Category: Podcast Episodes

Episode 007: Multifunction Machines

Whats Going on in the Shop

Kyle – Working on turning the torus, tap handles, and table tops.

Sean – Made the template for the headboard crest rail.  Finishing an end grain cutting board. Working on filming the Make it Forward wrap up video.  Working with a graphic designer to get shirts made.

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Brian – Dovetailed box for his wife.

Main Topic – Multipurpose Machines

Combination machines and our thoughts about them.

Listener emails/questions

Live Calls

Neil Cronk – Asks what our bucket list projects are.  Check out his work at cronkwrightwoodshop.com and on Twitter.  Neil also has a new video on hand cut dovetails here and you can see his question from Twitter here.

Ryan Smith – Asks if we have any moments of clarity or frustration during a build. Follow Ryan on Twitter.

Mark Dolan – Asks if we get bored on one project and work on more than one thing at a time.  Follow Mark on Twitter and visit his Etsy store.

Email

Stein – Hi!  I was listening to TDL 006, and heard your suggestions for jointing.  I would add that you can do this all with any of the bench planes, for instance a No. 4 or 5.  Paul Sellers has videos on what you need to make the plane work, and how to flatten and joint the wood.  I have done my woodworking this way for ~2 years now, it works just fine.  Also, Shannon Rogers on youtube has an interesting method he calls hybrid milling, where he combines hand planes with a planer. It’s worth checking out.

John – I’ve been enjoying the podcasts and look forward to each new episode, keep them coming.  I’m a noob when it comes to selecting complementary and contrasting woods in projects.  What are your favorites and which ones do you avoid?  Any and all guidelines, recommendations, and suggestions are most welcome.

Thanks, and keep up the good work.

John from snowy Boston

iTunes Ratings

SeattleSocial – 5 Stars: I really enjoy your casual style, you guys mesh very well together.  I enjoy the podcast very much.  One suggestion is to prep and get on the same page for topics and who is going to cover what before recording.  It’s great and you guys are learning, just wanna help you guys sound as professional and polished as you can!

Bwirthlin – 5 Stars: By my own admission, I’m not a big consumer of podcasts.  I just don’t seem to find the time to listen to them.  I have most definitely made an exception for The Dusty Life!  I have enjoyed the progression of the show so far and can’t wait to see where they take it in the future.  The hosts are awesome and all have their own different take on woodworking, so combined they make up a great group.  Keep up the great work guys!

Head over to mmwoodstudio.com and use the coupon code “dustylife” at checkout to save 30% on your purchase.

If you have comments, questions, or suggested topics for future shows you can email us at contact@thedustylife.com.

If you enjoyed listening to this podcast consider subscribing through iTunes, Soundcloud, or click the RSS on the homepage at thedustylife.com and please leave us a rating as it helps other listeners find the show more easily.

You can find more information about each of us at thedustylife.com.  Also, head over to our individual websites, social media platforms, and YouTube channels and subscribe.

Episode 006: Design Dyslexic Deco Art

Whats Going on in the Shop

Kyle – Finished the Sprinter can interior and took a well deserved break in San Diego on a boat.

Sean – Finished the inlay on the headboard.  Make It Forward project chess pieces arrived from Jimmy.  Published a Modern Bed video and working on downloadable plans for the build.  Made a bed rail for a friends old bed.  Finishing an end grain cutting board. Got some new stuff in the shop (Starrett 4″ combo square, 3D sketch pad, logbook, bow saw kit, anice candies).  Thanks to Tim Babb for setting up the RSS feed on the website.  Visit his webpage and enter his February Giveaway for some cool stuff!

Brian – Doing a lot of modeling in SketchUp.

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Main Topic

Designing furniture and styles that influence our making.

Listener emails/questions

Ryan Parrish asks about our design process.  Follow him on Twitter @parrishryan

Seth Messer asks about jointing boards without a jointer.  Follow him on Twitter @megalithic

Elliott – Howdy y’all,

Elliott Trent here from sunny England, just a response to your most recent episode. You talked a bit about ‘compound edges’ and I think there could’ve been a slight misunderstanding. If the emailer was referring to the right honorable Paul Sellers, I’m pretty sure what he meant was a convex bevel, this being a curve down to edge from the top of the bevel (as opposed to flat 25 or 30 degrees) – not a cambered edge from side to side  like you’d see on a jack plane. Most tools were sharpened with a convex bevel until the advent of fancy honing guides.

Enjoying the show! Nice to see how you guys do it over there, I love how you think wood is expensive, you should see the prices here!

All the best, Keep up the good work!

Bryson – First of all thanks to all of you guys for putting this podcast together. I love listening to it while I’m toiling away at my day job and dreaming of being in the shop.

In episode 5 you read a comment from Marty about cambered edges on tools. He mentioned using the sharpening technique taught by Paul Sellers. When you guys were discussing it, it sounded like you were talking about a camber or radius on the cutting edge, but Sellers’ method (referring to chisels specifically) involves a camber not on the cutting edge but on the actual bevel. The camber is produced almost as a side effect of the slight forward and backward rocking that naturally happens when sharpening by hand without a guide. The cutting edge of the chisel is straight, but the bevel has a slight camber, which is perpendicular to the axis of the cutting edge. Hope that makes sense, it’s a little tricky to describe and hell I may be misunderstanding it myself. If you watch Paul Sellers’ videos on sharpening he does a very good job of explaining it.

Thanks for taking the time to read my email and keep up the good work on the podcast!

Barak – Hi Guys, Barak from Israel here,

I have a question about the “timeline” of sanding. What I mean, is what happens if I wait (lets say over night or even a few days) between grits, do I need to sand again from a lower numbered grit or can I start from where I left off. How much does the answer varies between wood species and humidity levels (I live about 2 miles from the beach).

Will using a card scraper “seal the fibers”

Keep up the good work (collectively and individually). Sound quality is much better.

iTunes Ratings

HappyCreekWood – 5 Stars:  These guys have great chemistry and their love for woodworking  shows.  I especially like how they each have different backgrounds to bring to the table.  Brian has a full time job, Sean is a stay at home dad, and Kyle is a full time woodworking pro.  That literally illustrates every stage in the path that I see myself going down, so this podcast really resonates with me personally.  Keep up the good work!  I’d give you 6 stars if they’d let me.

Nickkoval – 5 Stars:  I saw the explicit rating and expected to hear drunken sailor talk.  This was actually quite tame.  Seriously though, we are all adults here.  I have my 5 year-old daughter out in the shop with me all the time.  If she hears a “bad word” that is an opportunity to be a parent and explain the difference about what is appropriate for her to say as opposed for me.  After listening to the reasoning for the rating in episode 4 the rating is really not needed.  People will listen either way.  You can’t please everyone.  You guys get a little better each episode.  Keep up the good work.

If you have comments, questions, or topic suggestions you can email us at contact@thedustylife.com.

If you enjoyed listening to this podcast you can find more information about each of us at thedustylife.com. Also, head over to our individual websites, social media platforms, and YouTube channels and subscribe.

Consider subscribing to this podcast through iTunes, Soundcloud, or click the RSS on the homepage at thedustylife.com and please leave us a rating as it helps other listeners find the show more easily.

Episode 005: We’ve Got Wood

Whats Going on in the Shop

Kyle – Pedestal Table Video and Sprinter Van.

Sean – Working on the main inlay on the headboard panel…still, and starting on the rails.

Brian – Cutting Dovetails and installing a clients bar top.

Main Topic: Lumber!  Where we buy it, how we choose it, where we store it.

Listener Emails/Questions

Email from Marty about cambered chisels and plane irons from Episode 004:

Hey guys. I’ve been enjoying your new podcasts and look forward to future episodes.

I wanted to offer a rebuttal to the suggestion that cambered blades have no place in woodworking. For many years I used waterstones and diamond plates in combination with guides (love the Veritas MK II) to sharpen my blades. Then a few years ago Paul Sellers turned me on to cambered sharpening, sans the guides. I haven’t looked back. All of my plane irons and chisels now have cambered edges. I can now freehand sharpen with my diamond plates and finish with the leather strop. Insane sharpness and very fast.

Until the last 50 years or so, I think most tools were sharpened with a cambered edge. I recently read Virtuoso: The Tool Cabinet and Workbench of Henry O. Studley. In the section where the condition of the various blades were discussed, turns out the edges were cambered.

If you’re so inclined, give it some serious consideration. You may be pleasantly surprised.

Marty Backe
Downey California

Braxon Wirthlin calls in to ask about itemizing a customer’s invoice.  Check him out at braxtonwirthlin.com.

Matt Cremona calls in to ask if we have any unique quirks that we do in our shops during the work flow.  Check him out at mattcremona.com.

iTunes Ratings

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C-Pad1615 – 5 stars: I really enjoyed the first couple of episodes.  It’s a little rough around the edges right now as far as sound quality and how natural these guys transition into things but all that will probably improve with time and the content is great.  I will definitely continue to listen.  Keep it up fellas!

Diyfan – 5 Stars: Great to have another podcast devoted to woodworking.  These guys have great tips and ideas.

If you have comments, questions, or topic suggestions you can email us at contact@thedustylife.com.

If you enjoyed listening to this podcast you can find more information about each of us and the show notes at thedustylife.com.  Also, head over to our individual websites, social media platforms, and YouTube channels and subscribe.  It’s free, why not!

Consider subscribing to this podcast through iTunes, Soundcloud, or click the RSS on the homepage at thedustylife.com and please leave us a rating as it helps the cast climb the charts so other listeners find the show more easily.