Get to Know the Editors

Kansas City in T Minus 10-9-8

Written on January 30, 2012 at 9:45 pm, by Jim Heavey

When the Woodworking Shows go to Kansas City each year, I know that I can expect a great weekend. This last weekend was no exception. I guess that I didn’t realize how interesting and fulfilling my time in KC would be. Read more

Starting 2011 With A Bang

Written on January 10, 2011 at 12:08 pm, by Jim Heavey

The 2011 Woodworking Show series opened in Baltimore this last weekend to clear cold skies and the promise of big things. Little did I know that this would start in Annapolis in addition to the show venue in Timonium, Maryland. Read more

Be an angel for an angel

Written on April 21, 2010 at 11:11 am, by Bob Wilson

The Des Moines Woodworkers Association always looks for ways to help others, and we’re probably not alone when it comes to woodworkers. One cause that’s allowed our members to put their skills to work involves the Precious Angels organization.

Precious Angles started about 30 years ago to help parents whose premature or newborn children have died. When the 2-lb daughter of the group’s founder died, she discovered there were no sources of infant burial clothes and many families in need lacked the resources for an infant-sized casket. So she and the group’s volunteers sew tiny outfits, blankets, and accessories. Volunteer woodworkers make infant-sized caskets—more than 360 of which were sent out last year.

The task sounds pretty grim, but making caskets became a way for DMWA members to work together in groups and turn scraps into something more valuable than just cutting boards. Last year, DMWA members built more than 160 caskets like the one shown here, many from plans drawn up by our own Jeff Mertz and offered at the group’s Web site. (Go to “plans” under “support menu” for a PDF.)

So check out the Precious Angels Web site, ask them about offering to make wooden caskets, and maybe help them out with some cash. You’ll know that some family will appreciate your skills more than you can imagine.

WOOD publisher Mark Hagen travels to the equator

Written on March 24, 2010 at 1:18 pm, by Marlen Kemmet

Last month 19 men, including WOOD magazine’s publisher Mark Hagen, below, went on a week-long mission trip to Rancho Alto, Ecuador (just outside Quito).  There, they took on construction projects including tiling floors, laying cinder block walls, re-roofing a “snack hut”, and building tables and shelves. Read more

Inspiring others in your shop

Written on December 31, 2009 at 9:08 am, by Marlen Kemmet

A few days before Christmas, Carter and I put the last coat of finish on 40+ holiday gifts. We turned the handles for bottle openers, pizza cutters, and cheese planes. Next, we revised the plan for the Tile-Topped Keepsake Box, featured in the November 2006 issue of WOOD, and built over a dozen of them in our Greene and Greene style. Finally, we edge-joined most of our cut-off scrap stock to create a trio of cutting boards.

Read more

Doing some holiday work at The Box Warehouse

Written on December 18, 2009 at 10:24 am, by Bob Hunter

I just finished up a sleigh-full (well, minivan) of Christmas gifts in my shop—and just in time! I had been working on a china cabinet for my wife, but put that on hold so I could make some projects to give as Christmas gifts. As it happened, I was testing Rockler’s new box-joint jig for a router table. It works so well and so quickly that I just started whipping out simple keepsake boxes. I don’t build these from a plan, but rather make them from whatever scraps and cutoffs I can muster. Some I glue together, often mixing species, and let the size of the pieces dictate the size of the box. Then I fit it with a thin plywood bottom, make a lid and a handle, apply my mark (a cross to signify my faith in Jesus Christ), and finish it with oil and lacquer.

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25 Interesting Facts about Deputy Editor Dave Campbell

Written on August 6, 2009 at 3:25 pm, by Dave Campbell

In honor of WOOD Magazine’s 25th Anniversary, we posted 25 Interesting Facts about each of the folks who put out your favorite woodworking magazine. Here’s my list:

1. My earliest memory is of helping “John the Carpenter” put down new subfloor in my folks’ house. I was a preschooler with a hammer—what could go wrong there? Read more

25 Interesting Facts about Design Editor Jeff Mertz

Written on August 5, 2009 at 4:00 pm, by Jeff Mertz

In honor of WOOD Magazine’s 25th Anniversary, we’re posting 25 Interesting Facts about each of the folks who put out your favorite woodworking magazine. Here’s my list:

1.    I was a Project Manager for a general contractor before I came to WOOD magazine.

2.    I am a engineer before I am an artist…I fight to be the other way around. The engineer in me wants to see a schedule before it will allow me to switch, but the artist in me does not know how to make a schedule…thus an ongoing conflict! Read more

25 Interesting Facts About Multimedia Editor Lucas Peters

Written on August 3, 2009 at 4:26 pm, by Lucas Peters

In honor of WOOD Magazine’s 25th Anniversary, we’re posting 25 Interesting Facts about each of the folks who put out your favorite woodworking magazine. Here’s my list:

1.    I graduated in a senior class of 14 people. And that was in a school district made up of two towns. My first class my freshman year in college had more students in it than my entire junior high/high school building. Read more

25 Interesting Facts about Managing Editor Marlen Kemmet

Written on July 29, 2009 at 8:33 am, by Marlen Kemmet

In honor of WOOD Magazine’s 25th Anniversary the fall of 2009, we posted 25 Interesting Facts about each of the folks who put out your favorite woodworking magazine.  I update the list periodically.

1.    We have four children. Sasha is working on her PHD in electrical engineering at Iowa State University. Chelsy is finishing her second year of med school at Iowa. Slade is a senior at Iowa, and Carter is a freshman in Waukee. Read more