Archive for: September 2009

Adding square pegs to joints are often used to add strength and incorporate traditional designs in cabinetmaking projects.  But does one fit square pegs in grooves?
 
First determine the wood to be used for your pegs.  A good idea is to pick a species of wood harder than the one being used for pegs as the hole will be reshaped when the peg gets seated. The square peg should not become a dowel. The visual impact from pegs should also be considered. As they are end grain, they will soak up a lot more  of finish than surrounding wood.

The next step …

Rough wood from the lumber yard has to be taken to a sawyer to make the board of uniform thickness, width and length. The board needs to have it’s four edges square relative to each other. This process is called milling and is pre-requisite to all woodworking projects.

Milling is best accomplished using a jointer, planer, circular saws, table saw and miter. Consider the process of milling a board of 30″ x 4-1/2″ x 5/8″ so that all its four edges are square to one another.

The first step in the milling process is to roughly cut the stock to …

Dust and debris are as much a part of woodworking as are the tools that woodworkers use to chop or sand the wood. Dust and debris tend to accumulate around machinery and work benches and it is important to have a wood dust collection system to collect the debris from large wood chunks to dust particles.

Debris management is important and also quite simple. Debris can be removed in a number of ways such as with a vacuum cleaner or broom. Dust collection systems can be placed at all work stations. Doors and windows can be opened to ventilate …

Cabinets are generally made with some type of wooden sheets. More often than not, the wood used is plywood and it is often a necessity to make sure that the edges are well concealed. Cabinetmakers use many ways to conceal edges, some cabinetmakers even use a clothes iron, or an edge banding iron designed specifically for the application of an edge banding tape. An edge banding tape can be made of wood, and vinyl. The actual process is quite simple. The edge banding is first cut to an approximate length and is then ironed onto the edge. The …

Cabinetmakers may command a degree of respectability that goes beyond their recognition as being average woodworkers. The question that springs to mind however is whether a woodworker who can make boxes requires special talent to make cabinets which are really big boxes. While size imposes a few additional demands cabinetmaking to the outsider is nothing more than making big boxes on a large scale.

In reality the skill set required for Cabinetmaking is multi-faceted and an average woodworker with a fair interest level and ability to operate common woodworking tools can easily achieve the level of competency …

Cabinetmaking has undergone a dramatic change from the days when a cabinet was just that – a standard piece of furniture seen in offices and homes throughout the world.

With the changing face of business and society, the all important “brand” began to emerge and organisations required symmetry across their branding. This meant everything had to fall in place. The staff uniform, office décor, stationery and of course office furniture.

Woodworking put to the test

Out went stereotyped furniture and in came furniture that lent itself to complementing the corporate image. It’s not at all surprising then that cabinetmakers are being …

While CAD/CAM software users are becoming far more computer savvy,  software vendors are facing the challenge of developing solutions to meet specific the needs of users in the woodworking industry.

Woodworking professionals in the early 1990’s were hardly a computer savvy bunch, but all this has now changed, a number of schools have begun teaching AutoCAD. There is now a far greater knowledge of CAD/CAM in the woodworking industry than before. With computers becoming a regular part of the school curriculum in the last 10 years, it has become much easier for newcomers to the industry to adapt the …