Spring workshop time. Almost!

Warmer weather means lots of woodworkers are coming out of hibernation. Plan your next project, and success is just around the corner.

I live in Peterborough, Ontario, and although it hasn’t been an awfully cold and snowy winter, I’m still looking forward to the warmer spring air. Today, it’s well above freezing, and tomorrow is going to be even warmer. I’m lucky enough to have a heated indoor workshop to keep me warm all winter while I build, but I can appreciate the fact that many of you are likely chomping at the bit, and the planning is well underway for your next project. Unheated shops are common in Canada, and the spring weather is the start of a busy six to eight months of woodworking and home improvement for many Canadians.

With COVID-19 keeping people away from each other, I can only imagine this is going to be a very busy spring for the industry, too. Just about every woodworking company I’ve talked with says they can barely keep up with the demand. Contractors and hobby woodworkers are busier than ever, and because they now have the time, a lot of people are taking up woodworking.

I hope you all get the woodworking tools, machinery and materials you need to complete your projects, but you might want to make sure to place that order sooner rather than later. I know how much fun it is to start a new project, and I also know how frustrating it is to have to put that project on hold because you don’t have everything you need to complete it. When in doubt, check out our woodworking and DIY forum. Whether it’s an alternate approach to doing something, or the inside track on how to get a product or some material you need, our forum members are a knowledgeable and helpful group.

Virtual Wood Show

The Virtual Wood Show was this past weekend. I presented a seminar on the opening day about how I add texture to my work and gave some tips on ways to get started down this path. Along with the talk I gave, I shared a bunch of photos of works-in-progress and finished pieces I’ve made over the years. Our publisher asked if I’d put together a slideshow with the photos, and add a voice-over, so that’s what I did. It was just an off-the-cuff audio recording, but I think it gets a lot of important points across about how you can add texture to your next project.

Icy Saw Blades

When I get out of the shop and away from my computer, I spend most of my free time cycling. I tend to ride indoors on a trainer for the colder months because my hands and feet don’t like the cold, but I do get out to ride the snowy trails from time to time. I’ve never cycled on a lake, though. I came across a video of someone who modified his mountain bike to accept two large circular saw blades as wheels, allowing him to ride across a frozen lake. His first attempt ended quickly when the sharp saw blades cut through the ice, but a bit of welding solved that problem. This may not be the safest two-wheeled approach, but I’m guessing he’s not going to run into a lot of people on his rides. I just hope he wears steel-toed boots so he doesn’t saw his toes off. Maybe this is a growing market for SawStop.

Let me know what you’ve got planned for the warmer weather.