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So Many Reasons for Thanks
It’s pre-dawn on Thanksgiving morning as I write this. The sun is just starting to color the eastern sky, and the house is still quiet. I’ve downed my first cup of coffee, and the cranial hard drive...
View ArticleWood to the Rescue!
As a card-carrying member of the woodworking fraternity (and sorority … no bias here, sister), I have no problem making this general observation – we are a thrifty bunch. No shame to our tendency to...
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April Issue Uncovered
Despite the snowy prospects here in Minnesota, it’s time to think spring. To that end, we’re happy to announce that the April print issue of Woodworker’s Journal is headed to your mailbox and should...
View ArticleTips on Lumber Thickness
The best way to kick off your projects on the right foot is to start with stock that’s flat, square and of consistent thickness. That, of course, involves a round of surfacing at the jointer and planer...
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Why *I* Like Woodworking
Readers of last week’s blog were asked to comment and describe what they like about woodworking. Although I can’t enter the contest, I will add my two cents. What I like about woodworking is working...
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A Trip Down Lumber’s Memory Lane
I was perusing my shop’s lumber inventory the other day when I started to recollect how long some of those boards had been collecting dust on the racks. You know what I’m talking about, right? You...
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Buying (or Selling) Logs For Lumber – Log Rules Part 2
From the time the very first Europeans set foot on American soil, we have tried to develop systems to estimate the board feet of finished lumber we can obtain from a green log. It seems...
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Buying (or Selling) Logs for Lumber – Log Rules Part 3
Log purchasers use many reasons for the differences in log rules. For example, users of the Doyle Rule, which underestimates volume in smaller logs, say that this is the very reason it is a fairer...
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It’s Not Cedar
Cedar is used in many different projects in woodworking. There are humidors and cigar boxes made of Spanish cedar, closets and blanket chests lined with Eastern red cedar, and even your carpenter’s...
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Gibson Guitars, the Lacey Act, and You
I would guess we all have heard about the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s raid on the Gibson Guitar company on August 25th. If you haven’t, you need to push back the rock a little. The U. S....
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Oak Lumber – White or Red?
As promised many moons ago, here are the sure ways to tell the difference between red and white oak after they are sawn into lumber. Since my last post here I have been asked exactly why you need to...
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The Sound of a Tree
All my friends know that I’ve been a “ukulele nut” for most of my life. A girlfriend in college gave me my first real uke, a mahogany Martin Style 0 that she bought at a thrift store for the whopping...
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Christmas Wood and the “Poor Man’s Ebony”
The title of this blog post may be a little confusing, but it is not meant to be. (Well, maybe it is — but we’ll clear things up in a minute.) American holly (Illex opaca) is native only to the United...
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The Cheap, Good Wood
USDA Forest Service Archive, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org I know. The words cheap and good usually aren’t used together when the subject is wood for woodworking. But in the case of the Southern...
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A Popular Hardwood for Interior Parts
I mentioned yellow poplar last month in my post about the Southern yellow pines, so I thought it would be appropriate to follow up on that. Yellow poplar (Liriodendron tulipfera), or tulip poplar for...
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Bullets and Black Walnut
Last winter I was visiting a friend in Mississippi near Vicksburg. The farm at which I was staying is located on a road that leads directly to that city’s famous battlefield. In fact, the Confederate...
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From Oak Trees … to Lumber … to Projects
A couple of weeks ago, in Woodworker’s Journal eZine Issue 310, Woodworker’s Journal editor in chief Rob Johnstone wrote in his introductory editorial about a friend who’d questioned him on the...
View ArticleVeneer on Video
Have you ever wondered how hardwood veneer is made? Yeah, me, too! One of my woodworking friends sent this link to me — and it does a really great job of showing the process. Even though I’ve been...
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Sustainability a Tradition, not a Trend, at Osborne Wood Products
While some companies might pursue greener business practices in the hopes of attracting today’s ecologically minded consumers, Osborne Wood Products has embraced sustainability as an operating...
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Sustainability a Tradition, not a Trend, at Osborne Wood Products
While some companies might pursue greener business practices in the hopes of attracting today’s ecologically minded consumers, Osborne Wood Products has embraced sustainability as an operating...
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