No New Woodworking Tips?

[Bruce Wrenn]

I still subscribe to two WW magazines - Wood Peckers catalogue, AKA WoodSmith, and Wood. Readers tips are ALWAYS my go to first thing. For the last couple years, it seems that of all the tips I have seen them before. No new ones, just old ones recycled. Anybody else feel the same? FYI, over the years, I have had tips published in most of the WW magazines, including a TopTip in Wood. What PO's me is send in a tip, have it rejected, and then couple years later see tip as submitted by someone else.

[Cameron Wood]

I see things that I haven't seen before, but maybe 1 in 40 end up being incorporated .

Have you seen this one?

Vitamin bottle with hole punched in top, with water. Glue brush (artists brush, not some crap!) goes in after use, later swished and shaken out, ready for next use. Water lasts months.



490366

[Derek Cohen]

I have had contributions in the last two editions of FWW magazine.

One was a tip to convert high-sided bench chisels quickly and easily into chisels fit for dovetailing. Here is my full article:

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMadeTools/BenchChiselsintoDovetailChisels.html

There is another tip I came up with recently, but may not be of interest here: a guide for morticing with chisels:

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMadeTools/MorticingGuide.html

There are many more on my website.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Rick Potter]

I got a six page article in WoodSmith for my drill press cabinet with horseshoe shaped drawers way back. Never said anything about it to anyone before it was published, but there was another article in a different mag the same month. I suspect they think I gave it to both, but I didn't. Both mags are in the same city. Hmmm.

Another one I had never seen was the tip I put on this forum about using dog collars to hold extension cords. It showed up on WoodSmith tips the next month, submitted by one of the editors there. I suspect he might be a secret admirer of the creek.

[Phil Gaudio]

I have a workshop tip in the current issue of Fine Woodworking: The Breadboard Headboard, page 14 of the Dec. issue (Derek's tip is on page 13):

https://www.finewoodworking.com/2022/10/19/workshop-tip-the-breadboard-headboard

[Stan Calow]

I had a tip published once. I did see an almost identical version published in another magazine a couple of years later. I took it as there being only so many new things that can be done, and so many are kind of obvious that multiple people think of the same thing. I can see how it would be difficult for any magazine to have a screening system that covered all past magazines.

[Derek Cohen]

Stan, I have had tips taken verbatim from my website and published on FWW. I drew this to the attention of the editors, but they said it was beyond them to follow these up.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[John Kananis]

Too lazy to work but not nervous to steal.

[Jeff Roltgen]

Recently, Fine Homebuilding was printing vintage hints/tricks as a way of celebrating their anniversary. Handy way to make up for lack of new ones, and boy, there were some goodies in that mix.

jeff

[roger wiegand]

About once a decade there's something new and useful. People have been working wood for a very long time. Too may "tips" seem to be along the lines of "recycle your old aspirin bottles to store paper clips in". (Yes, I saw it in a print (non-woodworking) magazine)

[Edward Weber]

After you reach a certain age, level of skill, wisdom, or some combination of these, everything seems redundant.
Most of the "tips & tricks" on YouTube can all be found in back issues of the usual woodworking magazines.
The latest "tip" I read was in WWJ, for using a putty knife as a sanding backer for reaching into V-grooves, WOW. For that mind-blowing wisdom, they received a Milwaukee 18v finish nailer.

Half of the "tips" are just normal methods of work that someone didn't know, must have been absent that day or something. They think they've stumbled on some new procedure or technique, not realizing it's commonplace to everyone else, who simply don't make a big deal about it. This is far too common these days, no respect for history.

The other half of the tips involve using household items in a new and, many times, dubious way. Most of the time this solves a problem temporarily at best.

[Phil Gaudio]

Funny how someone else’s clever idea seems so obvious after its been presented, but not before.

[glenn bradley]

For the last couple years, it seems that of all the tips I have seen them before. No new ones, just old ones recycled. Anybody else feel the same?

Trade rags move in a cycle. There is always someone who is at the point in their journey that they are looking at the tip you feel has been recycled and they are saying "Wow! What a great idea!". Same holds true for general articles and their content in magazines about the trade / craft. There is always something new but if it has been 3 years since the mag ran an article on drill press tables you can expect to see one. This is not a negative. It actually gives you an idea of where you are on your own development arc. If you already know all there is to know about a tablesaw sled, bless you and move on :). Don't let the overall subject, title or topic of an article make you skip it. I have learned so much from the second or third article on dados when I pick up something in the background that I either missed or was not included before.

[Roger Feeley]

Recently, Fine Homebuilding was printing vintage hints/tricks as a way of celebrating their anniversary. Handy way to make up for lack of new ones, and boy, there were some goodies in that mix.
jeff

Some years ago, a relative of mine (very much a one percenter) told me about what a pain it was getting some 40 foot bent laminated Timbers made for his home in Hilton Head. A year or two later, there was a tip in Fine Homebuilding about making some 40 foot bent laminated Timbers for a very demanding (read insufferable) client in Hilton Head. It had to be my relative.

FWIW, the guy made his bandsaw into a hovercraft and guided the saw through the beam.

[Justin Rapp]

I have not subscribed to a wood working magazine in years. I felt the content was just mostly available all over the internet. I was just wondering if the content, tips and learning is improving in the magazines to stay a step ahead of what you can pick up on youtube, message boards or other social media. Seems like it is not worth subscribing again.

[Rick Potter]

Speaking of 'hovercraft' bandsaws, that is exactly how my local lumberyard used to make fancy end cuts on beams for porches/patios. Delta 14" on smooth casters on smooth cement pad.

[Lee Schierer]

In case no some of you haven't noticed, there is a sticky thread with "Tips & Tricks (https://sawmillcreek.org//showthread.php?196398-The-Tips-and-Tricks-Thread)" in the General Woodworking Forum Sticky Threads at the top of the GW&PT forum. Maybe you will find a couple of new things in there.

[Randy Heinemann]

With all the woodworking magazines and resources on the internet, it would be difficult to imagine that there are many "new" tips. Most have been presented in one way or another more than once over the decades I've been woodworking. Therefore, to me, there aren't many "new" tips. Plus, I find many irrelevant to what I make or am interested in, cutting the number of "new" tips to an even smaller number. After reading Fine Woodworking since it began in the 70's, it would be hard for me to imagine there is much that is "new". I think the best woodworking magazines can do these days is to provide different perspectives or methods for doing the same task and even that is a bit tiresome. The one reason I subscribe to Fine Woodworking Unlimited, even though expensive, is that it gives me access to almost 40 years of woodworking methods and information. When I need to know something I don't know or just want confirmation of, I can just look it up and will almost always find the method or "tip" I need. To me, that's invaluable and, because it was in Fine Woodworking, it's based on professional techniques and sound woodworking principles. Who could ask for a better resource than that?

[Warren Lake]

go get a job in a top shop then you will see stuff thats not in magazines or on the self appointed internet gurus. One man shops dont see what goes on at the big levels.

[Bruce Wrenn]

go get a job in a top shop then you will see stuff thats not in magazines or on the self appointed internet gurus. One man shops dont see what goes on at the big levels.Warren, five years ago,I retired from working for myself almost all my life. Even when working for others, I still ran my business. When working for school system, showed guys in cabinet shop how to make a sled to make angled cuts on 1/4" plywood. Shop manager didn't like anyone coming into his shop and "showing off." Before making the sled, they were cutting 1/4" plywood freehand. How dangerous can you get?

[John Kananis]

Freehand meaning no fence? That's just dumb... if I misunderstood and they were using a fence, what's the problem?


Warren, five years ago,I retired from working for myself almost all my life. Even when working for others, I still ran my business. When working for school system, showed guys in cabinet shop how to make a sled to make angled cuts on 1/4" plywood. Shop manager didn't like anyone coming into his shop and "showing off." Before making the sled, they were cutting 1/4" plywood freehand. How dangerous can you get?

[Warren Lake]

Bruce if I follow you are talking about the school shop manager and you were teaching a diff subject? Ive had three experiences with school woodworking. First was in college for cabinetmaking. I learned there are good and bad teachers after asking before a function and got nailed bad. The positive was a real guy asked what happened next day. No one else cared. I explained I asked and what I was told, he turned red and shook his head. The positive was 30 plus years with that man and all that came from him. My other two school experiences were purchases, I have next no respect for high school woodworking. I made it a point after the last experience to call a number of shops high school and colleges to talk to teachers about their process and get a feel for what is going on. My time i lucked out I got the last of the old europeans teaching and one of them had big history. He would not be allowed to teach now as you have to have degrees.

My friend was in a big shop, fought with the owner in front of all the employees that were all terrified of the owner. Steve never got fired as bottom line the owner knew Steve made a lot of money for him. I let my friend use my shop. He showed me stuff that showed me just how much more went on. Custom modified tools and machines and ways of doing things just smarter. Some were not the nicest places to work.

I wish I had taped Steve and the best two old guys I knew. One other british guy I met. He was still working in his 80's but only six hours a day as he liked to get to the pub.