Oaken Gearbox

I grew up building fences. Pounding steel posts into the ground and stringing wire fencing was one of the better jobs on the farm. This fall I decided to fence in my small city lot, but my wife wanted something a little nicer than barbwire. I flat out refused a white picket, so we compromised on a scallop top picket board fence. I opted to use 4x4 green-treated posts, five quarter decking boards ripped in half to 3" wide for stringers, and 1x4's for the pickets. Some online research and conversations with friends indicated that recommended post spacing was 4 to 8 feet. I opted for 8 ft spacing, which seems sufficient for my 4 foot high fence. Tools Needed Gas-Powered Auger Manual Post hole diggers Spud Bar Circular saw Drill Router (optional) Level Step 1: Design your fence Decide: How far to space your posts How wide to make your pickets and how far to space them Where your gates will go, so you can set hinge posts Step 2: Plan your fence Thi...

Edge joining two boards can be one of the more intimidating techniques in woodworking. If the edges on each board aren't completely smooth and flat, your panel will have a big, ugly crack in it. In this post I will describe how to get a perfect joint every time using only hand tools. If like me, you have an inexpensive table saw, or just work with boards with the 'factory' edge on them, they probably don't have a clean enough edge to just glue them together and call it good. With some very simple tools though, you can accomplish the same thing that a $400 jointer can. Tools For the Job: - A Jack Plane. This is really a nifty tool. I just bought the cheap one from Home Depot. It works okay,  although the blade needed to be sharpened right out of the box. - A Dowelling Jig. This isn't strictly necessary, but will let you make a much stronger joint. I bought the self-centering one from  Rockler . It's a little bit pricey, but when I bought it, it was...