Rob Johnstone
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They Really Like Me! (And my gift certificates!)
Last issue we rolled out a brand-new contest — the Apple Polishing Contest — in which eZine readers were encouraged (by a trio of Rockler Gift Certificates) to offer compliments to the eZine and yours truly. I am only slightly embarrassed to admit how much I enjoyed this little exercise. You will find the first-place winner immediately below and some of the best of the remaining bunch in the Feedback section of the eZine. Oh, to bask in feigned adulation!
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An Apple a Day…
There is an old, old saying, I believe attributed to Ben Franklin, that goes something like this: “Such a one that tooteth not his own horn, hath not his horn tooteth whatsoever.” And a sad thing that would be: that a person – or an eZine for that matter – would go without a compliment. Never one to leave this sort of thing up to chance, personally, I am not above fishing for a good word (do you think this browser makes me look fat?).
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James Krenov, 1920 – 2009
Woodworking has lost an enduring pillar of our craft. This week, at the age of 89-years old, James passed away.
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Woodworking Season Starts
It’s Go Time! With the arrival of September, many predictable things are happening: kids are heading back to school, the days are getting shorter, and my Minnesota Vikings are preparing to once more break my heart at some point in the season. But there is one autumnal event that always lifts my spirits — “woodworking season” kicks back into high gear. So with that feature of fall in mind, I want to announce a sweepstakes that we’ve designed to bring an even more festive atmosphere to your shop.
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The Next Generation: Making it So
Each August I have the opportunity to judge woodworking projects from school-age kids that have been submitted to our Minnesota State Fair. (The second largest state fair in the country — drat those hyper-competitive Texans!) I must confess that there is a small degree of tedium to the task — hmm, 30 nearly identical clocks … which is best? But with that said, I always feel a huge lift when I first see the pile of projects made by woodworkers who range from 3rd grade all the way through senior high. As I am sure you can imagine, the skill levels range widely and the projects vary with the interests of the builder, but the expression of their enthusiasm is nearly universal.
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Hot Stuff
We have had a very cool and pleasant summer here in the North Country, until now. While I know that the corn farmers have been praying for hot weather, we woodworkers like it cool, thank you very much. That is why I was very disappointed when, just as I was loading a big pile of lumber and sheet stock into my shop, the temperature nudged over 90˚ F … and then just kept going up.
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Immersed in Tool Talk
I always think Woodworker’s Journal is pretty cool, and I was really reminded of that at this month’s big trade show, the AWFS in Las Vegas, Nevada. Woodworker’s Journal had two crews of reporters combing the floors of the convention center – where it was much cooler than the outdoor temps of 110 degrees Fahrenheit, and where they produced videos to introduce you to all the latest, greatest and, yes, coolest tools.
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JETTING Along to the Future
This special issue of the eZine is being sponsored by JET Tools. JET has long been a supporter of and a topic of interest for the eZine. In fact, when I typed the name JET into our archive’s search function, it came back with more than 100 results. That’s a lot of virtual ink that we have spilled over JET’s line of tools in the last few years.
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Lumber a Go-Go
There is an entire wall (plus another corner) of my shop that is just covered up with piles of lumber. I moved into this woodshop a year and a half ago, and one of my first thoughts was “I need to build a lumber rack right away…” Did I mention that lumber is still lying all over in my shop?
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Big Chuck
Holy cow, I finally did it. After a few years of making do with some pretty archaic workarounds, I finally closed my eyes, held my breath and made the big purchase. What I am talking about? I bought a Oneway Stronghold four-jaw chuck for my lathe. And not only that, but I got the extra #3 jaws as well.
