I started off getting “blown away” by this piece called “Tex” from 1976:
That’s a bent wood barrel! HOLY COW. He has a whole gun series on his website: MichaelCooper.us. Some of his guns get a little, er, “manly” so may not be safe for work. His site’s in flash so I can’t direct link to any of it…
Here’s some of his more recent work - and you can see he’s come quite a way since his early days.
Gunrunner by Michael Cooper:
The Gunrunner’s from 2007.
“For this exhibit Cooper spent over 4000 hours creating Gunrunner, a 10 foot long low riding vehicle made from over 1000 individual pieces of beautifully finished exotic hardwood including tires, chains, springs, nuts, bolts and valves, exhaust system, hoses and gears.”
Woodworking is an expensive hobby, and an even more expensive business… it’s no wonder that there are so many woodworking cheapskates out there Dust collection is NOT something you want to skimp on though. That said, it’s unreasonable to expect newbie hobbyists to jump right in with a cyclone for their garage workshop.
I want to go on the record though saying that protecting yourself from saw dust using a dust collection system AND a respirator is vital for those woodworkers who wish to continue using their lungs at current capacities.
Get the Dust Out with Your Shop Vac
If you’re just getting serious about dust collection then your first step should be getting the most out of your shop vac. More and more tool manufacturers design for connections to dust collection systems. There are collection systems made so that you can wheel your vac/collector from tool to tool in your shop and attach it as you use each tool. Also there are collection systems like this one from Lee Valley for those whose tools are stationary.
If your tools are old you may have to rig up your own dust collection port and close up the areas where dust escapes. This write up: Shop vac dust collection provides excellent detail with those who have more time + DIYness available than cash (this guy goes pretty McGyver on his dust collection - it’s worth a read).
Windows Open + Box Fans with Filters
Another “bare minimum” way to handle dust is to open your shop windows and give yourself a cross breeze with 2 open windows and a box fan. Add a furnace/AC filter to the backside of the fan and you’ll scrub a bit of the dust from the air. This approach isn’t going to make your buddies from OSHA happy, but it will do something. I unequivocally recommend using a respirator if this is the only method you’re using for cleaning the air. Also, open windows and box fans could make your winter woodworking projects a bit uncomfortable.
To add a box fan to your permanent dust collection efforts, here’s an idea I found from Woodworking Tips: “When it’s turned on, the fan pulls the dusty air up and through the filter. The filtered air is then expelled into the cavity between the joists, where it can return to the shop”
Respirators are a Must
I’ve only recently become a convert to the church of dust collection. In part this is because of the forum reading I did for “5 Top Air Respirators for Woodworking.” Here’s an excerpt: “After working on a project for about six hours last spring, I began to have some wheezing and shortness of breath. I took a break and walked out side and felt better. This had happened once before after several hours in the shop and resolved itself within a few minutes of stopping work. A few of days later I went back in the shop. The symptoms reappeared in about an hour and were worse this time. They barely got better when I stopped working.My wife (who is a physician) came home for dinner took one look at me and said ‘we are going to the emergency room.’” Folks, even if you’re running a cyclone you still need to wear a respirator when you’re making sawdust.
Small-ish Dust Collection Units
Without going hog wild and overwhelming you with options (I will do that in a later article here are a few $400ish and under dust collectors that I heard good things about in forums. Not exactly budget, I know…
There’s a woodworking maxim that goes “you can never have too many tools.” No one ever mentions the accompanying maxim though: “…there’s never enough room.” This holds true for wood too.
In this article I scoured the web for lumber storage plans AND lumber storage advice. You’ll find the plans first, followed by the tips. On the plans I identify for each if it holds sheet goods, full boards and/or cut offs. Here’s the organization in case you want to skip ahead to a particular spot:
1) 3 Overachiever Lumber Storage Awards
2) 5 Rolling Lumber Carts
3) 6 Wall Storage Solutions
4) 7 Lumber Storage Tips
5) Resources and Citations
6) Other Free Woodworking Plan Collections
1) Overachiever Lumber Storage Awards
Some lumber storage solutions go above and beyond. I selected these either because of high-efficiency or high wow-factor. Yes, I am easily impressed - that’s what makes my job so much fun.
Panel-Cutting Sheet Goods Cart
Get out of TOWN. Not only is this sheet good storage unit on rollers for added convenience, but there’s a dang panel-cutting jig on the front of it. This one’s a big time overachiever.
Storage for:
Sheet Goods
Workbench with Lumber Storage
Yup. This one’s an overachiever. You’ll be restricted on how much lumber you can put in there and actually get work done. Be careful with this one - you may end up turning your workbench into a storage unit
Storage for:
Full Size Boards
Cut Offs
2) Rolling Lumber Carts Roll-Around Store-All
“It’s like having a lumber yard in your shop. Storage for long boards, short cutoffs, and sheet material.”
Storage for:
Sheet Goods
Full Size Boards
Cut Offs
3) Wall Mounted Lumber Storage Solutions Lumber Rack by Grant Smith
“a lumber rack capable of storing over 1000 bd ft of lumber for around $200″ For straight-ahead lumber storage you won’t beat this one for efficiency. Why reinvent the wheel.
Storage for:
Sheet Goods
Full Size Boards
4) Quick Lumber Storage Best Practices
from Proven Woodworking:
Keep lumber off the floor. Especially concrete floors - concrete is porous and will “feed” water into your lumber.
Allow wood to stabilize in your shop - it will need to sit for several weeks to acclimate.
Mark your wood with its size for easy reference.
from the Woodwhisperer:
“The bottom line with wood storage is that you should store it in conditions that closely match the final destination whenever possible.”
“Stack it FLAT off the floor in a neat manner so it won’t twist.”
This comes from mark page in the SawmillCreek.org forums. He was admiring a Sawstop in the showroom. He says in the thread I actually got hurt by a Sawstop!!!:
“Was my second time disecting a sawstop and admiring the quality that went into building this tank. (Sans all the electrical safeguards). I was spinning the arbor from the drive belt inside the case and admiring the smoothness of the total system. I was pulling down quickly multiple times on the secondary drive belt.
“My index finger got caught up between the pulley and belt on the inner side. My finger thankfully did not go the complete turn between the two, or I could have ended up with a broken finger or worse a possible partial missing finger. Have a very large “blood blister” pinch and hurt like hell at the time. But looking backwards, we all had a good laugh at the store.”
Mr. Mike Heidrick “helpfully” pointed out that, “on the door you opened there is a warning and a caution/safety picture of a finger getting caught in the belts. You were warned!”
And it turns out Page isn’t the first person to be injured by a Sawstop… Mr. Michael King reported that, “Last year I was helping the maintenance men at our school move a new Sawstop into the school shop when my thumb got smashed, no, crushed, flat as a pancake, between the cast iron table top and the door jamb.”
Here in North Carolina the sweetest picnic season is just arriving… Fall! I woke up this morning with visions of picnic tables dancing in my head and I just knew there would be some crazy, practically ludicrous picnic table plans out there. I only found a few worthy of an award, but WOW, we’ve got some beauties there in the awards section In all I found 32 free picnic table plans out there on the web - plus some helpful videos and even a picnic table faceplant (in the fun with picnic tables section).
So here ya go, a complete resource for building a picnic table from scratch. 32 plans and 11 picnic table sections. Enjoy!
1) Picnic Table Plan Awards
2) Overachievers: Hexagonal, Octagonal Picnic Table Plans
3) Classic Picnic Table Plans
4) Separatists: Benches Separate from the Table
5) Picnic Tables For Kids
6) Wood Suitable for Picnic Tables
7) Finishing Your Picnic Table
8) Picnic Table Videos
9) Fun with Picnic Tables
10) My Picnic Table Plan Sources
11) More Free Woodworking Plan Goodness from ToolCrib
1) Picnic Table Plan Awards
Our expert panel of judges (er, ok it was just me) declared these picnic tables to be the most awesome and outstanding picnic tables from the 32 picnic table plans I uncovered.
Most Awesome: retro 80’s hexagonal BEAUTY: THE PICNIC TABLE EVOLVES
Individual, butt-cupping seats for each diner, a revolutionary hexagonal shape, plus an undeniable 80’s flare. You can’t beat this picnic table people - it’s the queen mother of them all. Take a look and you’ll see why Mother Earth News titled this article - in all caps no less - THE PICNIC TABLE EVOLVES. I’m not sure it’s evolved much further since this one.
Most Awesome runner up: A Picnic Table that Folds into 2 Park Benches
Step back Jack! This picnic table will amaze your guests. It’s more than a conversation starter - it will be the focal point of your entire backyard bbq for at least 2 seasons. You will have some guests who will not be able to stop talking about how cool this thing is. Guests like me for example.
Most… sheltered award? THE SHELTERED TABLE
This one wins the award of most sheltered. Also, it’s the only sheltered picnic table plan I found. It’s outstanding I suppose mostly in its determination to make the picnic a success, no matter what the weather. Now if you could just hang mosquito netting from the roof line you’d be set here in NC.
2) Overachievers: Hexagonal, Octagonal Picnic Table Plans
For some people the classic picnic table isn’t enough to show off their woodworking prowess. That’s why someone invented the hexagonal picnic table. And then someone else promptly trumped that woodworker with the octagonal picnic bench. I’m still looking for the dodecahedron picnic table that you can climb up into to eat… Now THAT would be awesome.
3) Classic Picnic Table Plans
The classic picnic table - benches attached to table - you could almost build it with your eyes closed. There are lots of classic table plans out there, but only a few with AWESOME instructions and write ups. I floated those to the top and included pics. All the others I just linked out to. ENJOY.
Picnic Table Design 101 (an outstanding write up - offers theory of picnic table building)
For picnic table engineers: “The fundamental basis for the design of this table evolved out of the use of 45 degree mitre cuts. This factor, combined with the desire to have the outboard edge of the seat top and legs align on the same vertical plane gave us the width of the overall table and thus, the width of the table top.”
4) Benches Separate from the Table
Do you find that the classic picnic table’s attached bench puts you a little too snug with the table? Would you like something that’s a little easier to store away when you’re not using it? Would you like more versatility from your picnic table? Can you think of any other questions I could preface this section with? Here they are in all their separated glory… the separatist picnic bench and table plans. Some are just benches. Some are just tables. Some are both.
5) Picnic Tables For Kids
Your backyard parties will be much more successful with the kid table set away from the adult table… How else will the kids feel comfortable practicing those new swear words you accidentally taught them while building their picnic table ;P
6) Wood Suitable for Picnic Tables
Ask 5 woodworkers and you’ll get 25 different answers. And they’ll all start with “it depends.” Here are some quotes from forum threads discussing picnic table wood choices. Your mileage may vary.
From Cody Colston at Sawmill Creek Cypress would be my choice. It’s stronger than Cedar and doesn’t dent quite as easily. I don’t like the look of unpainted White Oak after it weathers. It doesn’t hold up that well, either.
Ipe, Mahogany and Teak would all be good but expensive choices.
from Peter Quinn at Sawmill Creek: I’d consider quarter sawn or rift sawn white oak, cumaru, ipe, black locust, cambara, genuine mahogany, eucalyptus, jarrah, or iroko as a short list of worthy candidates. Black walnut is also known to weather reasonably well, though it feels vaguely criminal to suggest it for a picnic table. Cypress might be a choice if you like the look of it, which I for one do not. Sealing all 6 sides of what ever wood you choose prior to installation will go a long way towards preserving your investment in time and lumber.
7) Finishing Your Picnic Table: Finish For Pressure Treated Picnic Table? from Johnnyapollo “After construction, put it in the sun and move it around for maximum exposure (including letting it sit upside down for a week). The green will fade to more of a white color. As already stated - it needs to dry a bit, at least on the surface, to provide better absorption of any stains you use. Next find the stain - you can go dark but understand that constant weather and sun exposure will lighten it with age (so you’ll need to reapply every few years) and apply like you would decking, using a pump sprayer. Try a sample piece (keep some cut offs) to see what stains work the best. A dark walnut will hide most of the green tint anyway - actually the dark walnut stain will probably fade into the greens as it ages.”
What finish for cedar picnic table?
“Left unfinished, they will weather (outdoors) to a fine gray patina within a couple of years. You can enjoy the natural graying or protect them with a quality sealer when they reach the stage of weathering you prefer.”
8) Picnic Table Videos:
traditional picnic table from BuildEazy - not very helpful, but may have good insights to the observant
sidekick driving on a picnic table: can your table withstand this punishment?
faceplant off of picnic table: can your face withstand this punishment?
I can’t understand French, but laughter at the pain of others is a universal language.
10) My Picnic Table Plan Sources:
In addition to spending an hour poking around with Google (site searches on woodworking forums + variations on “picnic table plans”) I relied heavily on the following picnic table plan sources. There are many dupes on each list, but enough uniques that they were worth sorting through for this list. They are in order of my opinion of their awesomeness.
“Making mistakes” should be added to that list along with “death” and “taxes.” Especially when it comes to woodworking. Mistakes are the only way some of us learn ANYTHING, so I guess we should be thankful Fortunately there are some great resources available for the more common mistakes. And if those don’t help you maybe you’ll find solace in the mistakes I pulled from Woodnet in the thread “Whats the biggest mistake you have made?”
HOW TO FIX 10 WOODWORKING MISTAKES (you wish you hadn’t made)
This is a classic article, focused on classic woodworking mistakes. It’s not gospel, and none of the fixes are mind blowing but it’s a great place to start, especially for newbie woodworkers. (more…)
It’s funny, but sometimes you just don’t know what you need until AFTER you get it. A recent WoodNet thread caught my eye with this title: “I wish I had bought this tool earlier and why..please chime in!!” I picked out some of my favorite suggestions… I hope these hurry you along to finding tools that improve your woodworking experience.
1) Bill_de: a Good Square When I found that my square wasn’t square I started buying various Woodpecker and Starrett Squares and triangles. Not only are my tools aligned more accurately but my layout lines are more consistent. Wish I had started out with at least one really good square.
2) bsheffer: a biesemeyer splitter “Although the saw always still scares me, it sure makes me feel more comfortable….knowing that the chance of kickback is highly reduced.”
3) EdL: miter gauge “A good miter gage! I always did crosscuts on the mitersaw or ras until I got my Incra 1000se. Repetive length cuts are a breeze now and pieces come out exactly the same length.”
4) ronkan: Rubber floor mats Rubber floor mats from Pep Boys. Not a tool, of course, but every time I drop a chisel or something else that doesn’t bounce well on concrete I am very happy that I covered my bench area with these mats.
7) bsheffer: digital caliper ” it takes all the guess work out of measuring. Large numbers make it simple and the unit was not that expensive.. “
8) ned: Fein Multimaster “Rounded corners in 3 dimensions with a router were always more or less fugly- til I got the Fein Multimaster.”
9) Don Johnson: fractional calculator A calculator that adds fractions and/or converts from tenths/mm’s to fractions. In making chairs with several mortises up and down the legs, it really comes in handy for double checking the measurements.
What about you? What tools do you wish you had bought earlier? Please comment below!
It’s not always easy to admit your mistakes… though it helps a little if others can learn from what you did wrong. A recent thread at WoodNet caught my attention: Admit it! The OP (original poster) asks: “Who has actually hurt themselves in the work shop and how. Admit it. It will help others NOT make the SAME mistake.”
What follows are grisly, forehead slapping stories that I hope will give you the chills. I picked out some of the best “illustrations” that could serve as friendly reminders for the next time you’re in the woodshop. If you haven’t checked it out in awhile, you should also catch up with ToolCrib.com’s Ultimate Guide to the Top Ten Most Dangerous Woodworking Power Tools. (more…)
If you happen to be a Star Wars geek AND a woodworker then the title of this post probably has you a little bit shaky. Let me begin by saying that the projects listed here DON’T have plans - they are mostly DIY projects I found while scouring the web. A couple are links to industrial-grade toy models made of wood… One link - to the flying x-wing - is only partly made of wood and will require far more tools than a table saw (and 4 solid-fuel rockets…).
All that said, if you’re a true Star Wars geek then you are probably still a little bit shaky…
NICE! Here are some details:
“It is 34″ tall and 36″ long. The left side has a hinged door for him to put his Star Wars guys in. The head and neck are articulated and capable of moving. Nearly all construction is 1/2″ MDF because I wanted it to be stable and heavy and easy to paint.”
Tools used: “no CNC, no Carvewright, no Shopbot. Just my tablesaw, a drill press, miter saw, and a whole lot of hand carving and sanding.”
Too hot in your shop for woodworking? Is the winter freeze keeping your glue from setting? Welcome to the article that sets you on the path towards the perfect woodshop climate! You can blame the woodworkers over at the Wood Whisperer’s new “Town Square” for inspiring me with their thread: Shop Heating and Cooling
Here’s what you’ll find below:
1) Insulating Your Woodshop
2) Heating Your Woodshop
3) Cooling Your Woodshop
4) Humidity Control in Your Woodshop
5) More Air Quality Resources
1) Insulating Your Woodshop
Your first and foremost consideration for heating or cooling your woodshop should be INSULATION. I’m going to make this point first with an opinion from Woodnet’s RokJok (in Shop heating: Insulate, insulate, insulate!):
“How you heat the shop is less important than how well your building retains that heat.”
Here’s a quote from “Winter Woodworking: Thoughts on Heating the Garage Shop” by Howard Ruttan that helped me get the importance of insulation: “Heating a shop is a lot like filling a goldfish bowl. If you drilled several holes in the bowl, the water would continue to leak out until what’s in the bowl is the same as what’s outside of it. Unless you want a dry bowl you have to keep pouring in the water until your water bill goes through the roof.”
And now back to RokJok of Woodnet. Here’s his heating bill after spending $1500 on insulating his shop:
BEFORE: 12/21/07 - 1/22/08
Number of days: 32
KWH used: 6053
Avg KWH used per day: 189.2
Total charge: $576
Cost per day: $18.00
Avg temp: 38 degrees F
AFTER: 2/21/08 - 3/21/08
Number of days: 29
KWH used: 1281
Avg KWH used per day: 44.2
Total charge: $118
Cost per day: $4.07
Avg temp: 44 degrees F
Total savings for month: $458
Savings per day: $13.93
I read repeatedly folks saying that you should insulate your ceiling AT THE VERY LEAST. Even if you do nothing else you’ll still see a decrease in your heating costs. If you’re unable/unwilling to insulate and still want more heat then read Heating an uninsulated workshop in Woodnet where most folks suggest a radiant heater of some sort.
One note - for anyone insulating who doesn’t currently use dust collection and respiration for lung protection… Insulation’s going to close off all the little cracks that used to provide some small level of ventilation. If you insulate you’re going to REALLY have to start paying attention to dust collection and respiration.
2) Heating Your Woodshop
Far more woodworkers want to HEAT their woodshops than cool them, judging from the number of forum threads. Igniting dust will ALWAYS be a huge concern when it comes to heating. That’s why most folks recommend either radiant hot water heating or direct vent heaters with sealed combustion. You gotta keep those open flames out of the workshop! Sawdust plays a non-flammable role with forced air heaters. You’ll be changing or cleaning lots of filters, even with a good dust collection system.
I found this description which seems at first glance like a “holy grail” of woodshop heating from woodweb: “If you’re going to build a shop from scratch with a concrete floor, I would wholeheartedly endorse using radiant heat with an outdoor wood boiler. You affix Pex flexible plastic tubing to your remesh grid in an “S” pattern to cover the area and then circulate hot water from the boiler to heat the shop. If it’s a big area, you’ll want to use two loops, overlapping - one which starts at one end with a hot water inlet and the overlapping loop which is reversed. This prevents one end of the slab from being considerably warmer than the other. You have to insulate the slab and use a thick plastic vapor barrier (6 mil or better), but the end result is a toasty shop with no indoor moving parts or exposed heat exchangers to worry about getting clogged with sawdust. Another plus is that you can have all the hot water you can stand for next to nothing. And it provides a great means of disposing of your wood scraps. If you’re building a shop from the ground up, this is the system to consider.”
The one problem I can see with the idea is that you won’t be able to maintain minimum temperatures during the night without continuing to feed the wood stove outside. Also, come to think of it wouldn’t it take awhile to thaw and reheat the water?
I think your best bet - if you’re starting from scratch - is an electric thermostat-based radiant heater to keep your shop at a minimum temperature. This minimum temperature is crucial for glue ups and finishes. Then add some small, quick heating mobile units for when you’re working.
Here are some types of heaters I found discussed repeatedly (no brands):
Radiant infloor heating (hydronic heating)
direct-vent natural gas wall furnace
Solar Heating
Pellet Stove (burning your sawdust…)
forced air electric heater on the ceiling
electric radiant heaters (no fan)
electric baseboard heaters
a wood stove (no thermostat + bad for glue ups and finishes)
window unit combination heat pump/heater and Air Conditioner
One More Insulation Nag…
I can’t emphasize enough the importance that insulation will play in keeping that heated air where you want it. AT LEAST insulate your roof and seal all the noticeable drafts.
3) Cooling Your Woodshop
There were fewer folks discussing methods for cooling woodshops though there was greater passion… Especially in places like Arizona… Some of the same general concepts apply as in heating your woodshop. Insulation, obviously, is key. The increased dust will necessitate more frequent filter changes on window units. Because there were fewer solutions I decided to list out all those I found, along with links that discuss them.
4) Humidity Control in Your Woodshop
Swelling joints. Cracking, shrinking lumber. Rust. Humidity can really put a wood shop to the test. The main concerns when it comes to climate control is putting water in the air or taking it out. Here are some resources that should help get you started
Dust collection is NOT something you want to skimp on though. That said, it’s unreasonable to expect newbie hobbyists to jump right in with a 
In all I found 32 free picnic table plans out there on the web - plus some helpful videos and even a picnic table faceplant (in the fun with picnic tables section).
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