Somewhere around 1985, I remember watching a TV show with my kids called “The A Team”. It was an absurd (but fun) show about a team of misfit soldier of fortune types with George Peppard as the leader and the inimitable Mr. T. Little to do with the woodworking business, I know. But the George Peppard character had a signature expression that used every time one of their wild schemes actually worked. He would say, “I love it when a plan comes together.” (more…)

No, I’m not talking about his pride. Since he has no ego, he can’t have any pride either. I’m talking about his bathroom vanity which, since he is a logical being, is one of the few in the universe (outside of Vulcan, that is) that is at a logical height. (more…)

I guess I’ve always been the antithesis of the typical “early adopter.” I always wait until the new computer operating system has been out there for a year before I decide to upgrade (or not … passed on Vista). I never liked being the guinea pig, at least not on my own nickel. I waited several years before buying my first random orbit sander. I still have not swapped out my jointer and planer heads for the “new” spiral insert cutter heads. Most of my saw blades are not of the “anti-kickback” design. I do have some insert cutters for my shapers, but I still do my shop drawings and cut lists by hand. (more…)

This seems to be the point in time when everyone has come to accept the fact that we are in for an extended period of financial low tide. For the last year and a half, the paradigm has been one of panic combined with the hope that “they” would “do something” to shore up our teetering economic house of cards and that this would happen quickly and everything would get back on track within a few weeks or months. But that has turned out to be a bit too much of a leaky vessel to put much hope in. (more…)

I was reading a post written by a guy who had just seen Norm Abrams’ series on building kitchen cabinets. He was somewhat taken off guard by Norm’s methods which included pocket-screwed face frames and screwed together plywood carcasses. (more…)

We all have to deal with glue. We go through the whole process of dry fitting and clamping up pieces to make sure everything goes together properly. We make sure that all of the joints close tight and that the project clamps up square and true. Then it’s time to glue everything and suddenly it seems like all the rules have changed. (more…)

It seems that I caused a bit of confusion with my last posting on refinishing and repairing antique furniture. I made a distinction between “antiques” and “old furniture” that might not have been too clear. (more…)

Remember those insane graphical puzzles from the 80′s where you had drawings of thousands of people all crammed together in a forest or something and you had to find “Waldo” in there somewhere? Well that’s how I feel sometimes trying to find a tool in my shop. (more…)

With the economy being what it is these days, I’m inclined to accept a lot of work that I might have turned down when things were a bit more flush. Much of that work involves repairing furniture and most of the calls I get seem to involve “antiques”. Now, you might be wondering why I keep bracketing antiques in quotes. It’s because most people do not understand the difference between valuable antiques and old furniture. (more…)

There is no question about it. We are in a “tight squeeze.” Over the last several years, most of the people in this country have taken a major financial hit. For some, it’s the loss of value of stocks. For others, it’s the lowering of the value of their home. Pay cuts and furlough days are as common as leaves on trees. As a result, everyone is looking for a deal. (more…)