This episode is sponsored by Lee Valley and Titebond

Chris’s whiskey cabinet we discussed:

Question 1: 

From Rickard in Sweden:

There are few things in life that annoy me more than wood warping. I often buy my lumber in big slabs that I resaw, joint and plane into boards. Sometimes, after having spent a couple of hours dimensioning my boards to perfection, I return to the shop the next day, and my boards have cupped, bowed or twisted like crazy. Does it help to clamp down the boards to prevent them from moving, or should they be stickered to allow contact with air from all sides? Should I leave the boards slightly thicker than intended so that I can joint and plane them again later when the wood has settled?

	Stop Guessing at Wood Movement By Christian Becksvoort #187–Nov/Dec 2006 Issue Figure out exactly how much of a gap to leave in doors and drawers, no matter the wood or season
	Everyone Needs a Moisture Meter By Roland Johnson #210–Jan/Feb 2010 Issue New meters are precise and cheaper than ever, leaving you no excuse

Question 2:

From Mat in Australia:

Lots of questions about wedged tenons:

• Are there any rules regarding the positioning of the wedges in relation to the edge of the tenon. 
• Do your tenons ever break or split when wedged? 
• Should you always drill a hole at the end of the wedge cut? 
• What thickness wedges should be used? 
• What splay angle should be used in the mortise?

• 	Designing the Wedged Mortise and Tenon By Carl Swensson #124–May/June 1997 Issue Attention to detail yields exceptionally strong joints
  	Cutting a Wedged Mortise By John Nesset Cut a flare into the mortise to accommodate the wedging action
  	Bold joinery for casework By Brian Hubel #256–Sep/Oct 2016 Issue Make your cabinets stand out with clean, attractive through-tenons

Segment: All-Time Favorite Tool of All Time… for this week.

Chris: His Sawstop and his Delmhorst moisture meter

Mike: ⅝ box end wrench for opening glue bottles

	Glue-cap puller for tired hands My fingers don’t have the strength they used to, and I sometimes struggle to open glue bottles after they sit for a few days.
	A Better Bottle Cap Often, the sliding cap on my glue bottle gets stuck or is hard to open and there is very little gripping area on the cap to get it unstuck.

3d printable glue bottle opener on Thingiverse – works really well!

Ben: Having a spare plane blade to use as a really large chisel

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Question 3:

From Travis:

I have an 8-inch helical-head jointer and it’s set to cut about a 1/32-in. deep. I’ve had it set like this for over a year, and I’ve never changed the depth of cut.  I get good results, but I was wondering if changing the cut depth is something I should do depending on the size, type of wood or condition of the board.

Question 4:  

From Ron:

I’m making a small Shaker-style tripod table.  The top attaches to the pedestal via a batten mortised to the pedestal.  My question concerns the grain orientation of the top vis-à-vis the batten.  If the grain directions are perpendicular, then the batten functions as a real batten and prevents the top from curling.  On the other hand, if on lines-up the grain orientation, the 20-inch wide top and batten will move together.  Assuming the top is made from quarter sawn or rift sawn stock, shouldn’t the top remain flat?

	Build a Shaker Round Stand By Christian Becksvoort #110–Jan/Feb 1995 Issue Classic lines blend a simple turning and straightforward joinery
	Shaker Side Table By Christian Becksvoort #239–Mar/Apr 2014 Issue Build a delicate version of this iconic round stand
	Shaker Sewing Stand By Christian Becksvoort #261–May/June 2017 Issue Blending two Shaker traditions—furniture and sewing—this small stand has a central post, three dovetailed spider legs, a rectangular top, and two underhung drawers that open from either side

Recommendations: 

Mike: Follow Chris on Instagram

Ben: Anne Peebles Greatest Hits

Chris: Go easy on yourself

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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.