood Centre in Long Wittenham. It was of course with many mixed feelings that we packed our bags but Izzy and Ellie put together a wonderful spread for lunch on […]

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Sunday, February 18, 2018

Moved In!

This weekend we loaded up our belongings and moved onto the Science Park where our new and permanent home now is. It took over a year to complete the outside but the inside will take just a few more weeks. It was a mixed week of sad and happy emotions because we’ve made friends and […]

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Saturday, February 17, 2018

Correcting a New Saw

We posted this video yesterday just to help you see that it is simple to correct flawed output on new saws if the saw is resharpenablle which most push stroke back saws mad in the `uk are and most pulls stroke, Japanese-type saws are not. It takes me about 3-4 minutes to sharpen almost and […]

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PopWood Playback #7 | Top Woodworking Videos of the Week

PopWood Playback is a series we started on YouTube at the beginning of the year where we share the best woodworking videos of the week. If you have a video that you made or a video that you are in to, leave a link in the comment section and we’ll consider it for next week! Congrats to the winner of the Bora Roller Stands – Douglas D. of Evansville, MN! Top […]

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Friday, February 16, 2018

$6 Tease? – Friday Live!

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How to Flatten Large Boards in a Planer

I grew up working in my dad’s custom woodworking shop standing in a pile of shavings on the outfeed side of a 24″ planer. Oh sure, we had dust collection, but we (me) frequently got too lazy to go empty the ten-foot-cubed collector into fifty-five gallon drums and drag them to the dumpster. So frequently I stood in a pile of shavings. Ah, the luxury of the good old days! […]

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Thursday, February 15, 2018

Woodworking for the Impatient – How to Make a Windsor Rocking Chair and More

I’ve always had an appreciation for green woodworking. Not that I’ve done as much of it as I would like, but the idea of being able to walk into a forest, harvest some wood, then walk back into the shop and go to work … well, it’s getting in touch with our pre-industrial DNA. Oh, and it feels pretty good not to pay lumber yard prices for air-dried birch! Green […]

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Enter Title Here!

It’s often hard to describe the things I see in people when they have worked for a short while using their hands; perhaps it is even the first time they ever did that make the greater difference, makes  it more special. A man in his late thirties, not technical, not an engineer, more a barrister […]

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Wednesday, February 14, 2018

How to Remove and Fix White Rings from the Apple HomePod

Editor’s note: This article was excerpted from Bob Flexner’s article “How to Remove Watermarks“ Photo: Jon Chase (The Wirecutter) Light marks are milky-white and are caused by moisture getting into the finish and creating voids that interfere with the finish’s transparency. To remove milky-white watermarks, you need either to consolidate the finish (eliminate the voids) to the point that the transparency is reestablished or cut the film back to below […]

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When the Machine’s Guard Becomes Dangerous

Machine guards are supposed to protect us from harm, but there are times when they can turn against you. The worst injury I’ve ever received from a machine was cutting my hands on the anti-kickback pawls while installing my table saw’s guard. Yesterday I ran into trouble on my jointer with disastrous results. The collar that controls the height of the guard vibrated loose. The tip of the guard contacted […]

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Precision Instruments for Woodworkers – Part Three: Tools for Precision

In part one we introduced tools for standardization. These are the measuring tools that you also use to verify and quality your other tools. Every woodworker should have a high-quality combination square at the very least. In part two, I covered basic measuring tools: rules, tapes, and squares. Certainly, these are the tools that get the biggest work out in woodworkers’ shops. And, now it’s time to dial it up a […]

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Tricks of the Trade: How to Cut Curves on the Bandsaw

Make relief cuts when cutting curves on the band saw

Here’s a tip on how to cut curves on the bandsaw. When cutting a circle or an odd shape from a square piece of lumber on a bandsaw, you’ve probably dealt with the annoying corners that try to pull the material out of your hands as they catch on the bandsaw’s table. Then there’s the additional annoyance of the blade binding in a weird curve. A few extra cuts on […]

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Tuesday, February 13, 2018

Knife Makers and Enthusiasts – An Event for You!

Editor’s note: Blade Magazine is published by F+W Media, our parent company and my cubical is next to the organizer of Blade Show. I thought our west coast readers would be interested in hearing about this event! If knives aren’t your thing, disregard! – David Lyell Join Us Oct. 5-7 in Portland, Oregon BLADE®, the world’s No. 1 knife media brand, announces the all-new BLADE Show West in Portland, Oregon—the Knifemaking Capital […]

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How Do Suppliers Do It…

…I mean, how can they get it so wrong? There I was, prepping a chisel, brand new, straight from the box, about to tell people you won’t go far wrong with a set of Faithfull (UK), blue plastic-handled bevel-edged chisels. I don’t vouch for all of their tools because they tend to be more an […]

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Methylated Spirits: Is it the Best Solvent for Shellac?

A woodworker friend called wanting to know where he could buy some methylated spirits. He had just read in a book that it was the best solvent to use with shellac. So I asked him if the book he was referring to was from England, to which he answered that it was. This term has caused much confusion in the U.S. It’s often misinterpreted here as methanol (methyl alcohol) because […]

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Monday, February 12, 2018

New Features on the Powermatic 3520C Lathe – Movable Digital Control, Integrated Riser Feet and More Mass

I recently received a press release that Powermatic brought a new version of their popular 3520 lathe to market.  The new version, “C”, is the 4th generation of the 3520 lathe family. The new features really grabbed my eye, so I gave the product manager for this new lathe, Michael D’Onofri, a call to hear first hand about them. The movable control box allows the user to place the most important controls […]

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Scribing, Part Two: Making Cabinets Fit Seamlessly into Irregular Surroundings

  Rooms are virtually never square, level, or plumb. Ceilings tend to sag toward the middle of their rooms; floors usually do the same. Plaster walls are rarely flat; drywall builds up at interior and exterior corners. You get the picture. Designing built-ins is an art that takes contextual imperfections into account and makes dealing with them as easy as possible. A common way of handling these points of intersection […]

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Sunday, February 11, 2018

Make Your Own ‘Drawing Bow’

If you design furniture or work a lot with curved parts, it’s difficult to function without a “drawing bow.” This simple jig – a stick and a string – allows you to lay out precise and large curves with only two hands. Before I could afford a commercial one (Lee Valley Tools makes an excellent one that I recommended in my 2017 Anarchist’s Gift Guide), I made my own. While […]

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Saturday, February 10, 2018

PopWood Playback #6 | Top Woodworking Videos of the Week

Congrats to Ramsey L. from Grand Rapids! They won the set of Kreg in-line clamps and bench clamps from our last giveaway! 🎥 Modern Builds – https://youtu.be/gM3oCXcyxoA 🎥 wortheffort – https://youtu.be/VGQOKcZe9TM 🎥 RIDGID Tools – https://youtu.be/mKFj2SD1WLU 🎥 Wood and Shop – https://youtu.be/CMN8tJP0HGQ 🎥 Matthew Cremona – https://youtu.be/9IPkqEPuKpw 🎥 April Wilkerson – https://youtu.be/EGNuhyfyF6k Enter this week’s giveaway, two BORA roller stands! Popwood Playback – Bora Rolling Stand! ➕ More viewer submitted […]

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Convert 110 to 220 – Friday Live!

Today, Nicole gives us some shocking electrical advice and we have tons of Q&A.

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Friday, February 9, 2018

Tricks of the Trade: Testing the Finger-Guided Ruler

When you don’t need an absolutely accurate line drawn on a piece (say for a shooting/nailing line or layout line) all you need is a wooden folding ruler, a pencil and your two hands. Lay the rule on your piece the proper distance in, then hold the rule in your left hand with your index finger against the edge of the piece. With your pencil against the tip of the […]

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Woodworking Is The Sport—Practice, Practise, Practice

Craft Can Have Different Meaning Some times we lose sight of the meaning of craft. To some, perhaps most, it’s now become more a pastime—something you do when there is nothing to watch or you have nothing else to do. Schools have also succumbed to become somewhat dismissive of true craft to substitute what we […]

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Thursday, February 8, 2018

Bench Grinder Diamond Dresser Part 2

As I explain in the video, The lathe operations required to make the body of the dresser are more difficult than are probably needed, but it was a fun exercise in maintaining concentricity between features. The milling operations were strait forward and quick to complete. After initial testing I was pleasantly surprised to find that […]



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Precision Instruments for Woodworkers — Part Two: Rules and Tapes

Tapes and Rulers Early on, I remember reading somewhere that you should never rely on measuring tapes in a woodworking shop. Only use your rulers, never tapes. Though I understand the conclusion suggested because tapes are heavily used and vulnerable, I thought it seemed an odd idea. In practice, I neither agree with nor follow that rule. Because I make furniture — where many part dimensions are longer than most rules, […]

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Wednesday, February 7, 2018

Handplane Basics

Woodworkers tend to have very strong feelings about the different ways of doing things – and handplanes is one of those subjects where opinions can vary wildly and discussions can even get pretty heated. There are three main arguments about handplanes: bevel orientation, number of planes to use and body type. Bevel orientation refers to the way the iron sits in the plane. Shown above are a low angle bevel-up […]

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Tuesday, February 6, 2018

How to Set Bent Teeth on a Japanese Style Saw

I really like Japanese style saws and I especially appreciate their contribution in the classroom. First, thanks to their ingenious tooth geometry, and the fact that they are so thin compared to their Western counterparts, they are easy to use and require little effort when pulling through a cut. Secondly, their teeth are hardened to a higher degree than their Western brethren’s which makes them usable for an exceptionally longer […]

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Is There Pigment or Dye in Minwax Stains? Does it Matter?

A woodworker friend asked me what type colorants, pigment or dye, were used in Minwax stains. He had called Minwax and was told that they use only pigment, but this didn’t match with my friend’s experience. I found it not surprising at all that the Minwax tech didn’t understand his company’s products. It’s easy to tell the colorant used in a stain. Let the stain sit on a shelf for […]

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Monday, February 5, 2018

Designing with Butts – Rediscover the Architectural Butt Hinge

butt hinges

The simple butt hinge is ubiquitous. Even if the doors of your kitchen cabinets hang on concealed European hardware and you swear by Brusso knife hinges for every piece of furniture you make, there’s a good chance that the architectural doors throughout your house, as well as most of the buildings you visit each day, are hung on butts. Architectural, or full-size, butt hinges are the beefier counterparts of their […]

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Saturday, February 3, 2018

PopWood Playback #5 | Top Woodworking Videos of the Week

Episode #5 is live on Youtube! We’re really enjoying all the submissions and support from everyone – we have five great videos to share with you this week. Look out for more PopWood Playback episodes every Saturday morning on our Youtube channel. David will be returning next week, so in the meantime check out our picks this week: 🎥 Young Je – https://youtu.be/b_F8-atFOcQ 🎥 SE Woodwork – https://youtu.be/rxK-YFcCJco 🎥 Modern […]

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Friday, February 2, 2018

Handplane Maintenance (That Most People Forget)

Metal-bodied planes require so little maintenance (aside from sharpening) that it’s easy to forget that they do need some love every year to work smoothly. Recently I borrowed a friend’s smoothing plane to demonstrate a cut and was struck by how easily her iron adjusted. It was like silk. I thought my plane was in good shape, but I was way off the mark. So as soon as I delivered […]

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Remarkable Things

It is a remarkable thing to me, an older man, an old man, seeing where everyone is around the world that reads my blog. People watching my videos afar, looking at what I type up and then sending me messages. I post a blog one day in the morning and by midnight 18,000 people might […]

Read the full post Remarkable Things on Paul Sellers' Blog.



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Hand Planes for the Beginner – Friday Live!

Show notes coming soon.

The post Hand Planes for the Beginner – Friday Live! appeared first on The Wood Whisperer.



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Thursday, February 1, 2018

The Strength of a Chair Comes from Imperfection

If you’ve ever used a hand-cut rasp or a hand-filed saw you know how their tiny imperfections from handwork make the tool cut smoother. When it comes to making chairs, the small handmade imperfections are what give it its strength. If you build a lot of casework, I am sure you are grunting in displeasure. Accuracy makes all your pieces go together easily and tightly, right? Well in chairmaking, that […]

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Woodworking Workshop for Parents and Fall Fair 2017 – Part 2: How Build a Gnome house

When our School’s Fall fair is over, we have the opportunity to pick up some of the leftover forest decor materials and store them for future use in our Manhattan-based woodshop. One find from past years’ Fall Fair was a hollow branch of about 8 inches in diameter. A week after the Fair ended, a volunteer parent mentioned to me that she wanted to build a Gnome house for her […]

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