Rob's editorial in the last issue of the eZine posed a question of style -- specifically, whether woodworkers try to incorporate specific stylistic choices into their projects. Here's an answer we received. - Editor

"With any woodworking I do, from tiny boxes to outdoor hard landscape construction, my first instinct is to try to lighten the appearance of the work by paring away any unnecessary timber bulk. The simplest example is to bevel at least one edge of trimming timber, and I prefer to do this on the underside of the workpiece, which contributes a floating feeling. Curving the underside of bearers, so that the centre of the span retains the minimum cross-section required for strength, contributes style, but also allows for a larger mating area where bearers are bolted to piles or posts. I find myself doing too much post-and-rail fencing to keep small dogs where they’re supposed to be, and get a sense of lightness by alternating two rail widths (say 150 x 25 and 75 x 25), and using a dark stain to highlight paler foliage behind, in front of, and through the fence. When constructing wooden gates, by putting the brace in compression instead of tension, I get the same feeling of lightness – subjective, I know, but it works for me." - Graeme Coles

And, of course, we are still hearing from woodworkers who have advice or memories to share about projects made for the grandchildren -- their own or others'. - Editor

"I don't have a story about projects built for my progeny. But I do have one about a 'toy chest' requested by a coworker for her son. After the request was made, I realized there would be safety issues with a chest, the top of which could fall on little heads and fingers. My love of Shaker and Mission furniture influences my designs, so I knew I wouldn't build anything but a paneled chest (which I assumed would outlive any plastic one that might ordinarily be bought). I solved the safety issue by not requiring that toys be stored / retrieved through the top. What I built was a chest that could convert to a storage unit with open shelving. The conversion is done by repositioning the detachable back panels so that they become the unit's shelves. What I like about this is that you can readily go back to a top-loading chest when there's no longer a safety concern. Maybe that takes until the kid goes off to college, but then Mom has her choice of what to do." - Mike Weise

"Make sure you include a secret compartment. All kids love having that secret place to hide something special. I made a jewelry box for my daughter, now 33, and yes it has a secret compartment. She is still my little girl." - Joe DeJulio

Cutting Corners with Glue

We also heard a reaction to one of the queries in our Q&A section, from a woodworker who wanted to skip the mixing part of using two-part epoxy. - Editor

"I am writing in reference to Randy Wolfe who said he has heard you can put epoxy part A on one surface and part B on the other surface. I am a retired paint chemist and formulator with 47 years of experience. People who try to cut corners and go against the instructions are their own worst enemy. In an epoxy, the epoxy resin and the catalyst must be mixed in a definite mathematical relationship to one another. They must be mixed thoroughly and then allowed to 'marry' for a certain period of time to achieve 'design' properties. There are hundreds of possible resin combinations and literally thousands of catalyst combinations to achieve a number of design properties. But if you cut corners and don't do it right, you got garbage.

"I have two epoxy glues that I use: 5-minute and 45-minute. The first has an open time of 5 minutes. This I use for little jobs that I can get clamped and left alone before it sets up in 5 minutes. The second is the 45-minute system that has an 'open' time of 45 minutes which allows the glue joints to be assembled and adjusted as is needed. Epoxy glue is very expensive in comparison to other competent wood glues. You would choose an epoxy because it will what no other chemical compound will do. He should ask himself 'why epoxy?'

"I personally have had a tendency to over engineer my project my entire life. I have to go back, for time to time, to Occam's Razor: 'The easiest solution is the best.'" - Richard Melton