You last heard of Frank Pellow in The Story of a “Forum Assisted” Woodworking Shop: Frank Pellow’s Shop Build Journal.

His latest chronicles - which haven’t made it to book status quite yet, perhaps because he’s not finished yet - describe his new work bench.

And what a bench it’s shaping up to be!

He got the idea after observing and investigating Rick Thom’s mobile work bench (so really it’s more of a son-of-a-bench… badump ching!). He took many notes and then brought up his project at FamilyWoodworking where he began collecting more great ideas in this thread: Frank Pellow’s Woodworking Bench Project.

And here’s something of the guiding principle, in Frank’s words: “I want to build a practical and useful bench but spend as little money as necessary on it.”

Here are some of Frank’s notes on Thom’s bench that I thought might interest you:

• Bench size: 27″ by 72″
• Bench height: 33″
• Cabinet size: about 24″ by 48″
• The top is made from 2″ by 1″ maple glued together with Elmer’s Probond. It was laminated in two sections each of which was then run through a planer. The two sections were then joined together and a skirt was affixed to the edges. It was then covered all-round with two coats of shellac. Rick says that the skirt at 3/4 inch on the long sides is too narrow and he will augment it to properly support clamping.
• The cabinet support pieces are pine and are joined with mortise and tenons. The sides are 1 inch plywood. The drawers are maple with dovetail joinery and are on “standard” side drawer runners.
• The bench top just sits on the cabinet.
• The end vise is from Lee Valley (catalogue number 70G08.02) The front vise is a Record clone.
• The bench is mounted on a General International mobile base. The bench is very easy to move but, once the wheels are lowered, it is very stable.
• The 3/4 inch dog holes are spaced 6 inches apart. They are angled 2 degrees towards to vice. All holes were drilled with a auger bit in a hand held drill employing a simple shop made jig.

As of Wednesday March 28th he’d just been sanding the top:

So check out Frank’s latest project: Frank Pellow’s Woodworking Bench Project and I’ll be sure and update you when he’s gotten finished as I’m sure his thoughtful writings about it will be filled with great tips, ideas and observations.

Update - Frank wrote to me today (04-17-07) to let me know that he’s made a considerable push on his bench. He’s got some great in-progress pics up of work he’s doing on the bench.

Here are his chalkboard plans for the base:

Go check out Frank’s notes for some great ideas for your work bench!

(Hello Wood Whisperer readers

So… here’s the scenario:

1) You have no woodworking tools.
2) You have $1000 tool budget for a YEAR.

What tools would you buy?

I asked this hypothetical question of The Wood Whisperer Marc Spagnuolo and he answered here: Zero Tools and $1000.

Then I worked my way around ToolCrib.com’s favorite forums to get their opinions too:

WoodNet.net
FamilyWoodworking.org
LumberJocks.com

If you’re a regular reader then you can probably sense where this is headed… that’s right! I’m working on another Most Dangerous Power Tools and Most Influential Woodworkers kind of article

I can’t wait to get more opinions and then get started on this one… be sure to leave your thoughts here, on Marc’s blog post or in any of the forums above.

I didn’t know the proper answer to this question:

“can I use a mitre saw to cut steel siding? If so what type of blade do I need.”

So I headed on over to the WoodNet forum to hear what the Woodnetters thought.

Here are some suggestions regarding how one should cut steel siding from the forum thread cut steel siding with miter saw? what blade?:

1) Ron said: “You can use one of the composite blades. I use them for the steel studs. Cheap and effective.”

2) tsbrewers said: “It can be cut by just flipping the blade backwards. Sparks, smoke, and smell but it will cut ok. Next would be metal cutting blade, either a fiber or a fine carbide toothed.”

3) tsbrewers added: “If siding an entire house, i would rent a steel siding shear . Cleaner, quieter, and quicker.”

4) McApple offered: “Don’t flip a carbide blade, you will knock the teeth off pretty quick.”

5) McApple concluded that: “I used an ordinary circular saw with a plywood blade the last time I had to cut steel roofing, other than the noise, it worked just fine.”

6) AOGDEN suggested that he: “Contact The Blade Mfg Co. @ 1800-227-4023 or www.blademfg.com” and though it galls me to include this suggestion even though our associate Amazon offers some perfectly good metal cutting saw blades I felt it only right to include them since that was one person’s earnest suggestion.

Thank you gentlemen for your thoughts on saw blades, steel siding and miter saws.

What if you could only have three table saw blades? A WoodNetter asked this recently and I thought you’d find the responses interesting…

Be sure to check out the full thread: If you could only have 3 blades for your table saw….

Note: he’s asking because he has around $200 to spend

knotscott says:
(Ridge Carbide, Forrest, Freud Premier, or Infinity)
1) 24T FTG TK ripper
2) 40-60T TK general purpose
3) 80T Hi-ATB

mstens:
1) 20 tooth ripper
2) 80 tooth crosscut
3) 40 tooth WWII

Rock0Car:
(all carbide teeth with steel body, regular kerf, most likely Freud)
1) Stack dado
2) Ripper
3) Combo

Grainraiser:
1) 24t rip
2) 50t combo
3) 80t fine blade

NiteWalker:
1) Dewalt DW7657 40 tooth general purpose blade
2) Dewalt DW7642 24 tooth fast ripping blade
3) Freud SD508 dado set

woodworkerwill:
1) 24t rip
2) 40-50t general purpose
3) 80t plywood blade

What 3 blades would you pick… if you could only pick 3? Check out the thread to see what others chose: If you could only have 3 blades for your table saw….

Also see, from Rockler, Saw Blades 101 for an introduction or refresher on saw blades.

If you’re like the majority of woodworkers then the chances are good that Norm Abram is on the list of your most influential woodworkers…

Did you know that there’s a new crop of “Norms” starting up online? That’s right I’m talking about the friendly guys at Woodsmith and the coolest woodworker online The Wood Whisperer.

I picked my favorite 3 videos from Woodsmith and then asked Marc Spagnuolo (yes that’s the Wood Whisperer himself to pick the top 3 videos he’s done so far. I hope you find them insightful and inspiring.
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Sometimes you send us questions like this:

“I’m interested in making a stand for my fish tank and I would like a tool that allows screws to be drill into the wood at an angle. This tool makes the holes and it appears very common in cabinet making.”

I’m better with words than with wood so I took this stumper over to WoodNet: name that tool: what tool ensures consistent drill angles?

Woodnetters suggested three primary answers.

Here goes.

1) the Pocket Hole Jig

The Kreg Jig K3MS K3 Master Pocket Hole System $139.99

A mini Kreg. $19.99

I feel fairly certain that this is the tool you were describing… but there is always more than one way to get the job done. Here are some other tool suggestions…

2) a Drill Guide

Wolfcraft 4525404 Drill Guide $19.99

From the bit of reading I did on drill guides they may not be the very best choice for angled work…

3) Drill Press

JET JDP-17MF / 354169 Drill Press $424.99

Probably more tool than you were looking for, but hey, it should do the trick

And there you have it folks, 3 answers for one great question. Stay tuned for future episodes of “name that tool” as you ask your woodworking questions.

A ToolCrib.com visitor asked us recently what was the best DIYer table saw for ripping plywood and paneling… in the $300 range.

I posted his question at WoodNet and learned three key things.

Here’s the thread: best table saw for DIYer in $300>

The first and most important thing I learned is that he’s better off NOT getting a table saw for ripping sheets of plywood, especially at his $300 price range. Second, he’ll need good outfeed support. Third - a used Ryobi came pretty highly recommended for that price range.

Read for more details and resource links:

1)For that price range you’re probably going to be better off with a circular saw and a guide.

So… here are two circular saw cross cutting jigs I found:
Circular Saw Rip Cutting Jig (from Lowes)
Circular Saw Cutting Guide Board (from BenchNotes)

Also - check out this WoodWorking Online video of the top 10 best woodworking tips of all time. The very first tip is a method that involves a sheet of styrofoam on your shop floor, a jig and a just-deep-enough circular saw cut. NEAT!

2)If he goes the table saw route he needs to have outfeed and sidefeed support.

You can, of course, BUY some table saw outfeed support from our associate Amazon. Wink wink.

Or you can build your own using some of these links as guides…

Folding Table Saw Outfeed Table - great idea from a woodworker who built an outfeed table himself. There are no actual plans but you’re a crafty woodworker so I bet you can figure it out from his descriptions.

Construction ideas for an outfeed table with mounted router - so I’m not sure if you can get more boss than this, but here’s a discussion from WoodWeb with great pictures that describes a professional-grade solution.

Table Saw Outfeed Support - an idea for using cabinet drawer slides as long board outfeed support, unsuitable for sheets of plywood though.

Table Saw Techniques - scroll halfway down this wonderful article from Waterfront Woods for a description of cross cutting/rip cutting with table saws.

3) within that price range one potential table saw consideration (with proper sidefeed and outfeed support) is a used Ryobi BT3000/3100

Here’s a Ryobi BT3000 Owner’s Review

Also see http://bt3000.com/, which appears to be a user-written guide to the Ryobi BT3000.

And here’s a forum dedicated to the BT3000, where I’m sure you can learn more about finding yourself one. Also check your local craigslist if you’re interested in owning your own.

4) Craftsman table saws got one yes vote and one no vote…

Our ToolCrib.com visitor went over to the thread and joined WoodNet and asked specifically about the Craftsman series of tools. One Woodnetter says yes, one says no.

ToolCrib.com recently asked the WoodNet, FamilyWoodworking and LumberJocks forums who were their TOP FIVE most influential woodworkers. After tallying their votes we had a list of over 100 different “most influential” woodworkers.

Here’s the WoodNet thread.
Here’s the thread in FamilyWoodworking.
And here’s LumberJocks.

Of these, 31 received 2 or more mentions, and so that’s who we investigated for this first part of the series to WoodNet, FamilyWoodworking’s and the LumberJocks’ influential woodworkers.

We created this guide in the hopes that:
1) it would lead you to influential woodworkers whose work could inspire your next project
2) you’d consider joining WoodNet, FamilyWoodworking and LumberJocks for guidance and advice in your future woodworking projects

Future “Most-Influential” Releases
Unfortunately over 70 influential woodworkers didn’t make this current most influential woodworkers guide. What I’d like to do over the next few weeks is continue polling folks - I’d love to hear from you in comments on this page or in email: GFrench@ToolCrib.com.

I’ll add votes to the existing stats and then start to write - most likely in groups of ten - mini guides to the rest of the “most influential woodworkers.”

I’ll also be asking a number of blogs to participate, and if you’re in a forum I didn’t mention please ask your fellow woodworkers there and let me know about the results.

You’ll find changes to THIS guide as well as new guides to other influential woodworkers. You can find updates to the guide in our blog and the ToolCrib.com email newsletter.

And so without further ado I offer - for your inspiration - ToolCrib.com’s Guide to Your 31 Most Influential Woodworkers:
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A ToolCrib.com visitor asked us recently: “What is the difference between NiMH and NiCd and which is best when using 220v power to charge battery?”

So. To tackle the first part of the question we have to look at the criteria for making the power tool battery decision. And then bring Lithium Ion into the equation to round out the choices.

Get helpful articles that help you make informed power tool decisions by signing up for the ToolCrib.com newsletter!

Criteria for Making Your Power Tool Battery Decision
According to Building a Better Power-Tool Battery you should be looking at a battery’s run time, life cycle, volts and amp-hour rating.

Run Time:
Quite simply run time is the amount of work a tool can do before its charge runs out.

Life Cycle:
Life cycle is how many times the battery can be recharged during its life time.

Volts (Power):
Volts will determine work output of the tool. John Sara, cordless product manager for Milwaukee Electric Tool, quoted in the article I linked to above says “Individuals currently using a 18-volt NiCad battery, should see 2 - 21/2 times more work output from a V28.”

Amp-Hour Rating
The higher the Amp-Hour rating the longer the battery lasts - be aware that power tool batteries of the same voltage will often have different Amp-Hour ratings.

NiMH vs. NiCad vs. Li Ion: Picking What’s Right for You
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This is the first in a series that will focus on free workshop plans. Subscribe to the ToolCrib.com email newsletter to stay up to date on ALL of our woodworking and power tool resources!

The router table is a classic wood shop project, and if you’re as thrifty as I am then there’s no question that you’re going to build your own. Though, cough cough, our associates at Amazon have a fantastic array of prebuilt router tables… like this $719.99 Jessem 02140 Mast-R-Lift, for example

Ok, enough drooling. Let’s get back to the free router table plans So I dug through free woodworking plans from sites I wrote about recently to hand pick these free router table plans for you.

This article is designed to be a great starting point for your router table project, and to get you thinking about all the possible options out there. So browse the plans, and let your imagination run wild. And check out the links to forum discussions at the end of the article for more insight

I organized the best plans I found into three lists:

1. Space Saver and Bench Top Router Tables
2. Full Size/Professional Router Tables
3. Router Table Accessories

I also indicate whether there are drawings or not, because other wise it’s kinda like telling people to turn left at the big sign with the cow on it instead of drawing them a map.

Some of the plans link directly to PDFs and those are indicated (surprise!) with the letters PDF.

If you’ve built any of these, have pictures or tips, or would like me to link to your free router table plans send me an email to GFrench@ToolCrib.com.

1) Space Saver and Bench Top Free Router Table Plans:
Are you space conscious? Ultra thrifty? Seeking portability in your router table? Check through these free router table plans and build yourself exactly what you need.

1. Minimalist Router Table - Good, small, cheap. Decent drawing but no numbers on them.

2. Bench Top Router Table - Excellent! Includes diagrams and shopping list.
3. Fold-Away Router Table (pdf) drawings. great space saver!
4. Router Table-Mate - This little beauty should give you the functionality of the full-sized tables, but will fold up quite easily… and the author made it for under $50. NICE.
5. Table Top Router Plans (PDF) HIGHLY DETAILED! These are phenomenal plans.
6. Simple Router Table (workmate topper) - Just what you’d expect. Economical in space and price. Fence plans too. Good drawings and material list.
7. Mini Router Table - Turn your dremel into a router? Forgive the pop ups on that page… neat idea, great drawings.
8. Quick and Easy Router Table - A little weak as far as plans go, but could help you round out your ideas.
9. Benchtop Router Table - Good descriptions of how to, no drawings or materials though.

2) Full Size/Professional Free Router Table Plans:
Are you ready to upgrade from your bench top model… or starting out on your very first full-size router table? Check out some of these incredible free router table plans!

1. Professional Router Table - good pictures, good descriptions, six pages but no actual detailed plans.
2. A Router Table for Woodworkers - Excellent design and plans, with complete MTO (material take off) and hook in to a dust collection unit.
3. Rolling Router Work Bench (PDF) - SWEET! The Cadillac of router tables… Great and detailed drawings.
4. Router Table - A little weak on the plan side, but good details of the build that should give you some ideas
5. Router Table - Looks like a nice, standard router table. Great descriptions.
6. Router Table - SWEET Table and Descriptions, but No DRAWINGS… DOH!
7. Floor Standing Router Table - Great Diagrams, great descriptions. NICE PLANS!
8. Mobile Router Center - They put the price of the build at $260. It’s definitely a sweet table though. No actual drawings, but great step-by-step and a complete materials list.
9. Jane’s Router Table Project - No drawings, great pictures and descriptions. More useful for ideas and tips.
10. Making Your Own Routertable, Easily! - Very basic - easy to follow descriptions and drawings.
11. The Rolling Router Table (made from big electrical wiring spool… COOL!)

3) Router Table Accessories and Router Mounting:
You’re done with your router table? Check out some of these free router table accessory plans… and the router mounting guide

1. Router Table Indexing Jig
2. Bit Box
3. “Making a Router Fence for Incra TS III”
4. Router Table Fence
5. Mounting a Router in a Bench or Table Top

Router Table Building Forum Threads to Read:
If you don’t have a forum you participate in I highly recommend WoodNet, FamilyWoodworking and LumberJocks. Here are some router table building threads I found in woodworking forums.

1. Homemade vs. store-bought router table tops Woodnetters offer advice and tips.
2. Router Table Quest Saw Mill Creek - some good nuggets buried in this thread.
3. Router Table and Lift - Designs and ideas for a smoothly functioning router workstation from WoodWeb.
4. Challenge to Create the Ideal Router Table - Australian woodworking forum - metric alert
5. What router and router table - Australian again. Good tips here too.

WoodShop Plan Ultimate Guide Series:
Do you have a request for the wood shop plan guide I put together next? Send an email to GFrench@ToolCrib.com! And be sure to sign up for the ToolCrib.com email newsletter to read about all of our great woodworking and power tool resources!