Page 13 - Cutting and Shaping Wood

How to safely cut full pieces of sheet stock on a table saw. Cutting full sheets of plywood, MDF, OSB, melamine, or particle board can be tricky and even dangerous. If you plan to cut a full sheet of plywood on the table saw, it's best to get a second person to help support the plywood. If you are working alone, it is best to use a circular saw to cut the plywood into smaller pieces.

How to make repeatable cuts on your table saw. A sacrificial fence is a replaceable fence that is attached to your miter gauge. The sacrificial fence provides additional support behind the work piece and prevents splintering on the back side of the cut. A stand-off block is a spacer that is attached to the guide fence. The stand-off block is used to register the work piece to make the same length crosscut with each pass. The stand-off block keep the work piece away from the fence during the cut, preventing any chance of binding or kick back.

Learn how to adjust and use a hand plane. Hand planes have been used by woodworkers for hundreds of years, but it can be challenging to smooth wood using a bench plane if you don't know how to adjust and properly work it across the wood surface. Master Woodworker Ian Kirby demonstrates the proper way to adjust a hand plane, how to stand when using a hand plane, and how to push a hand plane across a board to get great results. After watching Ian's hand plane lesson, you'll be able to easily plane boards perfectly smooth.

How to safely plane thin panels using your thickness planer. As a panel gets thin, it is more likely to bow under the pressure of the front feed roller of your thickness planer. If the panel bows, the planer's spinning cutter head can shatter the front edge of your panel or even worse kick the panel back out.

Learn how to install or change a router bit in a portable router or router table. We demonstrate how to change a router bit in a portable router with two wrenches and how to change the bit in a router with a collet lock. You'll also learn how to change

Woodworkers must often change drill bits. It's not a difficult task, but it's important to change drill bits correctly for the best results. In this beginning woodworker Skill Builder lesson, we show you how to install and replace drill bits in both keyed

Today I'm going to show you five different types of drill bits that are especially useful to woodworkers. Whether you're new to woodworking or have years of experience, you're going to want these drill bits in your tool collection.

What's the best joinery method for drawers? The answer: there are several reliable options. The best one for you will depend on the tools and skill at your disposal, and on the importance you place on durability, aesthetics and last but not least, getting done fast. In this article, we'll outline a few of the most common drawer making methods, and suggest a few tools that will make the process easier and more accurate.

If carving isn't for you or isn't in your repertoire, Southwestern-style projects like this entry bench still look great without the extra detail. We understand that carving is not something every woodworker would choose to do. It is, however, a traditional element in Southwestern furniture.

Nature hates straight lines, and as woodworkers we spend a huge amount of time and effort in making things straight. But curves can and should be a large part of your woodworking. There are several methods for forming wood into curves, and the next few blog posts will explore these techniques. We will be looking at simple force bending, kerf bending, lamination and steam bending.

We started this wood bending series exploring simple and kerf bending. In this edition, we look at forming wood parts using thin laminates. As we all know, the thinner the part, the easier it will conform to a curve. Lamination is the process of bending many thin parts together and holding them in the desired shape until the glue between them dries. Once dry, the resulting part will pretty much hold its shape forever.