WoodExpo is Here!

Stop in WoodExpo 2012 to see amazing work on display and watch live demonstrations.

WoodExpo 2012 has arrived! All you New England-based woodworkers should swing on by Boston’s Seaport World Trade Center where the annual New England Home Show is being held. You’ll find WoodExpo 2012 inside, where some of the region’s top woodworkers will be speaking about their trade and putting on live bench demonstrations of techniques that will kick any project up a couple notches.

You’ll also have a chance to peruse some of this year’s entries into the Juried Woodworking Contest, which have come in from all over the country. There were some real gems on display last year, so you won’t want to miss this year’s top entries.

WoodExpo 2012 is going on now through Sunday, February 26. Go to the New England Home Show page for details on directions, parking, tickets and hours.

See you there!

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Woodworking Shows and Tommy Come to St Louis

Tommy doing his thing at the Woodworking Shows

Tommy Mac will be joining the Woodworking Shows in St Louis, Missouri, this weekend, February 10 – 12.

To be held in the Gateway Center Hall in Collinsville, IL, the show will feature an all-star roster of accomplished woodworkers, including Tommy!

Look for him on Saturday from 10:00am – 6:00pm at the Woodcraft Booth.

Show times are as follows:

Friday: 10-6
Saturday: 10-6
Sunday: 10-4

See you in St. Louis!

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Two Weeks Left For WoodExpo Submissions

Tommy and the WoodExpo gang at last year's event. Don't miss WoodExpo 2012!

Alright folks, the countdown is on! You have two weeks left to get your submissions in for consideration in this year’s WoodExpo 2012 juried woodworking contest.

Entries must be built between April 1, 2011 and January 31, 2012 and at least one in-process photo must accompany the submittal.

All accepted submissions will be notified by February 6.

See all the Rules and Eligibility requirements for the contest.

As a reminder to all you non-competing woodworkers, WoodExpo 2012 will be held February 23 – 26 as part of the New England Home Show at Boston’s Seaport World Trade Center.

Check out the WoodExpo 2012 page for all the info you need.

Hope to see you there! And get those submissions in!

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Rough Cut Resolutions

Is your New Year’s Resolution to finally outfit your shop with the proper woodworking gear? Tommy and Eli have teamed up to show you the way. Check out the video below, first posted in Frank Byers’ blog over on the Woodcraft page. If you like any of what you see, cruise over to Frank’s page for closer look at the individual tools.

Happy New Year!

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Pondering the Potting Station

The shop might be his second home, but the garden is his third!

In the final episode of Season Two of Rough Cut – Woodworking with Tommy Mac, Tommy builds a potting station, visits the Massachusetts Horticulture Association and discovers Al’s unique use for his completed potting station.

We caught up with Tommy just before the Holiday to learn a little more about the potting station project, his road trip and his gardening skills.

1) The potting station doesn’t seem that daunting at first glance. What aspects of the project were a bigger challenge than you expected?

Tommy: Nothing really. That’s kind of why I built it. It’s actually a really easy project. Anyone can do it. And you can rip and cut all the pieces for the project from the same sized stock. All you need are those nine or ten 1 x 10s.

2) On your trip to the Massachusetts Horticulture Association, curator David Fiske showed you some of the necessary elements to a potting station. Were there any that surprised you?

Tommy: Not particularly, actually. It’s a pretty straight forward project. It’s a couple of benches and a couple of shelves. What’s cool about the project are the other potential uses for it. If you don’t want to use it as a potting station, you can use it as a BBQ station, which is what Al [D'Attanasio] does. He has it next to gas grill and hooks it up with all his BBQ accessories and equipment. It could be a serving station or something for an outdoor kitchen.

3) Do you spend any time in the garden? Have any favorite plants?

Tommy: Well, me and Rachel just bought the new house and I do have a bit of green thumb, so we’ll be putting in tomatoes and stuff this spring. Favorite plant? I guess you could say my favorite flowers are roses. They’re difficult to grow, but I like them. And I eat tomatoes all the time. Potatoes and tomatoes, five times a week!

We hope all you woodworkers out there have a very Happy Holidays!

See you 2012!

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