Website Changes

Posted pictures of the April 2024 meeting - EMGW Auction at Needham Furniture Makers.

Woodworking Tip

for April 2024

The Simplest Tool is the Best?

by Rob Carver

Rob presents a mental exercise on the simplest tool for a woodworker.  Think about your tool set.  Consider those that are inexpensive.  Measuring tape or ruler?  Now consider those that are utterly simple to use.  A pencil?  We all know how to use it but it requires sharpening and if you use it like me, the eraser gets used up quickly.  Sanding block?  Just wrap your sandpaper around it and work it.  I think we are getting warmer but it does require physical intervention.  Is there anything cheap, without need of sharpening, electrification, or work but offers tremendous functionality without much of a rival?  In other words, what is the simplest tool that is the best.  Think about it before you treat yourself to Rob's favorite in The Simplest Tool is the Best?  I think he's got something.there.

You can reach Rob by clicking Rob Carver.

Stop Wasting Valuable Shop Space

by Andrew Davis

Workshop space is a premium.  Who wouldn't like to have more space.  You can fill it with more tools, left over wood shorts, or just spread out your too tight workshop and look even further for that pencil or mini measurement square that you misplaced.  Knowing the market need for workshop space, Andrew, our intrepid purveyor and digital researcher, has uncovered a net space savings in the workshop located in or near the house while increasing considerable time efficiency at the same time.  This novel approach bridges woodworking and cooking.

As seen in the picture to the left, Andrew reports that a combo table saw and heating element was developed by the Cuisinought company.  It's called the CuisinSaw and has two models.  Think about it.  The heating element can be used to maintain your hot hide glue with perfect viscosity, allow for the perfect sand shading temperature, steam water for bending wood and, get this, cooking on a full-functioning cooktop. No longer will you delay eating a meal in order to finish a particular woodworking task.  Dinner can be cooked and ready within steps. And no longer will your partner be upset with you  arriving well after your meal has turned cold just to finish that last dovetail.  With the CuisinSaw your dovetail and lobster tail would be finished at the same time.  The applications are limited only by your imagination. 

Check CuisinSaw's two models and other key information in Andrew's Stop Wasting Valuable Shop Space, the motto of Cuisinought's business.

Andrew welcomes your feedback.

by Dave McCormick

This is the second Featured Piece presented by the prolific Dave McCormick this year.  Dave's Demilune Table was featured in September.  No matter the complexity of the piece Dave decides to make, he has mastered the art and quality of his craftsmanship.

This exquisite Harvey Ellis cabinet was made from a design he made after viewing a picture of it in a Stickley catalog.  That design grew to a full-scale drawing of most of the cabinet.  Attention to the finest detail is something that Dave has come to behold and master.  Beyond that Dave adds some detail of his own like the vertical inlay found in the cabinet doors.

Dave's straightforward description of his build process is clearly articulated amidst copious pictures that demonstrate step by step the workmanship one can marvel at.  The cabinet is made from walnut and holly.  If you are turned on by simply elegant work with various integrated features, you must read Dave's article on making a Harvey Ellis Cabinet.

Further information can be requested from Dave McCormick.

The page is found in the list under the ABOUT US tab.

Posted the "Design Inspiration and Process" slide presentation from the March 2024 guild meeting.

Mike Roughan, Linda Smith, Mike Bosin, and Marc Holland Presents

"Design Inspiration and Process" at MassArt, Boston

March, 2024

Sharp as a Tack

by Rob Carver

New or Improved: An Age-old Dilemma

by Andrew Davis

It always seems to come to this.  Another decision to be made.  If it's not an issue about the dimension of the piece, it's about the joinery, or perhaps, salvaging a part that's not exactly intended.  I won't even go into the various possible finishes.  There are a gazillion decisions to be made.  Think of a piece or style you've never made before.  What if it's about the price of a tool, whether it's worth the value?  If it's a go then there's a decision where to locate it in the workshop.  And that's where this intro meets Andrew's March Bevel Cut article.

The issue he poses is one that we all have encountered.  What if a woodworker, after laboring over the research and deciding on the cost/benefit to purchase the tool finds that a newer and improved version appears in the ads?  Hold off acting out.  Instead read New or Improved? An Age-old Dilemma as Analytical Andrew reveals his decision options.   

Andrew welcomes your feedback.