Exciting News!

The latest issue of America's Best Workshops 2013 hits the shelf on March 26, and the American Craftsman Workshop has been included!

Rather than being one of the featured shops, I actually have 4 pages of tips that other woodworkers might find helpful. The article is titled "Pro Ideas for Your Shop."

Images used with permission by WOOD Magazine & America's Best Home Workshops 2013

4 Gold Nuggets From The ACW

In the article I share 4 things from my shop:

* My wall storage system for clamps. It is flexible mounting system, easily customized to your clamps, and it does a nice job of protecting the walls. Technical drawings included.

* My Workbench - You don't have to build a traditional workbench to do great woodworking. This is the workbench I have been using for many years. It's flat, it's mobile, and has a very durable surface that you can use to write on. Technical drawing is included.

* How I converted my roller stands to a more usable indeed/outfeed and table system. A flexible support system that breaks down and stores away easily.

* And this one is GOLD! I share the miter saw table system that I use on job sites. WOOD Magazine has included my miter saw support table complete with technical drawings so you can make one too.

This miter saw table provides great support which is critical for accurate cuts on the job site and it will work great for the small shop too. It features a laminate top which you can jot notes & measurements on, then wipe clean. It sets up and breaks down easily. It stores well in my work van and it should in the small garage shop too.

Tips & Projects Shared From American Craftsman Workshop in America's Best Home Workshops 2013

It's Always One Of My Favorite!

Getting to look inside of other workshops is always fun for me, and that makes the annual "Best Workshops" issue one of my favorite magazines to pick up.

Besides the pages of tips from the ACW, there are 18 shops featured that range in size from 112 to 1440 square feet. You get a good look inside the shops and will be able to pick up some great ideas for yours.

Included in this issue is the Ideas Gallery on page 71, an ingenious knock-down bench on page 110, and an article on designing your shop with various layout software. There are many other great features in the 2013 issue of America's Best Home Workshops magazine, so you will have to pick up a copy and check it out for yourself.

Image used with permission by WOOD Magazine and America's Best Workshops 2013

You will also find my good friend and fellow woodworking blogger Marc Spagnuolo in this issue. He is a part of the shop design article starting on page 134. Great to share this issue with you Marc;)

America's Best Home Workshops hits the stands on March 26th and is only on display until June 24th. Be sure to check it out!

Your friend in the shop,

Todd A. Clippinger

Share the Love-Share the Knowledge

Hey guys!

As usual, the summer season is the busiest for my remodeling work and it takes me away from my passion of sharing with the woodworking community. But I will take what I can get so the good news is that I am still at it.

The latest issue of WOOD Magazine has just hit the bookstores and mailboxes and I was lucky enough to get a full page of coverage! The article gives tips from 4 small pro shops and mine was one of the shops covered.

While there is a lot more wisdom and experience we could each share, they picked a few tips from each shop to give a good cross section of helpful advice for the wide variety of woodworkers out there.

To see the tips from my shop, check out page 48!

Photography Credits go to my friend's daughter Yasmine Morup. She is a junior in high school and has an interest in photography. I gave her a call so she could get in on the action and get published. She and her family are pretty excited to see her work published and distributed internationally. Thanks for a great job Yaz!

(WOOD Magazine gave me their full blessing to use any images of their magazine.)

A Visit to WOOD Magazine Headquarters

I just returned from doing some work in Ohio for my mom, she has had some health issues so we are turning her house into single floor living. My normal route between Montana and Ohio takes me through Des Moines, Iowa.

This happens to be where Meredith Publishing is located, and this is the headquarters for WOOD Magazine. So I had to stop in for a visit to meet the editors.

I had a great visit with everyone and got a tour of the facilities. They gave me a peak into the shop where the projects are developed for each issue of WOOD Magazine and of the studio shop where the step-by-step woodworking projects are photographed for the articles.

Since this is the headquarters for several Meredith publications, there is an area that is like a storage warehouse for movie sets, except that it is all for setting up scenes for the various magazines. This services all of the magazines with the backdrop sets that they might need.

The Woodworker's Dream Job?

One thing that had never occurred to me, are the opportunities that a woodworker or carpenter might have with a company like Meredith. Somebody has to build, modify, and disassemble sets constantly. They have a couple guys that do this everyday for the various magazines under the Meredith roof. They have a dedicated shop just for these guys located between the warehoused set pieces and the stage area where the scenes are constructed for the photo shoots.

A real dream job could be designing and building the projects for WOOD Magazine. There are a couple of furniture makers that focus solely on creating the projects for each issue. How cool would that be?

Some Sweet Projects!

One other great thing, was getting to visit the WOOD Magazine gallery. It is an area that they keep most of the projects that are designed for the magazine. I recognized many of the projects from past issues. And just like with my work, the photos do not give justice compared to seeing the projects in person.

I will say that my favorite projects are the 2 most recent ones. They are the pub table and chairs on the cover of this issue, and the Asian inspired media end table that will be featured in the next issue. The pub table is found on page 50 and the media end table is inside the back cover on page 84 giving a peak at what's in the next issue. I felt these were projects that would have come right out of my shop.

They Genuinely Love Woodworking

One thing that impressed me was that the guys all have a genuine interest in woodworking. The consensus among the editors was that they would like to write less about woodworking and spend more time in their shops, and they ALL have shops at home.

They even pointed out that, although it is not a requirement for an employee of WOOD Magazine to be a woodworker, even the secretaries and assistant staff members have woodworking shops at home.

That is all for now. I have more big news to share but this is enough for one sitting, I have a lot to do in the shop.

Until next time - be safe in your own shop!

Todd A. Clippinger

Share the Love~Share the Knowledge