Long vs. Short Belt Drives
When Jay Yocis attended an old-time machinery show a few years ago, he happened to ask why the steam tractors’ drive belts on farm equipment were so long. The reply? “The belt length and weight help maintain the centrifugal force to maintain a more constant speed.” That explains long belts on steam engines, but Jay didn’t think electric motors needed the help!
Raised Panels made from Plywood
Richard M. Shields’ solution for a similar project was to add a nice rectangle of molding with an inlay onto 1/4″ oak plywood. Richard says it came out looking nice!
Concave Joints
Steven Olsen noted that all our experts’ answers assumed the equipment was out of alignment i.e., the infeed and outfeed tables with the blades. Steve has discovered, however, that the wrong pressure applied to a piece while it’s feeding can produce the same effect on a perfectly aligned jointer. Pushing down too hard and never moving your hands can cause the blade to take too big a bite out of the section that you’re holding. Keeping his hands on either side of the blade, along with lighter pressure (and more passes) eliminated the concave cut.
Dust Protection for Bearded Woodworkers
Bearded UK woodworker Ian Howett finds that his TREND full-face mask with positive pressure from a battery supply (4 hours per charge) provides excellent protection.
Cutting Board Woods and Finishes
Ian also offered his suggestion that Danish oil was one of the safest and best finishes for cutting boards and that Gorilla Glue was suitable for jointing. He reiterated the opinion of the forum members that a cutting board should never be submerged to wash, but wiped with an appropriate germicidal cleaning solution and dried before reuse.
Drip-Free Gluing
A professional woodworker and instructor, O. B. O’Brien, used the Glu-Bot for six months. Though it was a great improvement over other bottles, he found that the Glu-Bot’s self-cleaning tip clogged if he didn’t wipe it with a damp rag every time he used it.
Clamp Dollies
Frequent contributor George Lathbury sent in a solution to making clamps stand up and stay put. His shop-built dollies are made for single or double clamps, but could be adapted for any number. Starting with his 4″ strip ripped from 3/4″ ply, he set his miter saw at 15º and began cutting & turning the ply each time. He then drilled a 1-1/4″ hole for the 3/4″ pipe and a 1″ hole for the 1/2″ pipe. The dollies can also act as a caul for the edges of a glue-up and make it easy to rotate the clamp to either side.
