Saturday, July 4, 2009

Web Site of the Month

If you do any interior trim or architectural mill work check out Gary Katz Online. there are lots of great information that any woodworker could find useful.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Cabinetmakers Notebook


I learn a while ago, the hard way I might add to keep notes while I work in the shop. First it was a spiral notebook like the one you get for school. I have three of them now, full of old shop notes, mostly notes and cut list from old jobs I have worked on. I also have a three ring binder that I paste pictures of furniture or other things that catch my eye. I keep sketches of furniture or what ever else that I think will be useful to me when I am working on designing a piece in this folder also.


Last year I found this little notebook that is filled with 1/8" graph paper, its small with a hard cover just the right size to keep in my toolbox. I really like to have this available while I work, mostly because that is when I find I am at my most creative. Its usually when I'm visualizing what I am building that I start coming up other ideas, some of them related to what I am building and some of them not. Having a notebook close by lets me jot those ideas down for a later use. This book is also where I write all my job notes and figure out the layout for cutting plywood so I can get the most yield from a each sheet ply, something I have found that saves me time and material. Having these notes let me reference a piece quickly in case I have to cut another piece for when I screw up. Plus if I get other cabinets the same size I all ready have the cut list. I also keep track of operational times which help me estimate future jobs.




I urge everyone to start keeping a notebook in your tool box and after a while you will find it will becomes a part of your tool kit just like your saw and plane is.