Shop Notes & Rambles
The Rambles are the stories lived and learned over decades — the moments, the lessons, and the shop life that shaped the craft. They accumulate here, sorted by publish date. If you want the curated version, explore the Workshop Library.
Track Saws: The Small‑Shop Tool That Replaces a Panel Saw
A track saw is the small‑shop solution to cutting big panels square. On an MFT bench, the rail locks into dead‑square geometry, giving you CNC‑level accuracy without CNC space. Solid elm, sheet goods, angles — the system handles all of it cleanly and repeatably. In tight shops, accuracy is billable, and this tool delivers it every time.
Oscillating Belt Sander — Simplicity and Effectiveness. You Need One
An oscillating belt sander doesn’t look like much, but in a small shop it punches way above its weight. It keeps edges square, stops burn marks, prevents belt lines, and even converts into a spindle sander when you need curves cleaned up fast. It’s one of those rare box‑store tools that quietly earns its place under the bench — and by the end of this story, you’ll see why every woodworker eventually realizes they need one.
The Belt Sander Mistake Every Woodworker Makes
A belt sander is the shop’s fastest problem‑solver — and its fastest trouble‑maker. It can scribe a crooked wall, level a lipped MDF edge, or rough up melamine in seconds. But one wrong move and it digs, tilts, gouges, or destroys the surface before you even know what happened. By the end of this story, you’ll understand the single mistake that turns a belt sander from a shaping tool into a project‑killer — and how to avoid it every time.
How to Use an Orbital Sander (The Way Professionals Actually Do)
Orbital sanders seem simple, but they hide mistakes you don’t see until it’s too late. This story shows why they leave wavy surfaces, how uneven stock removal really happens under the pad, and the professional techniques that keep your sanding flat and clean every time.
The Finishing Sander Mistake Everyone Makes
Most people buy the wrong sander first — not because they’re careless, but because finishing/detail sanders look more useful than they really are. This story clears up the confusion so your surface doesn’t betray you under stain.
How to Make a Zero Clearance Throat Plate
A clean edge on both sides of a board can make or break a project, especially on cabinet doors where every detail shows. Tear‑out is the enemy, and a zero‑clearance throat plate is one of the simplest ways to stop it. In this story, I explain why these plates matter and how they improve cut quality — and the video shows the full process of making one from scrap MDF, even if your saw is missing the original insert.
Cordless Drills: Quit Overthinking Them
Drills are the most overthought tool in the shop. After 25+ years using every voltage, battery chemistry, and brand, I can tell you the truth: drills spin bits. That’s it. Here’s what actually matters when you’re using one.
The Compound Mitre Saw: Fastest Way to Cut the Wrong Angle
The mitre saw looks like a precision tool, but it isn’t one. It’s built for real‑world conditions — crooked houses, twisted lumber, out‑of‑square rooms. When you understand what this saw is actually designed to do, the accuracy problems finally make sense.
Thickness Planers: Taming Wood and Humbling Woodworkers
A thickness planer will show you exactly what wood is made of — and exactly what you’re made of. If you’ve ever had a board fight back, a knot explode, feed rollers stall, or grain tear out when you least expect it, this story will feel familiar. It’s about the machines that tame wood, humble workers, and teach lessons you don’t forget.
The Jointer: Eliminating the Twist
The jointer is the difference between real woodworking and pretending. It’s the only machine that can eliminate twist, cup, bow, and crook — and when you don’t have one, every other tool in the shop becomes harder, less accurate, and more frustrating. When you do have one, woodworking finally becomes what it’s supposed to be.
Why You Never Have Enough Clamps: My Shop’s Heavy Duty F Clamp Workhorses
Woodworking clamps don’t get much attention, but they decide whether a glue‑up succeeds or fails. In every shop, F‑clamps quietly carry the load — holding boards straight, keeping edges true, and saving projects when the pressure is on. This story looks at why quality clamps last decades, how cheap clamps fail, and why the right setup on the wall can transform the way you work.
If your glue‑ups ever feel chaotic, this story shows how the right clamps bring order back to the bench.
Radial Arm Saw — Best Cross-Cut Saw Ever Made
Back in the 1980s, a 10" DeWalt radial arm saw was the first machine that taught me accuracy. It sat in a proper cross‑cut bench, and nobody questioned its purpose. Over the decades I’ve used 9", 10", 12", and even a 16" industrial model, and each one shaped the way I work. This is the story of the saw that stayed with me through school shops, family shops, cheap saws, good saws, and the cast‑iron Canadian machine I use today.
Kick Back
January in the Red River Valley is slow and cold, the kind of morning where cedar scraps, warm coffee, and steady work feel like comfort. But comfort can vanish fast. One rough ash board, one change in the saw’s hum, and a violent kickback turned a simple day into a hard‑earned lesson. This Ramble follows that moment — the shock, the teaching, and the way a shop reminds you that respect is learned, not assumed.
My First Bandsaw That Didn’t Suck
My First Bandsaw That Didn’t Suck traces the evolution of a woodworker through the machines that shaped his craft — from mid‑century Rockwell Beaver cast‑iron classics to cheap 1980s imports and finally the Canadian‑made General 490 that set the standard. If you’ve ever fought blade drift, rebuilt worn‑out guides, or wondered what separates a good bandsaw from a frustrating one, this story breaks down the real‑world lessons learned across decades in the shop.
The Table Saw That Held Me Back
From a plastic‑cranked Rockwell Beaver to a cast‑iron General 350, this story traces the real difference between contractor saws and cabinet saws — accuracy, power, safety, and the moment a machine stops holding a woodworker back. If you’ve ever wondered whether upgrading your table saw matters, this is the lived experience behind the answer.
What Woodworkers Really Do When the Power Goes Out
When the power goes out in a woodshop, everything changes. Machines stop, lights fade, and the whole crew shifts into cleanup mode, safety mode, or story mode — because a power outage in a woodshop isn’t a break, it’s a whole different way of working.
Woodworking After 50: Why the Shop Matters More Than Ever
Woodworking after 50 is less about tools and more about patience, problem‑solving, and the comfort of a shop that’s truly yours. This Ramble reflects on family shops, the smell of Douglas fir, teaching grandkids, and the lessons learned over a lifetime at the bench.
Old Machines, New Machines, and the Quiet Math of a Working Life
Every machine in a working shop carries its own math — the cost, the risk, the payoff, and the lessons learned. This Ramble looks at the old cast‑iron tools I rebuilt, the new machines that expanded what’s possible, and the decisions that shaped the way I work. From a tuned General 490 to a SuperMax drum sander to the Laguna Revo 24|36 that opened the door to bigger, more creative projects, it’s a story about choosing the right tools, understanding their limits, and letting them push the craft forward.
Shop Life
Shop life is a mix of smooth mornings and sudden chaos — lost tools, kickbacks, forgotten plans, and the small moments that shift a day from normal to “oh, fuck.” This Ramble looks at the humour, frustration, and timing that shape a working day, and the quiet skill of knowing when the day is done.
The World Runs on Pencils
Pencils disappear in every shop — buried in dust, stuck behind ears, dropped in tool piles, or sharpened down to nothing. Yet nothing starts without one. This Ramble follows the hunt for the perfect point, the belt‑sander sharpening ritual, the borrowed pencils that never return, and why the smallest tool in the shop quietly holds everything together.