Do you keep your table saw blades on a nail on the wall? Or worse, stacked on top of each other in a drawer? My understanding is that your #1 goal in storage should be not letting the teeth touch each other… from there the storage ideas really start to run wild

A WoodNet thread on table saw blade storage caught my eye and if you’re looking for ideas + pictures then you HAVE to go look at: How do you guys store your blades?

Here’s some nice dry humor from that WoodNet thread: “I used to let Forrest store my Woodworker II, but then I finally got a Grizzly contractor saw to store it in. Much handier.”

You should definitely go check that out as there are great pictures posted there.

I dug around for ideas at other forums too…>>

Here’s a thread from Rigid: Blade Storage where you’ll find some great ideas along with some, um, creative ideas: “I toss mine ninja-style at the wall and just let them stick in the drywall. Easy access to whichever I need.”

The LumberJocks give us: Saw Blade Holder You’ll find rough plans and build-pics there too. Very useful!

Pic from LumberJocks:

Also from LumberJocks: Storage for 10″ saw blades ideas? This is where I saw the Saw Jaw. Good suggestions here too.

Portable table saw blade holder And from an Australian woodworking forum we find a brief-case style table saw blade storage solution for the professional woodworker on the go

Saw-Blade Selector And if you really want to pamper your saw blades you can try building the saw blade selector from Wood Magazine.

If you have ideas or pictures you’d like to share of how you store your table saw blades let me know in the comments!

Yes you DO have to read all the way through WoodNet’s Cheap Useful Item for the Shop. Why? Because there are way more than 11 useful ideas there. There are probably more like 100 useful ideas there from at least 90 woodworkers. I picked out and organized the 11 ideas that I thought were the most original and useful.

Again,check out the full thread to get the full impact!

1) 2 Dimes: Great for levelling cabinets - put the dimes on the top of the door, shim the bottom so that they do not fall off then mark where the hinges are to go - gives about a 1/16 clearance

2) Save the plastic credit card fakes you get in the mail to spread glue with. Also: Drill holes in one to fit your counter sink/counter bore bits, to prevent damage to the surface.

3) I keep a deck of cards in my shop. Useful for very slight shimming of things. (also suggested for this - business cards, index cards and free wood samples)

4) I keep the old Bic pens from the office. I thow out the inky thingy and keep the cartridge and cap. I duct tape it to the spray cans which take straws and keep the staws in the now empy cartridge. (this one almost scares me -G)

5) I use the old cutlery container from the dishwasher to hold the screwdrivers, pliers, etc. for whatever job I’m currently working on.

6) 1 oz. (2 Tbsp) stainless coffee measure. Great for dipping stain/poly out of the can instead of making a mess trying to pour.

7) Emory boards for fine tuning hand cut dovetails.

8) Plastic container lids like you find on p-nut cans, cream cheese containers and the like are perfect for shop coasters. They keep condensation from cold drink containers from getting on your bench, your work and your tools. Put ‘em under your finish container to contain drips. They are great shallow containers to keep screws and small hardware from escaping during assembly.

9) an iron. steam out dings, you can veneer with them, iron-on edge banding

10) The coffee can lids make good spacers between TS & CMS blades when storing them. I have my blades in a drawer and stack them between the plastic lids.

11) I use empty Altoid mint containers (small metal boxes with lids that snap shut) to keep a small supply of saw dust of each of the woods I use in case I need to make some filler.

In case WoodNet’s not enough for ya, here’s a thread from rec.woodworking called “non-shop” stuff that’s useful in the shop.

You might also enjoy:
8 Woodworking Lessons Learned the Hard Way
11 Ideas for Wood Cut Offs

An old thread on lathes in SawmillCreek caught my eye recently… I’ve never dug into lathes that much and they always seemed sort of on the outskirts of woodworking. That may be the reason they appeal to some folks though Anyways, the thread I saw asks for lathe recommendations in the $400-$500 range.

Because the thread is almost two years old the specific recommendations may not hold up… that said, a great conversation started regarding comparing the $400 lathe to a $4,000 lathe. There were some accusations of “lathe elitism” that got the lathe masters sharpening up their language arts tools. This post shares some of the best quotes from the thread and then points you to a number of other threads and resources that I hope will help you make your lathe decision.

Choice Quotes:

1) “In woodworking there are many times where you can make do with cheap tools and not notice a big difference. Lathe work is not one of those situations.”

2) “My original suggestion was to take the ultimate low cost budget approach; don’t buy a lathe, join a club, take a class, etc… until you have a chance to get your feet wet.”

3) “Basically it boils down to how you are going to use the lathe, if you are a part-timer and do a bit here or there, then I’d say the $4000 lathe would be overkill, but if you are a pro, then the $4000 lathe makes you money, and the $400 lathe costs you money in downtime, loss of productivity etc. plus the frustration factor in dealing with a tool that is not up to your needs.”

Reasons the $4,000 Lathe Costs $4,000:
(These are quotes from Creeker and Lathe-Master Bill Grumbine who runs http://www.wonderfulwood.com/)

1. Weight.
“My $4000 machines do not chase me around the shop like my $400 machine did even after it was sandbagged with an extra 360 lbs of weight.”
2. Power.
“I can take a 60-80 lb blank of wood and turn it into a rough bowl for drying in less than 10 minutes on my Poolewood or Vega. ”
3. Control.
“A $4000 machine these days sports a a 3 phase VFD power source. While this type of motor is not necessary for the vast majority of spindle turning, these machines are not built primarily for spindles.”
4. Overall design.
“Fit and finish are much better. I do not have to fight my machine, and my turning improved by an order of magnitude each time I moved up a step in machine.”
5. Speed.
“This is sort of a culmination of all of the above, but I can turn many times faster for the type of turning I am doing on my expensive lathes.”

Note that Mr. Grumbine started on a Jet:
“To go back to my own $400 lathe on this, I turned on it for over 3 1/2 years, and made many thousands of dollars using it. I also had a small backup lathe (Chinese built Carbatec). One of the reasons I had it was because my $400 Jet broke on a regular basis. At one point during a parts order, I was discussing everything that had broken on it, and he commented that I had had just about everything that could go wrong with this lathe go wrong. But, it was not a lemon. It was a $400 lathe.”

Read all of Mr. Grumbine’s post in SMC >>
Visit Mr. Grumbine’s Woodturning Site Wonderful Wood.

Other Resources:
Comparing a $400 Grizzly Lathe to a $4000 Vicmarc VL-300 Long bed machine
Jet vs. Grizzly Lathes (for starting out…)
Which lathe do I need?
Which Lathe is best for me?
Fine Woodworking Heavy Duty Lathe Test (pdf)

When I researched and wrote the ToolCrib.com table saw buying guide I pretty much panned benchtops. I recommended to folks that they go for a guide and circ saw if they were seriously considering a benchtop.

Sometimes you’ve just got to work with the tools at hand though. Maybe you got a benchtopper before you knew much about saws. Maybe - as happens in some cases - you got it as a gift and you can’t bring yourself to part with it. Maybe you just can’t afford an upgrade. No matter what your situation is, the fact is that sometimes you just have to keep on keepin on.

This thread at WoodNet caught my eye. Now, they’re talking about the Craftsman 113.298762 which looks to me like an old contractor type saw, so your mileage may vary. Here are a couple of quotes that got my attention:

“I put a Vega on my old Craftsman; turned a P.O.S. into a pretty decent saw.”

“Replaced the POS miter gauge witha Incra 1000SE and it’s a wonder saw now.”

And then THIS GUY posted a picture of his Craftsman 113.298844, which looks like an old benchtop saw. He mounted it directly onto a large cabinet, added a fence and a miter gauge and reported that it reduced vibrations considerably.

Check out the pic Benchtop Mounted on a Cabinet = Cabinet Saw?

He did mention later in the thread that he would probably not have added such a nice fence to his benchtop if he hadn’t gotten such a good deal on it…

Anyway, I hope these examples give those of you with “cabinet saw envy” hope that you can extend your current tools rather than necessarily buying a whole new saw.

Other Resources:
Craftsman table saw (the WoodNet thread that sparked this off)
aftermarket table saw fence (discussion focused on contractor saws)
accesories for 113.298762
Craftsman Align-A-rip 24/24 fence
A Table Saw Buying Guide: Benchtop vs Contractor vs Cabinet vs Hybrid
Which Portable Table Saw Has the Best Fence?
Best Table Saw Miter Gauge: Incra vs. Osborne vs. Kreg

For those new to wood shop dust collection, a cyclone dust collection system differs from older dust collection systems because almost no dust reaches the filter - it all ends up in the collection bin. Until I started reading through this thread on WoodNet - with over 200 posts - I didn’t realize that nothing stirs the woodworking hornets nest like CYCLONE DUST COLLECTION. The extreme polarities in WoodNet seem to come from - as far as I can tell - these points:

1) Lack of objective comparisons - most woodworkers have only had experience with one cyclone dust collection system
2) Bias towards Clear Vue inspiration and woodworker Bill Penz who has an almost cult-like following
3) Lack of understanding of the science of dust collection and dust collection systems

I went through the WoodNet thread and added in one from SMC for good measure. I counted how many had bought which systems, but this doesn’t give you too much to go on… Following my tally are some sources that I hope can help you get up to speed on your cyclone dust collection decision… or make your own.

Oneida Gorilla Owners: 14
Oneida Air Systems: the Dust Gorilla

Clear Vue Owners: 13
Clear Vue Cyclone

Grizzly 2HP Owners: 6
Grizzly G0440 2 HP Cyclone Dust Collector

Cyclone Dust Collector Resources:
Build Your Own Cyclone Dust Collector (Bill Pentz Plan) >>

Dust Collection Basics >> This is info from Bill Pentz, who developed the design behind the Clear Vue.

Wikipedia’s Dust Collector page >> This should give you way too much information

WoodWeb Dust Collection Forum >> You will have to wade through this but you might get some good answers here.

Oneida comparing themselves to Clear Vue. >> Granted, this comes from Oneida. It all sounds well researched and thorough though

All Bill Pentz Comments on SMC >> Bill Pentz developed the cyclone design behind the Clear Vue. His comments on SMC will give you insight into how he thinks.

Entrance Velocity Optimization for Modified Dust Cyclones >> Pentz cites this paper as influential on his design.

high efficiency cyclones - industrial grade

So what do you use for dust collection in your woodshop?

When my wife and I get great customer service we make it a point to speak to the manager and pass along a compliment. A thread in SawmillCreek (Your Vote: Best Customer Service) does the same thing for woodworking related companies. I went through all 85 responses and counted up all the companies mentioned as giving excellent customer service and laid them out here for you to see.

Before the list though, I have to say I appreciated this sentiment (which got 2 votes): “The best customer service is the one you don’t need.” Great point - ideally you don’t have to get involved with customer service after your purchase. The fact of life is that you DO have to get involved after the purchase though.

And remember - I want to know who you’ve had a good experience with, and if your opinion lines up with the woodworkers from SawmillCreek. Scroll down to the comment section and let me know what you think.

Here are the companies that the ‘Creekers think give the best customer service:

1) Lee Valley: 36 Votes
I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much excitement over a single company… They certainly have done a great job of turning the Creekers into major supporters. You can read about their customer support philosophy here >>

2) Eurekazone: 17 Votes
I wrote about the Eurekazone awhile back when I was on my “table saw alternatives” kick Check out DIY Table Saw Alternative: EZ Guide + Circular Saw. Dino, the owner/inventor of this system is an active member of SawmillCreek.

3) Grizzly: 14 Votes
Grizzly is somewhat of the new kid on the block. They seem consistent about making cheaper high quality tools. Their president Shiraz Balolia is also a regular contributor to SawmillCreek and even responds to customer issues in the forum. I got on a Grizzly kick for awhile too Grizzly Tools - What is Your Opinion?

4) Lie-Nielsen: 9 Votes
They make heirloom quality hand tools. If you’re a neanderthal, aka, a Galoot you’re probably already familiar Also check out The 7 Essential Woodworking Hand Tools For the Galoot In Training >>

5) Festool: 7 Votes
Festool are makers of fine tools with RABID fans! They make a guided saw system that competes with the Eurekazone. I think of Festool fans sort of like Mac fans

One thing to remember, SawmillCreek has company owners as guests in their forums - I’m not sure if there’s a Lee Valley rep, but I know Dino from Eurekazone and Papa Grizzly “Shabaz” post there regularly. I’ve also seen Freud reps posting there. Anyways, there may be a little bias from the woodworkers who have had personal contact with people on the forums.

Companies with More Than One Vote:

6) Freud: 5 Votes
7) Tools For Working Wood: 5 Votes
8) Amazon: 4 Votes
9) Clear-Vue Cyclones: 4 Votes
10) Incra: 4 Votes
11) Wynn Environmental: 3 Votes
12) Bosch: 3 Votes
13) Wixey: 3 Votes
14) Woodcraft: 3 Votes
15) Woodpecker: 3 Votes
16) Mini Max: 3 Votes
17) Japan Woodworker: 2 Votes
18) Holbren dot com: 2 Votes

Companies Mentioned Once for Good Customer Service:
Jet
JoeWoodworker
Dover Inlay
Reid Supply
Jointech
Craftsman Studio
JoinTech
Peach Tree
Infinity
Irwin
MTO Battery
Garret Wade
Heavy Duty Tools dot net.
Steel City
Craft Supply
Rockler
Makita
Dowelmax
Woodworkers Hardware
Marino
Hartville Tool
PLS lasers
Whiteside Router bits
Sawstop
White Chapel hardware
Homesteadfinishing.com
Akeda
Delta
Collins tool co.

There you have it folks! Again, if you’d like to visit the original thread from SawmillCreek go here: Your Vote: Best Customer Service. And remember to vote for the company that gave you the best customer service in the comments below!

We all know what the most dangerous power tool in your workshop is (it’s you … so what’s the most useful/important tool? No, it’s not your table saw… it’s your WORKBENCH. Woodworkers often look at the workbench as an essential project, a core project that both teaches and creates a highly useful product. My fellow nerds in the crowd will think of it as the Jedi’s light saber

This morning I decided it was finally time to research and write our ultimate guide to workbench plans (a second in the series I started with free router table plans). How cool to check my inbox and find a note from Frank Pellow to let me know that he’d completed his workbench!

Here are a couple of quick links with pics to Frank Pellow’s super sweet workbench on wheels. So you know, his workbench would fit in the “Extreme Workbench” section below if there were plans available. I wrote about Frank originally in The Story of a “Forum Assisted” Woodworking Shop: Frank Pellow’s Shop Build Journal. Nice job on finishing the build, Frank, and thanks for the links and pics!

Frank Pellow’s Woodworking Bench Project
Frank Pellow’s Woodworking Bench Project -Phase 2

Ok, enough small talk You’re here for workbench plans. I went out to all the free workbench plan sites, gathered their links by hand and then reorganized them with the woodworker in mind. Here’s what you’ll find in this guide:

1) Space Saver Workbench Plans
2) Mobile Workbench Plans
3) Adjustable Height Workbench Plans
4) Full Size Workbench Plans
–>Basic Workbench Plans
–>Simple Woodworker Workbench Plans
–>Professional/Extreme Woodworker Workbench Plans
–>Traditional Woodworker Workbench Plans
5) Accessories, Etcetera
6) Useful Workbench Forum Threads
7) Workbench Plan Lists (resources we used)
8) Other Resources

(more…)

Now… there are no details yet if this could work, but the gamer geeks at WoodNet are wondering about creating a wooden Guitar Hero controller. As a fan of Guitar Hero (along with my wife and nephew) this topic caught my attention. I started searching around in the hopes that someone will actually make some sweet custom Guitar Hero controllers.

Here’s the thread that got me going: Wooden Guitar Hero Controller?

If you’re serious about building your own Guitar Hero controller out of wood then I suggest you check out some of these resources.

Getting Started…
For one, you’re going to have to understand the electronics side with some of these tutorials from Instructables:

>>How to make a PS2 Guitar Hero controller out of scratch
Obviously written by a non-native English speaker, this guide breaks it down with video for you so you can see every gnarly detail, and my understanding is that his method doesn’t require you to actually purchase a GH controller.

>>How to make a custom [Guitar Hero] game controller
This guide appears to be platform agnostic… and should be helpful on your quest.

>>How to Disassemble a Guitar Hero SG Controller for Painting
This one at least gives you some insight into breaking apart your controller if you’re so inclined.

Inspiration:
For inspiration you should check out these “Air Guitars” that work as Guitar Hero controllers. They cost $399, but come with really sweet artwork on the front.

Guitar Hero replicas

Also check out Kaytrim’s Kustom Joysticks, which will help you stay focused on your goal of a real wood Guitar Hero controller. And see the thread Boys and their toys for more neat custom wooden joystick pics from Kaytrim.

For inspiration on building real guitars, visit the Guitar Builders Lair. GBL is a website operated by a WoodNetter.

Rings are always mentioned when it comes to power tool safety - in that list of things NOT to wear in the shop. Along with long hair, dangling necklaces and long sleeves, rings can get caught in the machinery and cause you serious physical harm.

That said, the LOYL (love of your life) may cause you serious physical harm if you go around without wearing your wedding ring.

76 of the finest woodworkers at FamilyWoodworking.org answered a poll regarding wearing a wedding ring in the shop… here are the results followed by some choice quotes from the 42 responses that this thread got.

25: I wear one and always will.
22: No way, a gesture of love isn’t worth losing a finger.
13: I take mine off, but only in the shop.
11: I wear one but deep down I know I shouldn’t because of safety.
7: I’ve had mishaps with my wedding band.

(there were a couple others that had less than 2 responses - check out the thread to see them: Do you wear wedding bands in the shop)

Great Quotes from “Do you wear wedding bands in the shop?”

1) “I’ve not worn my wedding band for over 42 years! The “Medics” had to fight like heck to get it off when my ring finger swelled up after it was hit with a maul by a Private! After that I never put it back on.”

2) “I wear mine. Death before dishonor!”

3) “The army safety poster they always posted showed the sheath of skin from a finger with a ring on it and the hand was not attached…”

4) “My dad is missing the ring finger on his right hand as the result of an incident with a truck, a loading dock, and a high school class ring. Because of this, he can only grab M&Ms out of a bowl with his left hand. The right hand leaks.”

I loved reading through the thread - great stories and great humor. FamilyWoodworking is a great woodworking forum! Check out the thread: Do you wear wedding bands in the shop?

A woodworker at SawmillCreek has too many bits and not enough storage. He asked his fellow creekers for some ideas on how to make his bits easy to access. They mentioned great ideas and included great links to bit storage products that you may have never thought of.

Here are quotes from the Creekers:

1) I cut 1 1/2″ X 1″ boards out of scrap pine. I then put a 3-4 degree bevel on one side. I drilled holes in them to fit each bit set and glued them to the inside of the doors.

2) Many of my bits are loose, so I lined a drawer with 1″ styrofoam insulation, covered it with packing tape, and drilled holes for the bits, in rows and columns, etc.

3) A really good way to store HSS drill bits, is to store them with the sharp end down toward the plywood. This not only protects the cutting edge, but prevents the bits fom slipping in your hand while removing them, which can cut a finger pretty good. You could subtatute the plywood with foam insulation.

4) I have my Rockwell bench top radial arm drill press mounted on a metal cabinet with full extension drawers. I’ve taken each one and sectioned it to fit and sort drills.

5) The Boss Drill Storage Idea Them ALL: Drill Storage
This is one gorgeous set up! Check out the pictures but don’t let your shop see them - it will kick you out…

6) Baby Soda Bottles
One professional woodworker swears by these little tubes - he keeps his bits in them in his mobile woodshop.

7) Huot Cutting Tool Storage
If you want the best, the very best. And most expensive.

Check out: So what do you do for Drill Bit Storage?
http://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=15460

AND check out: Drill Storage