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02:30 – Question 1:

I have built several pieces of furniture using multiple methods to cut mortise and tenon joints. Every method has worked to some degree, but I am wondering if I just need to breakdown and spend the money to purchase a hollow chisel mortiser or a domino in order to be more efficient and consistent. What are your thoughts on these two tools and do you see an overall best choice?

-Leonard

Christian Becksvoort – Cut a Mortise in Minutes – Issue #200

07:43 – Question 2:

I have two 9-ft hoop pine slabs from an old table I deconstructed. Each slab is 18 inches wide, but only just over ¾ of an inch think. I plan to reuse these slabs on a shorter table top.

The problem is these slabs have cupped and being so thin already I cannot just plane the boards flat. There is some flex in the boards that I can use to pull them flat during construction, but I am not sure how reliable this is as a long term solution. I intend to form somewhat of torsion box underneath the top with aprons and rails on a trestle design

-Will

12:42 – All Time Favorite Technique of All Time… for this week:

Mike – The cabinetmaker’s triangle

Mike Pekovich – Never lose track of parts again – Issue #235

Anissa – Using a business card to offset a cut on the tablesaw

Ben – Using a scrap of wood to create an angled bed for a handplane.

 

25:30 – Question 3:

I have been building some small boxes, and some small case pieces for practice, as well as the odd bit of plywood workshop furniture. I tend toward more traditional joinery, but not exclusively.

How would you recommend selecting potential projects in order to give a good grounding in the fundamentals, and to allow me to avoid biting off too much more than I can currently chew?

-Dean

31:20 – Question 4:

I recently upgraded my tablesaw and I’ve been looking at putting one of my routers in one of the wings of the saw.

1) Do you prefer your router to be in a wing of the table saw, or in a standalone router table?

2) If you were putting your router in a table saw wing, would you prefer it to be on the left or right side of the saw? Typically the fence rails are longer on the right side, allowing for a larger router table. But, the left side would allow me to feed long pieces in the same direction and use the same outfeed table as the saw.

-Jacob

John White – The Ultimate Router Table – Issue 153

Peter Schlebecker – Rock-Solid Router Table – Issue #195

37:40 – Smooth Moves:

No spoilers

47:45 – Question 5:

I recently got a high-angle iron for my low-angle smoother and now I feel silly for having waited so long. It made me wonder if you had experienced similar revelations. Be it for initial cost or convenience, what simple items or techniques that you avoided have made your craft more enjoyable and productive?

-Conor

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Ben Strano Web Producer	Michael Pekovich Creative Director	Anissa Kapsales Associate Editor

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Every two weeks, a team of Fine Woodworking staffers answers questions from readers on Shop Talk Live, Fine Woodworking‘s biweekly podcast. Send your woodworking questions to [email protected] for consideration in the regular broadcast! Our continued existence relies upon listener support. So if you enjoy the show, be sure to leave us a five-star rating and maybe even a nice comment on our iTunes page.