Dan Shapiro's Blog

It aint’ just me any more! I’m bringing on some guest writers to give you more and varied opinions. Some of them might even know what they’re talking about. I may or may not edit, introduce, censor, mock, defer to, or disagree with them.

I’m always amazed at how many woodworkers don’t know about calipers. These little metal instruments of hyperaccurate joyous delight are an absolute staple for machinists; they wouldn’t be caught dead without one. Yet many woodworkers don’t have one and wouldn’t know what to do with it if they did.

The Good: Cheap, useful, tough, protective. The Bad: Rough workmanship; leather is not very heavy-duty. The Bottom Line: For $25, you’d be a fool not to buy one right now. NSY rating: FIVE THUMBS UP (5/5)

1) I get free tools. 2) You get free tools. 3) We’re a bunch of big fat sellouts, so… 4) If someone gives me a free tool and it stinks, I won’t write a review about it.

My brother recently told me about an update to a curious safety story I’ve been following for a few years: the persistant people of SawStop, who invented a new safety feature for tablesaws.

If you want to learn more about safety, there’s lots of excellent books and courses you can pay for. But why spend your own hard-earned dollars twice… your friendly federal government has spent the money already!

When you’re adjusting your tablesaw fence, it’s common practice to have it slant ever-so-slightly away from the sawblade. If you do this, don’t move the fence to the opposite side of the blade!

15% off at Rockler.com.

My new table saw came with a Biesmeyer-style rip fence. Bies fences are only attached on one end; the far side doesn’t clamp at all. I was having a little difficulty with it after setup until I figured out the problem.

I was messing around with some cocobolo this week. It’s crazy stuff. When you finish sanding it, the red parts are suddenly yellow. And I don’t mean “it gets slightly more yellow”, I mean post-it note, bug-lamp yellow.