longer lasting sand paper & abrasive

my favorite power hand sander

Sanding is a big part of almost any furniture or home improvement project. In fact, it's one of the few steps everybody has to take, whether you're painting your bedroom, or crafting an 18th-century reproduction sideboard. If you're a weekend warrior doing your own home improvements, then you know how tedious and time consuming sanding can be, and how a new package of sand paper can disappear faster than you can say "my arm is cramping up." You've also probably noticed that in spite of all your work sanding, once the finish (or paint) dries, you can see dozens - or hundreds - of tiny scratches that were invisible before.

If all this sounds familiar, be sure to read this post before you sand again!

Wine Bar Video Tour, Take II

I posted an edited version of the Wine Bar Video Tour on YouTube. It's shorter and I little faster-paced. I welcome comments.

New Video: the Wine Bar Video Tour

I am so happy about my new Wine Bars, I want to tell the world!  But I'll settle for a YouTube video...

Here is my second YouTube video - the Wine Bar Video Tour.  It's another narrated slideshow, telling all about how I make Wine Bars, their design, and how they can be used to solve all sorts of wine-related challenges in your home or business. 

It's available on YouTube here: http://youtu.be/rN_Skx1jx3A

and also embedded in this post, here:

How to make sliding dovetails

Sliding dovetail joints are very useful in a number of furniture making applications.  They are sometimes used instead of dadoes to join shelves to cabinet panels, or to join cabinet panels to each other.  Sliding dovetails are also sometimes used as drawer slides - and are better than "square" slides because they don't allow the drawer to lift away from its travel path. 

I have been afraid of dovetails for a long time, mostly because of the apparent difficulty of getting a good snug fit.  But sliding dovetails offer up a chance to make a dovetail without worrying about making LOTS of dovetails, as you would with a dovetailed case edge.  Making long sliding dovetails isn't easy, but it's totally doable, with the right power tools.

The first step is to mill the two workpieces to be joined, flat and square.  Next, pick the location of the "female" side of the joint, and plow a centered dado along the path of the joint using a router and a straight bit.  Make sure the dado is wider than the bottom of the dovetail bit, but not so wide that the dovetail will leave too little stock.  Plow the dado s deep as you want the joint to be  - or just a hair shy of that depth.

Wine Bars: the New Product from Wine on Deck

Now available at www.wineondeck.com

I am pleased to announce the arrival of the Wine Bar, an innovative new product from Wine on Deck. Wine Bars come a year after the introduction of Wine Wings, Wine on Deck's first consumer product. With a similar design aesthetic to Wine Wings, Wine Bars are nevertheless incredibly useful and flexible wine storage racks, that can keep up to a case of wine "on display and out of the way".

Currently, I'm offering hand-made Wine Bars in 100% solid, local flamed cherry hardwood.   Soon, I'll have a few available in curly maple, and by late July 2011 I plan to have some Wine Bars done in the classic Wine Wing pattern (curly maple and purple heart).

Wine bars mount easily to a wall stud, into plaster & lathe, cabinet panels, and even concrete.  Just locate the position of the dovetail on the wall, drill three pilot holes, and fasten the dovetail.  Then, simply slide the Wine Bar over the dovetail, push in the two locking pins, and you're ready to load the Wine Bar with up to 12 bottles of wine from any region in the world.