Question 1: 

From Kyle(1):
Good morning, Ben “The Uke” Strano, The Boss, and Anissa “Smooth Move” Kapsales,

Regarding the question from the gentlemen stuck in a hotel for 6 months, I’m surprised there wasn’t one obvious answer given. If I had 6 months stuck in a hotel room, I would probably delve into the Fine Woodworking Unlimited membership and soak in every single video and article that I could dream of. It’s quiet, hones the craft, and I could hear other people’s voices if it got too quiet. 

For a discussion question for the group, I always appreciate the “Smooth Move” segment, because it makes us beginners feel better about our mistakes. In your early years, what leveled you up from beginner to intermediate in confidence level and or ability? 

Question 2:

From Kyle(2):

I’ve been wanting to experiment with bending wood for a while now.  I’ve noticed that there seems to be two main approaches to doing this: steam bending and hot pipe bending. I can’t seem to find much information that compares the two methods, though.  Are there scenarios where one method is better suited?  Any pros and cons to one way over the other?

 I’d love to hear your thoughts on this before I go off buying and building things.

Yes we really mentioned all of these articles:

	The Magic of Hot-Pipe Bending An easy technique for bending thin strips of wood to virtually any shape
	How to make a sinuous, tapered string inlay Steve Latta’s organic inlay
	Master Class: Classic Arts & Crafts inlay Synopsis: Tackle the inlaid head- and footboard of Kevin Rodel’s Arts and Crafts bed. The design is based on Glasgow-style motifs and requires several templates for the curved channels and…
	Creating Curved Furniture Learn when it’s best to saw, steam-bend, or laminate
	Build an Eye-Catching Octagonal Table Drawing from his experience as a chair maker, Elia Bizzarri made his one-of-a-kind table light, strong, and graceful
	Indigo Tray Table A removable parquetry tray transforms a simple, three-legged table
	Designer’s Notebook: Yuri Kobayashi’s 3-D Drawing When working on furniture designs, Yuri Kobayashi eschews the sketchbook or computer in favor of modeling in three dimensions

Segment: All-Time Favorite 

Anissa – Filling the trough in her workbench with lidded boxes

Ben – Smooth Move – Clamping dovetails to hard and cracking the board

Mike – Smooth Move – Installing a cutter in backwards and wondering why it’s not working correctly.

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Question 3:

From Greg:

I’ll be setting up a new shop in the next few months after selling my current house and buying a new one with a better, dedicated shop space. If each of you could change one thing about how you set up your shop when you got started (anything from layout to tool purchases, heating/cooling), what would it be and why? 

Anissa – A bump out for her dust collector

Ben and Mike – More electrics

Ben’s Spotify Christmas Playlist:
Keep in mind that during the holidays my bar for tasteful music dips drastically! This is meant to be listened to on random.

 

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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.