What's In The Newsletter

• President' Comments
• Upcoming Shows
• 12 Great Tablesaw Jigs With Jim Heavey
• Industry News - Delta Machinery
• Future TWWWG Articles
• Woodworking Education

From the President

Upcoming Shows

This summer is the American Association of Woodturners show in Raleigh, NC.  This show, for the turners and others interested in wood turning, will be held July 11 – 14, 2019 in the Raleigh Convention Center.  The exhibits, trade show and gallery are all free of charge.  For more information click on the link https://www.woodturner.org/page/2019RaleighMain.  More details to follow in the June newsletter.

Trade Show Times

●  Friday, June 26th from 10:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

●  Saturday, June 27th from 7:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

●  Sunday, June 28th from 8:00 a.m. to 2:15 p.m.

They have a huge exhibit space showcasing the finest manufacturers and vendors of wood, tools, lathes, sanding, finishing supplies and instructional material.  As of February 20, 2019 they had 61 vendors signed up for this international show.

While Raleigh, NC seems like a long way, consider this.  The Woodworking Show held in the Dulles Convention Center was 211 miles from Tidewater or 3 and a half hours away.  Raleigh is only 191 miles or a 3 hour trip.

Editor

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12 Great Tablesaw Jigs With Jim Heavey - WOOD Magazine

I stumbled upon this great video while doing some researching on video woodworking videos, whether by accident or by intent of the internet provider, but it is still an excellent video that you should watch if you are into your table saw and jigs for your table saw.

Jim Heavey of WOOD magazine is a great presenter and he really does not endorse his advertisers when it comes to woodworking education.  I have heard him talk at several of The Woodworking Shows in the past.  His last presentations at The Woodworking Shows up in Chantilly, VA earlier this year on finishes was top notch.

This is a recap of 12 great tablesaw jigs from WOOD magazine's JIm Heavey. It includes the cross cut sled, zero clearance inserts, miter gauge extension, auxiliary rip fence, raised panel jig, tenoning jigs, spline cutting jigs and more!

You can download the plans from WOOD Magazine for free at https://www.woodmagazine.com/pdf/jim-heaveys-12-must-have-jigs (5.64 MB) or listen to the almost 43 minute video on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53rtu1wmoAc

Editor

Industry News - Delta Machinery Company

This month’s look at the woodworking tools used by many guild members will focus on Delta Machinery.  They are probably best known for their drill presses, table saws and BIESEMEYER fence systems.

Origins:

They began their operation in a garage manufacturing tools to make woodworking easier.  Delta started out in Milwaukee, WI in 1919 by a German immigrant named Herbert Tautz.  The company at that time was called the Delta Specialty Company.  The initial line of tools were small hand tools for wood carving and turning.  High quality products and craftsmanship soon lead into larger powered equipment.  Herbert Tautz invented the first scroll saw and later, the first powered compound miter saw. In 1928, he created a combination shop tool called the “HandiShop”, which combined a lathe, a disk sander and a scroll saw into one standing unit.  While it was very expensive it was very popular.

The Great Depression happened but the Delta Specialty Company continued to grow as an innovative and reliable brand.  During this time the company began specializing in band saws, first a 12 inch model and then a 14 inch unit.  In 1937 they introduced the UniSaw which was a 10 inch tilting arbor saw.  It was a great success and became one of the most functional and collectible shop tools ever made.

Delta was also fixed on its target market, the serious woodworker.  They designed and published the first industry journals called the “DeltaGram”.  These publications of project plans and techniques were discussed in great detail so that the serious woodworker could build the project.  The DeltaGram monthly mailers were sent out to subscribers for more than four decades.  Even today they are the source for many published woodworking plans in magazines and trade journals.

The Second Phase

In 1945, Rockwell Manufacturing purchased the company. It became a part of the Rockwell Corporation, called the “Delta Power Tool Division.” With the infusion of capital from Rockwell Manufacturing Delta went on a growth spree by acquiring other companies.  In 1948 they took over Red Star Products of Ohio and gained a radial arm saw product line. They also bought companies that made jointers, shapers, drill presses and other floor-based machines. By the 1960s, Delta was the dominant producer of stationary power tools and equipment.

The Third Phase

In the mid-1960s, the focus of the company turned to more portable and job-site specific tools. In 1966 the Delta Power Tool Division introduced the first motorized miter saw.  This led the way to other bench-top style machines and a whole new market for the company. Unfortunately for the Delta, the innovations seemed to dry up in the 1970s and Delta was sold to Pentair in 1981.

Pentair rebranded the Delta Power Tool Division to its original name, the Delta Machinery Company.  Their focus was on creating a full line of bench top tools designed for the consumer market.  These tools were designed to be more affordable with lighter duty drill presses, grinders and band saws but still with the same high quality construction that Delta was famous for.

The Fourth Phase

In the 2000’s the company moved its headquarters to Jackson, Tennessee.  They built a massive distribution center which seemed to re-energize the Delta line of products.  In 2001 they introduced over 20 new products.  With their industry trade publications of the past and present, new product introductions the company became the leader in woodworking equipment.

In 2005 Pentair sold Delta Machinery and Porter-Cable to the Black & Decker Company.  In January, 2011, Taiwan-based Chang Type Industrial Co., Ltd. purchased the Deltabrand from Stanley Black & Decker.  Now you know the rest or the story.

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 Future TWWWG Newsletter Articles

●  Woodworking Apps For Your Smart Phone (July)

●  Industry News – JET, Powermatic, Sawstop, Rockwell

●  Is The Radial Arm Saw Dead?

●  A No Brainer Excell Program For Calculating Rail & Style Calculations

There is so much information on the internet for woodworkers that you can watch a video or two and start working on a project that you never consider you had the skills to make.  A search on www.YouTube.com revealed that they have 69,900 videos on woodworking!  If you watched all of them and say they were 5 minutes in length each then it would take you 5,825 hours or 1.33 years to watch them all!

Not all of them relate to the woodworkers in the guild.  For instance I saw one of a scantily clad lady chopping wood.  There are some by manufacturers selling their woodworking products.  Some are by individuals promoting their web site with a possible subscription fee.  Beyond that there is a wealth of information.

For example, you want to learn how to use your Porter Cable dovetail jig.  I stopped counting after 100 videos on the Porter Cable dovetail jig.

Something obscure like installing a spiral cutter head on your surface planner or jointer.  I also stopped counting after going through over 100 videos.

Into inlay woodworking?  Over 300 videos available.  Like to learn wood carving?  Over 500 videos.

The above was information just on youtube.com.  A Google search on woodworking videos returned 74,400,000 results.  Let your woodworking imagination take you to new levels with the internet.

Editor

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