Popular Woodworking 2009-11 № 179, страница 9

Tricks of the Trade

EDITED BY PAUL ANTHONY

THE WINNER:

Band Saw Lumber from Logs

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"mall logs from a local downed tree are a great windfall of free lumber for small projects. They're easy to saw into boards on the band saw once you have established a couple flat reference surfaces for safe feeding. I use a simple L-shaped carrier jig screwed together from scrap plywood to make the initial cuts.

S crew the log to the carrier using screws just long enough to provide the necessary purchase. Set up a fence on the band saw to guide the carrier while making an initial cut from one edge of the log. Then reattach the log to make a cut on an adj acent face. At that point, you can remove the log and rip it into boards using just a regular fence.

— Ric Hanisch, Quakertown, Pennsylvania

After sawing first face on carrier rotate log 90° to make second cut

Screw log to L-shaped plywood carrier

Carrier fence

Cash and prizes for your tricks and tips!

Each issue we publish useful woodworking tips from our readers. Next issue's winner receives a $250 gift certificate from Lee valley Tools, good for any item in the catalog or on the web site (leevalley.com). (the tools pictured below are for illustration only, and are not part of the prize.)

Runners-up each receive a check for $50 to $100. When submitting a trick (either by mail or e-mail) you must include your complete mailing address and a daytime phone number. if your trick is selected for publication, an editor will need to contact you. All entries become the property of Popular Woodworking. You can send your trick by e-mail to popwoodtricks@ fwmedia.com, or mail it to tricks of the trade, Popular Woodworking, 4700 E. Galbraith road, Cincinnati, oH 45236.

14 ■ Popular Woodworking November 2009

Sanding Help from the Garden

In my work as a luthier, I sand a lot of curved surfaces. I've found that I can make perfect sandpaper backing pads from "kneeling cushions" sold for garden work. Available at home-supply stores for about $6, these 1" x 7" x 16" foam cushions can be cut up to make any size sanding pad you want, and you can get a lot of them from one cushion. One of the best things about this stuff is that it can easily be bent in use to suit all kinds of contours, including curved edges and mouldings. Or, if you want to keep a pad flat, simply hold or epoxy a flat backer on top of the piece as you work. The foam also resists water and mineral spirits, so it's great for wet-sanding finished surfaces.

— Bil Mitchell, Riegelsville, Pennsylvania

CONTiNUED ON PAGE 16

illustrations by mary jane favorite