How to turn a peppermill
Making a peppermill is a relatively simple process combining spindle turning techniques and drilling on the lathe.
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Production of hardwood lumber in the Southern Appalachian Mountains
I have participated in the hardwood lumber industry in Eastern Tennessee for many years, including, but not necessarily limited to, logging, part ownership of a saw mill, consulting for a mill, operating small kilns, wholesaling hardwood lumber, and even manning a fire tower—watching that it all didn’t burn down. During the course of preparing this treatment, I have visited several mills, log yards, and lumber yards, and talked with the owners about their current operations. These photo essays will be drawn from this experience. Hardwood lumber production could be different elsewhere, and softwood lumber production certainly is, but I believe what I describe accurately reflects what goes on here in Eastern Tennessee and to a large extent is applicable in many other enterprises.
#48: How did you start woodworking?
Like the proverbial journey of a thousand miles, our love affair with wood had to start somewhere. It’s always interesting to hear where our visitors got their start. So, this time around, i trotted out one of the classic survey questions: “How did you get started in woodworking?” Some of the answers may surprise you… … Read more
#47: What affects your preference for hand tools or power tools?
One topic that has been widely debated on the WoodCentral forums is the issue of hand tools vs. power tools. Most woodworkers—but not all—would rather prepare and dimension stock with power equipment, saving their manual labor and hand tool skills for the final stages of a project-the joinery, final surfacing, and detailing. I asked our … Read more
#46: What suggestions do you have for manufacturers of tools and equipment?
Every summer, the woodworking industry converges on either Atlanta or Las Vegas for the granddaddy of all trade shows, a 4-day binge of ald faces, new products, and non-stop horse-trading among manufacturers, distributors, and consumers of everything to do with woodworking. The show also provides an opportunity for consumers to interact directly with company executives … Read more
#44: What inspired your woodworking interest or influenced your direction?
The WoodCentral community is a phenomenon that could not have come about before the Internet. But, what exactly brings us all together on this wavelength? It occurred to me that everyone who frequents our web site (and other forum sites) has a couple surefire things in common: at some point we became interested in woodworking; … Read more
#43: What do you think is the future of woodworking?
Woodworking has come a long way in the past 100 years and the pace of change is likely to accelerate in coming decades as baby boomers pass the torch to a new generation of electronic-age craftsmen. It’s hard to predict what technology and changing social and environmental realities will do to this craft, but I … Read more
#42: Have you ever exhibited your work in a gallery?
Woodworkers’ skills are always evolving. Through magazines, books and especially online forums (where precise feedback is just a few keystrokes away), ambitious amateurs are improving all the time. And, as they improve, their horizons expand as well. At some point, many woodworkers-probably most-decide their work is good enough to sell, begging the obvious questions “Where?” … Read more
#41: How do you fit your woodworking into the rest of your life?
In today’s hectic world, most of us have to schedule our time pretty carefully to be sure of getting all the important things done. In light of this madness, I wondered how folks managed to find the time to work in their shops, and this led to this month’s question: “How do you fit your … Read more
#40: What other creative pursuits or technical abilities complement your woodworking?
Woodworking is all about using our tools and our wits to solve design problems, using appropriate materials and skills. But those skills are common to a lot of other activities, too. This month, I asked our visitors,”How many of you engage in other creative and/or mechanical pursuits, such as carpentry and other crafts, and how … Read more
#39: How do you find a profitable woodworking niche?
At some point, just about every woodworker entertains the notion of making some extra money by selling the fruits of their woodworking labors. One money-making strategy is to find a niche and be the best at it. Apropos of this notion, the question I posed to our visitors this time around was, “If niche-playing really … Read more
#38: What advice would you give to someone just starting out in woodworking?
New beginnings are always an adventure, and getting started in woodworking is no exception. As with so many other activities, the quickest way to get off on the right foot is to get succinct advice from someone, or in this case a community of helpful people who have been down this road before. We were … Read more