My Review of Sketchup 8 Pro Solid Tools

I love Google's Sketchup software.  I have used the free version, and I currently use version 7 Pro, which is now free on Sketchup's website.  I have also tried the new version 8 Pro with Solid Tools.  My only gripe is that making actual complete plans is difficult because it's hard to draw compound angled faces, or manipulate profiled extrusions.  Sketchup isn't great at curves.  

But the Solid Tools are a major improvement in Sketchup, especially for

DIY Tool Upgrade: adding a 3 h.p. Baldor motor to the Delta 14" Band Saw

My Delta 14" band saw is one of (probably) hundreds of thousands of similar 14" band saws around the U.S. and the world.  The Delta 14" is perhaps the most common starter band saw of the past few decades.  Mine was a gift from a friend, whose father had put the old 14" in the garage after replacing it with a bigger, more powerful saw.  Many woodworkers graduate from their 14" band saw once they get serious about cutting through really tough, thick pieces of wood, such as when re-sawing, which is the process of slicing thin sheets of stock from the face of a thicker board.

Re-sawing allows you to make your own veneers and book-matched panels, which are so much more visually appealing than non book-matched panels, it's worth

Building a 120 gallon aquarium cabinet and canopy step by step: a photo album

For my most recent custom aquarium cabinet commission, I decided to take pictures throughout the design and building process.  The resulting photo album isn't just a great way to keep my clients apprised of their project's progress.  It's also a treasure trove of teaching moments for anybody interested in building their own large aquarium cabinet. 

If you ever wanted to see how something like this is made, take a peek at this Picasa Photo Album - "120 Mafia" (so named because the aquarium will house African cichlids...a "Mafia Tank").  Many of the pics include captions explaining the picture and what's being shown. 

This particular build includes some innovations you won't see in many other cabinets, and information to help you incorporate these innovations into your own designs.  I also address some of the common challenges in designing and building cabinets for large aquariums.

could hollow wood tubes be a part of the next product from Wine on Deck?

One great thing about plywood and veneer is bendability.  Veneers are easy to bend, relative to steam bending solid wood, and the finished piece can be very strong.  Another great thing about plywood?  Manufacturers are beginning to make pre-fab shapes for builders, eliminating the bending step of a project altogether.  One such shape is the hollow wood tube.  Made en masse in a plywood factory, pre-fab wood tubes are perfectly round, have strong seams, and have clean veneered surfaces. 

Since I make wine racks, and I'm looking for a good design for a counter-top wine rack, I took a special interest when I became aware of the existence of wooden tubes. 

One maker is R.J. Woodworking.  Another is Lenderink.  Both suppliers make tubes from very narrow to very wide, so you can make anything from a soda straw to a Greek column. 

Obviously, working with veneered wooden tubes will present challenges.  One challenge in particular jumps out at me: drilling through a tube at an angle, or off-center.  Once my samples arrive, I will begin exploring milling techniques, and I will report my findings here on the blog.