Well sure its still summer. What better time to prepare for winter?
This is a good woodworking project to consider for the three day Labor Day weekend. Its a Shaker inspired coat rack thats surprisingly simple to make. I used pre-made Shaker pegs on mine, but if you have a lathe and feel extra creative, make your own.
I added some small drawers to this one: prefect for storing keys. If you dread the tedium of making drawers, Ive got a simple method to make all four at once.

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Router table dust extraction

My regular Mere Mortals video will be Sunday this week. So it gave me some time to shoot an update to the router table and lift, now that Ive had over a week to work on it.
Missing an opportunityIve spoken to Shop Notes (August Home Publishing) and they have no desire or interest in offering project plans online. Its kind of odd, but their reasoning is that putting plans online would cheapen them because people would be distributing them willy-nilly all over the place. (I guess people wanting to sell pirated versions havent thought of just scanning the magazine?)
Even stranger is that they have no plans for any online presence for Shop Notes. (Other than the "brochure" that now exists.) You cant even buy the last issue (with the router lift) anywhere. Shop Notes is not even on Facebook! Is it possible for any business to survive without some sort of online component? Especially a business whose sole means of income is printed material through snail mail. Weird.
A good router lift drawingAt any rate, Bruce Beatty took the time to design and offer this SketchUp drawing of a router lift that is quite similar to the one I made for my table. If you are interested in making that lift, check it out. If you have these plans and follow along with my video, it should be pretty simple. Thanks a bunch Bruce!
Dust extraction tests

I ran a few very unsophisticated tests on the dust extraction on my router table. (And yes, every time I look at this picture I think of cookies!)
Mainly what I discovered is that most of the sawdust produced by my router lands on top of the table rather than falling below. My conclusion is that having dust extraction on the fence is very useful, but does little in the cabinet.
Of course, the cabinet could be redesigned in a way that would direct sawdust to the port. An extractor with more power than my ShopVac might also be better. As it is now, Ill just hand vacuum the inside of the cabinet.
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Teds stolen plans revealedFinally, I wanted to give you an update on Teds Woodworking. Jim Barry at Copyrighters Sharing Information has a complete list of all the plans Ted is selling and from where they are stolen. For what its worth, there arent 16,000 plans, as advertised. Only about 2,300. Cant believe Ted would lie to us.
Anyway, definitely check out this PDF. It will give you a little bit of insight into the vast web of shenanigans known as "Ted".

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As a follow up to yesterdays coping saw jig, Tim posted this on Facebook:

This is a page from 200 Original Shop Aids & Jigs for Woodworkers By Rosario Capotosto isbn 0-8069-8929-7 (c)1983 that shows the coping saw jig in use. Notice how it is clamped to the work bench. So if you dont have a scroll saw, there still is a way to cut small wood items. Enjoy.

 But wait, it gets better! Tim also sent over a PDF of a great woodturning manual from 1907: Elementary Turning, by Frank Henry Selden. Its a fascinating 208 page book that actually has some really good techniques and ideas we can still use today. Download it and check it out.
But the best part about the book is the pictures! Here are some of my favorites. I love the ties.

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Looking for a simple project for this weekend? Check out these paper towel holders Jim Jarvis built. I think the rod just wedges into the base hole.

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I picked up a cool book at the library yesterday I wanted to tell you about: American Woodworkers The Great Book of Woodworking Tips. It is packed with all sorts of handy tips to try out in your shop. Every article is super short. Hey, great bathroom reader!
Mere Minutes

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Hearts boards and a horse

Nighthawk sent over a picture of his version of my bent-wood Valentine candy box. He says it was a good way to earn bonus points with his wife and justify tool purchases. Read more about it on his blog.

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Over on Facebook, Mark Martinez posted his heart. His first attempt at bent lamination.

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Bill Wilson, always in the shop, tried his hand at his first cutting board. Since Ive made my first, family members are putting in requests for Christmas!

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Wanted to also show off some very creative pieces by Vincent Fulton that remind me of highly stylized cutting boards!

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Finally, I wanted to show you a new woodworker making videos. This is 10-year-old Matthew Agate  from Placentia, Newfoundland Canada, who built a rocking horse as part of Marc Spagnuolos Woodworkers Fighting Cancer charity build. A lot of people built these horses, but Matthew has to be the youngest. Nice work Matthew! Looking forward to more videos.

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