Hello Month of April!

I thought about doing an April Fool's joke but that's as far as my creativity took me. So, let me just announce that you are safe. Everything in this issue of the LJeMag is as true as it can be!

On behalf of everyone at LumberJocks.com I'd like to officially welcome all of the new members. We've had 500+ members join during the month of March alone. A year ago, at this time, we we excited about reaching 500 members, and now we've had 500 join in one single month. Fantastic.

With the steady (and fast) growth of the community comes the growing pains of how to best use the site. Gone are the days when members could spend a couple hours reading and responding to every single comment. Now, with three dozen projects posted within a 24-hour period, along with a couple dozen blog entries, let alone the forum discussions, workshop postings and greeting new members, it is impossible to read and comment on it all. There have been a few discussions lately as to how people try and keep on top of things.

Thankfully, Martin has many options on the site for checking in. There is the home page, of course, and the direct links/tabs for each of the blogs, projects, forum categories (etc). There is the magical "Pulse" to see what's new since your last visit, and there is the downloadable toolbar for your browser to zoom in on what's new and other shortcuts. And of course there is the monthly eMag.

The constant, though, no matter how big the site gets, is the amazing membership - filled with like-minded people who want to share their experiences with woodworking. It is because of the members that the site is so active and so filled with postings that just beg to be read.

And so, my hat is off to you (ha, see? No Beaver hat in my photo). Congratulations to everyone for making this site what it is today.

Where In The World Are All The LumberJocks?
Knowing where our fellow LumberJocks are located comes in handy when it's time for a helping hand, a LumberJock picnic, or perhaps some swapping of wood and tools. Although we know that safety and security is important and you may not want to disclose your exact location, we also encourage everyone to put their workshop on the map, at least in the general location.  (We'll leave how general that is up to you to decide!)
To add yourself to the map simply: go to your personal home page and click on your "workshop" and then select "edit".    Scroll down to the LumberJocks' map and use the directional tools to find your region and click on the spot you would like to designate as your workshop. You can change your mind by simply clicking on a new location and the indicator will just move to the new spot. Then, hit "save" and your flag is now part of our LumberJocks' map! Note: due to the high membership not all flags are visible in the graphics so click on "view list" to find everyone's location. It's as simple as that!    I Bet You Didn't Know It... But the LumberJocks are poets! Check out the poetic words of our members.

Bookcase Challenge

Picture this: You wait patiently for the mail delivery, pacing excitely waiting for "it" to arrive. Finally, the anticipation is over and you toss aside the letters and other mail and smile proudly at the edition of Popular Woodworking that you are now holding in your hands.

You flip through the pages, scanning the contents, and then you see it --  your project, your design, and, yes, your name! You are now a contributing author, with one of your projects published in the Popular Woodworking magazine for thousands of woodworkers to read about and to learn from.

For those of you who have not heard, we are very pleased to partner once again with Popular Woodworking to present our latest woodworking challenge.

This challenge is all about bookcases. Everyone needs them. Are you ready to design a bookcase that catches the eyes of Popular Woodworking’s editors, establishes you as a paid and published author?

Each serious woodworking project starts with planning and a solid design. This project should be no exception. So create your “one of a kind” bookcase design then submit the finished plans as a challenge entry. Use your favorite computer program such as Google SketchUp or other 3D/CAD software. Or, if you prefer hand drawn plans, you can submit those too. (Note: the project does not have to be built at this stage.)

Read more about the challenge and check the RULES for the challenge here.

Personal Challenges
The great thing about LumberJock challenges is that they have the potential to take you beyond your current abilities, giving you an opportunity to test your own limits and to try something new. I think Napaman summed up the potential of personal challenges in his 1st Year Anniversary blog when he said, “I gotta do this myself…I am an LJ.”

And so I hope that everyone takes up the challenge of our current event and design a bookcase, whether it is small, large, simple, or grand!

Pen Turners' Swap The big pen swap adventure is making its way around North America! The excitement generated by the voyage of "the box" has the wheels turning for a sequel. If you are interested in participating in a Pen Turners' Swap, contact Tim D.

LumberJocks Picnics Throughout the year many LumberJocks get together for what have become known as "LumberJock Picnics". The following are in the plans. If you'd like to arrange a picnic in your area, just let me know and I'll post the information in the eMag. (The more notice you can give, the more opportunities people have to make arrangements.) Charles Neil's Shop: May 24th Washington State: June 14 or 21, 2008. Host: chamoruboy Lee Jesberger's Shop: June 21 Brant County, Ontario: July 13, 2008. Host: MsDebbieP Mid-America: (to be determined). Oregon/Idado/Nevada: to be determined (depends on number of people interested). Host: Peter O your picnic listed here

GardenTenders "Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary "How does your garden grow?" What are YOUR gardens looking like? Pop over to GardenTenders and share your gardening experiences! We already have 175 gardeners showing us their little piece of the world!	GardenTenders is a free place for tenders of the garden to showcase their garden environments.
HomeRefurbers Home is where the heart is - and busy people refurbishing, renovating, and redecorating! HomeRefurbers is the latest site in Martin's vision of online home and garden communities. We invite you to join us as the site takes its first steps and help us develop the community into yet another successful gathering place. Congratulations and best wishes, Martin, on your newest venture.	Share your experiences with creating your (or others') homes!

This month I thought it was a good idea to focus on our site. Over the past few months we have had growth immensely and there's always some questions about how to post pictures and videos.
In our Help files we have a number of tutorials to assist with posting comments and photos. (The link to the Help files is located near the bottom of each page.) Some of the tools include: Writing Guidelines Embedding Pictures Posting Content         Martin has also recently added a video tutorial for uploading pictures and files. This tutorial is specifically for our current Challenge, but the process for uploading is the same for any blog or comment.
Many of us have experienced the frustration of embedding photos - even with all of the helpful tools posted above. Don't worry. Do not fear and do not give up as help is still just a click away! Ask and other members will be right there to walk you through it and if all else fails our faithful guide, Martin, will walk you through identifying the problem and getting you posting photos in no time!  Remember that your fellow woodworkers love seeing photos, whether they are of your finished projects, projects in development, your workshop, your tools, or the wood you are using! You can post three photos, for finished projects, directly from your computer and six photos for your workshop page. All other photos (blogs, forums, comments) must be stored elsewhere on the internet. (Also remember to respect copyright rules when considering posting a picture taken by someone else.) Perhaps your photography skills aren't as good as your woodworking skills. Post the pictures anyway - you will probably get some tips on photography and the LumberJocks will thank you for showing them your work, regarless of the quality of the photo. As for tips, we have had a few blogs posted to help woodworkers take pictures of their work. Check out these discussions: Tpastore provides a detailed tutorial on photography David provides a video series to help with taking and uploading pictures Blake provides tips and tricks as well We look forward to seeing your work and let us know how you prepared your photos!

Congratulations to: lechevaldubois on his inspection "pass".
If you would like to be part of the Shop Tours and Inspections send a message to  Douglas Bordner, our resident Tour Manager, Writer, and Designer. Inspections are painless and we enjoy getting a peek into other people's shops!

Project Photos You have that project finished and are ready to share it with others. Will your photos do it justice? Tpastore has put together a blog entry filled with tips and strategies to make the photo as impressive as your woodworking!
Shop Stool Woodshopfreak builds a shop stool and records the process in a video series. The documentation is helpful and inspiring and begins here.
Sketch-Up Tutorials Bob Babcock provides us with many tips for using the design program.	Sketch-Up Tutorials
Bangdoo-sanji (tusk tenon) Airjack shares how he made the tenons for the bed he built in his blog series.
Re-sawing With the Band Saw A variety of tips are shared here to help with re-sawing stock.	Resawing
Setting Up a Dust Collection System Toolz provides some tips and strategies for installing a dust collection system in his blog posted here.
Turning Some Easter Eggs Rikkor shows us how one idea inspired another and some lovely Easter eggs were created on the lathe. Read more here.
Adding Decals to Your Projects An added touch to an almost finished project -- a decal. Kerux shows us how it can be done. Read more here.
Starting A Woodworking Business Are you thinking about starting a woodworking business? Not sure where to start? Check out Joey's blog series that starts here.	A Business Plan
Drawing Large Arcs Niki shares some more of his ingenuity with us and walks us through drawing large (three foot) arcs. Check it out here.
Tack Cloths: To Do or Not To Do Do you or don't you? Here are some thoughts regarding their use and some alternatives.	TACK CLOTHS
Finding the Centre... of a Vertical Post. Check out these suggestions!	Finding Centre
Ebonizing Wood You know what you want.. how do you make it happen? Check out this discussion.	Ebonizing Wood
Woodworking School Have you considered attending a woodworking school but remain undecided whether is it right for you? Check out the feedback provided by the LumberJocks in this discussion. Maybe it will help you make the decision that is best for you.	Is woodworking school right for you?
Hand-cut Dovetails Aw yes, one of the signs of fine woodworking! Have you given them a try? Check out the teenage woodworker's video tutorial to see how to add these details to your next project.	Hand-cut Dovetails
Dealing with Tear-out Does "tear-out" have you pulling your hair out? Check out these tips shared in response to Marcel's question.	Tear-Out

Reviews
Reviews: From one woodworker to another

These reviews are based on personal experiences by woodworkers in their own shops. Please note that these reviews may not represent the results achieved by other woodworkers using the same product.

Total Reviews So Far: 289

Tool Check
Have you completed a safety check and maintenance on your tools lately? Have they been cleaned and realigned? Have you emptied and cleaned your dust collection bag lately? Is the First Aid box full and readily accessible? How's that fire extinguisher - has it been checked lately?
A safe shop is an effective shop!

Have you created plans that you think others might be interested in? Share your plans, giving measurements, step-by-step directions and permission to copy of course.

What were your first woodworking projects? Woodshopfreak shares his first projects.  Printer Table The Teenage Woodworker walks us through building a printer table in his video series which starts here. Projects tagged with "Plans" Blogs tagged with "Plans" Forums tagged with "Plans"

Look at us! As of March 30, 2008 we are 3,873 woodworkers making 179,009 comments on 6,469 projects, 3,931 blogs, 289 reviews  and 2,800 forum topics.

Check out all the projects
and all the blogs
and all the forum discussions.

 Milestones:

• 150,000 blog comments as of March 30, 2008 (760 days since the first member joined)
• 3900 woodworkers as of April 1, 2008

Come and discuss this issue at the dedicated forum topic.

Porter-Cable 330 Speed-Bloc 1.2 Amp 1/4 Sheet Sander
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