Why Buy Rubbish?

A Shooting Board for Finishing End Grain
by Richard Collins
In the search for more accurate hand planing, Richard developed this shooting board with a dove-tailed carriage and transverse stop.

Market Wares #23 - The Rocket Clock
by John K Looker
Designed to take a 36mm dia. fit up, the rocket clock can be made singly or in multiples for gifts or sale at the markets. 61 Cable Drum Workbench by Frank O’Connor A recycled cable drum provides a strong core for Frank’s space-saving rotating circular workbench.

Life and Death
by Carolyn McCully
Carolyn revisits her pattern from last issue, adding decoration to the image of a cow skull.

Cable Drum Workbench
by Frank O'Connor
A recycled cable drum provides a strong core for Frank's space-saving rotating circular workbench.

Other Features

New Products

Issue Number 195

October 2017

Features

Sanders & How to Choose One
Sanders are not all alike, so knowing how each type of sander works is crucial to being able to select an appropriate portable sander for your needs. To further assist you to make the right purchase, we have compiled a survey of the portable routers currently available.

Club Drumbeat
Altona Woodworkers Inc (VIC) utilises older style heavy duty industrial woodworking machinery to produce their woodwork, Lara Woodworkers Inc (VIC) celebrate 25 years and the Port Stephens Community Woodworkers Inc (NSW) produce a range of woodworking kits which are delivered to local primary schools and nursing homes, to be assembled by children and the elderly.

From Warfare to Woodworking
The slicing action of true helix spiral cutters as found in planers and thicknessers can be equated with the slicing stroke of various curved swords used in warfare through the ages.

Notes on Woodturning Part 36 - Twin Naval Woodturners
by John Ewart
With a disciplined approach to their activities, defence force personnel often become keen woodworkers when they take up the craft. Twins, Chief Petty Officer Col Frampton and Petty Officer David Frampton, are a good example, with Col even taking his midi lathe to sea.

The Moisture Content of Wood
The #46 instalment in our Beginner's Series, we look at the importance of moisture content when selecting the material for a specific project. Depending on the workpiece, ignoring the effect of moisture content during the design and construction can lead to cracking, warping and other failures.

Sharpening Skews and Detail Gouges
by Mike Darlow
A keen proponent of finding the best way to turn, Mike is concerned at the proliferation of advice that ignores the physics of the turning process. He discusses the sharpening of skews and detail gouges and supports his contention that an understanding of the forces involved in using the tool on the lathe will assist you to sharpen the skew or detail gouge for better results.

Projects

Laminated Bowls from a Single Board
by John Di Stefano
While laminated work can be similar in appearance to segmented work, it is made in quite a different manner. These laminated bowls are made from cutting rings from a laminated board and then re-assembling them into a bowl blank (effectively a second lamination). John discusses his method and the software he uses to mark out the rings required.

Turning Musical Percussion Instruments
by Aaron Ehrlich
Many percussion instruments require a turned body or turned components. Aaron illustrates eight traditional percussion instruments which are both easy and fun for the woodturner to make.

A Little Unicorn
by Carolyn McCully
This relatively simple burn provides the opportunity to experiment with your spoon shader and the use of colour. Carolyn provides tips for your pyrography and colouring, based on unexpected difficulties she encountered with this piece.

Market Wares #24 The Napkin Holder
by Don Phillips
A fairly simple design that is easy to make in batches, this wooden napkin holder is a very handy means of placing napkins on a table for easy access by guests while preventing them from being blown about in the breeze.

Wine Bottle Holder
by John Swinkels
Single wine bottle holders which balance the bottle in mid-air have been around for years. There are many examples on the Internet, but John noticed that few designs involved turning. He developed his own design, based on a spindle turning with a captive ring.

Tambour Box
by Reg Cooke
Offcuts from guitar-making inspired this project, though the final piece did not incorporate the original offcuts. The innovative design incorporates a number of unusual features and involved a fair amount of trial and error to get the whole thing to work properly.

Faceted Wooden Bowls - 1
by Richard Collins
While round bowls are typically turned, square and polygonal bowls can be made by cutting faceted segments on a compound mitre saw and assembling them in the appropriate sequence. Richard explains the steps involved.

Other Features

New Products

Issue Number 196

December 2017

Features

Sanding Machines and Their Uses
Drum sanders, belt sanders, bobbin sanders,disc sanders and edge sanders - which sanding machines do you need and which ones will only gather dust in your workshop? Read our feature to learn a lot more about these important but often overlooked machines for the workshop.

A Pair of Tannoy Westminster Royal SE Speakers 
by Toby Croce 
Toby made a big jump from using portable power tools to install car audio systems, to designing and assembling these speaker cabinets for a pair of genuine Tannoy Dual Concentric Speakers. The result is a set of very high end speakers at a fraction of the cost of factory units.

Club Drumbeat 
Now in its 23rd year, the Koonung Woodturners Guild lnc (VIC) still has its original Club premises. A valued contributor of woodworking projects to the local community, the Bourke’s Men's Shed raises much of its funds from turning pens to sell to tourists. Previously known as the Woodturners of the Goulburn Valley, the Shepparton based Goulburn Valley Woodworkers Inc holds one of the larger woodworking shows in the country. This year's event had 40 demonstrators.

Useful Tips for Beginners - 1 
Based on a discussion with a number of experienced woodworkers, we begin a list of useful tips for beginners. More advanced woodworkers will know many of the tips, but they may still find something new to learn.

Time Flies (Tempus Fugit) - CMI celebrates 40 years 
After four decades in business, Clock Movement Importers Pty Ltd is still an Australian family company specialising in supplying industry, retailers, hobbyists, schools and professional clockmakers with mechanical and quartz clock movements, hardware, accessories, spare parts, complete clocks including grandfather units, specialty clocks such as telluriums and astrolabiums, and timber kits for clockmaking.

Projects

Disc Sanding Jig for a Disc Sander 
by Steve Maskery 
This handy jig can be used to produce wheels, discs, round box lids and bases, circular items for toymaking, etc. without the need for a lathe. Simply cut the disc slightly oversize on a bandsaw or scrollsaw, or with a jigsaw or fretsaw, and sand down to an accurate circular shape using the jig.

Making A Wooden Padlock 
by Russell Downie 
Russell describes his style of wooden lock mechanism that clicks tight and springs open. The basic design can be adapted to a lock shape of your personal choice.

Notes on Woodturning Part 37 - Turning a Camphor Laurel Bowl 
by John Ewart 
Classified as a noxious weed, Camphor Laurel trees are regularly felled, providing a good supply of a timber. Often the Camphor Laurel has interesting colour variations, making the wood attractive as well as easy to work. John turns a bowl from a well coloured blank.

Octagonal Trinket Box 
by Don Phillips 
Making a plain sided octagonal box is fairly simple once you have the cutting angle correct, but an octagonal box with top and bottom trim is more involved. Don describes the use of a sacrificial carrier in the making of the fine trim and a method for cutting octagonal panels.

Market Wares #24 - The 3-Minute Egg Timer 
by Heinz Haselroither 
Having made a variety of wooden timers, Heinz has found that there is still a demand for the traditional 3-minute egg timer. While turning just the one involves a bit of work, making them in batches speeds up the process so that you can produce them as presents or to sell.

Turned Items for Yarn Craft 
by John Swinkels 
A selection of short recycled Oregon pole sections inspired John to come up with this assortment of yarn craft items including two storage containers, a spool and a pickup stick.

The Bee and The Magnolia 
by Carolyn McCully 
The theme of this piece is a bright object against a dark background. Carolyn successfully burnt the dark area, including her signature in a 'reverse burn', but she also notes the demands of such an approach. The bee is the opposite, benefiting from a light touch with the nib.

Faceted Wooden Bowls - 2 
by Richard Collins 
Richard continues his explanation of the methods involved in making faceted wooden bowls with a compound mitre saw. This time he explores the variety of designs possible when the faceted pieces are no longer identical.

Other Features

New Products

Issue Number 197

February 2018

Features

Abrasive Papers and Sanding Devices
Every woodworker uses it but how much do you really know about sandpaper, how it works and the materials from which it is made? We take a close look at abrasive papers, before moving on to various commercial hand and power sanding devices and their uses.

The Bishop Brothers' Journals on Australian Coachbuilding
by M C Hendrikson OAM
Started in 1890 as The Australasian Coachbuilder and Saddler and Liveryman's Journal, this Journal continued in publication until 1952. Now preserved and available on a USB stick, the issues of the Journal offer a fascinating insight into Australian woodworking as well as coachbuilding over that period.

Club Drumbeat
The Emerald Woodworkers Group Inc (QLD) has a lower than usual average age for its members, with most still having day jobs. The Eurobodalla Woodcraft Guild Inc (NSW) has its clubhouse on the grounds of a replica gold rush village, while the Bundaberg Woodworkers Guild Inc operates from Bundaberg’s Walker Street Craft Centre precinct.

Useful Tips for Beginners - 2
Another collection of useful woodworking tips.

USER REPORT - Fiskars Hardware Scissors and Snip
by Scott Yeo
Capable of cutting fine paper as well as much thicker, tougher and harder materials, these new cutting tools from Fiskars have a place in the workshop.

Bowna Turnabout 2017
Replacing the Wagga Wagga Turnabout, this inaugural event was a great success but was not without its teething problems.

USER REPORT - Milwaukee ROS 150 E-2 Sander
by Aaron Barker
Aaron puts Milwaukee’s powerful (440W) sander with dual orbit modes through its paces.

The Dolphin Project
A pod of five carved wooden dolphins formed the Club project for the Shellharbour Woodcarving and Pyrography Group in 2017.

Projects

Notes on Woodturning Part 38 - Turning a Small Free End Project
by John Ewart
Small items such as drawer knobs and buttons are often made as a series of turnings from a single long blank. John looks at the options involving a scroll chuck and then goes on to turn a drawer knob (with the grain parallel to the lathe axis).

Barbary Sheep - On Top of the World
by Carolyn McCully
This pyrography piece is an exercise in mastering fur, from the short hairs on most of the body to the coarse long hairs hanging from the throat. Carolyn also shows how artistic licence can make a big improvement in the final image.

Sewing Gear Box
by John Swinkels
An attractive turned item to hold sewing bits and pieces, this box includes a number of features that could be adapted to other designs.

A Bandsawn Jewellery Box from a Laminated Block
by John Swinkels
While bandsawn boxes may look difficult, John shows that they are easier to make than you might think. The use of a laminated block and turned brass drawer handles help to make this box stand out from other boxes.

Making a Chinese Padlock
by Russell Downie
Russell explains the construction of two versions of Chinese wooden padlocks, one of which is simpler and easier to make.

Market Wares #25 - The ThumbThing
by Adrian Burke
You may have never seen something like the ThumbThing before but book readers will love you for making it for them.

Combination Salt Shaker & Pepper Grinder
by David Mitchell
Having made many pepper grinders based on the Pen State Industries mechanism, David explains how he has refined the methods involved to make construction faster and more accurate.

Custom Made Machine Vice
by Lance Winter
This wooden vice can serve as a machine vice custom made to suit your drill press, or as a clamp for small woodworking projects.

Other Features

New Products

DVD Review
Dowels, Splines and Mitres
by Hendrik Varju

Issue Number 198

April 2018

Siena's World Globe
With the assistance of the Manning Great Lakes Woodworkers, Siena Hindmarsh took on the challenging project of producing a 400mm diameter world globe mounted on a veneered base with drawer, for her HSC school project. Fibre optics illuminate the land areas at night. 2

The Australian Woodturning Exhibition 2017 (AWTEX)
by Rachelle Leaver
Results from the 2017 Exhibition with photographs taken by the Eastern Suburbs Photography Society and Richard Crompton. AWTEX is Australia’s largest woodturning competition and celebrated its 29th year in 2017.

Club Drumbeat
The Orange Women's Shed (NSW) was set up to provide instruction in trades-based skills for local women, the highly successful Bribie & District Woodcrafters’ Association Inc (QLD) started with a couple of blokes on a verandah and the Hawkesbury Woodcraft Co-operative Ltd (NSW) has a close association with the Australiana Pioneer Village in Wilberforce.

USER REPORT - Bosch GOP Professional 18V-28 Multitool
by John Tebbutt
This powerful cordless multitool from Bosch features the new Starlock accessory mounting which provides a stronger attachment, and safer and faster accessory changes.

USER REPORT - Arbortech Ball Gouge
by Michael Nash
A worthy addition to Arbortech's range of accessories for 100mm and 115mm angle grinders, the Ball Gouge is an unusual carving tool, which takes some mastering to bring out its full potential.

Gallery
Peter Wholohan’s Egyptology-inspired jewellery box that he made for his granddaughter.

Cutting Coves Without Catches
by Mike Darlow
Continuing his search for the best woodturning methods, Mike contests that catches are more likely to happen when cutting coves rather than a bead, and then presents an alternative method which should (almost) prevent catches.

Projects

A Sort of Bookcase - 1
by Allen Barrett
In addition to the drawers and side cubicles for CD/DVD storage, this bookcase has a number of design features to give it a distinctive look and make it more child friendly.

Notes on Woodturning Part 39 - Turning a Needle Case
by John Ewart
As a small turning, John makes an attractive acorn-shaped sewing needle case, inspired by one of Tom Bartie’s designs.

Potted Plant
by Carolyn McCully
This simple image of a potted plant on some rocks becomes an exercise in shading and textures when converted to a pyrography project.

Off-Centre Turned Salt Cellar
by John Swinkels
This is not a salt grinder or shaker, but a salt cellar for storing cooking salt in the kitchen. To thin the rim between the magnet mounts, John turns the cellar off-centre without the use of special chucks or other devices.

Dovetail Marking Squares
by Steve Maskery
Missing his brass dovetail square, Steve decided to make his own from Bubinga, Ebony and Yew. This is a great project for small pieces of attractive yet quite expensive pieces of hardwood.

Tissue Box Cover and Holder
by Peter Fogelman
Peter demonstrates that everyday objects can be refined and improved when made from wood.

The Painter's Easel
by Aaron Ehrlich
Miniature turning created this display piece with sentimental reasons behind its design.

Market Wares #26
by Athol Burnett
With a little thought to their design, wooden bookends can be made strong and attractive, without being too expensive to make.

Notelet Box - A Project for Young Woodworkers

by Richard Collins
This box is more complex than it looks, and it will have onlookers wondering how the lid was fitted, yet the actual construction can be done by an 11 year old.

Other Features

New Products

Issue Number 199

June 2018

Features

Club Drumbeat
Local farmers and a few retirees started the Bairnsdale & District Woodcraft Group (VIC) in the 1980s when the farmers decided that a woodturning club was a better way to spend their time in town rather than discussing livestock prices at the saleyard. For the Wimmera Woodturners Guild Inc (VIC), River Red Gum is the local timber and features frequently in their work. 3

USER REPORT - Fiskars PowerGear Aviation Snips
by Scott Yeo
Big brother to the Hardware Snip reviewed in AWW #197 February 2018, Fiskars PowerGear Aviation Snips is less useful in a general woodworking workshop than the Snip but should interest those who combine metalworking with their woodwork.

Vesper Tools Turns 20
Over the twenty years of following his passion for woodworking and toolmaking, Chris Vesper has built his business from a hobby to a world-renowned brand for woodworking marking tools.

Improving a Box
In the 47th instalment of our Beginner Series, we ask the question - having learnt the basics, what’s next? - and apply this approach to improving a wooden box beyond a basic design.

Projects

The Tree Table
by Brian Crossman
Camphor Laurel produces wood with beautiful colour and grain, but it doesn't usually grow to a size where it can be slabbed to make a table. Typically it is cut into boards, but Brian took a different approach, taking a slab of Camphor Laurel (including the tree trunk profile) and incorporating it into a Tasmanian Oak table.

A Sort of Bookcase - 2
by Allen Barrett
Having discussed the building of the carcase last issue, Allen moves on to the construction of the drawers plus the finishing of this child-friendly storage unit.

Power Carving a Scandinavian Style Bowl
by John Swinkels
John admired the smooth curved shapes of the traditional Scandinavian wooden bowls, but lacked the high quality Swedish handtools required to make them. Instead he improvised, using power tools he had in his workshop, to produce bowls in the same flowing style.

Notes on Woodturning Part 40 - Saving a Shaving Brush
by John Ewart
Replacing a broken plastic handle to a favourite shaving brush with a wooden one gives the opportunity to make something better. It's also a quirky thing to make as a turning exercise.

Bull Dragon
by Carolyn McCully
Carolyn reshapes a plastic T-Rex skull to form this image of a dragon and dragon skull. The piece requires a substantial use of the spoon shader to achieve the effects required.

Spring-loaded Coin Tube
by John Swinkels
While this turned coin tube is designed to hold $50 worth of $2 coins, the design can be readily adapted to hold other coin denominations, plastic tokens and gaming chips, depending on your requirements. It's much easier to keep such items readily accessible in such a holder, rather than loosely stored in a bag.

Trenching Jig
by Don Phillips
Most repetitive machine cuts are made easier with the use of a jig. This also applies to housing joints for shelving where it is essential to machine the trenches on the opposing panels in line with each other and of the correct width and depth. Don’s trenching jig, to be used with a portable router, does exactly this and allows you to machine the joints quickly, accurately and with confidence.

Market Wares #27 - Pen Holders
by Don Phillips
When making anything to sell at a market, the cost of the material has to be a consideration. If you can make useful items from the leftover scrap in your workshop, you make a better profit. With this in mind, Don has been making different styles of pen holders, embellishing them with inexpensive pens to improve sales.

Chessboard with Storage Drawer
by Lance Winter
This chessboard has a few features that make it stand out from the other designs. The chess pieces store in a drawer beneath the board, which can be withdrawn from either side - the drawer is held in the 'locked' position with magnets. The chessboard itself can be made in one of two configurations - the traditional level board or a tiered board with the more powerful pieces overlooking the pawns.

Other Features

New Products

DVD Review
Simple Vacuum Veneering
by Hendrik Varju

Issue Number 200

August 2018

Features

Planer and Thicknessers
We cover the use of planers and thicknessers, their design, points to consider when making a purchase and tables listing most of the planers and thicknessers currently on the market.

Helical Cutters for Planers and Thicknessers
First introduced in 2005 by the Byrd Tool Corporation, helical cutter heads have transformed the way planers and thicknessers work, being quieter, easier to maintain and much less prone to tear-out on curly grained timbers than conventional knife cutter heads.