If we could pick one person to do seminars every week it would be Chris Fitch. Think of the subjects he could come up with. This week, we have the second in an ongoing (I hope) series of Metalworking for Woodworkers seminars. This one is all about bending metal.

In the latest ShopNotes No. 108, there are three great articles on working with sheet metal in your woodshop. The first touches on how to bend sheet metal using a neat little bending brake. You can make your own brake out of scrap pieces of hardwood, a couple of stout hinges, and a simple bending mandrel made from a length of angle iron. It’s a simple jig to build and the possibilities are endless for what it can be used for. One example is the supply box that is also featured in an article in ShopNotes. (The issue was just mailed recently and is available on the newsstands.)

The other article is all about the essentials of a sheet metal tool kit. Learn about the basic supplies you’ll need like rivet-setting tools, tin snips and shears.

Wow! That title is a mouthful…

But the fact is most of us use our routers for little more than adding an occasional edge profile on a workpiece. And if that is all you ever did with your router, then it’s still a valuable tool. But wouldn’t you really like to get the MOST out of your router? You can simply by building and using the jigs that Ted Raife will demonstrate during this week’s woodworking seminar.

Ted will start out demonstrating how to cut circles using a shop-made circle-cutting jig. Then he’ll show us how to rout mortises with a plunge router and a simple mortising jig. Both of these jigs can be made easily in less than a half hour, but they’ll provide you with a lifetime of service.

To round out the evening, Ted will demonstrate three more useful jigs to use with your hand-held router: an edge guide, a flush trim jig, and a dado jig. Each of them are simple-to-build and I guarantee you’ll turn to them time and again as you learn to build beautiful woodworking projects in your shop.

The bonus downloads for this week includes two articles from ShopNotes magazine: “Router Circle-Cutting Jig” and “Get the Most Out of Your Plunge Router”

Terry Zuck is gone, but not forgotten. Terry, a former assistant manager at the Woodsmith Store, returns to demonstrate a jig that is a mystery to a lot of woodworkers. For instance, what exactly does FMT stand for? Simple, Frame Mortise and Tenon. The FMT is quite possibly the most efficient way to make this basic woodworking joint and Terry will take the mystery out of using it.

Terry will also spend a little time talking about the brand new Super FMT Jig from Leigh Industries. There are no bonus downloads tonight.

By the way, the seminar originally scheduled for tonight “How to Make Cabriole Legs,” has been rescheduled for Thursday, November 5th.

Rick Hutcheson returns to the seminars at the Woodsmith Store. This time, Rick shows us how to turn basic boxes. Of course, if you know Rick, the only thing that is basic about turning these neat little boxes is his technique. It’s pretty simple. But the box you’ll end up with is anything but. Hope you can make it.

The bonus downloads for this week are a six-page project and two-page technique articles from Workbench magazine: Epoxy Inlaid Gift Boxes & Lathe Scrapers

Every once in a while, we need to make a change in our schedule. It usually happens because a presenter is ill or has another, more pressing commitment (it’s only happened twice in five years).

Inspite of our best laid plans, we are rescheduling the October 15th seminar, “How to Make Cabriole Legs” to November 5th. That means we’re swapping the Nov. 5th seminar, “Using the Leigh FMT Jig” to next week.

I hope this doesn’t affect too many people’s travel plans.

Joel Hess

Presenter: Rick Hutcheson, Professional Woodworker, ScrollSaws.com

Rick has his own easy-to-learn technique for turning boxes on a lathe.

Thursday, 6:30pm @ Woodsmith Store Seminar Room

Presenter: Chris Fitch, Senior Designer, ShopNotes magazine

This is a continuation of the well-received metalworking seminar that Chris presented last spring. In it, you’ll learn about a shop-made jig for bending sheet metal and how to use it.

Thursday, 6:30pm @ Woodsmith Store Seminar Room

Presenter: LuAnn Johnson, Sales Associate & Interior Designer, Woodsmith Store

LuAnn has all the inside knowledge necessary to help you choose exactly the right product for your next painting project.

Tuesday, 5:30pm @ Woodsmith Store Seminar Room

Presenter: Ted Raife, Senior Editor, Woodsmith Magazine

Ted talks about all of the many ways to make a router one of the most valuable tools in your workshop.

Thursday, 6:30pm @ Woodsmith Store Seminar Room

Presenter: Louise Ritchhart, Assistant Editor, My Home My Style (formerly Workbench) magazine

If you’ve grown weary of plain walls, then think outside of the box with a round design.

Tuesday, 5:30pm @ Woodsmith Store Seminar Room