About Us
Kevin Boyle, Senior Design Editor
Three tools I couldn’t live without: Tablesaw, drill, and tape measure
My woodworking specialty is: Furniture of all kinds
If I could have a tablesaw or bandsaw, but not both, I’d choose: Tablesaw, because to me it is the core of my shop and it does almost everything.
The woodworking chore I tried once and never will again: Don’t ever say never. I cut a piece of plywood in half without the fence. Whew!
The most unusual thing I’ve used my cordless drill for: Lowering the jack on the camper.
Dave Campbell, Deputy Editor
Three tools I couldn’t live without: Grizzly Baby Drum Sander, Bosch Impact Driver, Lee Valley Apron Plane.
What I like to build: I love building furniture, but with two active teens my shop time is limited, so I tend toward more toward small giftables and projects for charity auctions.
If I could have a tablesaw or bandsaw, but not both: A bandsaw is more versatile, but doesn’t cut as cleanly—and I hate sanding—so I’d go with the tablesaw.
The woodworking chore I tried once and never will again: Brushing polyurethane on a large project like the entertainment center I built. My hands cramped and the poly dries too fast. Next time, I’ll spray lacquer.
The most unusual thing I’ve used my cordless drill for: Raising and lowering the stabilizers on my camper. In fact, I keep an 18-volt Hitachi in the camper for that sole purpose.
Karl Ehlers, Art Director
Three tools I couldn’t live without: Tablesaw, random orbit sander, portable drill
What I like to build: I am a novice, but working on picture frames and small clocks
If I could have a tablesaw or bandsaw, but not both, I’d choose: Tablesaw, because at my level of experience it helps me create more projects with more potential techniques and jigs.
The woodworking chore I tried once and never will again: They are all new and exciting to me, but sanding many small parts does take time
The most unusual thing I’ve used my cordless drill for: Sculpting Jack-o’-lanterns
Jim Heavey, Contributing Craftsman
Three tools I couldn’t live without: If I had to choose just three,I would have to have my cabinet saw, my favorite router and a random orbit sander. A spartan shop, for sure, but functional.
What I like to build: I think that I’ve probably enjoyed making gift items the most. A jewelry box, keepsake box or bud vases are always well received. I’ve made many larger furniture pieces but I seem to gravitate to the small personal gift projects.
If I could have a tablesaw or bandsaw, but not both: I definitely would choose a tablesaw over a bandsaw. It’s just extremely versatile in making cross cuts, rips, dados, miters, coves, and tenons, and even moldings with the correct cutters.
The woodworking chore I tried once and never will again: Making raised panels with a vertical bit in the router table. I much prefer a horizontal bit. It affords greater control and it’s much easier to sneak up on the final thickness with the stock flat on the table. The router works a little harder but I’ll take that over the stock balancing act any day.
The most unusual thing I’ve used my cordless drill for: I have to admit that I did use my cordless drill as a hammer once. It closely followed a fit of irritation, something that I guess that I shouldn’t be proud of, but it did work.
Bob Hunter, Tool and Techniques Editor
Three tools I couldn’t live without: Starrett combination square, router table, tablesaw
My woodworking specialty is: Living room tables, small, lidded keepsake boxes made with dovetails or box joints
If I could have a tablesaw or bandsaw, but not both, I’d choose: Tablesaw: I can make almost every cut on this saw and get square, clean results. I could always make curved cuts with a jigsaw, and probably live without the ability to resaw wide stock.
The woodworking chore I tried once and never will again: Brushing on water-based polyurethane—brush streaks do not level out; it was a disaster that I had to sand off and start over.
The most unusual thing I’ve used my cordless drill for: Power-carving out the recesses for a chair seat.
Marlen Kemmet, Managing Editor
Three tools I couldn’t live without. Powermatic 66 tablesaw, Woodfast lathe, and benchtop mortiser. All three tools are so precise, if there’s a mistake, it’s mine and not the machine’s.
What I like to build: Recently, most of my projects are furniture for my children, built with them in my shop: a five-piece Arts and Crafts bedroom set, a contemporary bed and dresser, a film-themed desk, and several Greene and Greene pieces.
If I could have a tablesaw or bandsaw, but not both, I’d choose: Tablesaw. 90% of the joinery in my shop is done on the tablesaw. I have numerous jigs including a tenoning jig, a crosscut sled, and several cutoff gauges that I use for special projects. I love my bandsaw, but would be at a standstill without the tablesaw.
The woodworking chore I tried once and never will again: Veneering. No matter how careful I am, it seems I always eventually sand through any veneer I work with. Veneering requires a level of patience I don’t seem to have.
The most unusual thing I’ve used my cordless drill for: Power-sanding turnings. This year I will kick out nearly a hundred turnings, and a cordless drill and a padded sanding disc are a great time-saving combo.
Bill Krier, Editor-in-Chief
Three tools I can’t live without: 3-hp tablesaw, cordless drill, Quick-Grip clamps
What I like to build: Anything and everything, but I probably get the most satisfaction from building small gifts
If I could have a tablesaw or bandsaw, but not both: No contest: tablesaw. For me, it’s faster, more accurate, and less finnicky than a bandsaw. Properly tuned and equipped with a good blade a tablesaw will yield joinery-ready cuts. Can a bandsaw do that?
The woodworking chore I’ll never do again: Stripping paint off old interior moldings — I’d much rather make new ones.
The most unusual thing I’ve used my cordless drill for: Boring eye-holes in a “Mr. Bill” pumpkin using a hole saw.
Lucas Peters, Multimedia Editor
Three tools I couldn’t live without: Tablesaw, router, Internet-connected, Sketchup-ready computer (<– see how I squeezed a bunch into one?)
My woodworking specialty is: At the moment, it is toys for my toddler. That is likely to change as he gets older, though. Soon most of my woodworking efforts will be sunk into trim carpentry as I switch over to basement refinishing mode.
If I could have a tablesaw or bandsaw, but not both, I’d choose: Tablesaw. I realize that would limit me to cutting straight lines while the bandsaw wouldn’t necessarily limit me to curves. But the tablesaw does what it does so well, that if I had to switch over to the bandsaw for that functionality, I might be frustrated into woodworking a lot less.
The woodworking chore I tried once and never will again: Furniture repair. For me, woodworking is a relaxing hobby in which I start with a pile of raw wood and end with a beautiful, functional, often original piece brought into existence solely through the work of my own hands. It’s the creation process. Restoration on the other hand feels like a chore in which I take a piece of furniture that someone else conceived and created (often poorly) and through much effort end up with something largely similar to what I started with. Simply not as fulfilling.
The most unusual thing I’ve used my cordless drill for: Probably mixing paint. That doesn’t seem too unusual, but the question has inspired me to think of some more ways to employ my drill.
Craig Ruegsegger, Multimedia Editor
Three tools I couldn’t live without: Bandsaw, router, and planer
What I like to build: Furniture for the house
If I could have a tablesaw or bandsaw, but not both: Bandsaw. It does most everything a tablesaw does, plus cuts curves and takes less space. And it would force me to finally fine-tune my bandsaw.
The woodworking chore I tried once and never will again: Well, there’s this partially-built jewelry box on my bench from 2007…or maybe it’s 2006.
The most unusual thing I’ve used my cordless drill for: As a mini-lathe to spin dowels while sanding them to a smaller diameter.
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