Matt's Basement Workshop - Audio

Maybe I'm getting a little kit crazy, but I've built my second hand plane from a kit and I'm loving it. In today's episode I'm showing off my new Hock Shoulder Plane that I built a few weeks ago. It's a great way to spend some time in the shop and have something you'll use over and over on a variety of projects. And on top of it, it wasn't very difficult. The instructions are easy to follow and everything you need to complete it (except the glue) is included. It's a great project for woodworkers of all experience levels. Available at Woodcraft.com or through Hock Tools . Help support the show - please visit our advertisers

It's the first week of May and that means it's time for Safety Week 2011! Since its creation in 2008, Safety Week has been a great opportunity for woodworkers to be reminded of the importance of safety in the shop. Of course, safety isn't an once a year thing, it's an everyday thing in the shop. But with all the websites, shows and other resources dedicating the topic of safety for this one week, you'll have plenty of reminders throughout the coming year. Today's episode is a re-post of an episode that wasn't originally posted during a Safety Week in the past 3 years. But the topic is very much one that can lead to longterm health problems if it's not addressed. Because many of us are home woodworkers with shops in the basement or attached garages, keeping the sawdust and fine particulates to a minimum outside the shop is crucial. You'll find a few of my favorite steps I've taken to help clear the air in our house and keep it clean.

At the heart of safety is the development of Good Habits. Good habits that will stick with you regardless of the situations you find yourself in, in the shop. Today's episode is a re-post of a show from a previous Safety Week. It's titled "Sensible About Safety" and discusses a few good habits we should practice everyday that will serve us well when they're needed the most.

On today's show we're wrapping up the walnut buffet build. Really there's not much more to discuss other than the finishing process, and how and why I chose to roll my nicely layed out mitered edges on the top (here's a hint, sharp edges won't just bite you when you bump into them. They also like to break off too). And then there was that whole moment where the buffet fell 3 feet off the sawhorses and came smashing down onto the workshop's concrete floor. What, you didn't hear about that? With all the crying and gnashing of teeth I don't know how you could've missed it. Well regardless of whether you knew about it or not, I'm going to show the life-saving technique Kari Hultman demonstrated for the Popular Woodworking Magazine Tricks of the Trade column that kept me from going over the edge. After you watch me do it in the second half of today's show, check out Kari's version by visiting the video HERE . Help support the show - please visit our advertisers

We're almost done with the construction of the Walnut Buffet , only a couple more episodes and this series will be wrapped up. If you have any questions about what I've covered so far make sure to send me an EMAIL or leave a comment in the shownotes. I'm planning on doing a followup show to answer any you have. In today's episode we're building the base for the buffet. It was a simple construction, 3 pieces in all. One long span down 2/3rds the length of the bottom and butted at either end by two feet that were approximately 2/3rds the depth. I attached the pieces with screws and glue, but after assembling it I was a little worried it may be pulled apart during regular use. So I decided to reinforce the end grains with dowels. How'd I do that? Checkout the episode to find out. [dewplayer:http://blip.tv/file/get/Mattvan-456WanutBuffetPt6809.mp3]Click to Play Download iPod VideoDownload AudioHelp support the show - please visit our advertisers

We’re nearing the end of the Walnut Buffet build. Just a couple more episodes and we’re done. If you have any questions so far about some aspect of the construction, drop me a line EMAIL YOUR QUESTION or leave a comment in today’s shownotes. Today I’m showing you how I constructed the drawer boxes for the two large drawers. Drawer box construction is really simple. At the heart of it, it’s nothing more than assembling an open topped box that slides into an opening. The big question on my mind when I’m building drawers for any project are how will they slide in and out of the opening and what joinery am I using to assemble the drawer sides to the front and back? The first joint most woodworkers will answer with – dovetails. But is it the only joint you can use? What if you don’t know how, or you’re just not fond of them? Let’s discuss some common joinery techniques that not only look good but are just as strong as the dovetail. That’s what’s coming up in the second half of the show today.

Today we're installing the doors on the Walnut Buffet. ; The design requires inset doors, which can be very tricky to get placed correctly for an uniform reveal on all four edges.

In today's episode we start construction of the doors. But before we can really get into it, I need to cut and install the horizontal dividers between the drawers and doors. For this part of the project I chose pocket hole joinery. For me, it was a perfect joinery technique for a piece that was less structural and more design. Speaking of pocket hole joinery, in the second half of today's show I wanted to share with you some information about getting the best results from pocket hole joinery - especially since so many of you seem to be a little apprehensive about using it. While setup of a pocket hole jig is important, choosing the correct screws for use in those pocket holes is even more vital. Here's a great Kreg Screw Kit available at Highland Woodworking I found some great information at Kreg Tool's website. Obviously they sell their own screws, but even the after-market versions have characteristics listed in today's show that will give you excellent results. Thanks to Kreg Tool for the great information and all the images.

In the second part of the construction of our friend's Walnut Buffet we've completed the construction of the carcass that makes up the majority of the project. From this point forward it's now a matter of adding pieces of the structural details. The dividers between the doors and drawers, the boxes for the drawers, the drawer fronts and the doors themselves. But before we get into all of those components, I want to add the solid walnut pieces that cover the exposed plys of our premium walnut plywood. Because the design requires the face frames to be the same thickness as the plywood itself, I had a couple of different options for how I was going to attach it. I already decided I wanted solid walnut vs a simple edge veneer. But I wanted to make sure it was securely fastened other than simply glued flat face to plywood edge. I thought about either biscuit joinery or even reinforcing with brads. Both didn't seem very appealing, so I did a little more research. What I came up with was to use an edge banding bit system that created matching profiles in both the plywood edges and the solid walnut face. The folks over at Eagle America were really great to let me try out this system for this project and I'd highly recommend it to anyone who wanted something that did more than simply dress up an exposed edge. Because of the way the solid stock is interlocked with the sheet good, it offers an added rigidity that I'm not convinced a simple face glued strip would be able to provide. There is a small learning process to get started, but as I demonstrate in today's episode once you do a few test cuts and even create reference blocks, setup and use is a breeze. And the results speak for themselves.

It's time to get back to some serious content...or at least as close as I'll come to it. ; Today we start the construction of the Walnut Buffet. This is part 1 of a multi-part series and it begins with the rough construction of the buffet's body.