Splinter Report: July 17th

Welcome to The Splinter Report, where I gather the assorted interesting and amusing things I’ve seen in the woodworking world. This week Collin is away, so he asked me to Phil in. My day job is the Executive Editor at Woodsmith, one of the woodworking step-sibling brands here at AIM. My other day job is the host of the Woodsmith Shop TV show. We’re wrapping up the production of our 20th season. This week, I’m looking at a router table add-on, carved bench accessories, and a tribute to the Northwoods. Tools New Quick Bites Certain woodworking tools have an inherent poor ability to collect dust well. I’m looking at you, drill press and miter saw. Sometimes the task at hand makes dust collection problematic. One of those is using a bearing-guided bit at the router table. Infinity Tools’ answer is their Nautilus dust collection pickup and guard. The Nautilus installs into a threaded hole in the router table top. Many insert plates have one for a starting pin. You can also quite easily add your own. You can rotate the position of the pickup to gather chips as they spray off the bit. In addition, the clear acrylic cap serves as a physical barrier to the bit. Personalize Your Shop In a couple of months, PopWood Editor-In-Chief Logan Wittmer and I are headed to Denmark and Sweden for this year’s woodworking tour. There’s still time to join us … We’ve been digging into the various sites we’ll visit. Based on last year’s England tour, there’s so much to see that it can be tough to prioritize or have the context of what a person is looking at. While researching Saterglanten (a craft school in Sweden), I came across a listing for a carving class. I’ve been doing more and more carving in my own shop. Some of it includes standalone pieces, and some is added as a decorative element to furniture and cabinetry. Overall, I find it a fun way to personalize the projects I make. I came across this image of a sample of the teacher’s work that brought me up short. The idea of personalizing tools is super cool. This is another level. Bench dogs are handy … but a bench uh, panther? That’s amazing. I have to admit that my eye keeps seeing other shop accessories that could be something more. Out of Context Christopher Schwarz Quote “We weren’t sandbaggers. Honesty was our weak spot.” Video of the Week I have a soft spot for softwoods. Many of my recent projects are made from Eastern white pine: pinus strobus for the formal name. The desk at the top of this article is entirely from white pine. I’m from Wisconsin originally, and EWP is the state tree. So my affinity makes sense. In addition to working with the wood, I’m learning more about the tree, the northern forests, and their history. I’m reading the book White Pine by John Pastor. This short video by Minnesota Public Radio shows how amazing this tree is and what’s being done to make sure they’re around for future woodworkers, hikers, and wildlife.