Tomorrow is the beginning of my annual work retreat–truly the highlight of my year. I have several ideas percolating that I can’t wait to explore without interruption…. And for those of you who are trying to figure out how to manage you own work retreat, watch Jason Fried explain why the office is the worst place for productivity.

For those of you patiently waiting for the CT-17, we were ready to begin shipping about a week ago when I decided to change the lead screw–suffice it to say that the change is worth us eating the now old lead screws. This tool is now scheduled to ship in March. A similar event occurred earlier in the year when we delayed the Jointmaker Pro run after a  discovery led to a major improvement–it cost us a lot of money to do this but if it makes the product better, that is how it has to be.

The Universal Jaws are being made by the same shop as the CT-17, so when that job is complete, on to the jaws.

The TM-1 Tenonmaker components are built, and are being anodized and then off for laser etching. They should ship in the next two weeks or so.

I am often asked, “Why does it take so long to make BCTW tools?”  Below is a pic of our FDA approved testing of the KM-1 Kerfmaker. Yes, that is baby Calder working overtime. And, who puts their baby in skull and cross bones gear? Oh, that would be Michael.



HELPFUL TIPS REGARDING ANGLED CUTS AND COMPOUND MITERS
Yesterday we filmed a short video on how we use the AMPv2 to cut compound miters. The cool thing about the AMPv2 and the app is that the math is perfect out to 9 decimals–so math is never the issue, we as craftspeople are the reason things don’t come out light-tight. I hope you find the following tips helpful–these are the behind the scenes aspects of what you don’t see in the video.

• Never rely on a static setup for quality work–we tested this yesterday and the difference between the static alignment of the miter gage/table saw blade and the actual cut was about 1/2 a degree. Always check your cut before you commit.

• Angled cuts, either by miter gage, blade tilt, or both, create forces that challenge your ability to firmly hold the stock against the miter gage. We recommend that the face of the miter gage be skinned with 120 grit sand paper.  This completely eliminates the “squirt” effect. (Yes, I made that up, but it’s descriptive)  We really like the 3M Stikit Paper rolls for such purposes.

• When a cut requires the saw blade to be tilted, raise the blade as far as possible and dial in your angle with test cuts in a strip of Masonite. This beats cutting 8/4 stock, all the dust, etc, and gives you the longest possible reference edge to check.  It typically takes me about 4-6 cuts before my cut is light tight against the reference.  Then lower the blade to the appropriate height for your stock.

• Compound miters are a different beast. It is one of the few joints where both edges of your stock are placed against the miter gage. For this joint to be successful, your stock edges need to be parallel–otherwise your joint is doomed.

• A little dry lube in the miter gage slot does wonders.

• Back to compound miters; always dial in the blade tilt first with a miter gage set for a perfect 90 degree cut. Once this is light tight, repeat the process for the miter gage. Again, Masonite strips (about 6″ wide) are a great way to accomplish your intent.

• When you are going to make a mission critical project, mill some identical stock out of something inexpensive (poplar is our choice out here), and test your processes. Nothing beats knowing that you are dead on.

–John