First of all, a word of warning. If you’re coming the Sept 27th seminar at the Woodsmith Store, you may not want to come too early. The seminar room will closed from 4pm til’ 6pm due to a scheduling conflict. But it will be open right at 6:00 and the seminar will hopefully begin on time. Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.

The first Woodsmith Woodworking Seminar of the new fall season is an oldy but a goody. Bryan Nelson has done this Top 5 Router Jig seminar a couple of times before and it always proves to be one of our most popular seminars. That’s why we’re leading off with it.

There’s one change though from the seminar that he gave in the past. He’s including a brand new jig from ShopNotes Issue No. 87 that I think you’re going to like. It’s a router table sled made from durable phenolic plywood (see photo). It features a sturdy fence with a clever, but simple, hold-down and a replaceable MDF backing strip that supports a workpiece and backs it up to prevent chipout. I think you’ll like it and plans for the sled will be included in the seminar guide.

Every fall for the last 15 years or so, the Woodsmith Store has ended the month of September with two events — the annual Fall Fair and the start of the woodworking seminar season. This year is no exception with one small difference. This will be the first year that several of the presenters at the seminars will also be cast members on America’s newest woodworking TV show — The Woodsmith Shop on public television.

As many of you know by now, the first episode of The Woodsmith Shop will air on Iowa Public Television at 6:30pm on Friday, October 5th. And hopefully, by the end of the year when the feed will be available to the rest of the country, the show will be picked up by stations around the U.S. (For more information, go to WoodsmithShop.com. Randy Maxey will also post more about the show soon.)

The same tradition is being carried on every week during the woodworking seminars at the Woodsmith Store in Clive, Ia. They’re held each Thursday evening (from September through April) in a 200-seat auditorium with a fully-equipped shop. Seminar topics for this fall range from “Top 5 Shop-Built Router Jigs” to “Tips for Working with Plywood.” Season and single tickets are on sale now at the store. Plus, this year the one-hour seminars will be supplemented by two 4-hour hands-on workshops held in December. Space is limited to six for these sessions though, so sign up soon.

Bryan Nelson, Managing Editor, ShopNotes Magazine and Member of the “Woodsmith Shop” TV Show cast, premiering later this winter on Iowa Public Television