Posts Tagged ‘Woodworking Articles’

 By Jennifer Akre

Once you finish a cabinet remodel you still need to install the new cabinet pulls. There are a few simple tricks to use to ensure the job goes quickly, smoothly and will look great. So here’s a quick guide on how to install cabinet door pulls.

The first thing you’ll need to do is figure out just where you want to put up the new door pulls. Use a little bit of paste to tack the first cabinet pull up onto the cabinet door. You can adjust the pull up, down, left or right until it looks just right.

Now go to the furthest cabinet and stick up another knob in the same general location. Adjust it until it’s in line with the first handle you stuck into place.

Grab a chalk line and a buddy.

Snap the chalk line across the row of cabinets above and below the two knobs you stuck up with the paste. This gives you a reference point for the height of the door pulls. You won’t have to worry about them sitting uneven on the door fronts.

Now you can just measure how deep the door pull is from the edge of the cabinet and you have the measurements you need to install all of the cabinet door pulls.

Now you’ll want to construct a quick template so that all the pulls go up in the same location.

Grab a piece of wood and mark off the offset you just measured.

Drill holes through the wood that line up with the cabinet door pull and attach bolts.

Now you can take the template and hold it up to cabinet door. Stick a pencil through the door and mark the front of the cabinet.

Next use a cordless drill to put holes in all the cabinet doors at the same time. This will save you time from having to switch out between screwdriver and drill after each cabinet.

Once you drilled out all the pilot holes grab one of the bolts from the cabinet and use it as a test fit. Increase the size of your drill bits until you reach the size of the bolt.

Go back and enlarge all the holes to the same size.

Now you can put down the drill and switch to the screwdriver for good.

Slide each bolt through the back of the cabinet doors. Use the screwdriver to tighten the cabinet pulls to the door facing. You don’t want to crank down too hard on the screws you’ll risk stripping the screws and warping the door pulls.

All that’s left to do is clean up all the saw dust from the drilling. Just vacuum it all up and you’re finished!

Hopefully this guide on how to install cabinet door pulls will make your remodeling job a little easier. These are but a few tips to make the job go smoothly. Just snap a few chalk lines make a template and you’ll have new cabinet pulls up in a few short hours.

Author Jennifer Akre is an owner of a wide variety of online specialty shops including that offer both items and information on how you can easily furnish and decorate your space. Whether it is knobs for your bathroom or cabinet hardware for your kitchen there are many tips you can use to make those spots both functional and beautiful. Click today and indulge your senses.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jennifer_Akre
http://EzineArticles.com/?How-to-Install-Cabinet-Door-Pulls&id=2557483

By Bowe Packer

For the beginning woodworker building cabinets is one of the easiest and most satisfying things to do. This of course is After a little time has passed and you’ve gotten a little experience under your belt! Building cabinets truly is a fairly simple thing to do, but it’s not necessarily for the novice woodworker. Now don’t get me wrong here, it can be done, just not suggested without a little more know how and experience. With such things as joints and right angled corners required you might want to start with something else. This will not only build your experience but your confidence as well.

Then again if you’re adventurous and don’t really mean to use the cabinets you build anyplace in a prominent place you should be alright. The first thing to do in this case is to get a plan or a design of the cabinet type you want. This may seem fairly straight forward, however for many it could be the hardest part. For your first approach at building cabinets you might want to think about starting off with something fairly simple. A project that can be accomplished in a relatively short period of time.

Perhaps even look at building cabinets without doors on them, which fundamentally translates to shelving if you think about it. On the other hand, building cabinets with the doors on them can help you increase experience and again increase your confidence. Remember, it is about taking the risk and making the mistakes. Now in the long run this experience will prepare you for further explorations into the world of cabinetry.

Since you’ve now started off with a appropriate design or plan, the next thing you want to do is to move on to the next phase of collecting your materials. These will include not only your Lumber but also your tools, your nails, joint fixings and any other tool or material you might need to complete the project. Don’t worry, you will many times forget something, especially in the beginning.

After that if you don’t already have one, you’ll need to clear out a desirable space for you to work in. This space needs to come with a good deal of lighting and where you won’t mind the sawdust collecting. You’ll also want to make sure that it’s off the beaten path as you won’t want to clearing out your things, always to make room for everything else. Also, this space needs to be one that doesn’t mind sawdust, clutter, designs and anything else that goes along with woodworking projects.

At the very least you’ll want to keep your workspace cluttered for a few days or until you finish building cabinets and whatever else it you’re going to be doing. This is so you will know where everything is that corresponds to that project. After that the next step you’ll have to take is in the sawing, measuring and the marking, although not necessarily in that order. This is the fun part, because now your project is starting to become real.

After you have everything marked off and sawn to the correct lengths the next thing you’ll want to do is to start assembling your cabinets. That involves gluing in some cases, driving in nails and screws and other such things. The assembling process is one of intricacy, so make sure your mind is prepared.

The last thing on your list for building cabinets involves coating the piece off. Now this phase of the project can be some what relaxing. At least in the sense that the cabinets are now assembled and are just waiting to get beautified. This is normally completed by applying a clear coat or a wood varnish or even painting it to the color you want. After that you’re good to go and if you’ve taken your time with this cabinet and done a genuinely good job, it might look like you’ve been building cabinets for some time!

Bowe is the webmaster, content provide and author of the ebook: Woodworking Essentials. Please visit his site at: http://www.woodworkingessentials.net

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bowe_Packer
http://EzineArticles.com/?Building-Cabinets&id=422490

I get the question a lot lately about cutting dado’s and
grooves for larger projects such as shelves. If you are a
beginner woodworker, you spend a lot of time just trying to
figure out which tool you need to build the project you are
interested in. It’s nice if you have someone there with you to
ask your questions to, but it does not always work that way. If
you go to a website to purchase the tools, you probably will not
be able to speak to someone knowledgeable about how to make a
part or cut a certain type of joint. The one question I get
asked about a lot pertains to router tables. A lot of people
want to use the table to cut the larger grooves to hold the
horizontal shelf portion for a book case. Usually these items
are longer, averaging about 72 inches in length. Most router
tables are only about 30 to 35” long.

The problem you run into is that the project is longer than the
table and you cannot support the work piece. This is a common
problem, so you’re not alone. Unless you work in a cabinet shop,
you are going to have to figure out a way to support your work
piece. You can always go out and by a roller stand for the
support. I recommend setting up some sort of bench stand. Even
boxes that help hold your work piece have worked. The whole idea
is to make something work and then take it apart. Again this is
very common.

Cutting the grooves is left best to two different tools. The
first is the table saw. You really need to have a dado blade set
up in the table saw to do a decent job that will not take you
all day. The table saw allows you to cut the grooves in one or
two passes. Again because the pieces are larger you will have to
fashion some sort of support. The other tool you can use is a
handheld router. You will need an edge guide for this method. An
edge guide is a nice tool that is basically a straight edge with
a clamp built into each end. You can even substitute a straight
piece of wood if you do not have an edge guide. You will want to
install a straight bit into your router and line up the edge of
the cutter with a line you have drawn on your project. Next
clamp down your edge guide so that your routers base plate will
move along the cut line as you have it drawn. It only takes one
complete cut before you will be flying through this type of
joint. The time is spent in the setup and in figuring out how
you want to make the cut. Make sure you only take the stock out
in small bites so as not to bog down the router. This is better
for the tool and for your router bits.

Be sure to visit our woodworking store.

I found this new route table system over at Router Table Depot, it is a Woodpeckers Router Table combined with their 32″ LE Fence with a Phenolic insert and stand. Normally they do not supply a stand but this package has one. It has all the features that you would look for in a router table and can be added to. Keep in mind, this table fits only inserts from Woodpeckers, since their sizes are somewhat unique and not universal.

Top

• 32″ x 23 1/2″ x 1 1/4″
• Micro Dot Laminate over MDF core
• Combination Miter track and T-track channel (1 piece)
• 2 Embeded Fence Tracks
• Laminated bottom

Insert

• Phenolic Mounting Plate
• Pre Drilled for  Porter Cable models 690, 890, 7529 and 8529 Makita 1101, and Bosch Models 1617, 1618 series
• Measures 11 3/4″ x 9 1/4″ x 3/8″
• 3 Twist Lock Rings with 2 5/8″, 1″, 1 3/16″ openings
• Spanner ring wrench and starter pin

Fence

• 32″ LE Fence
• Aluminum Core with Micro Adjust
• 15 3/4″ x 3″ Extensions, Laminated MDF
• Dust Port, 2 1/4″ Internal diameter
• Saftey Cover
• Black Knob and bolt assemblies to ride in fence track

Stand

• 27″ x 19″ x 32″
• Easy Assembly
• Steel
• threaded insert kit

You can find this table here Woodpecker Router Table

Here is a site that offers free woodworking plans, its called Vintage Internet Plans.

You can find it by going to their site at http://vintageinternetplans.com/

They have a collection of free mission style furniture plans taken from publications dating back to the late 1800′s.  If you are interested in mission style design, this site definetely caters to it.

So what makes it different or interesting?  Well there is a lot of information and a lot of designs on the site.  You can see quickly a visual listing of the projects and a small picture of what that project is.  This is good for a quick glance if you are looking for something.  I like it because you don’t have to figure out where it is hiding, its just there for your reference

Then you can more or less just choose based on what you are interested in.  It is interesting to note that they do have a pdf drawing available for each one of the plans.  This is helpful and can give you a better perspective of what the projects entails.

There are lot of other links to free plans on the page as well, so you really could keep very busy opening up and searching all over for something that interests you.  We will try to give you a composite list to keep everything located in one reference.

Thanks for visiting us at The Router Maniac. Over the years the Maniac has been transformed a few times and grown a lot. But you will still find some great information here that you will not find anywhere else on the Internet. Anyone can go to a site and buy a router table or other woodworking tool. But most people are more careful and do a little more research to not only get the best price on a tool, but to make sure the tool is the best tool for your particular workshop. Not all tools are the same and most sites are just focused on the facts and specifications. We know router tables and woodworking and it is our passion.

What you will find:

Tool Comparisons

You will find tons of relevant comparisons of router tables and other accessories. Simply by putting two tools side by side you can quickly figure out what the differences are. You see this all the time on computer sites, so we have decided to implement it on ours as well.

Video

Video is hot and its here to stay. There is a ton of it out there, but who wants to spend the time looking at all the different sites for videos that interest you. We do the work for you by making our own videos as well as publishing videos that are already available on other sites like You tube and Google Video. This helps you with your research.

Articles

You will find all sorts of guest bloggers and authors sharing their knowledge, projects and ideas to better your woodworking hobby.

Tool Store

Of course we offer great tool offerings in our store page. We pride ourselves in having a good pulse on all the brands and try to show you what is available across the Internet. This gives you the best opportunity to get the deal you really want.

So come on in and stay a while. Feel free to come back and leave a comment or two or subscribe to our RSS feed.