Avoiding tear-out with the router can be a constant fight.  Tear out is one of the greatest irritations we have to deal with.  At some point we'll all face it, but we can take a few steps to help control it.

Follow up question from a listener regarding the use of climbing cuts.  Due to the fact that they can be dangerous, I figured I would share these thoughts with you too.

Finally, the wrap up to this long winded discussion of templates/patterns.  Listen and enjoy...

Picking up from yesterday, I left off mentioning the climbing cut and how you may come across it in your use of a template.  Normally we move our routers from left to right (counterclockwise) to help control the clockwise rotation of the spinning router bit.  Sometimes this type of cut goes against the grain and we're forced to go the opposite direction...this is one dangerous situation so extra precautions need to be taken....

Part 3 of using templates and patterns in our projects.  Using your template with the router.  Remember thicker material makes better templates for use with tools like the router.

Part 2 on the use of templates and patterns in projects.  This episode is a look at the materials you can use for creating templates.  Paper, cardboard or even wood.  All are a great choice and it just depends on how much help you want from your template.  Just an outline of a specific component?  Or a cutting guide for use with a router.

Part 1 of a multiple part series on using patterns and templates for consistant cuts of duplicate components for projects you'll know you'll make over and over or you just know you'll need a little help with the first time out.

Congratulations to Marc over at the www.thewoodwhisperer.com on his great article featured in Woodcraft magazine.  Great job Marc.

O.K.  This episode was actually suppose to be released yesterday, but I got my files mixed up.  A quick talk about one of my favorite, underrated, overlooked and maybe even forgotten about hand tool...the scratch awl.  I use mine for a number of jobs, scratching a line to mark a dimension, starting a pilot hole for a screw or just whatever I need.  Don't forget to submit your favorite or useful jig for next week. 

OOPS!! I posted the wrong episode for today.  But since it's here please enjoy.  This is the first episode about a favorite jig, so please submit your own for everyone to hear about.  Jigs and patterns are a great time saver in the shop, not to mention that they can also be a safety item. 

The biscuit joiner part 2.  Happy Valentine's Day, hope you remembered your love one or that they remembered you!!!!

The biscuit joiner (plate joiner) is a great tool for quick, but strong joinery of components.  A real complement to reinforcing butt joints.  A few ideas for things to look for in a decent joiner.

Let's take another look at the combination blade for the tablesaw.  The best of both worlds, a rip and crosscut blade all rolled into one.  Not only does this blade do double duty but it saves you time and money.

Oh by the way, this is the 101st episode of the show.  I didn't realize we hit the benchmark until I stumbled across it on iTunes the other day.

Paint, the overlooked and sometimes snubbed finish for projects.  Many woodworkers see painting a project as an indication that you're covering up a problem.  Using paint is just another choice in the many choices we have to make our projects look the best.

There are three steps to painting, 1) preparation, 2) primer, 3) paint.

Congratulations to the winners of the Winter contest at LumberJocks!!!

More on using MDF (medium density fiberboard) successfully.  Part 2 covers joinery, hardware and finishing.  Oh, by the way, the original email I received about MDF was from Joe not John.  Sorry about that Joe.

Inspired by a recent email from a listener I thought it'ld be a great opportunity to talk about using MDF for projects.  This is part 1 of a 2 part series.

Follow up from listeners on more ideas for woodworking magazines, books and other resources...

The variety of materials from which we can choose to make our projects from is pretty large.  MDF (medium density fiberboard) is a great choice for painted projects.  A listener of the show had a question about choosing and using MDF for an upcoming project.

There is so much information about the Shakers that we could dedicate an entire show to the topic, but instead you get just a couple of episodes from me.  So for more information than I could supply, here are some recommended reading and a few tidbits of information supplied by a fellow listener of the show.