I just posted my first post at my new blog Eclectic Mechanicals. After all this time I finally decided to give it a go. The blog will, of course, be focused on woodworking and a lot of what goes along with it thrown in for good measure. I feel it will be a journey for all involved.
And no, Mr. Schwarz has not run me off or anything like that. I will still be posting here on occasion as well. Sorry I could not get started off with some good gossip.
— Will Myers
The past few years I have been using a little battery powered pencil sharpener. There, I came clean; the skeleton is out of the closet.
I have been grilled by a few students about why someone who teaches hand tool woodworking uses an electric pencil sharpener. When I am teaching at The Woodwright’s School, it drives poor Roy nuts.
So why do I torture Roy and aggravate the purists with this thing? The sharpener puts a perfect point on a pencil in about half a second. I can also keep it in the tool tray of the workbench within arms reach. Being so close and quick I can keep a perfect, sharp pencil at all times with almost no effort. This makes my layouts faster and more accurate.
— Will Myers
2018 has been a busy year so far. Teaching (and the traveling that goes with it), plus trying to work a regular job has kept me in almost constant motion.
My next stop is in Bellbrook, Ohio, at Little Miami Handworks July 18-22. We will be building a knockdown trestle table that I came up with a few years back. There are still a few openings for this class. If you are free that week come join us! Dwight Bartlett, headmaster of the school, has has put together one heck of a facility.
— Will Myers
I have had a last-minute class opening in my Moravian workbench class at The Woodwright’s School in Pittsboro, N.C., June 14 to 19.
I know this is short notice, but if you can make it, you are guaranteed lots of fun, hard work and the general mayhem that is building a workbench in five days. Of course, there is also beer to be had by all at the bar next door – after class only (sorry). The sign-up page is here.
– Will Myers
My favorite countersink for wood has always been the square-drive ones used with a bit brace. They are easy to control and, when sharp, are quite fast.
I forgot to bring a countersink for a project I was working on today, and the only thing I had on hand were two that were made to cut metal. I have had them for a couple of years and use them to countersink the screws in the metal spiders on the candle stands I make, but I had not tried them on wood. Come to find out they work great in wood, too.
These are available from McMaster-Carr for less than $20 each. The two I have are part numbers 2724A122 (cuts up to 7/16″) and 2724A132 (cuts up to 9/16″). These cut the cleanest countersink I have ever seen in both soft and hard woods. They also work well powered by a simple hand drill.
— Will Myers
