"Before we get started let's take a moment totalk about shop safety..." you probably know where this one isfrom. Norm's right, you have to understand how to operate yourpower tools safely. Safety glasses and hearing protection are thebasics of safety. On the table saw, however, they won't beenough.

Table saws have an exposed blade. Most injuries occur when handsor fingers touch the blade. You might think that it's easy enoughto keep your hands away from the blade, but every person injuredwill tell you they thought it was easy too

Polyurethane is a durable clear sealantavailable to the woodworker. It is sold at home centers and comesin wipe-on on normal varieties. It can be recoated in 4-6 hours. Ittakes at least 3 coats of polyurethane to produce a reasonablefinish. Often several more coats are applied to achieve a highclass finish.

True Polyurethane is oil based. The water based variety is arelatively new product. This article is derived from experiencewith oil based polyurethane.

The normal variety of polyurethane is thicker than th

So you have watched a few episodes of the 'NewYankee Workshop' and want to get into woodworking. You moved thecar out of the garage and are ready to to buy tools. At this pointthe Hingmy machine database looks both daunting and exciting. Sowhat machine should you buy first?

The answer depends on what you want to build. I am going toassert that most beginners want to build medium to large sizepieces of furniture: tables, bookcases, cabinets, and maybe a bed.Built from hardwood and plywood. Most structural pieces are arestraight. Detail

The enemy of all steel tank water heaters isrust. Eventually all of them develop a leak somewhere.

1) Flush the water heater

Debris collects at the bottom of your water heater. Impuritiesin the water, rust from the tank walls, and particles carried infrom the piping system all settle at the bottom.

If left in heater for years, this debris can cause your heaterto fail prematurely. To ensure your heater reaches it's maximumservice life, you have to flush the debris from the water heateronce a year.

New homeowners often do not understand how allthe systems in their house work. Most systems need littlemaintenance. Some, however, can cause major damage when they break.This list details the essential items a homeowner should check on ayearly basis. Rather than listing everything that can go wrong orbreak, this list concentrates on high value items.

1) Change your furnace filter regularly:

In rare cases a clogged air filter can lead to a cracked heatexchanger and an expensive furnace repair.

2) Change the

All water heaters eventually develop a leak.It's just a matter of time. A well maintained water heater can lastdecades, but it too will succumb to rust. Water heater companies,the kind that specialize in just replacing heaters, often recommendreplacing a perfectly functioning tank after its warranty has runout. It's hard to fault them for their logic. The damage apotential leak would cause is many times the cost of a newheater.

For the homeowner and the environment replacing a functioningheater is a waste of resources. A drip pan

If you have been around woodworking you haveheard the following phrase: "You can never have too many clamps".If you have been around woodworking for a few years you know it'strue. In fact, it seems there are always have too few clamps in theshop.

Spending thousands on just clamps is entirely reasonable.Someone just starting with this hobby will probably not want tospend that amount right away. So. what are the different clampstyles, and which ones are the most versatile?

F clamp

Rail and stile door construction includes copingcuts on both ends of the rails. This cut requires the work piece tobe fed through a shaper at a perfect 90 degree angle. Without thesupport of a coping sled or cross-sliding table this cut isimpossible.

The Infinity Tools COP-100 Coping Sled(Manufacturer Website) is one of the highest quality solution onthe market for making coping cuts short of a sliding table. TheInfinity Tools COP-100 professional coping sled gets the essentialsright, but it is not p

Routers have a speed setting for three reasons:safety, quality of cut, differences in wood species. Dialing in theright speed for the task at hand can save you a lot of time spentsanding. Safety is the primary concern, so lets talk about thatfirst.

Safety

Larger router bits need to spin slower. The outer edge of a 3"router bit travels at well over 100 mph in most routers. A 1/2" bitclocks in at a pedestrian 30 mph. The larger bit also takes largerbites out of the wood. If the edge catches there is a lot moreener

I was looking for a heavy duty mortising machinefor my shop when I ran across the Mortise Pal in one of the trademagazines.

The jig seemed too good to be true. A relatively cheap tool thatdoes the job of the more expensive Festool domino mortiser andheavy stationary mortisers.

Setup and Use

The video from the manufacturer's website has all the detailsyou need to know about making cuts. I have found the claims made inthe video to be accurate and true.

Accuracy

To