Marc Spagnuolo's Blog, page 84

I’m on Rough Cut!

This summer, I was invited by Tommy Mac to guest on his PBS show Rough Cut. I flew up to Boston and spent a full day filming and building with the Rough Cut crew. The episode I appear in is #508 – Hall Tree and Bench and has already aired in numerous markets. But as is the case with PBS shows, they may air in your area at different times of the year or not at all. Check your local listings. Tommy says that they will have these episodes online in January so if that happens, I’ll certainly let you know. In the mean time, here’s a quick preview featuring yours truly!

Click here for more information about this episode.

Black Friday and Holiday Weekend Sale Round Up

It’s that time of year again when the sales come out to play! We are doing our best to compile a nice list of the best woodworking deals right here in this post. If we missed something awesome, be sure to let us know in the comments. Come back frequently to check for updates. And please note that some links aren’t available yet because the sales haven’t started. Some (but not all) of the links below are affiliate links and help support TheWoodWhisperer.com.

Powermatic/Jet

– JET clamps are half-price:

Rockler.com – 4-piece kit $134

Woodcraft – 24″ Clamps $24.99

Woodcraft – 40″ Clamps $32.49

– JET 708620B air filtration unit is 30% off

– Buy a 719100, 719110, or 719200 JET lathe the stand is half-price

– Buy a 726100 Bench Grinder, the stand is half-price

All new products will also be on sale: Powermatic 15” Bandsaw, both of the new JET 14” Bandsaws, the new JET 17” drill press, the new Powermatic 18” drill press, the PM1000 table saw, all the new JET lathes including the 1440VS model that was launched last month.

Amazon.com

Amazon always has a ton of deals going on during the holidays. Be sure to monitor their lighting deals that usually only last for a few hours (or whenever they sell out). If you are an Amazon Prime member you’ll get a 30 minute early access to lighting deals!

Eagle America

Eagle America has a variety of products on sale including a couple of specials.

– Spend $200 or more on KREG product and receive a $50 Eagle America Gift Card

– Spend $100 or more and receive free shipping using the code WHISPER14

Highland Woodworking

Some excellent gift ideas from our friends at Highland Woodworking!

Rockler

Woodcraft

Lowes

Looks like you can get a lot of great deals online today and Free Shipping with qualified orders!

Bell Forest Figured & Exotic Woods

C.R. Muterspaw Lumber

If you looking for a deal on 4/4 tiger maple, C.R. Muterspaw Lumber has it on special for $4.25bf

Shop Woodworking Books and DVDS

TWW Store & Wood Whisperer Guild

Of course we couldn’t forget about the sale we are having!

234 – Holiday Wall Art

It never fails. Every year, Nicole gets into the holiday spirit and buys a bunch of cute holiday decorations that I could have made in a day! This year, I put my money where my mouth is and made a few decorative wall letters. These things are so easy to make with nothing but scrapwood and some art supplies.

Each piece is cut to approximately 6″ x 6″, stained, and then painted using stencils and acrylic paints. Using hot glue, we also glued on a few fun and festive decorations from the craft store. All in all, a fun little project and a great one for getting the kids involved.

Poll: Black Friday and Cyber Monday

You know what’s coming up this week here in the United States: Thanksgiving!

And, immediately following Thanksgiving is Black Friday where people lose their minds, wait in hours-long lines and attempt to buy every single holiday gift in a frenzy of shopping bliss. Which is also followed by Cyber Monday, the first day back to work from the holiday when many of us – ahem – ‘borrow’ the bandwidth of our employers to do a little online shopping.

It’s an annual rite and no matter how much we dislike it we continue to do it year after year. Sometimes, the sales are even awesome for us woodworkers.

So this week, the question is will you be buying any woodworking tools this coming Black Friday or Cyber Monday or will you be staying out of the fray?

Do you plan on buying woodworking tools this ‘black Friday’ or ‘cyber Monday’?

Thanksgiving Weekend Sale

It’s our biggest sale of the year! Shop all weekend long! On Black Friday, 11/28 everything* will be 25% off! On Saturday and Sunday everything* will be 15% off. So be sure to shop early for the best deals!

And for the entire 3-Day Sale, all

So mark your calendars and head on over to the Wood Whisperer Store and pick up some awesome DVDs, Books, Templates, TWW Hoodies & Shirts, or even a Shop Apron!

All you need to do is use the coupon code TURKEY at checkout!

*Guild Gift Certificates and Woodworkers Fighting Cancer Shirts and Mugs are not included in the sale. Sale does not combine with any other discounts.

Mike’s Walnut Dining Table

By: Mike Mielcarz (Levittown, PA)
Experience: 0-2 Years
Woodworker Type: Hobbyist
Project Type: Tables
Material(s): Solid Wood
Finish Type(s): Lacquer
Finishing Technique(s): HVLP

I’m more into the “modern/contemporary” furniture style, if I had to label myself. I really wanted to build a custom extension dining table out of American walnut. Functionality and custom size being first, then style and design being a close second in order of importance.

I was inspired by a cool coffee table design for this project. Simple butt joints glued up for the whole solid walnut table top with all the pieces skewed at an angle (I don’t remember the exact angle degree). The table seats six chairs when closed, and 8 (10 squeezed in) when extended. The legs are from 3×3 solid walnut boards. They are cut into the table top about .5″ for support as well as design. The aprons are mortise and tenon into the legs as well. The extension rails are solid maple, custom built as well. I used an old article from FineWoodworking.com about building extension tables for instructions and reference. The extension leaf stays hidden under the table top when folded and needs to be manually removed by hand–it’s not a fancy self-opening mechanism type thing. It’s a snug fit, but works. I really didn’t want to have to store the leaf someplace else in my house.

The project took several weekends to build with my dad as my trusty partner in wood working crime.

233 – Flexible Sanding Strip

The first time I saw a flexible sanding strip in action was while watching an episode of Woodworks going on almost 10 years ago. David Marks incorporates lots of curves in his work and the man knows a thing or two about making them. Since then, I have made numerous sanding strips in all shapes and sizes and my curves are about as perfect and smooth as they can be.

Flexible sanding strips are incredibly easy to make and I get a lot of requests for more information on this little shop helper. All you need is a piece of 1/8″ plywood, some cork, sandpaper, and some spray adhesive.

Cut the plywood to 4″ W x 11″ L (or whatever size you want). Use the spray adhesive to attach the ply to an oversized piece of cork. Use a razor blade to cut the excess cork from the perimeter of the ply. To attach the sandpaper to the cork, use a few quick bursts of the adhesive. The goal is to make a temporary bond so that the paper can be replaced in the future. On the top side of the strip, glue a small piece of scrap on each end for handles. That’s all there is to it!

The world of smoothing curves will never be the same!

Poll: Making Holiday Gifts

November is rolling by! The stores have had their holiday decorations up since, I dunno, the end of summer? Like it or not the holiday season is bearing down on us like a runaway sleigh pulled by nine crazy flying reindeer and it’s only picking up speed.

So it’s time to for the annual question: Are you building any holiday presents this year? Is it a given that you will, or are you surprised by just how quickly time is flying by? We asked this question last year too so click here to see those results.

Are you building holiday gifts this year?

TWW Live 06 – Knitting in Jail

Giveaways

Last month, Donald won the Festool CT26 & Boom Arm. Justin won the TWW Guild membership. Congrats guys! This month, you can enter to win a Festool TS55 & CT26 Combo! Enter today!

News & Announcements

– Woodworkers Fighting Cancer 2014 benefiting Cancer Research Institute. Keep up with the latest at WoodworkersFightingCancer.com!

– 360Woodworking.com launched!

Featured Viewer Project

– Marks’ Sleigh Bed

– Submit YOUR Project

In Case You Missed It

– Highland Woodworker Episode 15



– Matt’s Beard Comb:



– Saw Hero:

Gear Up!

– The Leigh Jigs RTJ400 Dovetail Jig

Reviews

– The Handmade Skateboard by Matt Berger. Get 30% OFF using the coupon code WW1114!

– The Furniture Bible by Christophe Pourny

Live Q&A

– Matthew York: I’d be curious to know if there are any particular wood species that Marc absolutely loves, and if there are any that he absolutely hates. Also, I wonder what his opinion is on wood-bodied planes vs metal-bodied planes.

– John Maguire: Can you explain how to set the blade depth of a hand plane?

– Bbarefoot: Have you ever restored an old plane

– Justin: When should I upgrade to a 15″ planer from the lunchbox planer I’m using currently.

– Remco Smith: Have you ever bought tools and ended up not using them?

– Chris Thomas: Any resources for wooden drawer pulls?

– Ken Newton: How did you get started in woodworking?

– Adam: What tools do you recommend buying as “forever tools” right away.

Logan’s Inside-out Live-edge Coffee Table

By: Logan Newman (Rochester, NY)
Experience: 5-10 Years
Woodworker Type: Hobbyist
Project Type: Tables
Material(s): Solid Wood
Finish Type(s): Oil, Oil/Varnish Blend
Finishing Technique(s): Wiping

I found this beautiful piece of spalted Maple and decided to build a coffee table. I had a friend who wanted a live edge coffee table so I got to have some fun! The board was 7 ft long and 11 inches wide and I needed to cut it in half and join it with a spacer in the middle to get my friend’s desired width.

I liked the idea of the live edge table, but I also know that I like to put my feet up on a coffee table so I knew that a live edge spalted maple board would break under that pressure. Also, spalted maple has gorgeous grain along the edge and I didn’t want to lose that. I decided to take the board I had bought and join it with a piece of Chechen along the live edge. I cut a dado along the length of the board and then hand carved both pieces to ensure a good fit. The walnut legs are mortised into the top and the bottom is 1/2 lapped into the bottom shelf. The bottom shelf is spalted beech split down the middle with a walnut piece biscuit joined to the 2 pieces.

The overall size is 25 inches wide, 42 3/4 inches long and 18 inches tall. It was finished with danish oil and 14 coats of wipe-on gloss polyurethane.