randall maxey

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Modular Cabinets are Key to Long-Term Organization

Whether you’re trying to organize a production shop, garage shop, or your home, consider a modular cabinet design. It’s flexibility means you aren’t locked into a permanent arrangement of cabinets or their contents. It offers the most flexibility, ease of reconfiguring, and options for future expansion.

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Youth in Woodworking

There’s been a fair amount of press lately about how difficult it is to pass the craft of woodworking down to a younger generation. High school woodworking programs are being cut in the interest of saving money, and our high-tech society doesn’t lend itself to crafts like woodworking.

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Definition of Craftsmanship

I received a phone call the other day from a gentleman in his 70’s. He went into a lengthy discussion about how technology has replaced craftsmanship. To paraphrase his comments, “When I was working in the shop, we cut to fit. We didn’t need a measuring tape.”

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UPDATE: Anchoring a newel post

In my previous post, I promised to provide an update on how my plan worked for using a threaded rod to anchor a newel post. Overall, my plan worked, but not without some minor nuisances that always seem to happen in a home improvement project.

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Anchoring a Newel Post

I got a call from a family that needed to know how to fix a loose newel post on their stairway. This is the post at the bottom of the stairway that anchors the handrail. It’s a pretty important structural component in the handrail and baluster assembly.

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Pay Attention During Assembly and Glue-Up

I’m in the middle of repairing an antique table. There’s nothing really broken, but most of the joints are loose. So I’m carefully prying apart the old doweled joints and removing the old glue, then reassembling the joint with Titebond wood glue.

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5 Principles for Any Woodworking Shop

Steve Maxwell in the Ottawa Citizen wrote an article a while back (unfortunately the link has expired) about 5 basic principles that apply to anyone in a shop. It’s well worth the read and I have to agree with him. Here’s my summary of what he said:

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How to Remove Glue Squeeze-Out

I remember when I first started woodworking my dad would come up behind me as I was gluing up a project. “Got enough glue on that?,” he’d say. Glue was everywhere. I guess I was afraid of starving the joints of glue. I needn’t have worried with the amount of glue I was using.