e-fg-zine

the newsletter for wood crafters on-line

Issue #2
February 2003

Hello again.
I'm glad to have you with me.

Many newsletters, including this one, are not making it through the blockades to get to their readers....

If you add the *From* address for this newsletter to your *white list* or *safe list*, it's more likely that you'll receive the next issue.

From now on, when a new issue is sent out, I'll send you a short note to let you know it was sent, just in case you don't receive the issue itself. The note will
have the pattern link, so you won't miss out on it. You'll be able to read the rest of the issue online.

All the best wishes for your wood crafting adventures,

Wendy Maki,
Faux Grain.

CONTENTS OF THIS ISSUE

Article: Have you fallen in love with your router yet?

Tip: Fixing floating mistakes when you paint

Recommended books & links: Everything's coming up Rosendahls and Routers

Marketing your crafts on-line: New Stuff and New Challenges

Have you fallen in love with your router yet?

by Wendy Maki

To be accurate, I love my router when it's in my router table set-up. Frankly, without the table set-up my relationship with my router would be love-hate
at best.

If you're someone who hasn't used a router, or only uses it once in a while, it's time to take another look at it. I firmly believe that it's the first major tool any person who works with wood should invest in after a drill and basic saws. It's
just as valuable for someone who does the simplest of woodcrafts as for any advanced woodworker.

Properly set up, the router can take the place of many other advanced tools (that's great if you have limited space), and it allows you to do jobs you might
not even consider otherwise, or makes them easier. Hands down, it's the most versatile workhorse of any workshop.

As a woman who is tiny in stature, the router is my best friend (like any good relationship). With the proper table set-up, it's a powerful piece of equipment that I can use without exhausting my upper body strength, and without worrying about losing control of it, an important consideration. It IS a powerful and potentially dangerous piece of equipment, but having the table set-up and respecting the proper safety precautions, the router is no longer a tool to be intimidated by.

Also, like so many others, having back problems that are sometimes triggered by using heavier equipment, I really appreciate being able to work for hours
without paying the price.

Like any good relationship, my router/router table set-up has qualities that balance out my own weaknesses. ;) A properly set up router is

1) fast
2) efficient
3) precise, and
4) powerful.

It's true that routers can be pricey, with the router itself just the beginning of it. My table and accessories were more than my (good) router itself. And when you start collecting bits for it... that'll quickly add up to more than the router again.

Having said that, it's easily the best value in a tool. Personally, I'd rarely use my router without the table. The amount I use the router, for every imaginable kind of task, small and large, easily justifies the expense. (After all, what good is a tool if it sits there?)

The matchmakers who introduced me to the router, through their educational video programs, also supply the table and accessories that I use. The enthusiasm that Rick Rosenadahl and Robert Rosendahl have for the router can get anyone hooked!

The Rosendahls do such a great job of explaining all the wonderful things you can do with a router (much better than I ever could...), so make sure to check
out the recommended links below.

P.S. Having their table and set-up, I can't imagine using any other. It really is simple to use.

Fixing floating mistakes when you paint

If you *float* an edge or other area of a painting, and it doesn't turn out the way you want...

You can sometimes *erase* the float so that you can do it over just by lightly dipping the brush into the float water and brushing over the floated area. This really only works when a floating medium is used in the floating water. The solvents used in the floating medium work to re-dissolve the paint that has been applied.

Be cautious in trying this...
If the surface below the floated paint isn't properly cured, the solvent can also dissolve some of the layer below the floated stroke. That usually only happens
if the layer below is very thin or hasn't dried properly. It can also happen if you use too much float water for *erasing*.

It won't work if the float stroke itself has dried too much before you try to *erase* it. It also won't work if the surface is too porous and the float has been
absorbed into it.

Recommended books & links:
Everything's coming up Rosendahls and Routers

The Router, revised edition.
By Robert R. Rosendahl.
Eli, Manitoba, Oak Park Enterprises Ltd. 1986.
ISBN 0-919823-02-5
Their basic router reference manual, covering router specifications, safety, table-mounting, various router tasks, and bits.

Router Projects And Jigs.
By Robert and Rick Rosendahl.
Elie, Manitoba, Oak Park Enterprises Ltd. 1994.
ISBN 0-919823-04-1
Just as the title says, router projects and jigs.

The educational video series, seen on PBS and educational television, starring Rick and Robert Rosendahl and their routers: the Router Workshop.

The company that supplies the tables and accessories that the Rosendahls use on the Router Workshop. If you can't see their show on your local television, their video series are also available from Oak Park.

Marketing your crafts on-line:
New Stuff and New Challenges

New Stuff (since the last issue):

I've just added an ebook that you can download. It's Chuck McCullough's "Search Engine Primer." [No longer Available] It's a very good introduction on how to construct web pages to rank well in search engines. It covers keywords, linking, and other topics. It's clear, easy to follow, and very straight-forward.

If you're wondering whether the emails you send are likely to be stopped before they arrive at their destination, you can test the email (whether it's
a newsletter or announcement...) before you send it out. Visit this page for instructions...

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New Challenges:

The face of email communication is changing... and publishing an email newsletter has never been a bigger challenge.

Many email service providers are now using software that rates incoming emails according to content, format and other factors. If an email contains the
wrong words, phrases, colors of text... ooops, that email is junked or completely blocked, sometimes without the intended receiver having any idea.

Since the last issue, it appears that some people who've tried to get e-fg-zine haven't been able to... because the email hasn't reached them. Unfortunately, I don't have any way to know who specifically has or has not received it.

As a result, I've made some changes to the newsletter to improve the chances that you'll receive your issue.

I'm not using certain words anymore, like the 4-letter word that starts with *f* that (accurately) describes the the patterns you can download... One particular program reads the word and retorts, *There's no such thing as a f--- lunch* and tacks on penalty points.

Instead of stating administration information simply and clearly... I've had to find *clever* ways to say how a person can stop being a reader. The standard
way that's always been recommended just adds points.

Even the layout of this newsletter is dictated by the scores. Any fully capitalized headings had to go, even though they make for easier reading. I've even had to change the order of things a bit, because that too makes a difference in the all-important final score.

Hopefully, with all the round-about ways I've had to come up with to say things, you'll still understand what I'm saying ;)

Sadly, if this continues, e-fg-zine, and other small newsletters like it, may simply disappear. Frankly, the effort and expense of producing a newsletter won't be justified, at least not for small businesses, if it means disappointing too many readers every issue. Disappointing readers can damage a business'
reputation, so why do it?

On the flip side, fully a third of the emails I receive here at Faux Grain, legitimate emails I want (and need) to receive, would be blocked according to the ratings they are given. Fortunately, however, my own ISP doesn't decide for me what I can receive.

If you're interested in learning more about this issue, Debbie Weil of WordBiz has a good article with lots of links to explore.

In the meantime, I'll continue to publish this newsletter and try to get it out to you.... Perhaps things will change again... and I'll be able to say what I mean in plain english.

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