Wednesday, January 20, 2010

The Unplugged Woodshop.com

New Web Site










Just wanted to let everyone know that my new site- www.theunpluggedwoodshop.com is now live!
I think readers of Made by Hand will be especially happy to hear that the new site features dedicated areas for all six of the book projects. Each area has FREE Sketch-up Models, and complete down loadable bench plans with expanded galleries and afterthoughts on each of the projects. Books have space limitations and a web site doesn't so I'm happy to include lots of additional pics and information that never made it into the book- I think these will prove very useful when you start making the projects in your own shops at home.

There is also a 'Readers Gallery' and I encourage anyone building any of the projects to send me some photos of their versions of these designs. It'll be a great way to see how design ideas can change and evolve from one shop to the next. You'll also be happy to know the new site is equipped with email subscriptions and RSS feed so it's easy to get the all of my latest posts sent directly to your email.
The gallery section features some of my other work and will be getting some more fine tuning with additional pics and text in the coming weeks.
And for those who don't yet have a copy of Made by Hand, you can order your signed copies there as well with a new section still being prepared with reviews and feedback from readers from around the world. This is always nice for people who are still debating whether they'd like to buy this book or not- some honest reviews from actual readers. I'm also working on a few updated posts that will clarify a few mistakes I made in the writing process. Sometimes writing about wood working procedures is far more difficult than the actual building goes and my book is no exception. I missed a few details here and there and found at least two areas I'd like to re-write...I find them a bit confusing when I read them so it'll hopefully help out others as well!
I'm very happy with the new site and I think you'll appreciate how much easier it is to navigate through. All of my past blogs and posts are there in an easier format, keeping themes and topics together in a well thought out manner.
I welcome you to stop by and have a look around- let me know what you like and what you don't like and as the weeks progress I'll do what I can to make it as good as it can be. I'll slowly be working towards having that as my only web site and will try my best to make the transition from this space to the next as painless as possible. Please update your bookmarks and links when you can.
In closing, I'd like to take a moment and thank Luis Martins (aka 'The Dovetail Kid') for all of the hard work and countless hours you've spent building this new site for me- I would never have been able to do it without you and you have my deepest thanks-

Keep well and I hope you enjoy the new site-
cheers!

Monday, January 18, 2010

New Offerings from Bad Axe

12 and 14" Backsaws

Bad Axe Tool Works- what more can I say? Simply put I find them to be the finest hand saws on the market today. I own an 18" rip saw and a 16" cross cut that you know if you're a regular here I use on a daily basis. I think they're incredible tools with the highest craftsman ship available but can understand why some beginners may have shyed away from them. Lets face it- these are big saws! For anyone looking for a smaller scale back saw or for someone who couldn't imagine working with the larger scale saws presently being manufactured, Bad Axe is offering both a 12 and 14" saw due out in late March.Buyers can watch for optional fasteners, with standard filings for the 14” saw at 11-12 tpi rip and 12-13 tpi x-cut. The 12” saw’s standard filing will be 12-13 tpi rip and 13-14 tpi x-cut. If these specs don't suite your work then Mark will happily custom file per customers request. Other Bad Axe news can be found on the new Bad Axe FaceBook page.
Cheers!