Heartwood: Woodworking by Rob Porcaro

Two questions developed as I was working on a standing cabinet of my design. One: Am I likely to be pleased and happy with the final result? Two: Have I significantly learned from the process so far?  Answer to the first question: No. But why?  The solid walnut was excellent, though the walnut veneer did […]

A machine will more readily move rather than cut a piece wood, given the chance. If you are holding the piece of wood with your hand, the hand may go with the wood, maybe to the cutting blade.   Compare the action of a coarse rasp with a machine. Consider the work piece just sitting […]

Is creative woodworking art – true art? Though there are some exceptions, no, building woodwork is not true art. It is about much more than art.  Does it involve or use art? That is a different question. The answer is yes, virtually always! That is what’s important. Thus, woodworking is virtually always, at least partly, […]

Is sanding part of almost all woodworking projects? Yup. Is it one of the fun parts? Nope. Yet, it almost always must be done, so we appreciate any available good help. Here is a good one that I recently found and you will likely find helpful too. “Sand-It” is made by Milescraft. (See photo above.) […]

Time goes on for all, but I would like to list the woodworking greats from whom I learned the most, particularly in the earlier years of my development. These are among the many more from whom I learned and still do.  James Krenov (1920 – 2009): I think there is no more influential woodworker for […]

To finish this series, here is a suggested list of the remaining tools to add to the shop as it builds.  1. Cordless hand-held power sander. The 5” diameter is the most versatile and  practical. I like the 3M Xtract Cubitron II Net Disc 710W sanding discs.   2. Flashlight. Cordless in the brand you […]

The time for dust collection really comes when you get item #1, the thickness planer. It is difficult to run any shop without dust collection. Let’s break it down into sections.  The lighter, smaller, and mobile tool is the shop vac. This cleans up scattered wood dust and particles, including from hand woodworking. It also […]

Where are we so far for the developing woodworker building the machine segment of his or her shop?  1. thickness planer with helical cutterhead 2. router with multiple functional accessories, and a router table built or bought. And throw in a hand-held power drill. 3. table saw, big or small; think safety  4. band saw; […]

At this point in building the machine part of your shop, you would have a thickness planer, a router with key accessories, a router table built or bought, a power drill, and a table saw. What comes next is, I feel, a close call. I suggest a bandsaw. With good quality, size, and blades, it […]

The third machine to buy as you are getting into woodworking and making a shop: the table saw. Clean, accurate, straight cuts along the length of grain, as well as dead-on cross cuts are required for most projects. Angled cuts at 45°, or any angle, are common.  Hand cutting cannot match the speed and accuracy […]

Machine tool number two that I suggest to bring on as you get into woodworking: the router.  To repeat: yes, of course, high quality woodworking can be done without any machine at all, as it has been for hundreds of years. Yet machines do add many advantages of labor, time, fast accuracy, and production.  Routers […]