The holiday season is practically knocking on our doors and it's the perfect time to start thinking of projects for loved ones and friends. Who doesn't love receiving a gift you know was made with their own two hands? I know my family does, and up until this year they've been sadly disappointed in the past. Not this time around! Ever since the guys at Bell Forest have become an advertiser on the site I've been haunting their website looking at amazing stock for projects. One thing that caught my eye early on was some of the project kits they had available. These are kits perfect for a weekend build or just for someone looking for an easy to assemble gift without a lot of hassle with designing and planning the construction of them. The Paddle Cutting Board is one of those kits. Sent with everything you need to build, the wood, the template, the directions. All you add is time, tools, glue and you. Who could ask for more? To find out more about the Paddle Cutting Board kit or any of the other great offerings from Bell Forest visit their website at www.bellforestproducts.com. You better hurry though, now that the holidays know were talking about them they'll charge right at us instead of sneak up from behind.

Summer might as well be officially over. The kids are back in school, the warmest days are now almost equal to the coldest nights from just a month ago and I'm heading back into the shop with the video camera to start building more great stuff to share with all of you. Yes, I'd say Summer is about ready to be tucked away under a pile of dead leaves very shortly. So that means it's time to start posting some of this content I've been filming. To get these new episodes started on a solid footing I'm posting my recent build of Benchcrafted's Moxon Vise Kit. If you're not familiar with Benchcrafted already, you might want to take a few moments to visit their website and checkout their amazing bench hardware and plans. Jameel and the guys don't mess around with quality, they have one set of standards...GOLD. I've never read a review or commentary that didn't involve their hardware being praised in the highest way. So when I had a chance to try one of their Moxon Vise Kits I jumped at the opportunity. AND MAN WAS I NOT DISAPPOINTED!!! At this point I could go on about the quality of their craftsmanship and the details of the instructions, but I won't even begin to scratch the surface of how impressed I am with it. You'll just have to watch and see for yourself. For more information on any of the Benchcrafted products visit www.benchcrafted.com. Tell them Matt sent you, hopefully they won't blacklist your email LOL! And one more thing; for the sake of transparency, I received this kit from Benchcrafted in exchange for advertising. BUT, I would've heaped the same praise on them regardless! Help support the show - please visit our advertisers

As I mentioned Monday the countdown to Woodworking in America 2011 is on and in full swing. I hope you plan on attending the lectures or at least make it for the marketplace, it's like walking into the most amazing woodworking store ever! Imagine asking the tool makers themselves about the item you want to buy vs a sales person (no offense sales people LOL!) Today's episode is the second compilation of previously unseen footage I recorded. This time it's from the 2009 Design and Construction conference in St. Charles, IL. Again, I wish it could've been more, but that's not fair to the presenters and way to much to download. On Friday I'll post links to many of my previous episodes that were released each year, including the 2010 Conference. So come back to check that out. function recordOutboundLink(link, category, action) { _gat._getTrackerByName()._trackEvent(category, action); setTimeout('document.location = "' + link.href + '"', 100); } Help support the show - please visit our advertisers

The countdown to Woodworking in America 2011 has entered the final weeks. With about a month left on the calendar before woodworkers from all over the country (and even FROM other countries) flock to Cincinnati Ohio for what has become for many, THE WOODWORKING EVENT OF THE YEAR, I wanted to share a few of my favorite moments from WIAs past. I've been very privileged to be able to attend each year, and appreciate being invited back, so for those of you who can't make it for what-ever reason I always try to get as much footage as possible to give you a little taste of the experience. This whole week I'm re-posting links and footage from the last 3 years, along with a couple of videos of previously unseen content. While I'd love to post the entire length of the lectures, it's not fair to the presenters and quite honestly that's a lot of footage, so you'll have to enjoy these short snippets. Hopefully you'll be able to attend a conference in person, if not this year than maybe in upcoming years. Today's episode is the first of my previously unseen videos (actually the first snippet was seen, I've just re-edited it slightly) it's from the very first Hand Tool Conference in Berea Kentucky 2008. These snippets of various lectures are a great example of audience participation and the wide range of amazing experts and topics the shows cover. function recordOutboundLink(link, category, action) { _gat._getTrackerByName()._trackEvent(category, action); setTimeout('document.location = "' + link.href + '"', 100); } Help support the show - please visit our advertisers

It's the final episode in the "Walls of Shelves" series. In today's episode I'm applying a veneer edge banding to the exposed edges of the shelving units and ALL the shelves that go with them. Unlike in previous builds where I've opted to use solid edge banding, this time I'm turning to the pre-glued version. I've always been skeptical, to some degree, about how reliable it can be. But once the heat re-activated the glue, all my skepticism went out the window. It not only holds better than I anticipated, it set up faster than I thought it would. So there was a bit of a learning curve to getting it in place without a lot of swearing. My other big concern with edge banding veneer was whether it would fake and obviously applied. But just like with any wood joint, solid or not, it's a matter of leveling and sanding for a perfect mating surface. In fact, hopefully in the second half I'll be able to adequately show you what I mean. If after watching the show you have an alternate method to anything we've discussed in the entire build series I'd love to hear about it, leave a comment below or drop me a line by CLICKING HERE. Help support the show - please visit our advertisers

So far in the "Walls of Shelves" series you've seen me working on some rather straight forward, basic shelving units. Along with these regular pieces, the client had asked if I could build a corner shelving unit for them also. The corner piece isn't all that different from the other units except for the curved shelves. In today's episode I'll demonstrate how I cut those curved shelves using a tablesaw and a jigsaw, and then in the second half of the episode I'll share with you some optional tools we can use to make the same cuts. If after watching the show you have an alternate method I didn't mention I'd love to hear about it, leave a comment below or drop me a line. [dewplayer:http://blip.tv/file/get/Mattvan-462WallsOfShelvesPt4715.mp3]Click to PlayDownload iPod VideoDownload AudioHelp support the show - please visit our advertisers

Today's episode starts off with drilling the series of holes on the sides for the adjustable shelves. The key to this task is to get them parallel to the edges of the sides and of course more importantly with each other. To get the job done right I'm using the Veritas Shelf Drilling Jig. It's at this step that even with the flattest shelves, if the holes are misaligned, the shelves are nearly impossible to correct and the books or nick-knacks displayed on them will really emphasize the mistake. And once we finish with the adjustable holes, it's time to move onto the glue-up and assembly. In the second half of the episode we'll talk more about a fix to help take care of unsquare glue-ups. One that doesn't involve tearing the assembly apart and starting all over. No special tools required, just the clamps you're already using. Tools mentioned in today's episode along with link's to our affiliate programs to help support the show: Veritas Shelf Drilling Jig - Lee Valley 3D Square - Highland Woodworking Corner Joiners - Highland Woodworking Right-Angle Assembly Clamps - Lee Valley Web Clamp - Highland Woodworking "L" Bracket Jig from Matt's Basement Workshop Archive - Click here to visit post. [dewplayer:http://blip.tv/file/get/Mattvan-461WallsOfShelvesPt3581.mp3]Click to PlayDownload iPod VideoDownload AudioHelp support the show - please visit our advertisers

In today's episode we continue the construction of the "Walls of shelves" for my client by routing the dados for the fixed shelves and then ripping the sides to size. Also we'll cut the fixed shelves and create the blind rabbet joint that not only attaches the top fixed shelf to the sides, but will help to add some rigidity and strength to it. Once this is all done, we're about halfway through the construction phase and we can begin to move into the assembly of the shelves next week. In the second half of today's show I want to discuss a little bit about understanding the basics of the plywood grading system. Other than exterior vs interior plywoods, the biggest concern is understanding how the grading system can tell you which pieces are best for fine woodworking and which ones are more utilitarian. In the episode I mention a great article at WOOD Magazine's Website which is a nice basic look at understanding the grading system and what you can expect from the various grades of plywood. CLICK HERE TO VISIT. Items mentioned in today's episode you may want to add to your shop: Magswitch Plywood bits Quick clamps Kreg setup blocks Help support the show - please visit our advertisers

Just in case you've been an even more amazing father than you already are and your family are looking for the perfect gift to remind you how much they really appreciate all you do...like we don't know already. Here's a quick list of some things I know I would like to receive, so I'm willing to bet you would too. All of these items are available through my sponsor Highland Woodworking, but you could easily find similar gifts at Woodcraft, Lee Valley or even on Amazon.com. ; Just to help make it easy for everyone I'll have links in the show notes for all these items and to the various retailers where you can find them.

Today we're starting a new build series on the show. ; Over the next couple of weeks we'll be covering the construction of an entire wall or two of book shelves.