I had just opened the package the Fedex guy handed me, tilted the envelope and out slid a cell phone.

“bdrrrrrr…bdrrrrrr”

I answer it. “Hello, Eno.”

“Chris…Chris Schwarz, is that you? How…what?”

“Call me, Morehandtools and we don’t have much time, Eno. I hoped this conversation would have taken place under different circumstances but you can never count on hope. I’ve been watching you for some time now, Eno.”

“Been at the beer a bit much lately, eh?”

“They are coming for you Eno.”

“What are you talking about? Who’s coming for me? And stop calling me Eno.”

“Stand up and see for yourself. Look over at the elevator now but stay low.”

“Right now?”

“Yes. Now.”

Peering over the partition wall I see them as they exit the elevator. I see a woman point in the direction of my cubicle and I duck…three editors had turned and looked my direction.

“How did you…what do they want?”

“I’m not sure but if you don’t want to find out, you need to get out of there.” the voice on the phone replied. “I can guide you out but you have to do exactly what I say. The cubicle across from you is empty.”

“But what if…”

“Go! Now!”

I gather up my chisels and hand planes and lunge across the aisle into the vacant cubicle. Two of the editors turn the corner just as I take cover in a dark corner.

“Stay here for a moment.” the voice on the phone whispers. “Just a little longer” he continues.

I peek around the wall of the cubicle and see Editor Fitzpatrick talking to a man while Editor Huey searches my desk. Editor Lang must be waiting in the elevator to cut off my escape.

“When I tell you, go to the end of the row to the office on the left.” says Morehandtools. “Now! And keep your head down.”

I roll out of the cubicle right behind an intern who had just turned his back. I sneak away, crouching as I go, down the aisle and into the first office on the left. The office is empty.

The voice comes across the phone and breaks my fevered concentration. “Good. There’s a window. Open it.”

“How do you know all this?”

“The answer is coming, Eno.”

I fling open the window and the wind howls into the room.

Morehandtools continues, “Outside there’s a scaffold. You can use it to get to the roof. There’s a small ledge. It’s a short climb. You can make it.”

“No. No way! It’s too far. Are you crazy?”

“Don’t be controlled by your fear, Eno. There are only two ways out of this building. One is that scaffold. The other is in their custody. I leave it to you.” Morehandtools hangs up.

As I climb out onto the ledge, I think “This is insane. Why does this keep happening to me? I’m going to die.” A blast of wind knocks me off balance and, as I cling to the building, I lose my grip on the cell phone. It plummets to the ground slowing as it is swallowed by the distance below. I climb back through the window as the editors enter the room.

Editor Fitzpatrick, “We just want to offer you a job.”

“Geez, Chuck. You didn’t have to put us through all of this.” said Editor Lang.

“Yeah, Chuck, come work with us. We think you’ll make a great addition to the team and it’ll be fun!” said Editor Huey.

“That’s what all this is about? You guys want me to work with you? Sounds great but what was Morehandtoo…err, Chris talking about?”

Editor Fitzpatrick replies “Chris?! He’s been touring his way through the German breweries teaching woodworking classes as he goes from town to town. Have you talked to him lately? I don’t think he’s been sober for weeks.”

That explained everything and I humbly accepted the editors offer. So, on June 3rd I enter The Matrix…umm, start working with my friends Megan, Glen and Bob as the new Senior Editor for Popular Woodworking Magazine.

Six years ago when I finally broke down after years of Glen Huey’s badgering me to begin writing and teaching, I started the Acanthus Workshop and submitted my first article idea to Popular Woodworking Magazine. The whole idea was to reach out and share my experience with other woodworkers. Sure, I had apprentices in the past (as many as six in the shop at one time, of varying experience) but this was something different. This was being driven solely by my desire to pass on what I had learned. And so I embarked on a tremendous new woodworking adventure.

I would never have guessed that it would take the turns that it did nor would I have guessed I would have met such amazing people in the process. Through the school I’ve come to know some really great people who are as passionate about their avocation as I am about my vocation. Through writing for the magazine, I’ve had the opportunity to give presentations to the crowds at Woodworking in America and to woodworking clubs and guilds across the country. I’ve had the opportunity to travel with The Woodworking Shows and meet beginning and experienced woodworkers from all walks of life. The best part of this new adventure is, none of that will change.

Sure, the Acanthus Workshop will be scaled back but I plan to continue teaching classes (Bob Van Dyke of the CVSW are you reading this?). As a member of the Popular Woodworking team, I plan on participating in Woodworking in America 2013 as a presenter again. And, of course, you’ll get to know me even better through my increased writing both in the magazine and out. This change means I will finally have more time to blog both here and on the magazine’s site.

It also means my wife and I will be relocating to Cincinnati. The magazine has generously worked with us so we can wrap up the 2013 class schedule. Some classes are being rescheduled over the next couple of months while others may be relocated to our new base of operations. As the details unfold, the website will be updated.

I’m sure I’ll do this more than once over the coming months but I want to thank everyone who has so graciously accepted me into this woodworking fraternity (and I mean that in a purely non gender-specific way). To the students past and present here at the Acanthus Workshop, and the subscribers to No BS Woodworking, I want to offer my sincerest thanks. It is my interaction with all of you that has turned my experiment into the most fun job I ever had. I am truly blessed and grateful to each and every one of you for your participation, patronage and your friendship over the past six years. I look forward to many more years of our interaction.

I’d like to thank my lovely wife, Lorraine for all her years of support. She worked with me in the shop for years and has supported every endeavor I’ve decided to try. When opportunity knocked for the senior editor position she more than enthusiastically expressed how she thought I ought to go for it (some would say she was “excited”…in fact, she has on multiple occasions herself). I know how close she is with her family and how hard it will be to move so far away from them. To paraphrase Clint Eastwood in Grand Turino, ‘I somehow managed to get the best girl in the world to marry me. It’s the best that’s ever happened to me, by far. ‘

And I want to publicly thank Glen Huey for being one of the best friends I’ve ever had. Without his creative input my career would never have made the turn into this exciting, fascinating and completely rewarding segment of the woodworking world. He has encouraged me to reach out to a larger world and share my experiences. He has inspired me with his unflinching craftsmanship, his insatiably inquisitive nature and his unparalleled passion for the craft. Without his guidance and mentorship I would never have come to know any of you. I certainly would not have even considered tackling a career at The Magazine.

There are select pieces of furniture from our private collection as well as some sample pieces we used to take to shows. Since I’ve limited my participation in furniture shows, we just have too many pieces. Naturally we (read my wife) decided it was time to sell them off to make room for pieces I am already building or have planned to build. The great part of having an online woodworking show is I get to make some really cool things that I’ve always wanted to make. The down side is we’ve got a finite amount of space to put them.

If you are in the area on Thanksgiving weekend, and would like to see the shop or purchase one of the pieces for sale, please stop by and say hello. You can get all the pertinent info by checking out our class/show calendar or, if you’d like to view some of the furniture for sale, click on the Furniture For Sale tab in the navigation bar above.

In talking with Glen Huey, over at  Woodworker’s Edge, he made me realize that people aren’t necessarily looking for a detailed report. They just want to know what interesting things have been happening in my shop lately. Well, once again, the lightbulb clicked on and I finally got it.

A few years back one of my good customers sent me an email and asked about commissioning a pair of chairs to match some old ones that had been in his family for quite some time. Since I had done some other pieces for him in the past that were lots of fun (primarily Newport pieces some of which are in my portfolio), I jumped at working with him again on another project. 

If you’ve read through Parings you may have stumbled upon a blog post about Monticello. It was on that same trip that I stopped and looked at the chairs to be copied. I also picked up a side chair and an arm chair from the original set that needed repair. This worked out well because the chairs are rather complex and it would be great to have a model from which to work in the shop. This helps both for the carving details as well as the color and finish.

Yeah, I know those other posts are four years old. I’ve got a backlog, what can I say? The chairs got finished and, after lots of fits and starts, the customer finally took delivery a few weeks ago  of his repaired chairs and the two new ones made to match.

The big thing to remember is the parallel you can draw between my work and yours. When that certain someone asks if you’re ever going to finish that project that’s been in your shop for months just say “I may take a while but I’m no where near as slow as Chuck Bender.”…no, that’s not what I want you to say. Just say “It may be taking quite a bit of extra time but, when I’m done, you’ll be amazed that I could make something like  that.”

In typical woodworker fashion, I fret and worry over my projects from beginning to end. I’m sure at every step of the project that it’ll be a complete piece of junk by the time I’m done. This, for me, means I’m sure the customer would never want this abomination in their home. When the last of the surface prep is complete, the color is dry and the final bit of wax is applied to the project I usually shake my head and realize how lucky I got…once again. Are the projects perfect? Far from it but if you give me (or you) a little time, we’ll both be amazed that I could make something like that…

As my friend Glen Huey says, get into your shop and “build something great”. Thankfully, he doesn’t put a deadline on it.

When do you reach the point where you no longer use a layout stick you ask? It’s at the point where theory meets reality.

Using the layout stick to mark shelf placement.

Using a layout stick on the initial construction of a case, for instance, is a great idea. I advocate using it for directly dimensioning the parts. The minute you have something concrete put together, either dry fit or glued up, it’s time to let the layout stick gather dust. In other words, I’ll use it to dimension my case parts and get my thicknesses and widths of my face frame parts but I won’t cut my stiles and rails to final length using ONLY the layout stick.

Once I get the case together, whether a dry fit or glued up (glued up preferably), I’ll take my dimensions off the case itself. I still won’t use a ruler or tape measure because that allows room for me to make calculation errors. I know, just do the math. I’ve been through school and did the math. Why should I EVER have to do it again (and I’m a HUGE math fan, by the way)?

Marking the shelf to final size using the actual case.

The answer is, I shouldn’t. No matter what I’m working on, I try very hard to avoid measuring and calculating dimensions. Every time you put a rule to a piece of wood or a pencil to a piece of paper (or usually scrap wood in my shop) you stand a chance of making a calculation error. So, use the ruler to create the layout stick then put it away and don’t bring it out until you absolutely need it.

All of this is predicated on the concept that you are coherently thinking about what you are doing and what steps follow. In the case of the project in the photos, I made a design change in process. I made all the case parts thinner because they looked too heavy once I started milling. I wasn’t about to go back and redraw my layout stick but there was still a ton of useful information on it (such as the location of my shelf). I just needed to make the appropriate adjustments when needed.

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know I’m an advocate of woodworkers fully engaging their thinking machines before ever touching a piece of wood. The key is to keep it turned on and functioning throughout every single step of the process. Know when to use theory and when reality supersedes.

Want to be a better woodworker? Think about it.

Let’s start with what a layout stick is (in case you didn’t get it from the earlier post). A layout stick, or story stick/pole, is a full-sized sectional drawing of what you want to make. Your woodworking project can be as simple or complex as you like. The more complicated the project, the more useful a layout stick becomes. It can also get pretty confusing so you should find a way to organize the sectional views that makes sense to you now and will be easily interpreted in years to come. I’ve used layout stick for everything from this simple footstool we make in our Woodworking Fundamentals 2 classes to full blown kitchens (including my own).

From our good friends at earlyamericanfloorcloths.com

The best part of a layout stick is, once you’ve got the layout finished and double checked all the measurements, you won’t need your ruler anymore throughout the building process. Since the layout stick is drawn full size, I take my dimensions directly from the stick itself. No rulers. I’m not sure how it works in your shop but around here the more often I use a tape or rule the greater the chance of making a mistake. When cutting parts to size I can square and end, hold it to the stick and mark off the length without ever thinking about the numbers. 

With any layout stick you want to make sure every measurement in your project is shown at least once (preferably only once but this usually isn’t possible for every part of a project). In the case of the footstool, my stick shows the thickness of every piece of the stool as well as the width, length and position of the part in the end piece. I even show the taper layout of my legs.

From my stick I can gather size and placement of my joinery (in this case mortise and tenon). I first used the stick to cut my rails to width and length. Once cut to size, I used the stick to mark off the shoulder to shoulder measurements and cut my tenons.

After the piece is complete, I can actually double check my overall size prior to glue-up to be sure I didn’t miscut something. I can hold my dry assembled piece against my stick and make sure I have the proper overall height, width and depth. 

You’ve heard all your life “Plan your work and work your plan”. Layout sticks give you that edge. You can work through all the dimensioning and joinery in your head and on the stick before you ever pick up a piece of lumber. For me, on some extremely complex pieces, my layout stick has saved me more time and money than I would have ever guessed. Just the idea of being able to envision how a piece goes together before I actually do the work is invaluable. Once you’ve started using layout sticks in your work, you’ll wonder how you got along without them.

First, the video. It’s graphic so be aware of this BEFORE you hit play.

Well, wasn’t that fun? I can still see the router flopping all over the bench top with abandon in my mind. Does that mean we woodworkers should give up our tailed routers? Absolutely not.

Although that may be the reaction of many, those less reactionary should seriously look at what he did and how we should never do that ourselves. It’s like any mistake, you need to learn from it. Everyone talks about tablesaw accidents but routers, especially the new larger horse power models, can cause some serious damage if used improperly.

Now, let’s discuss Matt’s analysis. His first mistake he points out is complacency. In other words he just didn’t think about what he was doing.

I don’t think he meant it that way when he created his video but that’s what it boils down to. He listed within his section on complacency several things to illustrate how he was complacent. Being tired was one of the major things he pointed out and he is correct to do so. When you’re tired, it’s time to quit…no matter what you’re doing, how you’re doing it or what your deadline may be…stop, get some rest and attack it when you’re fresh. While this is a big factor, I just don’t think it’s his biggest mistake.

He gives the example ‘I’m just going to use the tool this way just this one time. What’s the worse that can happen?’ This implies that he thought about the use of the router and chose not to do it safely. I think he’s correct in his “complacency” argument which means he never stopped to think about what he was doing. In the video he had the router set up, the board in place, picked up the router and turned it on and started routing without a thought to what was happening and why. We’ll get to that shortly.

His next section was on misuse of the tool. And while this too was a big contributing factor to the accident, it still wasn’t the biggest. He points out that he’s using the wrong router for the task and he’s once again correct but he didn’t go far enough. His trim router was made to “trim” things off. It’s in the name! What he failed to do prior to turning on the router was think about the operation he was performing and what were the potential problems.

Matt’s last section was about body placement. Again, I think his analysis was on the right path but he stopped short of reaching the goal. He works hard at trying to get you to understand his body position wasn’t being effected by camera placement. I’m sure it wasn’t. Personally, I didn’t see where he was over-reaching to the point it would cause this accident. What I saw was, he didn’t think about what could happen and what would be his escape route if something catastrophic happened.

This all brings us to what I saw and what I think he could have done to avoid this accident. Let’s look at the four major things I think he did wrong.

First, he was taking too big a cut for the size router he was using. This jibes with his idea of switching to a full sized router rather than a trim router but even at that, the cut is just too big to take in one pass given the rest of this setup. I wouldn’t attempt such a deep cut (look at how much router bit is projecting beyond the base of the router) in one pass with any router. One of the things I want you to walk away with from this is, a larger router isn’t going to make the process inherently safer. If Matt had used a 3-1/2 horse power router, he would still have had problems taking such an enormous cut.

Now that I’ve criticized how he did it, let’s take a look at how it could have been done better. First off, regardless of what router he chose, he should have tried to take that pattern cut in several lighter passes. I’m not talking at this point about how much material extended beyond the pattern. I’m talking about how far the bit projected beyond the base. It looked as though he was using a top mount pattern bit to make the cut. In spite of the name, it’s the wrong choice. If he would have thought about how far the cutter extended beyond the base, he might have realized there was no way to control the router once he made contact with the wood.

The better choice would have been to use a guide bushing and take the trim cuts in smaller bites (3 or 4 at least). I know that means making several trips around that pattern but I’m sure the extra 15 minutes would have saved him hours (if not days) of pain. Even with a trim router, this cut would have been a lot safer and manageable with a guide bushing and shallow cuts. He just needed to think through the process better.

Starting on end grain is another problem he had with this accident. Trying to take such a deep cut on end grain at any time is just asking for trouble. And he found it. Again, shallower cuts and starting on side grain (where the grain direction is going in his favor) would have been the better choice had he thought about it.

My next bone of contention is going to cause some controversy, I’m sure. Let me just get it out…I don’t like those hockey puck bench things. Matt mentions that they’re safe ‘you’ve seen the demo with them using a belt sander on a board on top of them and it doesn’t move’. In the inimitable words of Col. Sherman T. Potter…horse hockey. I’ve never liked the pucks nor the mats for routing. There’s too many directional forces at work for them to be secure. Using a belt sander on a board that’s on top of the pucks puts a fair amount of downward pressure on the work. That’s what keeps it “securely” in place. I say “securely” because I’m not standing behind a person using a belt sander with a board on those pucks, are you? Think about it, a bit too much dust between the puck and the board and a drop in downward pressure and you’ve got a rectangular frisbee on your hands…on in your stomach or face.

Let me say this in no uncertain terms. Clamp your work securely to your work surface. If you stop and think about it for a second, no matter what I’m doing, if I have my work locked into a vice or clamped to my bench it isn’t going anywhere.

Matt pointed out how he was going the wrong direction. When I watch the video, it looks like he was doing that from the start. It was my first reaction when I watched the video. It looked like he pushed the router into the work and then decided to move the running router away from himself. At that point it grabbed the end grain and became a rocket instead of a router. I’ll take Matt at his word that he actually intended to go the right direction and accidentally caught the work while trying to back up to his starting point. I just thought it too important to not point out here…DO NOT CLIMB CUT WITH A ROUTER. It’s spinning far too fast and has too much horse power (that little Rigid has a one horse power motor) for ANYONE to control. Matt’s climb cut wasn’t intentional but the inability to control the tool was exacerbated by the depth of cut. The base of the router being so small also contributed to the bit contacting the wood when he didn’t intend it. If he would have thought about what he was doing more, he would never have backed up with his router.

One of the last things I see that Matt did wrong was he used his hand to help secure the wood to the pucks. See my rant on the pucks to understand why I don’t think Matt thought this process through enough. It’s just a couple of paragraphs back so you should be able to find it quickly.

In all of this, I’m not trying to bash my friend Matt Vanderlist. I’m trying to point out Matt’s biggest mistake. It’s one I talk about frequently here at the school, the Acanthus Workshop. If you’ve taken a woodworking class here I’m sure you have heard me talk about it. Matt’s biggest mistake was he didn’t think.

He shut off his brain and used a tool that, for all the reasons he and I have given, wasn’t right for the job. He also didn’t think about how the tool was going to react to coming in contact with the workpiece. He didn’t think about where the tool, the work or the cutter might end up if something when completely wrong. He didn’t think about how to keep his hands out of the path of the cutter when something did go wrong nor did he think about how he can’t move fast enough to avoid injury. He didn’t think about the fact that he was tired and NOT THINKING.

No matter what tool you are using, whether it be hand or power driven, you need to think about what you’re doing. You need to think about what the potential dangers are of the operation. You need to think about how you can position yourself to receive the least bodily injury possible should something catastrophic happen. You need to be alert and focused on the task at hand. In other words, you need to think…constantly. As sad as it may be in some cases, your brain is your biggest safety device. If you aren’t willing to use it, give up woodworking and take up crochet. Think about it.

Today is the first day of a Fundamentals 3 class here at the Acanthus Workshop. Although some of the students have been through Fundamentals 1 and 2 already, this class begins with planning. 

Some projects just seem to need very little planning, right? Wrong! If you want to be successful, and efficient with your time and materials, every project needs a plan. I don’t care if that plan is an elaborate set of architectural drawings or scribblings on a napkin. You, my friend, need a plan.

In the shop I often use full sized drawings but usually I make a layout stick or story pole (they’re two names for the same thing). A layout stick is a full sized, three dimensional, cross sectional view of your project and I have one for nearly every piece I’ve ever made. Layout sticks are fairly common in carpentry and the building trades. They can help a craftsman avoid common construction mistakes. The same holds true for furniture.

The strength of a layout stick comes from the vast amount of information that is contained within it. It helps me puzzle through the potential problems I may have with joinery as well as get a sense of the scale of a piece. Once I have the stick properly laid out, I will have hardly any need for a ruler or other measuring device from that point forward in my project. When cutting parts to length, I simply square the good end of my board, hold it against the layout stick (or the other way round if the board is on the large size) and transfer a mark showing the proper length of the piece. I can use it the same way for thickness and width as well.

When I make a layout stick for a complex project, I tend to draw in all the little details. I will actually draw out moldings in full detail. Not only does this provide a permanent record of what I did should I want to do it again but it gives me a chance to see what I’m doing “in real time”, as it were, so I can decide if I like it or not. It’s far easier to change a stile width or molding profile on a drawing than when you’ve just milled everything.

The other indispensable part of a layout stick is it is a permanent record. As I said, I have them for nearly every project I’ve ever made. They’re compact and easy to store. Mine are usually a strip of plywood to which I drill a hole and hang from a peg using a piece of string in my shop. If I wanted to make another copy of that William and Mary chest I made nearly thirty years ago, I can grab the layout stick and build something that, other than figure in the wood, would look identical to what I made previously.

This may, or may not, be of importance to you but if you’re woodworking as a hobby I’m sure that at some point a sibling of the recipient of the first piece you made will ask for one just like it for themselves. If this takes place several years after you made the first, a layout stick would be a good reminder of exactly how you made the first one and what size everything was, wouldn’t it?

So, why is this important for my Fundamentals 3 class today? Well, they’re making one drawer stand this weekend. Today, very first thing this morning, they begin by making a plan…their layout stick.

This is my first time at the Wood Expo. Initially I thought it was really just a high end craft show held within the New England Home Show. In talking with Tommy about it late last year, I discovered my thoughts were wrong. The concept for this entire show is to educate the public about fine furniture and bring makers of fine furniture together with potential buyers. What I see as the best part of the show is it brings new furniture makers out of their shops and puts them in the spotlight. It encourages them to continue to grow as craftsmen and artists. Sales are always nice but there’s more to this show than that.

Sideboard by Kevin Mack

Each year the organizers have invited established professionals to come demonstrate/present information to the public and interact with, and critique the work of the furniture makers who enter their pieces into the show. This allows the budding craftsman access to some of the country’s leading craftsmen. Personally, I loved seeing all the work these furniture makers were doing.

As you know I’m primarily a period furniture maker but that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate other styles of furniture. I really loved seeing arts and crafts pieces and contemporary pieces side by side in the show. It’s easy to get downhearted in this business when you constantly hear how woodworking is a dying art. The great thing about Wood Expo is it lifts that veil of mournfulness. It is uplifting to see such great craftsmen entering the market.

Sydney lamp by Mike McCoy

It was really great seeing these young craftsmen interact with customers on the floor. The best part for me was seeing how enthusiastic these makers are about their products and how that excitement rubs off on the customers. I wish each of them success. They really deserve it.

The pieces were plentiful and varied. There were really good 18th Century reproductions and contemporary pieces as well as pieces that blended period designs with contemporary twists. Probably the best thing to do is let you see some of the pieces displayed at this year’s Wood Expo.

[[Show as slideshow]]

Some of the craftsmen represented in the slideshow are:

• Kevin Mack
• Michael McCoy
• Ryan Messier
• Quentin Kelley
• Steve Skillins
• Megan Caine
• Rusty Burwell
• Rob Bois
• Michael Scott Morton

There more top come about wood Expo 2012.

Continuing the theme of Get Woodworking Week, a project launched by Tom Iovino, I really thought about the most important aspect of woodworking for someone who is just starting out.

After more than 35 years of woodworking I sometimes forget what it was like when I first started out. Starting the school four and a half years ago has really made me continually re-examine my roots. Having students who’ve done little or no woodworking in the shop has lead me to believe there’s one common area that woodworkers continually have trouble fully understanding. Sure, you can buy all the hand and power tools a person could need to make anything out of wood. You can learn every method under the sun for sharpening, tuning and using a chisel, a handplane, a tablesaw or a jointer. You can spend your time perfecting your sawing technique so you can create perfect handcut dovetails but unless you understand one thing you’ll struggle perpetually.

So, what is this one thing you ask?

The answer is simple: the nature of wood.

If you don’t understand what wood is, how it reacts to different things and how to put it’s weaknesses to work to our advantage woodworking will be much tougher than it really needs to be for you. I don’t mean to discourage folks from becoming woodworkers. Quite the opposite in fact. I actually believe that a good basic understanding of wood, its structure and how it reacts to different environments and the implementation of tools ought to be the starting point for every woodworker. So much so that this is the exact place where I begin my Fundamentals classes. For a couple of hours we discuss everything from how a tree grows to how we dry the lumber we turn it into to how to read the grain direction in any board. I can tell you that students who have gone through my Fundamentals series and return for other classes have a much easier time with implementing new woodworking techniques than students who did not take my Fundamentals series.

I realize that not everyone can come to a class here with me. I’m not expecting that either. This is exactly why I started my new online show. I want to help woodworkers of all levels improve and reach their woodworking goals. In the spirit of my goal I made the first couple of episodes of my show available to everyone for free.

The first show deals with the nature of wood and how we impose grain direction on wood when we turn it into lumber. It deals with how that grain direction affects every aspect of woodworking from the simplest task to the most complex. In the spirit of “Get Woodworking Week” I offer that show here on my blog for you to watch. If you only ever watch this episode of the show it should help you become a much better woodworker.

If you’re new to woodworking, or you are contemplating woodworking as an avocation or vocation, this is a great place to start. Enjoy the show and please post any questions you may have. The only way to get folks woodworking is to demystify the whole process. If there’s something you don’t understand in the show, ask and I’ll do my best to help clear it up. I truly want you to achieve your woodworking dreams. Every journey begins with the first step.

Enjoy,