Weekly Editorial
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It’s SHOW TIME!
If you are seriously in the woodworking business, chances are that you will be in Atlanta this week attending the IWF … aka the International Woodworking Fair. The IWF has long been the venue where the newest and coolest of woodworking tools and gadgetry is first revealed to the public.
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Electronic Woodworking
Recently, the Woodworker’s Journal did some surveying among online woodworkers to find out what you all are up to. It was quite a long and wide-ranging survey, but some of the questions were about social media. I have to say that I just love woodworkers! Some of the responses were “Huh? What’s that?” Others were more enthusiastic and some, just confused: “I don’t like socialism!”
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Hot and Dusty
Recently, in the print magazine, I waxed poetic over the halcyon experience of summer woodworking. How I loved to open the overhead door of my shop and work well into the sunlit Minnesota evenings (it’s not quite midnight sun up here, but close). And that, while there were some bugs to swat and some drops of sweat to wipe away … it was one of the best times of year to be in the shop.
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Keep on Making Sawdust
Recently, I went into my shop with the intention of turning a bowl. Now, I don’t want you to get the wrong idea about how messy my shop is, but for some reason I could not find the 2-3/4″ diameter Forstner bit that I use to bore a mounting hole for my scroll chuck. Even after a significant amount of cleaning, with a good deal of muttering under my breath, I could not find the bit. Rats!
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The Voices in Our Heads!
Wow! Last eZine, I asked you to share the woodworking sayings that run through your head when you are in the shop. I knew you were into sharing, but really … I had no idea just how willing! There were nearly three hundred entries – so many, that to pick the winners (listed in our Feedback section) we just randomly pulled them out of our electronic hat. There simply were too many to pick the best. But I do want to share a few more that tickled my fancy. Enjoy!
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It’s Time For a Contest!
Random contests have long been a tradition here at the Woodworker’s Journal eZine. We’ve had the messiest shop contest – inspired at that time by my office. We’ve had a “Compliment Woodworker’s Journal” contest (I still go and look at those submissions from time to time). And two (count them, TWO) woodworking poetry contests, just to name a few. One of our more recent contests asked you to report on the worst woodworking advice that you had ever received. Which leads me to this current contest.
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Tip-Top Secret
By the time you are reading this, I will be at an undisclosed location in Northern Minnesota, stalking the wily large-mouth bass. Woodworkers are known for their generosity in sharing information about sources: “I just found some red oak selling for $0.75 a board foot! It’s over at blah, blah blah.” Fishermen, not so much. I am sure that you have heard the old saying, “Give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day, teach a man to fish, and you’ve created a liar.”
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(Almost) Summertime, and the Woodworking Is Easy
In these next two weeks, the unofficial kickoff to the summer season occurs. While it’s no comparison to the actual kickoffs from my beloved Minnesota Vikings that will occur in a few months, summer does have its perks – one of them being that it’s possible to be in the outdoors, or at least semi-outdoors, here in the North Country without freezing your tuckus off.
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Hardware Heaven
As I type this, I am just hours away from flying to Las Vegas, Nevada to check out the National Hardware Show. I must confess that I get excited about this sort of event. There is so much activity, people moving about, vendors selling their wares and, of course, the latest and coolest hardware and tools.
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The “Yes, I’m a Professional Woodworker” CONTEST!
I think the notion of taking your woodworking efforts from a hobby to a vocation is a common daydream for many woodworkers, especially in these tough economic times. Even if you don’t think about it in terms of “quitting your day job,” many of us would like to use our time in the shop as a way to bring in extra money.
