Wood, Leather, Steel, Blood
February 15, 2013 6:42 PM   Subscribe

Wood Central is a long lived forum for woodworkers predating even young upstart Metafilter. Having been around for so long the forums are a source of immense knowledge of all things wood and some of that has been collected into posting archives and essays on their Articles and Reviews page. So if you ever wanted to knowWood Central's article page has you covered.

There are also humorous tales of misadventure; instructions on constructing a table with a secret drawer actuated by a secret catch; a helpful tip for retrieving your arbour nut from the pile of sawdust under your saw; instructions on freehand sharpening; and cautionary tale on how to (not) turn a bowl amongest many other articles.
posted by Mitheral (15 comments total) 176 users marked this as a favorite
 
Can we get a video of Adam Savage making that bow saw?

Great post, thanks.
posted by LarryC at 7:15 PM on February 15, 2013


I love you.
posted by mudpuppie at 7:17 PM on February 15, 2013 [1 favorite]


drool
posted by telstar at 7:27 PM on February 15, 2013


I can tell already that I am going to come back to this post again and again.

Thank you.
posted by gauche at 8:49 PM on February 15, 2013


I'm Ron Swanson, and I approve this message.
posted by uosuaq at 8:59 PM on February 15, 2013 [1 favorite]


Somewhere I've got some step by step pictures of my making a bow saw. Or you could, you know, make your own.
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 10:18 PM on February 15, 2013


Showed it to friend. Friend liked discussion on whether they used sanding or planing (and how much they really cared) in centuries past.
posted by aniola at 10:28 PM on February 15, 2013


Nick Offerman would approve.
posted by el io at 1:04 AM on February 16, 2013 [1 favorite]


From the double twisted dovetail link:

Be careful, when using this technique, to avoid cutting into the meat of the fingers.

I want that in needlepoint for the wall of the shop.
posted by dubold at 3:21 AM on February 16, 2013 [3 favorites]


Awesome post
posted by DU at 6:12 AM on February 16, 2013


Man, I wish I was good at this kind of stuff. Those oars are gorgeous.
posted by Pantengliopoli at 8:24 AM on February 16, 2013


Looks like a fantastic resource. Thanks for posting it.

But, I still can't see why the Fibonacci sequence or a gauge built with it is useful. That it allows one to arduously approximate a specific number that can be calculated with arbitrary precision doesn't seem like much of a selling point. (If, like me, you've been set to wondering what the Fibonacci sequence could possibly have to do with rabbits, the answer is: not much, except in a historic toy model.) It there really something about the Fibonacci sequence that's interesting, or is it all just the curiosity dressed with mystical woo that it appears to be?

Of coarse, given that I start every every (amateur) carpentry job by laboriously converting all my decimal drawings while cursing the world for being filled with fractional tools and materials, there's definitely a machinist's mindset that I don't understand.
posted by eotvos at 10:31 AM on February 16, 2013


Your right the gauge doesn't make sense if you are working off of plans. But many woodworkers work from story boards and/or their project dimensions are determined by the material they have on hand. And the Fibonacci sequence gives you rectangles with ratio of sides equal to the golden ratio. And the golden ratio is used in many projects. It's an aesthetic choice

For example let's say I'm building a lingerie cabinet for my wife and I'm going to use some salvaged Cherry for the drawer fronts. The drawers are going to be constrained by the width of my boards and I'll use the gauge to get a golden ratio length. I might then even constrain the height of the drawer assembly by taking the golden ratio of the length of the drawer front to get the height. I'll transfer all these measurement to my story board for that cabinet and then get busy making a cabinet without ever measuring a length.
posted by Mitheral at 12:06 PM on February 16, 2013 [3 favorites]


Can't wait to have a shop, can't wait to have a shop, can't wait to have a shop....
posted by RolandOfEld at 12:33 PM on February 16, 2013 [1 favorite]


How to safely use a chainsaw:Think about how you hold the wood, you don't want metal such as nails or screws anywhere the chain might hit them.

Learn as many swear words as possible before attempting to start the chainsaw so you can properly vent your rage in a coherent manner.
Do a lot of cardio so you can bellow at the top of your lungs and not be worn out once the chainsaw actually starts.
posted by Smedleyman at 5:06 PM on February 17, 2013 [1 favorite]


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