YouTube is amazing. There are thousands of creative people sharing and learning from one another online. It’s shocking when you realize that YouTube has only been around for five years. As I find interesting YouTube channels and videos I will share them here so that others might be inspired on their woodworking journey as well.
This is a remarkable time to be a craftsman. The opportunities for inspiration and education have never been so accessible.
It’s truly a revolution that people from all over the world are presenting a wide variety of interesting and unique skills, absolutely free for anyone to watch online.
Today’s featured YouTube channel Rakuou001 is from Japan. I have returned to watch this collection time and time again. The work produced in this small shop is as good as any I have ever seen. I really like the simplicity of their sparse and elegant designs. Watching how they flawlessly execute their traditional Japanese woodworking joinery inspires me to continue to learn and become a more skilled woodworker. [click to continue…]
I have given up on western style push saws unless they are tensioned blade saws like a hacksaw or bow saw. Standard western saws without a blade stiffener have to be very thick and stiff to overcome the blade wanting to bend and fold on itself during the push motion through the stock. They even wear me out, and I am fairly strong and coordinated. There are of course some very fine western style back saws and dovetail saws with blade stiffeners, but these tend to be very expensive. I have actually owned some of these but have been very disappointed in the cost to performance ratio. I’ve tried to resharpen the teeth myself as well as paying a sharpening service, with very poor results.
Japanese saws are the best overall value.
Japanese woodworking saws are my choice, and have been for many many years. I come from the “let’s get on with it” school of woodworking. I want to do good precise work, but I don’t want to fuss over a consumable tool like a saw. For me hand saws are consumables like sandpaper. I won’t make big monetary and emotional investments in handsaws, unlike say a special square and ruler set, or a good hand plane, both of which will last a lifetime. [click to continue…]
I love laminate. It’s a low cost and extremely durable choice for work surfaces in woodworking shops. Once you learn a few basic techniques with regard to how to size, glue and trim laminate, most woodworkers will find many practical uses for it. Plastic laminate is the ideal surface for table saw extensions as well [...]
I’ve been given many tools over the years by friends, family and other craftsmen. It makes sense when you aren’t using a tool, or you buy a new one, to pass the old one on to someone who may have a use for it. I recently purchased a new Makita 9820-2 Horizontal Wheel Wet Blade [...]
I have spent thousands of hours sanding. If I could only impart one tip to all woodworkers regarding sanding, it would simply be this, SAND THE SEQUENCE. * Most woodworkers know the secret to a great finished woodworking project is great sanding. If you can resist the urge to start with a higher grit, and [...]
Allan Little talks about how a drill bit shattered while drilling this past week, and if not for his safety glasses, he would be blind in one eye today. Woodman wears Condor safety glasses that he buys from WW Grainger for $2.10 a pair. Working with power tools is dangerous and you need to be extra cautious when working a power drill. Drill bits shatter and pieces of metal can fly at high speeds into your eyes. Don’t risk permanently damaging your vision by not wearing safety glasses.
Allan Little explains in his video series the secret to attaining a perfect woodworking finish. Sanding the sequence, making sure the wood is 100% free of embedded particles and sanding residue, applying Waterlox ( a tung old based finish ) and scratching in between multiple coats. Visit AskWoodman.tv to watch all his woodworking videos
I know a lot of creative and talented people. My friend and long time Toyota mechanic, Mark Larkin, is one of them. I spend hour upon hour milling wood, sanding or brushing finish which allows my mind to wander to inventions and labor saving devices for my shop. I suspect Mark’s active mind is engineering [...]
Flat, straight and square lumber is crucial to starting any woodworking project. Your board has two faces and two edges that must be square and parallel to one another. Four Square, or S4S is a milling term used to describe this. Inaccurately milled wood creates problems that will compound themselves throughout a project. The procedure [...]
Many times in the last twenty-five years while planing or jointing, the knife became damaged and caused me to stop working. The second I feel my knives are dull or damaged I place my Makita sharpening stone in warm water. Without missing a beat, I can remove the knives, sharpen them quickly, reinstall them and [...]
YouTube is amazing. There are thousands of creative people sharing and learning from one another online. It’s shocking when you realize that YouTube has only been around for five years. As I find interesting YouTube channels and videos I will share them here so that others might be inspired on their woodworking journey as well.
