Circular Saw JIg

  I am making a very tall corner shelf for a friend of mine.  The shelf is 8 ft. tall, 12 inches wide and 9 1/2 inches deep. I am making it from reclaimed oak church pew.

  To rip the pew to width I used a circular saw and the KREG ripping jig. ( the wood was too heavy and awkward to try and manage on my contractor table saw.) Once the saw is tightened on to the jig cutting long rip cuts are easy and accurate. In the past I have used this jig to break down many sheets of plywood.  It is not a tool I use often but it is great to have it on hand.

  As you can see I don't have a track saw, but over time have made a variety of jigs to enable me to guide my circular saw to make accurate cross  and rip cuts.  The jigs are clearly labelled which of my two circular saws fit the jig. 

  If my table saw gave up the ghost I would seriously, seriously look at a track saw system to replace it.  Even with home made guides a circular saw can do pretty good work.

cheers, ianw

Two Videos to Check Out.

  I haven't really got fully up to speed, my sore back is still keeping me horizontal mostly. The reduced level of medication has enabled me to make some plans and look ahead to projects in the shop and so I am sharing two videos today of possible future activities.

 The first video is from Steve at Woodworking for Mere Mortals. I am a big fan of Steve and his projects. The corner shelf in this video looks modern and slightly unusual.  I like the idea and feel that it can be made large and painted or perhaps small with fret saw work on the wall sections. There is definitely a small size shelf like this in my future plans.

How to Make a Corner Shelf

  I don't want to sound like a smarty pants but if Steve had a KREG RAC clamp or two his project would have gone along much quicker.

KREG RAC clamp 

  I was working for KREG Co. when they introduced the RAC clamp to the market. The first year I had them to sell at woodworking show I could hardly give them away. The following year they sold like hot cakes. Woodworkers are fairly conservative and sometimes slow to embrace new things, in this case new was definitely a good thing.

  My second video is from a new site that I discovered while laying around trying not to lose my mind. Dutchhorse makes simple wood working videos in a basic shop with basic tools. The production values aren't really high but that doesn't matter to me.

  In this video he makes a 'makers mark' I think I would use brass stock rather that a piece of hard steel but I like the idea none the less.

Making a Makers Mark, branding iron.

    I like the idea of identifying my work with a discreet mark, it is something I will look into once I get going full speed in a week or two.

cheers, ianw