“Look up in the sky….it’s a bird, it’s a plane…it’s Super-woodworker!”
As I watched the arborist carefully make each cut using his woodworking tools and woodworking accessories to trim some of my trees I thought to myself, that is truly a woodworking art form.
Granted, he wasn't using table saw blades, a router table system or woodcarving tools to sculpt small pieces of wood, rather, he was sculpting the entire tree with a chain saw and pruning poles.
Cutting the dead wood out and crowning the trees not only makes them look better, but makes them healthier as well.
In a few years the tree with fill in and look better than ever.
Some of those limbs were so large that I saved them. I wonder what I can make with them besides firewood.
Time to gather up all of my bandsaw accessories and wood bandsaw blades so I can re-saw the limbs so they can be kiln dried. Who knows, by sometime next year the lumber from these limbs could be sitting in my house as a table, clock or even bowls and trays.
I sure love the oak trees in my yard but neither I or my lawn mower will miss a lot of those acorns!
It’s Fair Time,
It’s August and almost time for all of our local Fairs to start. I am looking forward to the 4-H Displays, animal judging, lemonade stands, greasy fried foods and all the different vendor booths.
One booth you can always count on to be at the fair is the Sign making booth. I am amazed at how many people spend their money on signs when they are so easy to make.
All you need are a few woodworking tools and woodworking accessories and you can make signs for you and all of your family and friends. Remember, signs make great holiday gifts and Christmas is not really that far away.
For a simple sign, all you need is a router and the Router Sign-Pro Sign making template kit from Eagle America. They even have vertical number templates that are great for putting numbers on your mailbox post!
Once you start with these few items you will be making signs like these in no time.
So pass right on by the sign making booth at your local fair this year and save your money for some new sign making woodworking accessories that will give you satisfaction for years to come.
Boy do we have something special for you today! We are very excited to offer you a brand new woodworking book with an extra bonus!
"The Frugal Woodturner" is written by Ernie Conover and is available today at Eagle America.
The first 30 people who purchase a copy will get an autographed copy!Ernie Conover is a famous, well respected woodworker who happens to live only 30 minutes from
Eagle America's headquarters in Chardon, Ohio. We are always proud to offer products from expert woodworkers, especially ones who are local! In his new books, Ernie shares his knowledge of setting up and maintaining a personal woodturning shop affordably. His breakdown of getting started at three different budget levels is must-have information for all aspiring woodturners.
Click here to see our complete selection of
woodworking books and dvd's that cover a wide range of woodworking tools and woodworking disciplines.
Having a local woodworking celebrity is always a nice bonus. We also highly recommend the courses that Ernie leads at
Conover Workshops, you can see more about Ernie and what he does by
visiting the Conover Workshops website.
Eagle America strives to establish relationships with other famous woodworkers as well. The goal is this - we learn from them, you learn from them, and we all get better at what we do. Some other names that you may or may not know are
Marc Spagnuolo,
Tom Iovino,
Matt Vanderlist and
Charles Neil.
Some quick questions for you today:
- Are there other famous woodworkers that you would like us to reach out to?
- Who are some of your favorite "famous" woodworkers?
- Do you make decisions on buying woodworking tools and woodworking accessories based on celebrity endorsements?
At
Eagle America we think that YOU have the power to be a famous woodworker! Every time you open the door to your shop you have the chance to make a woodwork of art, it's only a matter of what you do with it! We are honored to be a part of that process. With
over 2,000 router bits and
over 6,000 total woodworking tools and accessories, we know we can do a lot to help you achieve your goals. Please remember us when you make it to the top!
The folks over at
ThisIsCarpentry.com recently posted an article titled
"Why Hand Tools (Still) Matter". The author, Keith Mathewson, did a great job pointing out exactly what the title states. Some of the points he makes are:
- Sometimes the fastest method is still the oldest
- Hand tools often do what power tools can’t
- They give you precise control, ensuring a perfect cut
So what kind of woodworker are you? Do you rely mostly on power tools? Are you an old-fashioned hand tool kind of person? As much as we here at
Eagle America focus on power tools (after all, have you ever tried to use
router bits by hand, without a
router?!?!), our customers often tell us that their most prized possessions are old woodworking tools that have been passed down from previous generations. There's just something about those old wood cutting tools that bring nostalgia to the forefront. Often we hear about cabinet making tools like old hand planes but sometimes we hear stories about other woodworking accessories too. So which woodworking tools in your collection do you cherish? Let us know, post your comments to this blog post.
Also, if you are looking for new hand tools, did you know that Eagle America carries a nice selection?
Click here to see our selection of Hand Tools and Planes.
I was looking through the Popular Woodworking Pocket Shop Reference Guide and came across a list of “Circle Templates around the House”. I thought it was so funny that they have a measurement for the bottom end of an Old spice Shave Cream 11 oz. can! By the way it measures 1 5/8” and has a radius of 11/16 “.
If you need to make circles, you don’t have to trace pennies, or the bottom end of a coffee can. Eagle America has many woodworking accessories for making circles. Here are 6 different router accessories and router jigs to help you cut circles:
- Adjustable Circle Cutting Jigs
- Turnlock Circle / Edge guide
- Curv Pro Circle / Oval Cutting System
- Circle Template
- Circle Cutting Template
- Router Tri-Jig
If you are using other woodworking tools, like a Drill press, or Jig saw, don’t forget about our 3 Piece Circle Cutting Pins Set.
Simply drill a 3/16" diameter hole half way through material being cut, thread proper length pin into filler strip, place material onto pin and cut to shape using straight or spiral router bits. Circular pieces should be rough cut using a band saw or jig saw prior to cleaning up the edge. Pins measure 3/16", 3/8", and 3/4" long for various material thicknesses.
Another woodworking accessory we carry at Eagle America for your drill press is the Wheel and Circle Cutter.
Certainly, with all these woodworking tools and woodworking accessories, you should never have to trace another bottom end of the Borden’s’ condensed milk can again!
Every year my wife and I enjoy going to Hampton Beach, New Hampshire to watch the
Sand Sculpting Competition. This year there were 11 folks from around the globe that came to show us their talents. We are always anxiously waiting when one of Cleveland's own, Carl Jara, from Lyndhurst, Ohio shows his stuff. Last year he won first place! You can visit his
sand sculpting website or his
woodworking website to see his amazing talents on display.
For 10 years they have been trucking in over 200 tons of special imported sand (yes, they import sand to a beach) and turn these wonderful artists loose to create masterpieces fitting to be in an art gallery or a museum. They work for over a week on their sculptures.
Over the course of the event nothing but sand, water, and their own creativity is used to create astonishing works of art out of shapeless large heaps of sand. When completed they are sprayed with a solution of school glue and water to protect them from the elements which allows them to remain standing for viewing for weeks, creating a free museum of master pieces on the beach. Unfortunately, in a few weeks after the judging has been done and the awards have been made, they bring in bulldozers to knock them down. I encourage all of you to
view the photo gallery on their website and become inspired.
So how does this apply to woodworking tools and woodworking accessories?
Eagle America is a woodworking company after all, so why am I talking about sand? Seeing Carl's personal website made me think - how do you use your creative mind in ways other than woodworking? He has the ability to create works of art in wood and in sand. What other methods have you used to express your creative woodworking mind? When you did it, were you able to incorporate any woodworking tools (like router bits) into your project? Let me know, I'm curious!
I had a customer call the other day and the Eagle America catalog he used to order from was a catalog he borrowed from his father, that is not that unusual but the catalog was from 2000. He is not the first customer to order from one of our catalogs from several years ago. I’ve asked "Why do you keep them so long" they usually say they keep it for reference. They would see a woodworking accessory or router bits that they had not seen before. So they hold on to it for when they need that item.
Do you know we carry over 6000 different woodworking tools? We have everything from; router table systems, router bits and router bit sets, saw blades and saw blade accessories, woodworking clamps, sanding supplies, wood carving tools, Kreg pocket hole jigs…. and the list goes on.
A few years back we ran a promotional offer to see who had the oldest catalog and I believe we had multiple customers that supplied us with catalogs from the late 80's and early 90's.
Yesterday's Catalog Today's Catalog
Wow what a difference, so don’t be so quick to toss that old Eagle America catalog it just may be worth something in the future.
Judges at this years IWF (International Woodworking Fair) in Atlanta, GA. have previewed hundreds of entries for this years Challengers Award® Competition and have determined the top twenty-two new products that have risen above the competition.
Read more . . . One of those top new products is the
Tornado Filter Cleaner, which is available at EagleAmerica.com. This is one of those
woodworking accessories your shop shouldn't be without!
Woodworking tools work best when they are clean and shop vac filters are no exception.
Dust produced by
wood cutting tools such as
tablesaw blades,
shaper cutters and
routers bits can be fine and once packed into a pleated filter, difficult to remove. Then you have to beat the filter which only produces more dust.
This innovative product solves this issues by using centrifugal force to spin the dust out of the pleats, all while inside of an enclosed bucket which makes for less mess and easy disposal.
Working here at Eagle America one question I hear more than any other is" where can I get that information"? I hear it in our outlet store, I hear it on the phones and I see it in emails. No matter what the woodworker is trying to do, setting up dust collection, looking for band saw accessories, questions about shaper cutters, any woodworking accessories that is new to a woodworker them we get questions about that item. Another thing we hear a lot of is, I am interested in one of the Kreg pocket hole jigs which one should I get? Or I am building some cabinets which set of stile and rail bits should I use? Which one of your router bit sets is the best for me? We do our best to answer all the questions we receive within 24 hours.
Did you know we have tech support available where we will take your question sent to us via email to us at tech@eagleamerica.com and pass it to our one of our woodworkers that we have on staff?
Don't they look knowledgeable!
Well back to the question, where can I get this information?
You can find just about anything...
....ON THE INTERNET! 
There are thousands of website dedicated to woodworking. Places where you can ask questions of your peers or ask professionals like The Wood Whisperer's website.
You can find just about anything you need right here. They have a community where you can access blogs and forums where you can ask questions that will be answered by many people that are just woodworkers like you that want to help their experience is there to help you. Also in their community they have photos of the member's projects. Not to mention many videos that Marc Spagnuolo (The Wood Whisper) does showing how to do certain things or projects start to finish. You can also find Marc's work on You tube talk about a video library that you don't have to buy! You can also find many different woodworking groups that have joined the community, maybe you belong in one of these groups? Do you?
And of coarse what true Wood Whisperer member doesn’t have a Wood Whisperer hat and T-shirt. Well don’t worry you can get these items and more at the store. I should get a free t-shirt for this blog don’t you think?
There is a live chat room where you can discuss your project or anything woodworking related. You can even watch projects being made because there are dozens of people/workshops that stream live video to the site for you to watch.
This is just one site of the thousands of woodworking sites out there on the world wide web. So if you have a specific question maybe we can help. Or if you are looking for a place to go to learn and pick up some tricks of the trade and meet some woodworkers maybe The Wood Whisperers website is where you want to go.
No matter what you are looking for, the Internet can be the best tool in your workshop.
I stumbled across
this article at www.ultimateclearlake.com about a woodworker who makes wooden spoons and sells them!
Matt Adams Loves Spoons! Courtesy of UltimateClearLake.com
In the article Matt states that his grandfather and mother enjoyed working with wood, so it runs in the family. Matt says, "“I’m happy.
Woodworkers, they love what they do. They eat, breath and sleep it. They’re trying to impart wisdom and beauty into the world." I couldn't agree more! When he started making spoons it took him hours, now it only takes him 30-45 minutes and he sells them for $30-$40 each.
So, the question for you today is this - what can you make in your shop that you can sell on-line for a profit? Think outside the box - don't say frames or boxes. What is something
UNIQUE that you could make out of wood and sell on-line? You have lots of
woodworking tools and woodworking accessories at your disposal, how can you use them differently?
Look around your house at everything and ask the question, "Can I make that out of wood?" Who knows, you could wind up starting a new business! I do know this,
Eagle America has all of the tools and supplies that you need to make it happen,
click over and take a look.
Working in customer service I’m occasionally contacted by customers needing past invoices for insurance claims. People have had all sorts reasons for needing them; floods, fires, tornado's, hurricanes as well as theft.
I have never had a customer send pictures before. I was saddened to see the devastation one of our customers faced recently.
He asked us to provide any and all invoices he may have misplaced. Fortunately his invoices of woodworking tools and woodworking accessories were not kept in his shop. As you can see below his shop was a total loss.
Eric recently wrote a blog how he set up an inventory spread sheet to document all of his router bits , woodworking tools and woodworking accessories. This is a precaution that is certainly worth the time. I am sure this customer wished he had done one.
Hey there woodworkers!
I just added 4 great new woodworking
books to the
Eagle America library.
The first book is by famous Ohio based woodturner Ernie Conover.
The Frugal Woodturner gives you an in-depth perspective on the woodworking tools and woodworking accessories used by woodturners today and in years past. Ernie even shows you how to build your own wood lathe just like the ones our forefathers used.
The second book is all about
How To Make Picture Frames. This is probably one of the best picture framing books I have seen. There are many techniques that use a woodworking router table and wood router bits as well as several easy and unique designs to help you add just the right custom look to you pictures.
The third book is about
Getting The Most From Your Wood-Buying Bucks. This book is a great reference for woodworkers of any skill level. The book addresses almost every question you might have regarding cutting lumber, drying it, and selecting the best yield for your projects.
The fourth book is the
Woodcarver's Guide To Sharpening, Tools And Setting Up Shop. This book has a ton of helpful information on
wood carving tools, wood carving techniques, and the proper techniques for
sharpening wood cutting tools with difficult profiles.
Click on the images above for more information on these
books and to see the free inside previews. I hope you check out these exciting new titles!
Kreg Tool is one of the premier brands of
woodworking tools and woodworking supplies in the business. We are very proud to always offer you a wide selection of their most popular products...and that selection has just gotten better.
For a limited time, when you purchase $149 in Kreg Tool merchandise
we will give you a $20 Eagle America gift card for free! All you have to do is
use promo code CP1065 during checkout and when you open your box you will be happy to see that FREE gift card. So how should you spend $149 on Kreg? Here are some suggestions:
The
NEW Kreg Deck Jig makes it very easy for you to rehab your existing deck or build a new one. Click over for more details including a demonstration video.
Kreg has made their excellent name thanks to their wide selection of industry leading
Pocket Hole Jigs and Pocket Hole Machines. The pocket hole joint is fast becoming one of the most popular woodworking techniques, get started with your new Kreg pocket hole jig today.
You know at
Eagle America we love
router bits and
router accessories. You cannot go wrong by using the
Kreg Router Table System. Their line of tables, fences and stands stand out next to the competition.
Free Shipping for the Fourth Starts NOW!
Our name is
Eagle America, so naturally we want to celebrate Independence Day with all of our woodworking friends! Most of you will have a long weekend around the 4th, so why not spend some of that much deserved downtime in your woodshop playing with your woodworking tools, woodworking supplies and woodworking accessories? This offer should make it a little easier for you to make that happen. Go ahead and get the new tools that you have had on your wish list…
we will deliver them for FREE with your order over $99 or for just $4 with your order under $99. Looking for some suggestions on how to get your order to the FREE level? Try getting yourself some of our
world famous Eagle America brand Router Bits, which are American-Made. They are the best bits that money can buy and we stand behind them with our
Total Satisfaction Guarantee. You must use promo code E2100623 at checkout to get your savings. Enjoy!
I stumbled across
this article on Gizmodo about a woodworker named
Clayton Boyer. Of course it features some amazing woodworks of art, some intricate
clocks such as the one pictured below:
Time for me to get to work, this would take me forever to make!
Boyer thinks that "anyone with a little determination can put together any of his clock designs". He also goes on to say that "skill level is not as important as perseverance".
So what are your thoughts on that? Do you agree, is skill level not as important? Post your thoughts to this blog post.
I tend to think that it is a combination of 3 things: the skill level of you as a woodworker, the determination and patience to see a project thru to completion, and the
woodworking tools and woodworking accessories that you use to complete the job. A good craftsman never blames his tools, rather he appreciates how good tools can make his life a lot easier. Whether you are talking about
router bits or
router jigs,
shaper cutters, a
wood carving set,
wood bandsaw blades or even something as simple as
sanding sleeves, quality tools help you get the job right done the first time. Which tools can you just not be without when you are heading into a big project?
Chris Schwarz from Popular Woodworking just posted a list of
"10 Tool Features that Frustrate Me". It is a good, quick read. You should check it out.
Are there any woodworking tools that make you scream?
I was surprised to see one of my favorite
woodworking tools, the router, mentioned twice! The router is the most versatile tool in your wood shop, thanks in large part to the variety of
router bits that are available, yet it still can frustrate people. The two instances Chris sites are collet locks on routers and
router table fences that offset for jointing applications. What are your thoughts on this?
I can't imagine a router doing more harm than good
Tell us how else your
woodworking router or router table and fence frustrate you. Maybe we can come up with a way to make it better for you. Is
router height adjustment still an issue for you? Do you constantly have issues setting up or using your
router table system? Are there specific
router accessories that drive you crazy? And if so, why?
Don't forget, we are "The World's Router Bit Source" with
over 2,000 router bits and router bits sets so we have a vested interest in your answers. We want to make your shop a better place for you to work, and we want to make your router indispensable!
This article in the Plano Star got me thinking about all of our woodworking friends once again and how you use your imagination combined with your woodworking tools and woodworking accessories. The article is about a woodworker named Murray Stein, who appears to be a
Wizard with Wood.
Are you a Wizard with Wood like Murray Stein? Would Harry approve?
Murray states that he is inspired by ancient designs and he likes to replicate Native American pottery in wood. He has made clocks, boxes, a flying saucer and other UFO replicas. Now that is an imagination! He appears to be very creative with both his ideas and the woodworking tools he uses to make those ideas a reality.
So my questions to you today are:
Everyone at Eagle America appreciates and is inspired by your woodworks of art and your creativity. Post your answers to the blog, we can't wait to see what you have to say!
My husband b
ought an old
woodworking router at a garage sale last week and I wondered when the first routers were manufactured. So I did a little research on
routers and
router accessories. The first router was patented in 1908, and weighed 60 pounds. It was over 12” in diameter and 16” high. Now, that’s a lot different than the routers we sell today!
The routers we sell at
Eagle America range from a mere 4.4 pounds, to the heaviest router which is still only 13 pounds. That’s about ¼ of the weight of the first routers. If you want to see some of the old routers,
here is a great link about the history of
woodworking accessories, woodworking bits and
router jigs. If you are still using an old router (and hopefully it doesn’t weigh 60 pounds!), you might want to look at some of the new ones we sell at Eagle America. Here are a few you might be interested in:
Triton DeWalt Festool
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