ShopNotes Magazine Issue 146

Allow me to pull back the curtain. About this time every year, Chris Fitch begins peering into the future, coming up with the project matrix for the next year. He meets with John and Dillon to discuss ideas and review suggestions they’ve received from other folk on staff as well as from readers like you. This process turns philosophical, as well. Our latest deep dive: What is ShopNotes? What kinds of projects belong in these pages? Workbenches and carts (page 26)? Power tool jigs? Storage solutions (page 20)? Custom hand tools (page 14)? We’re a pretty curious group of woodworkers here. So there is no end to the ideas that excite us. I started reading ShopNotes in college. It was my woodworking escape. The projects pointed to a still-future workshop…

My office is in the studio/shop where we film the Woodsmith Shop and other videos. The best part is I can get up from my desk and do a little woodworking whenever I want to. Designer John Doyle’s desk is behind mine. As a result, we chat about shop projects a lot. One of those projects is the assembly center on page 26. That came from some shortcomings of a clamp cart we have on the set. The cart holds a lot of clamps, but doesn’t really have a place for the other gear necessary when it’s time to glue up a project. As we were talking about what a full-service assembly cart should contain, it seemed like a good idea to take a closer look at some of the…

One overlooked area of shop setup is accessory storage. It’s easy to focus on locating your workbench and where the major power tools go. Most woodworkers dedicate a special place for a tool cabinet. But what about the jigs, fixtures, and clamps? These end up getting tucked into whatever space remains. If your shop is looking a little ragged, chances are that tidying up your clamp collection would make a big difference. Where do you start? First off, consider the cart on page 26. The next step is to look over the ideas I’ve gathered here. This isn’t meant to be a start-to-finish path. Instead, I hope to give a few “Aha!” moments that will spark a custom solution you can put to work. Most of these ideas make use…

Exploded View Details OVERALL DIMENSIONS: ¾"-DIA. x 7"LONG materials & hardware A Blade (1) ⅛ x 5/16 - 2 ¾ B Handle (1) 1 x 1 - 7 C Ferrule (1) 9/16OD x ⅜ ID - ¾ Marking and layout tools — we’ve dedicated entire articles to them, and that should speak to their importance in the shop. Being able to accurately mark parts and strike layout lines are tasks where a quality marking knife is without equal. The marking knife you see here can be made in a quick afternoon in the shop, and works in some great turning and metalworking. A SPEARPOINT TIP. As you can see in the photo below as well as the drawing to the left, the business end of this marking knife is a…

Tool storage takes a myriad of forms, but there’s an excellent case for keeping some tools front and center where they’re needed the most: right over your workbench. This handy tool rack is big enough to hold your go-to necessities, and is a blank canvas you can modify for your tools and specific needs. A lot of landscape in these pages has been dedicated to large tool chests and cabinets, and with good reason. But smaller solutions like this around your shop absolutely deserve the same level of attention and customization these larger storage options get. We’re not going to go into too much detail on the tool holders you see at the bottom of the rack in these photos. They’re meant to inspire you to make your own to…

The adage “there’s no such thing as having too many clamps,” is quite true. But keeping track of such wealth is another matter. The cart you see here lets you organize all things assembly-related. 360° STORAGE. As detailed in the drawings on the next page, every side of the cart is put to use. The front has a trio of drawers for the tools you want to keep close at hand. To the right of the drawers, there’s a storage area for bulkier items that’s hidden behind a door. As for the back — just spin the cart 180° as you see in the lower drawing, it’s designed to hold nail guns and hand drills. The designer, John Doyle has arranged this space to fit standard tools, but you can…