New Toys: Woodworking Tools for Teachers/Classroom Designers

I was watching the Great British Sewing Bee on TV, and I realized that sewing is a lot like woodwork: you cut bigger bits into smaller bits and then you stick the bits back together again into a finished shape. In a previous post (here), I talked about how to get started building your own projects for your classroom.  Sometimes you need particular tools to accomplish each task properly.  

In this post, I am going to talk about certain tools that have upped my woodworking ability.  I am not going to mention any brands because that is a matter of personal preference and budget.  I feel a bit funny giving recommendations based on my limited abilities (I got a C in grade 8 woodwork), but remember this blog is about sharing my journey.  I am not so much a woodworker as I am a tinkerer, figure-outer.  

Here are some tools I already mentioned:

• miter saw
• This is for cutting long narrow boards into shorter narrow boards.  You can use a circular saw or a handsaw, but for making straight, repetitive cuts, I recommend getting a miter saw.  My dad and I once made a class set of picture frames out of some cheap moulding so that my students could display art and get a finished look.  The miter saw made the repetitive 45 degree cuts quick and easy work.  I also used the miter saw to cut the laminate flooring to size to cover the risers.  
• Do I really need a miter saw?  Miter saws are more expensive than hand saws and circular saws, and miter saws can take up a lot of space.  I still recommend one if you are making a lot of repetitive cuts, AND if you find your hand cuts are yielding ragged or wobbly cuts. Miter saws are like paper cutters and hand saws are like scissors.  If you want a clean, square (90 degree, not the shape) out of a bunch of papers, you would use a paper cutter, right? 
• pockethole jig
• Because I don't have the skill or knowledge or time for sophisticated joinery (attaching two pieces of wood together), pocketholes allow quick, strong 90 degree joints of all kinds of boards. The jig helps you drill a hole in one board at an angle, so you can screw it into another board.  The join is quite strong and you can hide the unsightly screws.  Using the pockethole jig, I've made shelves, really strong book boxes, and an odd guitar chair - side table - workout platform - step stool (see below).  
• cordless drill
• In order to make the holes for the pocket jig (or any hole), you need a drill.  I have a cheap corded drill that is actually really powerful, but you cannot beat the convenience and portability of a cordless drill.  If you are going to do a bunch of repetitive insertions of twisty metal fasteners (I know this sounds awkward but "repetitive s****ing" might make for some unwanted search engine traffic), a battery-powered drill is the way to go.  Yes, making holes is obvious, but you can also use a cordless drill for assembly.  I use a cordless drill for putting up and taking down my risers, but with a straight hexagonal bit (or one cut from an Allen key), teachers can assemble Ikea furniture or raise and lower tables or desks lickety split.

New, Not Yet Mentioned Tools

In the last couple of years, I've had more time to do woodwork (I wonder why), and consequently, that has led to buying more tools, which I now wonder how I did without.  Here are some (more) tools that I recommend for the teacher/classroom designer:

• cordless nailer
• I picked up a cordless brad nailer and it was quite cheap because it uses the same battery as my drill and weed whacker.  Brads are nails that are like thick wires that come in different lengths.  The nailer shoots these brads through wood, joining two pieces together.  
• Do I need a cordless nailer?  The pockethole jig only works for thicker materials.  I use the nailer for thinner materials, and also to hold glued pieces together while the glue dries. Brad nails, because they are so fine, leave small holes, so they are not as unsightly as full nails or screws.   Why cordless?  I've used a nailer with a compressor, and though it was powerful, it was not convenient having to drag out the nailer, the hose, the compressor and a long extension cord for a 2 minute job.  With a cordless nailer, you pop in the battery and you are good to go, anywhere.  
• What can you do with a cordless nailer?  
• attach pieces, especially smaller pieces together
• reduce the need for clamps during gluing
• make frames and boxes
• attach trim
• table saw
• The miter saw is great for cutting long, narrow boards into shorter boards while a table saw is great for cutting wide boards into narrower boards.  
• I've had a table saw for almost 20 years, but I never really liked the one I had.  I could never get straight accurate cuts with it because of one very important feature: the fence.  The fence is the part of the saw that sticks up like a wall (or fence) parallel to the spinning blade, so you can guide and slide boards along the top platform (or table) to theoretically get straight cuts.  The fence on my table saw slid around and never stayed parallel to the blade, so all my boards were not square, but slightly tapered which made for some wobbly structures.
• I picked up a new table saw that has a rack and pinion fence which stays parallel to the blade and you can DIAL in the width measurement you want on the scale.  The cuts are straight and accurate, and I do not feel like I am fighting the saw like I did with my old one.  My new saw with the awesome fence is my favourite tool purchase in the last two years.
• Do I need a table saw?  They are big and heavy, and expensive (though mine was just slightly more money than the one I bought a long time ago).  But if you need to take down the width of boards or sheets of plywood in any regularity, you need a table saw. There are alternatives (buying narrowish boards, getting the store to cut the board down for you, using a long guide to run your circular down, etc.), but if your space and budget allow, I definitely recommend a table saw if you want accurate width cuts.  
• What can you do with a table saw?
• make boards narrower, accurately
• cut a board that won't fit in your miter saw for a new shelf in your bookcase 
• make a lapdesk, a class set of whiteboards, a bookbin, or a gameboard from a piece of plywood
• jigsaw
• I had not one but two jigsaws.  They worked in a pinch, but because they are so old, I cannot get decent replacement blades for them.  The new blades and the new technology of jigsaws have greatly improved.  The old jigsaws also felt like they were going to hop out of my hand, and left ragged and inaccurate cuts.  I was watching Britain's Best Woodworker (what is it with me and British making competition shows?) and I saw how Misty made this beautiful zebra silhouette using pieces of thick curvy wood for the stripes.  I thought you would have to use a bandsaw to get those curvy pieces, but she used a jigsaw!  Miter saws, table saws, and circular saws, which all use a round spinning blade, do straight cuts well.  The jigsaw uses a thin blade like a ginsu knife, that goes up and down. 
• Do I need a jigsaw?  Yeah, you probably do.  If you need to cut a curve, you need a jigsaw.  If you need to cut a hole or start or end in the middle of a board, you need a board, you need a jigsaw.  (Any of the round blade saws generally want to cut all the way, edge to edge of a board, but a jigsaw can make an "in-between" cut).  Sometimes, you need to use a drill to get you cut started in the middle of a board.
• What can you do with a jigsaw?
• cut a handle in a tray or book box
• make an "in-between" cut for a laptop stand
• cut a hole in your desk to pass through the wires
• cut metal, like shortening a long metal piano hinge
• cut out large letters for a display

For me, I tend to buy cheaper tools at first because I don't want to spend a lot on something I might not use that much (biscuit joiner, drill press, air nailer and compressor, etc.).  The deficiencies in these tools help me figure out what features I need if I ever upgrade (table saw fence, replaceable jigsaw blades, non-fatiguing sander).  

Less sexy tools that are handy to have:

• a good square
• for keeping things 90 degrees, no wobbly bits!
• wood glue
• glue joints are surprisingly strong, especially when reinforced with pocket screws or even little brad nails
• tape measure
• mechanical or carpenter's pencil
• ear, eye, and nose protection

Project Gallery

Here are some recent projects I have done to give you an idea of what these tools can do.  You could use hand tools for all of these projects and you would be very fit!  Me, I'm okay with being lumpy as long as my cuts are straight.

Japanese-Style Shoji Lamp

When Stef and Tina moved in to my school this year, in their pile of discards what a mangled Ikea lamp.  (And you know how much I love repurposing Ikea stuff).  I repo-ed it and gave it this Japanese façade (much like the builder).  

• I cut an old water bed frame (yeah, I know) into thin legs using the table saw
• cut narrow strips of thin plywood for the slats and frames, then cut them to length using the miter saw
• assemble 4 frames with cross slats using the brad nailer
• stain all the wood
• glue shoji paper to the backs of the frames
• brad nail the frames to the legs to make an elevated box
• stick the whole thing over the bare lamp assembly
• switch it on
• compose several Haiku in the glow of the new light

Guitar Stool - Side Table - Workout/Step Up Bench

Though not really a school-based project, I wanted to share this one because it uses pocket holes.

• Using the table saw, I trimmed the round edges off the dark piece of wood (part of an old waterbed.  Yeah, I know.) and the 2x4s for cleaner edges and flush joins.
• The table saw cut the dark part to length because it is too wide for the miter saw.
• Miter saw cut the 2x4s to length.  
• To make the top, I used pocket holes to attach the dark part and the back slat to the two side 2x4s.  (There is another dark part that can slide into the slot on top, to make a back support when I am playing guitar). 
• I used pocket holes for the legs and cross braces.  This thing is very sturdy.
• The little bit of velcro on top is so the cushion does not slide around, but it also is handy for a non-skid surface when I use it as a step stool.
• I've also used this thing as a foot-stool, a side table, and a workout bench for weights.  (That sounds good, doesn't it?  But I've probably used it more times to get my unitard from the high shelf).  

Laptop Stand
This is a schoolish project.  You can make one for school so you can stand up and Zoom or put a dedicated keyboard underneath.  I made one so I had some place to put my laptop over my synthesizer connected to an audio interface.  (Again, sounds impressive, though I have yet to record or compose a song since making this stand).  

• I cut the cross slats using the miter saw.  
• The sides were large squares cut from a sheet of plywood using the table saw.  I used plywood because it will be strong enough to support the laptop without drooping.
• I drew big U-shaped cut outs on the square plywood using a pencil.  The top arm is thick to give the laptop extra support.  The back and lower arms are a little thinner to fit under the synth.  
• I glued the U's to the cross braces and used screws for extra strength to the joints.
• This stand, though it does not look beautiful, works and fits perfectly.  The cost if you bought one of these in a store would start at $50.  This one cost me nothing apart from screws and glue because the wood was leftover (which is why the parts are different colours).

Coffee Tray

This one was more of a proof of concept project, as in, "Can I do this?"  Tracy gave me some engineered flooring she had because her husband had kept it in their garage for years without doing anything with it.  It stayed in my garage for a couple of years until I decided to see if I could make a coffee tray with it.

• I cut the flooring to length using the miter saw, and cut a couple of pieces with the table saw to get the overall tray width I wanted.  I glued these 4 pieces together to make the bottom.
• cut a piece of thin plywood to support the bottom part of the tray using the table saw.  The flooring needs this extra support because of the way the floor grooves slide together.  Okay on a floor, but would bow and curve as the bottom of a tray.
• cut the side edge pieces out of 1x4.  I cut them to a short height using the table saw to get a little lip so stuff wouldn't slide off the tray.
• left the handle pieces taller, but cut them to length and made angled cuts up to the hand holds using the miter saw.
• drilled holes and used a jigsaw to make the handle holes.
• glued, brad nailed, and clamped it all together.
• You can modify this design to make book boxes, storage crate, a paper tray, an in-box, etc.

Puck-Rubber Band Game

So fun!  Pull back on the rubber bands to jettison the pucks out of your corner.  I saw a two-person version going side to side, but I wanted more players to play, so 4 corners seemed to make sense.

• Cut a big square out of plywood using the table saw.
• Cut the sides to width using the table saw, and to length using the miter saw.
• Glue sides on and brad nail from underneath.
• Cut the 4 inside walls using the miter saw, leaving a gap in the middle for the pucks to go through.  Glue and brad nail these in.
• Cut slots on the walls near the corners for the rubber band mounts.  I used a miter saw, but wished I used a handsaw as my cuts were not straight.
• Insert wide flat rubber bands through the slits and under the underside of the game. As an unintended bonus, the bands under the four corners makes the bottom non-marking and non-skid. 
• Make a bunch of pucks by cutting a old broom stick on the miter saw.