Woodworking History Meets Modern Technology
by Shane Secrist - "Mr. Wood"
Along with stone mud, and animal parts, wood was certainly one of the materials first worked on by the primitive woodworking cave man. Microwear analysis of the Mousterian stone tools used by the Neanderthals show that many were used to work wood. Indeed, the development of civilization was closely tied to the development of increasingly greater degrees of skill in working these materials.
QuickScrews
Accurate Technology
Mereen-Johnson
Rikon Power Tools
Lumber Wizard 4
Laser Line Indicator Woodworking Metal Detector
Shane Secrist - "Mr Wood" at AWFS
Early Aztec woodwork was notable since they were the first to develop the technique of firing the wood to preserve it for practically indefinite periods. The woodwork was first doused in water to prevent it from setting alight, and repeatedly placed into a charcoal based fire for periods of up to one minute. It is thought that temperatures in the fire could reach 250 degrees Celsius, which almost attains the optimal temperature of 300 degrees required to expurge all the moisture from the wood and keep it in good condition for the
maximum possible period. Today's woodworker is part caveman and part scientist, working with new technology that shapes ancient materials dating back thousands of years. We've found that with every new piece of woodworking technology we come across, there is that familiar caveman grunt coming from the craftsman in the back.
Almost every woodworker today has come to embrace new technology as it makes his job easier, more efficient and more cost productive, having so said, it doesn't mean that woodworkers are getting away from old-world craftsmanship that is the hallmark of woodworking. New technology in fact gives the woodworker more time to focus on fine details that give a signature look to a specific piece of woodworking. With new technology comes a new-world look and craftsmanship that will mark our period in the woodworking timeline.
CAMaster on Welcome Home
Among early finds of wooden tools are the worked sticks from Kalambo Falls, Clacton-on-Sea and Lehringen. The spears from Schöningen (Germany) provide some of the first examples of wooden hunting gear. Flint tools were used for carving. Since Neolithic times, carved wooden vessels are known, for example from the Linear Pottery culture wells at Kückhofen and Eythra. Examples of Bronze Age wood-carving include trees worked into coffins from northern Germany and Denmark, and wooden folding-chairs. The site of Fellbach-Schmieden in Germany has provided fine examples of wooden animal statues from the Iron Age. Wooden idols from the La Tène period are known from a sanctuary at the source of the Seine in France.
Woodworking Safety
With the advent of power tools unfortunately came the accidents to hands and limbs. We found a company that is dedicated to reducing this devestating injury and making the profession as safe as possible. SawStop table saws are equipped with a safety system that detects when someone accidentally contacts the spinning saw blade, and then stops the blade in milliseconds. In most cases, such an accident would result in just a nick on a SawStop saw, instead of the devastating injury which would likely occur on an ordinary table saw. The SawStop safety system includes an electronic detection system that detects when a person contacts the blade. This happens in about 3–5 milliseconds, or 1/200th of a second. At the same time, the angular momentum of the blade causes the blade to retract below the table and the power to the motor is shut off.
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Composite wood panels (MDF and particleboard) are ecologically responsible building products made from recycled or recovered wood fiber and adhesives. They are used in a large variety of applications such as furniture, cabinetry, wall panels, shelving, doors, floor underlayment and many others. Typically they are laminated or veneered before use in a finished product, but sometimes they are simply painted or clear-coated for a raw or natural look.
Wood residuals are refined, combined with glue, formed into mats, pressed and heated to form panels in varying thicknesses and sizes. Other additives can provide benefits such as fire-retardant properties and moisture resistance. Wood residuals such as sawdust, chips and shavings left over after other industrial processes like lumber or furniture manufacturing are utilized as the raw material to make composite panels. Post-consumer recycled wood such as pallets and construction waste is also used for this purpose. SierraPine has achieved mutliple patents, proving the precision and manufacturing expertise required to create the wide array of composite panel products available on the market today.
Arbortech USA on Welcome Home
Arbortech Wood Working Tools can turn the novice into a pro without very little difficulty.
The Mini-Grinder is one of most versatile
woodcarving power tool that we've ever seen. It is easy to use,
and lets the operator do the creating. Everything from rough shaping to the finest details are possible and the unique shape gives excellent control. The Power Chisel does everything that a traditional hammer and chisel will, only easier and faster. It is so safe and easy to use that it is perfect for everyone, from kids to the professional woodworker. We found all of their tools to be of excellent quality and form.
Student Wood Competition at AWFS
As far back in time that we can trace woodworking, the hand saw evolved as the most practicle way to cut pieces of wood into different shapes. This usually meant some type of sharp points of different substances to form teeth.
Handsaws have been around for thousands of years. There exist Egyptian hieroglyphics depicting ancient woodworking sawing boards into pieces. Ancient bow saw s have been found in Japan. The cut patterns on ancient boards may be observed sometimes to bear the unique cutting marks left by saw blades, particularly if the wood was not 'smoothed up' by some method.
Accurate Technology
Materials for saw blades have varied over the ages. There were probably bronze saws in the time before steel making technology became extensively known and industrialized within the past thousand years or so. Sometimes cultures evolved two main types of saw teeth: the ' cross cut ' saw teeth and the ' rip ' saw teeth. Someone once described tree structure as being like hundreds of thousands of straws bundled together. With this in mind one can imagine the different mechanism needed to separate the straws lengthwise as opposed to cutting the straws crosswise. Thus, Cross cut saw s have sawteeth that are usually shaped, often with a metal file , in such a way that they form a series of tiny knifelike edges.The wood cells (straws) are contacted by the knife-edge of the tooth and cut. Ripsaws , on the other hand, are usually shaped so that they form a series of tiny chisel-like edges. The wood cells (straw-ends) are contacted by the chisel and 'ripped' apart from the bundle of other cells. Of course either saw can be used either way, and Tage Frid has even said he thinks ripsaws are better for crosscutting!
Lyropa Saw Grinder
Development of saws was also effected by the importance of wood to their society, the development of steel and other saw-making technologies, the type of power available, etc... which was in turn influenced by the environment, such as the types of ores available, the types of trees nearby and the types of wood which was in those trees. Also important were the types of jobs the saws were to perform. Saws can also be considered 'pull cut' or 'push cut'. Ancient egyptian saws have been said to be pull cut. Modern European (and Euro influenced cultures like the United States) generally have 'push cut' handsaws. Japanese handsaws are usually pull-cut and are still used today. Many woodworkers have various theories about the advantages and disadvantages of pull vs. push, and even experts will disagree on these matters, including accuracy of cut, power available for cut, straightness of line, thinness of saw blade.
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Easy Coper on Welcome Home
