STL344: Owen Madden – Citizen Woodworker

Life in a cabinet shop

From Bridgid:

Do you feel that working in a cabinet shop feeds the woodworking bug? Or does it wear you out sometimes and make it difficult to work on personal stuff or study the craft outside of work hours?
And do you have any advice/insight for people who love woodworking so much that they want to make it their full time gig? (Specifically, full-time jobs working in a larger shop, as opposed to becoming a fully independent designer/bespoke furniture maker)

Am I asking too much from my bandsaw?

From Travis:

When a tool isn’t doing what you want it to, how do you differentiate between 1) blade is dull/wrong for the purpose, 2) tool is poorly setup, 3) my technique with the tool is poor, or 4) I’m asking the tool to do more than it can reasonably do (I need a better tool)?

Example: I think I have my bandsaw setup pretty well. I can use it to cut along lines to make things like templates (from 1/2″ mdf or similar)… I have successfully made several bandsaw boxes. But, whenever I try resawing (like to make book matches) I always run into issues and have to plan on lots of “post-cut milling.” I want to try making shop-sawn veneers, but given how much I lose in that process, I don’t think I’ll have much success. The main difference I see (between success and failure) is the height of the cut (patterns are ~1/2″, boxes were like 2-3 inches, but resawing for book match is more like 6-8 inches). Maybe at 6-8″ of hardwood I’m just asking too much of my bandsaw.

Articles mentioned in the podcast

Free Plan: Architectural Wall Cabinet

Arts and crafts maker presents a fresh twist on a period design

Three Ways to Glue Up Miters

Erik Curtis shows his methods for gluing up angled cuts.

Plywood and sheet goods for the woodworker

Veterans of a professional cabinetry shop give a rundown of 11 different sheet-good products, from plywood to MDF and everything in between.

Forget What You Know About Workbenches

A simple system of beams and bases does everything a traditional bench can, and more.

Get Started in Marquetry

Chelsea Van Voorhis’s fun, versatile way to incorporate marquetry into your next project

Every two weeks, a team of Fine Woodworking staffers answers questions from readers on Shop Talk Live, Fine Woodworking‘s biweekly podcast. Send your woodworking questions to [email protected] for consideration in the regular broadcast! Our continued existence relies upon listener support. So if you enjoy the show, be sure to leave us a five-star rating and maybe even a nice comment on our iTunes page. Join us on our Discord server here.