Working With Wood : Drill Bits Usage Tips

When working with wood, drill bits play an equally important role with other tools and equipment. A drill with the wrong size and type of drill bits can be a disaster to your wood project. Here are some tips how to choose and how to use drill bits:

1. Choose the type of drill bits based on the type of material you are going to drill. Steel drill bits are the cheapest and they are considered OK for drilling soft wood. Drill bits range then go up to cobalt, which can drill through stainless steel, as well as other hard steels or metals.

2. Choose the type of drill bits based on what you are going to use them for. Normal twist drill bits are used mainly for general drilling. To bore wood, brad point drill bits can be used and they are great at removing wood chips while drilling. A spade bit is similar to a little shovel. It is used for making large openings or holes in woods, starting from 1/2" and above.

3. Remember to check with the drill manufacturer's guides and instructions for specifics and also limitations. Certain drills only work best with certain kinds of bit, because there may be limitations on the drill such as torque limitations that prevent particular bits from being used.

4. Remember not to drill too fast. This can cause the bit to bind up and stop. If this happen, you should take out the bit by slowly reversing the bit and then start over again slowly and steadily. Upon the drill pushing through the wood, work the drill back and forth a couple of times through the hole in order to get rid of any rough spots.

So, before you start your wood working, drill bits should be made a priority and you should choose the right drill bits for your wood working.

Woodworking Tools – Know About Mitre Saw

What is a Mitre Saw? Mitre Saw is among the many woodworking tools available and it is a tool which allow you to make a 45˚ cut. Let’s say you want to make a picture frame. Notice how the four corners of the frame were jointed. Instead of jointing them at a 90˚ angle, it is much better to joint them at a 45˚ angle. The jointing at a 45˚ angle is called mitre joint. Most picture frames you may have seen are done this way. See diagram below.

Why do make we a mitre joint? Generally, a mitre joint is regarded as an attractive joint, particularly for picture frames or other frames. Stronger options may be required in the event the joint depth becomes greater, like dovetail joint.

There are 3 types of mitre saw available. They are Manual Mitre Saw, Mitre Box and Powered Mitre Saw.

1. Manual Mitre Saw. This type of Mitre Saw features a backsaw positioned onto a metal base and it is able to rotate freely. The reason for using a backsaw is because, it provides better precision in cutting. The base of the manual Mitre Saw contains vice clamps where you can lock your wood in position. To fix the angle, you will be using guiding rods attached. This concept is very similar to "mitre box".

2. Mitre Box. The manual Mitre Saw and the Mitre Box is pretty much the same but the Mitre Box come first before the manual Mitre Saw. Mitre Box is no more than an open top box and an open ended with some slots cut in it. Normally, it is made from wood or plastic.

What you do is you place your wood in the box and subsequently place your saw right through the guides and start your cutting. The guides are normally angled at 45˚ or 90˚. Some Mitre Boxes comes with 60˚, 30˚ as well as other odd angles.

3. Powered Mitre Saw. For bigger jobs, powered woodworking tools are the best. As such, for bigger wood jobs, it is more effective to use a powered Mitre Saw. It has a base made of aluminum and a circular saw is mounted on top of it. You can rotate the saw around the aluminum base and lock it into place at your preferred angle.

There are various models available in the market and the sliding type is the most basic model. It can slide along a rail, as such, it can cut larger pieces of wood, larger than its diameter. A compound saw is the popular version. The compound saw allows you to tilt and angle the blade concurrently.

I hope this woodworking tools article shall provide you with the information about Mitre Saw. Remember, in woodworking, tools are very important. So get yourself the right tools.

Use The Right Woodworking Bed Plans For Your Bed Project

To build a good bed, then you must have good woodworking bed plans. Why? Because without good woodworking plans, you are sure to fail in building your bed. Good plans shall provide you with all the guides and details for building a good bed.

Even if you do not wish to buy any plans whatsoever for your bed project, you will still need to do some sketching to figure out how the end product will be. You will also need to figure out the following :

1. The type and size of your bed. You need to determine what bed is it going to be. A double decker? A king size bed or perhaps a queen size?

2. The design of the bed. How do you want your bed to look like? Modern, classic, European and so on.

3. The materials needed for your construction. What kind of timber or wood do you need? Do you need plywood? What kind of materials do you need for the headboard?

4. The tools and equipment needed. Do you need to have a chainsaw? How about a circular saw? And do you need to have squares?

5. The dimensions of various parts of the bed. To cut the stock or wood to form parts of the bed, you need to have the exact dimensions of each part. Or else you will not be able construct the bed. And even if you manage to do so, (which I doubt) assembling the bed is going to be a problem to you.

6. The steps for building the bed. You need to know the order of building the bed to smooth the building process.

Now, the above you must do. I have been in the construction industry for 20 years and I can tell you that the above is very, very important. Find your self good woodworking bed plans, the ones that provide you with all of the above, and not woodworking bed plans which provide you with sketchy details. That will make your woodworking much easier.

Woodworking Techniques For Butt Joints

What are butt joints? Butt Joints are actually simple woodworking techniques and they are the basic method to joint 2 pieces of wood. It is not very strong compared to other joints, but it is extremely useful in some cases.

When you butt or joint a piece of stock against another stock with glue, that is called a butt joint. Normally, the joint is strengthen with nails or screws.

To make quality butt joint, you need to ensure that both end of the boards or stocks have good contact and to do this, you need to cut them as square as possible. To get the square, you should use mitre saw. However you may also obtained the square if you use circular saw together with a layout square. Remember to set the circular saw blade angle to zero degrees.

Butt joints are woodworking techniques which obtain its durability and strength from the glue applied at the joints. Despite that, there are still some problems with using glue as the only way to hold the joints.

The first problem is, whenever you apply glue to the stock’s end grain, the glue have the tendency to absorb more into the stock, compared to applying the glue to the stock’s side grain. Do you know that the most porous section of a wood is the end grain? So, you might need to apply more glue at the joint.

The second problem is, glue shall not supply much of lateral strength, thus the use nails or screws is highly recommended to make the joint stronger.

In the event you use hardwood for your woodwork project, make sure you drill pilot holes first prior to putting in the screws . This is to avoid the stock from splitting and cause you more problem.

There are in fact a lot of possible methods to join 2 pieces of wood. Some of them might involve advanced woodworking techniques. The simplest method is the butt joint and it can be perfectly sufficient under some conditions.

Recommended Instant Access To 14,000 Woodworking Plans & Projects

Quality Furniture Woodworking Plans

Are you looking for furniture woodworking plans? Where can you get the best downloadable furniture woodworking plans? Have the plans been tried and tested? Finding the reliable plans for your woodworking project is the most vital step in building your own furniture.

If you search the internet, there are plenty of woodworking experts who are willing to contribute their methods and ideas in constructing home furniture. For your info, there is a website which lets you pick from top wood crafters who have designed quality and easy to read plans that will make your work smooth.

Maybe you have been looking for a particular set of shaker coffee table plans which will survive the torture of 3 kids and maybe a dog, but you have not been able to locate plans which address bracing sufficiently. This website is just for you. The plans in this website are laid out very well, all the details are shown very clearly and you won’t have to guess anymore to build your furniture.

Another popular home furniture is file cabinets. You can buy those sold in any department store, but they are flimsy and maybe don’t quite match your décor. Constructing your own classy strong wood file cabinet is a great idea to organize your files at home. This website has all the details about constructing file cabinets.

Making sustainable home furniture can make you relax and also can become a moneymaking project, but if you use the wrong furniture woodworking plans, the finished furniture may look great but it may not survive a durability test. You need to build it right in the first place and you shall not waste your hard work with amateur wood crafters who give poor advice.

Purchasing furniture woodworking plans on the Internet shall help you in constructing your home furniture. You should also listen to experts and use methods which have been tried before to ensure that your labor and time is worth the while.

How To Build A Shed-The Foundation and Flooring Tips

If you are planning on building a shed, then you should read the following tips for how to build a shed. These tips for how to build a shed will focus mainly on the shed's foundation and the flooring.

1. Treat your foundation with termite treatment to avoid having problems with termite later on. This you need to do before the works for laying or installing the foundation begin.

2. Without a strong base or foundation, any shed, no matter how well it is built, shall not last long. If a poured concrete base or foundation is too expensive for you, then you can choose to rest your shed on 4x4 pressure treated timbers or on solid concrete blocks. You must level the concrete blocks or the timbers and place them close to each other so that they can strongly support your shed.

3. You should not build your shed on low ground where the water table is high. You should place your foundation on gravels 2 to 4 inches thick to avoid the foundation from eroding. For large sheds, such as 14’x14’ or larger, may require deeper foundations to avoid the frost line. Deeper foundations are normally concrete piers or buried post for stability. You can check with local county codes department for the depth of frost line.

4. Because water is dangerous to your shed, you need to take the necessary measure to protect your shed. What you can do is make sure the lowest lying component which contain untreated wood is higher than 6’ from the ground. By doing so, you will allow the circulation of fresh air underneath. The shed should also have about 2 to 3 feet clearance on all sides from plant or buildings.

5. For the shed’s floor frame, use a weather resistant type flooring. You should use good quality flooring as well as floor frames to avoid a floor which springs when someone walk on it. The ¾" exterior-grade plywood, is a good choice for flooring. Thinner plywood will bend between the floor joists. As for the floor mudsill and joist, you should use 2”x6” or 2”x8” pressure treated timber.

These tips on how to build a shed will help you in making a long lasting shed. For making your life easier, you should also have good quality plans which will guide you on how to build a shed from scratch.

The 6 Essential Woodworking Tools

In woodworking, in order to complete and to get your project done easily and smoothly, you will need to have woodworking tools. Is without a doubt that woodworking tools are the most important thing in woodworking. Here are some tools for woodworking which you should know.

1. Measuring Tools and Marking Tools

Protractor, measuring tape, scratch awls, marking knives, plane gauges, hygrometers, winding sticks, straightedges, combination squares and try squares

2. Cutting Tools (Hand Saws and Power Saws)

a) Hand saws

Cross cut saw, keyhole saw, bow saw, coping saw, tenon saw, gent’s saw and dowtail saw.

b)Power saws

Chainsaw, miter saw, scroll saw, radial arm saw, band saw, hole saw, circular saw and table saw.

3. Shaping Tools

Hand planes such as shoulder plane, smoothing plane, rabbet plane, spear plane, block plane and scrub plane. Other shaping tools include adze, rasp, froe, spokeshave, drawknife and jointer plane.

4. Assembly Tools

Screwdriver, hammer, mallet, hand drills, power drills and clamps

5. Finishing Tools

Sandpaper (can be used with power sanders), file, scraper, brushes and spray guns for applying lacquer

6. Furniture and Accessory Tools

Workbench, vise, bench hook and sawhorse

The above tools for woodworking are important for your wood projects. It is not necessary that you have all of them. By having some of these woodworking tools shall help you a lot in your project.

Recommended Instant Access To 14,000 Woodworking Plans & Projects

Woodworking Bench Vise-The Front Vise

When you buy or make your own woodworking bench, you need to make sure that your bench has a vise attached to it. A vise is just like an extra strong hand which can improve your work. With a vise you will able to make smoother sawing, steadier plane strokes as well as make sanding faster. Here are some information about front woodworking bench vise.

The front vise type is normally placed at the woodworking bench left corner (at the long edge of the bench). It is great for clamping a drawer side upright when you are cutting the tails of a dovetail joint, clamping a board edge-up horizontally for the purpose of hand planning, or any other job which need a strong hold on wood pieces without the use of your hands.

What kind of front vise is best for your bench? The best front woodworking bench vise is the one which is made from cast iron. Mainly, it has 2 steel rods to align the jaws and also to prevent inward flexing of whichever side of its outer jaw if you just use one side of the vise. There are also vises which have fast release mechanism to make the changing between various clamps easy.

Normally, the jaws width shall describe the vise. Hence if a vise is described as “7 inch vise”, it means the vise has jaws width of 7 inch. You will also normally find that the vise maximum opening capability as well as the screw diameter are listed in the vise specifications.

It is best that you choose a vise which has an opening wide enough to hold the thickest wood piece you shall be working on. In figuring out the opening, remember to subtract the wooden pad thickness, which you will be installing prior to your work, to have the actual opening. So, a vise with a 9” capacity and with pads of 3/4'' thickness shall give you 7 1/2” opening to work with.

However, there are some odd occasion where you shall bigger opening. A vise with 13'' opening capacity shall basically cover for almost everything you might run into.

I hope this article will help you in buying your woodworking bench vise. Whatever vise you choose to buy, remember that a woodworking bench is not complete without a vise.

Building a Simple and Cheap Woodworking Bench

If you are looking for a woodworking bench, you can buy it or, you can make your own. If you are new to woodworking, then I highly recommend that you make your own bench so that you can practice. Here is how you build your simple and cheap woodworking bench.

1. Overall bench dimensions

The bench is 26’’ x 48” x 32” (deep x width x height)

2. Materials required for this project

a. OSB

b. 2”x4”

c. Deck Screws

3. The Pieces

a. For Side Rails, cut the 2”x4” to 45" long. Make 4 pieces

b. For Legs, cut the 2”x4” to 32" long. Make 4 pieces

c. For End Rails, cut the 2”x4” to 26" long. Make 4 pieces

d. Get 2 pieces of 26" x 48"OSB

4. How to assemble the side assembly

Place the lower rail 6” away from the bottom of the legs. You can use a 90 degree ruler to ensure the rail is 90 degree with the legs. Screw the joints together, with 4 screws each joint. In the process, the side frame will be "squared up".

5. How to assemble the frame assembly

Attached the end rails to the side frames. Then, turn over the two sides and ready for clamping and joining. The corners are joined using 3" deck screws.

Then attach the OSB (the shelve) with 1-5/8" deck screws.

6. How to install the lower shelf

Make rectangular notches, with the size of 3" x 5" at each corner of the OSB. This will allow the OSB to fit around the legs.

To get the OSB in place, you need to angle it and attach it with short deck screws.

That is all there is to make your own woodworking bench.

Recommended Instant Access To 14,000 Woodworking Plans & Projects

Quality Woodworking Plans From Woodworking4Home

If you are very into woodworking projects, then you must have quality woodworking plans. If you look in any of your woodworking magazine, then most probably you will find plans which are not of good quality. So one good place where you can find quality plans is from Woodworking4Home.

1. What is Woodworking4Home?

Woodworking4Home is a website which provide 14,000 woodworking plans and projects which have been made by a pro woodworker. The plans are arranged by project and you can download all the plans and projects anytime you wish. All you have to do is just find a project which you want to build, and then click on the project button to access the abundant plans available for that particular project. When you find the plans which you like, simply download the plans to your computer.

Unlike a woodworking magazine, which you need to buy every other month, you will only be paying once for the 14,000 plans and projects. You may also request for a DVD copy of the plans and projects and you shall also receive free updates from time to time.

2. Simple To Follow Woodworking Plans

The good thing about the plans from Woodworking4Home is that the plans are simple to follow. This is a vital factor, because most novice woodworkers do not complete their project due to the fact the plans they are referring to are too complicated to follow, instructions given are not clear enough and they are written to complex or they are missing some important information which the writer presumed everybody knows.

As for Woodworking4home, it provides only the best quality woodworking plans. All instructions in the Woodworking4home plans are given in a step-by-step format which are very simple to follow for all woodworkers regardless of their expertise. You will not find any missing instructions or diagrams in any of the Woodworking4home plans. I bet you will not find this in a woodworking magazine.

3. Is It Worth The Price?

For a mere USD98.99 for 14,000 plans and projects (at the time of writing, they are offering a price of USD49.00), I would say it is worth the price. Plus it comes with a 60 days money back guarantee. If the product fails to perform exactly the way they have described it to you, simply contact them and ask for a refund.

Tools for Woodworking : The 3 Must Have Woodworking Power Tools

In any woodworking project, you must make your timber approximately the correct size first, subsequently fine-tune the timber to the precise dimensions, and lastly smooth it to the finish according to your requirement. Hence, you will begin by sawing your wood, then plan it down and lastly sand it so that you will have the finished product. To make all these easier, you should get yourself tools for woodworking and woodworking plans.

Here are 3 tools for woodworking that you must have to make your work easier:

1. Band Saw

You must have band saw for sawing your lumber. You can pick between a vertical or horizontal band saw. A band saw will most probably be one of the most multipurpose tools in your workshop because it can be used for cutting veneers, re-sawing and with practice, it can also be used to form joints for angled and curved cuts.

2. Power Planer

Power planer is also one of the helpful tools for woodworking. The difference between a power planer and a hand plane is, the power planer works hundred times faster. Unlike the hand plane which use a single blade, the power planer use multiple blades attached to a cylinder that rotate at high speed and then planes to the determined depth.

3. Orbital Sander

Once you have got your timber to the correct size, you will then want to smooth your cut timber down to its finish. A sander can help you do this, and my recommendation is the Palm Orbital Sander. Just as the name suggests, this is a hand held tool and it is small. With its small nature, you will be able to get into all those crannies and nooks which a belt sander or larger orbital cannot reach.

There you have my recommended tools. For woodworking, you should also have good woodworking plans which detailed out all the materials, tools and equipment required to begin your woodwork project.

Woodworking Plans : The Significance of Good Project Plans

The really important part of a woodwork project or any project is planning. It is vital that you cautiously plan your whole project to ensure the successfulness of the whole project. Planning shall also make your woodworking projects much faster and cheaper. Hence, each woodworking project must have good woodworking plans.

When you create detailed woodworking project plans, you shall have a good comprehension of what is involved in the woodworking project. Beginners shall find this very useful. Project plans must show each step of the project from beginning until completion.

Good project plans must include budget, time frame and good woodworking plans or drawings. The plans or drawings must have detailed step-by-step instructions, photos and diagrams to make your project easy.

Many people prefer to work out of carpentry books when they first started, because these books go through many techniques in detail. These books will also teach you the woodwork skills that you require. You may also want to subscribe to woodworking magazines available offline and online for tips and plans.

Not everyone likes the thought of using commercial woodworking plans simply because they want to make something more personal. If this is what you want, then you can alter some of the particulars in your plans or drawings to make it your unique project. This simply means that although you are using a commercial plan, you can still create your own project without having to recreate the wheel.

Time frame of a project in woodworking project plans is very important. Without a time frame, you might end up finishing a simple chair in 6 months. Remember, when planning for your time frame, it must be realistic and achievable.

Because budget is also one of the important part of your woodwork project, you must have good plans or drawings which detailed out all the materials, tools and equipment needed to begin a particular woodwork project. From the woodworking plans or drawings you shall be able to estimate your budget.

Recommended Instant Access To 14,000 Woodworking Plans & Projects

Woodworking : Saws To Make Your Woodworking Easier

Power tools are equipment that you should have in your woodworking workshop. Among the most important equipment for your woodworking projects, are woodworking saws. For better value for your money, you should check table saws from Jet power tools. Here are some information about Jet table saws and also Jet Lathes.

Jet Table Saws

Jet table saw is a great tool for power and accuracy in all woodworking workshop. The precise horsepower you will get, will be based on the table saw that you get, however count on about a three or more hp(horsepower) motor. The fence falls between thirty inches and forty inches. The assembly instructions is good and that means even a beginner can set the equipment up. Just like any other saws, you will need to change the saw blade every few years.

Jet Lathes

The lathes made by Jet, are easy to use and are easy assemble. Jet lathes can be very useful for a few number of various jobs. There are also lathes which come with additional tools as an additional bonus, such as an eight-piece chisel set as well as other hand tools. As you may have already known, you can never buy too many chisels, as such these bonus tools will help you to build up your tools collection without spending more money.

Technical Details for JET 708352 JWL-1236 Woodworking Lathe, 12-Inch Swing 3/4 HP 115-Volt 1-Phase:

-12-inch variable speed wood lathe with stand

-3/4-horsepower motor; 550 to 3,000 rpm; 34-1/2-inch distance between centers

-Cast-iron lathe bed, headstock, and tailstock; heavy-gauge steel components; metal motor housing

-Includes lathe, stand, tool rest, 6 face plates, spur center, live center, face shield, tooling knockout

-60 by 17 by 44-inches; 183-pounds

Hopefully, this woodworking saws article will help you in deciding which woodworking saws you should buy. If you are looking for woodworking plans, then checkout the following 14,000 woodworking plans & projects.

Woodworking How To For Beginners

Are you a beginner in woodworking? How to get great and workable woodworking plans is the common question among beginners. You may also wondering whether you should buy expensive working tools and equipment and what type of woodworking projects you should do first. To help you to make your decision and to get started, here are some tips for you to keep in mind:

1. You should start familiarize yourself with the woodworking basics. Study about various forms of woodworking, the types of woods and trees and how the woods and trees are used, various woodworking tools, etc.

2. When you have familiar yourself about the basics, then you should plan what kind of woodworking projects that interest you. And when you have determine the plan that interest you, then you should buy related books about woodworking or maybe take some classes that will teach you woodworking project.

3. Register for a few classes adjacent to your area, perhaps a class for beginners via any local college or some classes taught by a qualified and skilled woodworker. The most important thing is, the classes shall provide you with a clearer overview of various tools as well as woodworking safety to assist you in getting started.

If in the event you do not wish to take classes, and you happen to know a friend who is very skilled in woodworking, you could ask him to train you or ask him to let you help him with a project, or maybe show you how the project is done.

4. But, if you are still fresh to woodworking and you haven't really used any tools before, another option is to consider beginning with a precut kit. Normally, most precut kits consist of woods which is pre-cut in the proper sizes and shapes. Then you simply follow the woodworking plans or instruction given and assemble all the pieces together. With the precut kits you only need to nail, screw, glue, sand and do some finishing.

I hope this “Woodworking How To For Beginners” article shall provide you with some useful information about woodworking. Lastly, you should also checkout the following 14,000 woodworking plans & projects.

Simple Woodworking Plans

Woodworking is an excellent hobby enjoyed by many Americans. We need only a basic or simple set of tools plus some easy and simple woodworking plans, most novice woodworker will be able to get started and then work at a pace or level that suits their skills.

It is most likely to find and download a complete sets of woodworking plans directly from the internet with ample ideas and projects that will last a lifetime. Never buy plans one each time because they are very costly and you should doing so.

You should look for sets of woodworking plans which not only contain simple and easy woodworking projects for you to start with, but also contain bigger, better as well as more challenging plans. Some plans will begin from basic and end with blueprints for a carport or a garden shed.

This woodworking hobby can also be self funding, as any unwanted items or things may be sold to purchase materials and also to increase the contents of your tool kit.

Projects which are regularly in demand during summer and spring are garden furniture; the chair and the octagonal garden table and they are very satisfying pieces to build.

When you shop for woodworking plans, just ensure sure that you will receive more than a simple plan. The plans should begin with a complete materials list with all wood lengths shown clearly as well as clear explanations of more complicated procedures and complicated joints.

All hardware which is required, like nails, screws, hinges etc, must be listed, as this information will permit you to estimate a job before beginning the work.

Avoid projects which require the hiring or buying of specialist equipment because it can really send your budget for the project through the roof.

An amateur woodworker will improve their skills by starting from simple woodworking plans to more advanced projects.