Showing off a few of the tons of pictures viewers have posted to the WWMM Facebook page during the past week. I really like the pallet tables!
From Bruce Edwards. Constructed of repurposed planed pallet wood.

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Pine candlestick for five tealights. B?a?ej Wudniak.

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Love this wine rack by John Turner who blackened its pallet wood with a blow torch and finished it with five coats of lacquer.

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Coffee table by Wayne Fenton.

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Entrance table by Alyn Murray.

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Oak necklace and bangle storage tree made by Dave Harvey.

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Workbench week

Posted by chun | 0 comments | 12:09 PM

My workhorse. It is so heavy, I havent move it in years.

Workbenches are for working.Over the past few years, a lot of people have asked me to shoot a video on how to make a workbench. Ive always set that on the back burner because I already have a workbench. Well, to be certain, I have four.
They all are made with the same down-and-dirty construction: 2x4s and plywood. They are strong, sturdy and made to be abused. They are benches intended for, well, work.
The Mere Mortals annex It recently dawned on me that really my shop has expanded into my driveway. I assemble projects and finish them outside my shop on almost everything I build, yet every time I need to haul out a pair of wobbly sawhorses and flop down whatever old board I can find to use as a bench top.

The sides of my new bench.

This weekend I decided to build one more workbench: one dedicated to my "expansion" shop in the driveway. It will be the same simple construction Ive used on all my other workbenches and will have casters so I can roll it into my shop on rainy days. Not only that, its going to be the same height as the tailgate on my truck. That will aid in sliding out sheet goods and rough cutting them.
But the design can be scaled to any size you wish.
To a lot of woodworkers, the workbench is the centerpiece of their shops. A "proper" woodworking bench can cost a thousand dollars to build. They are beautiful examples of workmanship and I admire them. Well, who wouldnt? But in my shop, a workbench needs to fill two needs: it needs to be sturdy, and it needs to be willing to take abuse. If I want to quickly screw a jig into it, I dont want to worry about ruining its finish.
Show me your workbench!I want to see what you are using for a workbench. More specifically, I want pictures of your workbench to post here. Mostly what I want to see are workbenches that get the job done. Maybe its something you slapped together 20 years ago and are still using. What do you like about it? Why does it work so well for you? If you were to make a new workbench, what features would you add? Post your pics on the Mere Mortals Facebook page. Or, email them to me at zrammedia (at) gmail (dot) com. Send a description with it!

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Its Australia week!

Posted by chun | 0 comments | 4:42 AM

A lot of cool woodworkers down under. Crazy, because they dont have shops. They have "sheds". And theres your first lesson in speaking Australian.
Heres some pictures of Stephen Pariss shed. Steve lives in Tropical Cairns, Queensland. Hes one guy who has no problem remembering his wedding anniversary. Its on Australia Day! Pretty nice set-up youve got there, mate.
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And a bit more about Australia:

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Router Week

Discovery Channel has Shark Week, so why not Router Week here? Friday, Ill have two new videos on router basics. The first one will be an introduction to the router and cover primary techniques. The second video will be a simple project using just a straight bit and a roundover bit.In my shop I use my router on nearly every project I build. After my table saw, it is my next most important woodworking tool. Equally important is my router table. I rarely use my router in hand-held mode.I use an inexpensive Craftsman table, but eventually I will get around to making a table that suits me better. Last week I asked for you guys to send pictures of your router tables. Ill be posting them here all week. If youve been thinking about making one,  I hope these will give you some ideas. The possibilities are endless.Warren DownesWarren calls this a $15 / 15 minute router table. My kind of budget! (Note how the fence just swings on a pivot.)

I made this super cheap router table from scrap wood and a few bolts, im only new to wood working and had no idea how easy it was going to make my life, i seem to hardly take the router off the board. 

Its just a piece of MDF with the router bolted to it and pine for the fence held by a clamp on one end and a bolt and wingnut on the other. 

I can clamp it to my bench or table saw very quickly and takes up no room in the garage.

John Hendricks

Here is Johns router table. To call it just a "table" hardly does it justice.

It was a lot more work than I had planned on, and when I finished I was done with woodworking for awhile. All and all Im glad I spend all that time because I love this table. Its probably my best tool. When I got done I went out and bought a new router cause I couldnt bare putting my old router in this thing. I did a lot of research to incorporate different features. This is a combination of ideas from various places and a few of my own. Things I incorporated into the cabinet: 

-Laminated the top (both top and bottom for strength)
-Closed cabinet makes less noise
-Top is about 1 1/2" thick.
-Miter slide
-Can mount feather boards in miter slide or up on the fence
-A drawer for storing bits and other router stuff
-Dust collection
-Mobile base
-The fence slides on drawer rails. This was kind of tricky, but I love this feature. Lock down from back.
-Adjustable wings on each side of bit.
-Laminated wings so stock slides easy.
-A paddle switch to power on and off router without reaching under cabinet
-A pullout box under router to catch most of the saw dust, also for more storage.
-Lift. This was tricky, and I experimented with different ideas. Simplest idea worked best. Made two wooden gears with a belt between. Can adjust height from above table.

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A week to rest

I always view this week...the one after Christmas...as a very odd week. Many people have the week off from work, and many people who are at work are hardly working. Its the doldrums of the year.
Look at it this way: Christmas is right around the corner. Less that a year away. Might as well get started on woodworking gifts.
Here are some projects that friends and families of viewers enjoyed unwrapping on Christmas morning. 
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John Hendricks was the chips & dip tray monster this year. Hes kind of lost track how many of these he made this year. Needless to say, these make great gifts.

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Bill Wilson is one of the busiest woodworkers I know.  He made this box based on no plans...just winging it and making it up as he went along. That is sometimes a really fun way to spend time in the shop. Let your creativity run.

Plus, he made some beautiful frames and heart-shaped candle holders.

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Alan Duke sent over some great signs that he made for his shop. Pretty much sums up my woodworking philosophy: 

Measure once - Cut once- Cut once again for good measure

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