'Classic Joints with Power Tools' by Yeung Chan is what I consider to be a modern classic for the woodworking community.  Easy to follow with detailed pictures, illustrations and of course detailed descriptions written by one of today's best woodworking instructors this book is an essential for any woodshop.

From the most basic 'Butt Joint' to the complicated 'Three-way Mitered Mortise and Tenon Joint' Yeung Chan has made it easy to understand and reproduce using modern power tools that just about everyone is familiar with.

Purchase Your Copy at Woodcraft.

Available at Highland Woodworking Too!

Now that we learned a little something about the proper placement of butt hinges let's spend this episode talking about mortising them in place.  Regardless of whether you use power tools or hand tools the technique is very similar and believe it or not, with a little practice, a chisel and mallet will yield the same result in just about the same amount of time.

The traditional butt hinge is a mainstay in woodworking.  Their design can be very simple to very complex, but when it come to placement in the project it's very straightforward.  A few key design aspects to the proper placement of butt hinges include the following.

Golden Rule #1 - Equal distances from the top and bottom, no more than 3" in either direction.

Golden Rule #2 - The hinge pin should sit almost completely proud of the face frame.  Although having the pin at least 1/32" into the reveal gives it a nice look.

Golden Rule #3 - For frame and panel doors, placing hinges level with the bottom of the top rail and level with the top of the bottom rail will give a great look to the project.

 

The much awaited honing and sharpening video has finally arrived.  It's a matter of flattening the back and honing the bevel.  As you'll see I use waterstones, but I also mention the use of sandpaper too.  Just for reference here's a comparison of grits.  Coarse Stone 800 grit = Sand Paper 320-600, Medium Stone 1000/1200 = Sand Paper 800-1000, Fine Stone 4000 = Sand Paper 1500+.

Suggested Sharpening Supplies:

 

Click To Play

 

It's Feature Friday again, my apologies for missing the last show on wednesday.  It's been one of those weeks!  We are giving away a WoodSlicer Bandsaw Blade from Highland Woodworking to one lucky listener.  If you're interested in purchasing a WoodSlicer Blade because you didn't win one...or you just really want one here's a quick link to help get you there.

If you haven't gotten your name in for the schwag, well it's too late for this week but not for upcoming episodes!

Just a little follow up and feedback regarding our earlier discussion about increasing the dust collection ability of our contractor saws and benchtop saws.  Also, we announce the winners of the summer awards at Lumberjocks.com.

We have the return of the most popular Feature Friday feature, "Router Bit of the Month"!  This month at WoodCraft the featured router bit from Whiteside Machine Co. is actually two router bits.  It's a rail and stile set for frame and panel door construction.  The two bits are complementary to each other and feature a nice bead profile that really helps to dress up your doors with or without a raised panel.  Easy to use and easy to set up this router set is a great compliment to any router bit collection.  Since we also missed the Router Bit of the Month for July, we have another bit to tryout and talk about.  Whiteside's large, 3-wing, ogee raised panel bit.  This is a huge bit, so extra precaution needs to be taken when using it.  Remember by visiting WoodCraft either online or at a location near you, you too can take advantage of the great price on these bits.  To order your's click here Bead Stile & Rail Door Set (2), Whiteside# 6003

Click To Play

We have the return of the most popular Feature Friday feature, "Router Bit of the Month"!  This month at WoodCraft the featured router bit from Whiteside Machine Co. is actually two router bits.  It's a rail and stile set for frame and panel door construction.  The two bits are complementary to each other and feature a nice bead profile that really helps to dress up your doors with or without a raised panel.  Easy to use and easy to set up this router set is a great compliment to any router bit collection.  Since we also missed the Router Bit of the Month for July, we have another bit to try and talk about.  Whiteside's large, 3-wing, ogee raised panel bit.  This is a huge bit, so extra precaution needs to be taken when using it.  This is just the audio version, so the video(s) will be posted soon.  Remember by visiting WoodCraft either online or at a location near you, you too can take advantage of the great price on these bits.  To order your's click here Bead Stile & Rail Door Set (2), Whiteside# 6003

Gary wrote in with a couple of questions about frame and panel construction.  Hopefully I was able to answer his questions and yours.

This was great timing, as Feature Friday this week is actually a frame and panel set.

Visit John's website to set the World Record for the biggest Jigsaw Puzzle www.thebigjig.co.uk

Back in June a listener of the show had a question about improving the dust collection of a contractor tablesaw.  Older contractor saws and almost every benchtop saw I've seen are horrible at keeping the sawdust from coating everything in the shop, the house and our lungs.  Finding a way to enclose the bottom will decrease the amount of sawdust in the air dramatically.  Here are two photos of what I've done and tried to explain in the show.

check out John's bid for the world record jigsaw puzzle, help out if you can at www.thebigjig.co.uk

It's 'Jig of the Month' and thanks to Terry we've got a great one to talk about.  Terry has created a self centering router mortising jig.  Thanks to the ingenious use of a couple of roller blade bearings and a plexiglass base we can build a router mortising jig that will give you perfectly centered mortises time and time again.  Making this jig is really easy thanks to the PDF we have of Terry's directions and won't take much time at all.

Don't forget to get your name in for freebies like this week's winner did, just drop me a line at mattsbasementworkshop@gmail.com and mention schwag.

Downloadable PDF for Terry's Self Centering Router Mortise Jig.

Continuing our discussion of exterior finishes leads us to the next group of finishes.  Pigmented stains, both semi-transparent and opaque are excellent choices for getting the most protection from UV radiation damage.  In fact the more pigments present the greater the UV protection.  Speaking of pigments, paint is perhaps one of the best choices we can make for exterior projects.