Bora Woodworking

Meeting people is the best part of any Woodworking in America. This past year I had the pleasure of meeting Craig Ursell of Affinity Tool Works. Affinity Tool Works represents the Tormek, Bora, Dtec Diamond Blades, Footprint Tools, Lynx, Pax and Fish Drill Bit brands. At Woodworking in America, Craig and his staff were showing off the Tormek sharpening system.

The Tormek display at Woodworking in America (thats not Craig, Im sorry I forget who that is).

After Woodworking in America, Craig sent me a 50” Bora Clamp Edge Wide Track to try out.

The Bora Clamp Edge Wide Track

Like the standard Clamp Edge, the Clamp Edge Wide Track works as a straight edge clamping tool. It’s designed to be used as a fence that clamps onto the workpiece. Then just about any cutting tool can be run along the Clamp Edge to create a perfectly straight line. The Clamp Edge Wide Track goes a bit further though, in that it adds T-tracks that accept ¼ x 20 bolt heads so that jigs and other accessories  (such as the Bora Saw Guide) can be attached. Both the standard Clamp Edge and the Clamp Edge Wide Track have pivoting clamping heads that allow them to be clamped to a workpiece at anything from a 0º to 22.5º angle relative to perpendicular from the edge of the piece.

These T-tracks allow Bora and shop made accessories to be used with the Clamp Edge Wide Track.

I put the Clamp Edge Wide Track to work on a few projects. I used it as a guide for cutting Lexan for the window well cover I recently made. Though not exactly what Bora had in mind, the Clamp Edge Wide Track workled very well for this task of guiding a utility knife. The only trick was to place a piece of wood underneath the Lexan before clamping it, as the Lexan sheet itself was too thin and flexible for the Clamp Edge Wide Track to properly bite too.

Cutting this Lexan sheet, the Clamp Edge Wide Track was a great help.

I also used the Clamp Edge Wide Track as a stop for setting the fences on jigs I was making. While working on the Tin Can Caddies I had to make a jig for holding the side pieces as I used the hole saw to make the can holes. The Clamp Edge Wide Track worked wonderfully for this, allowing me to set the Clamp Edge on the line, then just hold the wooden fence tight to the Clamp Edge while I screwed it in, without having to worry about watching the line and trying to keep the wooden fence perfectly set on the line while it was being screwed in.

The stacks of wood are to become a fence screwed to the sheet of MDF.
I used the Clamp Edge Wide Track to align the fence as I assembled this jig.

As the Clamp Edge Wide Track clamped tight enough to be used as a fence setting reference edge without shifting, I’m sure it can easily handle the force of having a saw or router pushed against it to ensure a straight cut. It is certainly in this role, as a straight edge to guide a cutting tool, that the Clamp Edge Wide Track excels. It is straight & stiff and quicker & easier to install than any guide rail, short of one for a dedicated track saw.It is also in this role as a cutting tool guide that I have used it the least. For you see, I already owned a track saw. Any discussion of the Clamp Edge Wide Track would be remiss if it didnt mention track saws.

Once the adjustable head is moved snug with the piece your clamping to, just through this large  handle
and the Clamp Edge Wide Track grips the wood tenaciously.

If ease of use & speed are the determining factors, track saws win out by a hair. However, if cost is included in the comparison, the Clamp Edge Wide Track is the much better value. For only $56.00 (amazon.com for the 50" model) plus a saw you already own, the Clamp Edge Wide Track will quickly & cheaply make your saw cuts much straighter.Overall, the Clamp Edge Wide Track is a great clamp-on straight edge and a great value. If you already have a track saw, it may take a little while to see its non-saw guiding value, but it is there. If you dont have a track saw, the Clamp Edge Wide Track will immediately be of tremendous use. Thanks Craig for letting my try out the Clamp Edge Wide Track. It’ll continue to see plenty of use in my shop.

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Chuck Bender Cuts His Pins Tails At The Same Time

Woodworking in America 2012 Midwest was filled with banter about the awesomeness of Chuck Norris. While it doesnt take much for a bunch of (mostly) guys hanging out for a weekend to start talking about Chuck Norris, the catalyst for the discussion in Covington was clear. There was an even more powerful Chuck in convention center with us: Chuck Bender.

Chuck Bender chatting with our very own, Tom Iovino at WIA

Chuck Bender is the proprietor of the Acanthus Workshop and the host of the No BS Online Woodworking Show. Chuck’s also a regular at Woodworking in America at many other woodworking shows and seminars around the country and especially the northeast (I can’t think of the last time I went to a show and Chuck wasn’t there).At Woodworking in America I was able to attend Chuck’s “How To Cut Fancy Pants Bermuda Dovetails Like A Man” seminar. Apparently, as there was nothing to do in Bermuda except drink, have sex and work wood, amusement for the natives came in the form of decorative patterns cut into their exposed dovetails.

Chuck cuts Dovetails in class

Chuck took us through the basics of cutting dovetails his choice, the choice, and then we moved on to the Bermuda Dovetails. After learning the technique, I’ll say that Bermuda Dovetails are not as hard as they look, but they’re still pretty hard. If the aesthetic peaks your interest, you should probably pick up Chuck’s Dovetail DVDs, as they’ll give you the opportunity to watch over and over as you practice.

A sample set of Chucks Bermuda Dovetails.

I must warn you, before you run out and learn to Dovetail as Chuck Bender does, you must consider the great responsibility that comes with such great power. It has been hard to watch the great Chuck Norris cope with the responsibility his power brings. If you learn to cut your pins and tails first like Chuck Bender does, you’ll become one of the few who are even more powerful than Chuck Norris. Consider that, and tread carefully.

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Sabtu, 19 Maret 2016

Springtime For The Wood Whisperer His Guild members Too!

Well fellow woodworkers, Marc is up to his old tricks and another Guild Build is upon us.

For any of you who dont know (can there be any woodworkers who dont know?) the Wood Whisper Guild Builds are a trice yearly build where Marc publish plans & offers step by step instructions while the Wood Whisperer Guild members build along. Bell Forrest Products even sell special kits of all the lumber needed to build a Guild Build Project.

Previous Guild Build projects have been a shaker table, a dresser and a wall hanging cabinet. This Springs build is a Greene & Greene inspired Adirondack chair.

Though its a thing of beauty, Im sad to say I wont be building along due to other time commitments. Dont let that stop you though. Its a community build second to none. You owe it to yourself and your woodworking to give it a try.

My Shaker Table from the
1st Guild Build.

My almost finished Bastard Wall Cabinet is my
excuse for a Winter 2011 Guild Build project.

Now joint the Guild and get to work on that beautiful chair.

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A Little Reorganizing A Little Shop Tour

I cleaned and rearranged the shop today. Now that the wands are finally (almost) done, I needed to clean and rearrange things so that I could walk, use the table saw and find my bench.

Most of the rearrangement involved the hanging of the Bastard Tool Cabinet on the wall and moving my Festool sanders off the floor and onto the wall next to the Bastard.

There are a few corrections to what I say in the video:

1. I think the Port-A-Mate rack was more. I bought is a while ago.
2. What I say is cherry on the lumber rack looks like, and is, walnut.
3. I say “That’s about it” three (3) times. Only one (1) of those times is at the end.

How’s your shop organization? Time for a cleaning?

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Senin, 29 Februari 2016

Were all Tusken Raiders

My Festool Random Orbit Sanders

I like to sand. I know that goes contrary to popular opinion, but I find sanding relaxing.The reason I like sanding is that I’ve stocked myself up with an arsenal of sanding paraphernalia that usually make it easy. My normal routine is to use a Festool random orbit sander connected to my CT22 dust extractor via my vacuum boom arm. The result is that sanding is usually a relaxing process. It could be a little monotonous, but listening to an entertaining podcast or book takes care of that. If you don’t have a decent vacuum and boom arm to connect to your sander, you really should. The less dust, the greater the sanding enjoyment.

This weekend I’ve had to leave my fancy set up behind and sand by hand. I’m making some wands (more on them in a future post), and there’s not a flat surface on them.The result has been lots and lots of hand sanding. I’ve used 3M Sandblaster sanding pads for the wands, and while I’ve been happy with the results, I’ve been hating the process. I now remember why so many of us hate sanding.How do you deal with sanding?

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