Firefox Quick Tip: Get Vista-Like Tab Switch Preview with Control Tab

Posted on July 25, 2008 by Alex.
Categories: Contributors, FireFox.

If you’re stuck with that crappy Microsoft OS called Windows Vista, you might, by now, be hypnotized by some of its eye-candy features that you might now consider them as good features. Okay, so I’m sarcastic with that note. Surely, if you’re going to nitpick Vista, you might find a thing or two that can be considered good and helpful features. Like its Alt + Tab function.

It eliminates the the window switch guessing game since it gives you a preview of the windows. Previously, in XP (and in Vista Home Basic) all you get are icons that don’t tell too much about which window you’ll be switching to. While I think it’s not that much of an issue with web browsing, some consider this functionality a good addition to their browsing experience. And that’s why this is supposed to be slated to be incorporated as a Firefox feature for 3.1 set for release late this year.

But if you want to experience that functionality now, with Firefox 3, then you might want to check out the Ctrl + Tab add-on which gives you exactly that functionality. Ctrl + Tab acts like the Windows Alt + Tab only you get to cycle through Firefox tabs. Getting a thumbnail preview might indeed be a great addition.

This works with Firefox: 3.0pre – 3.1a1pre.

Download Ctrl + Tab Firefox add-on here.

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What the Inside of a Tree is Good For

Posted on by (author unknown).
Categories: Contributors, Woodworking.

"There is something about the outside of a horse...that is good for the inside of a man."
– Attributed to Winston Churchill

Whenever I start on a project, the most curious part is sorting out my pile of rough  lumber into piles of finished parts. Selecting for grain, figure and color is as important to me (maybe more) than tight-fitting joints.

So today as I launched into the cover project for the Winter 2008 issue I was amused to find that I stayed in a deep rut that I've been in since I started in the craft. Whenever I select my boards for color and figure, I almost always choose the heart side of a board to face out instead of the bark side.

Even in the legs for this project, which are predominantly bastard grain, have the heartwood facing out in three of the four. I know that I read somewhere that there are other woodworkers who do this, too. But I am at a loss for a good explanation, as is my wood bible: "Understanding Wood" by Bruce Hoadley.

The consistency should come as no surprise. Heart-side wood and bark-side wood can reflect light in different ways. So if you obeyed you shop teacher and glued up a panel using boards that had alternating growth ring (heart-side to bark-side to heart-side etc.) you could end up with a top that has a striped look, especially once the finish is on it.

But that doesn't explain why I always choose the heart side. If anyone has a good explanation, I'd like to hear it in the comments below.

The project itself is a Gustav Stickley plant stand with a tile top. The project doesn't appear in any of the catalogs that I own, but I've stumbled over a few signed examples since I started collecting in 1990.

I enjoy projects like this because they don't use a lot of wood, but they contain lots of fun challenges. For starters: tusk tenons, weirdo offset and intersecting mortises, and incorporating a standard floor tile into the design. And there are some nice gentle curves.

And so I'll end with another horse-related quote that applies to woodworking and the challenges ahead in this small plant stand.

"It is not enough for a man to know how to ride; he must know how to fall."
– Mexican Proverb

— Christopher Schwarz

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Teaching at Marc Adams — Day Five

Posted on by chris.schwarz@fwpubs.com (Chris Schwarz).
Categories: Contributors, Woodworking.



As promised, the guys in class had the early part of the day to complete mouldings and work on the sculpted bracket feet. Each woodworker laid out the feet from the provided pattern and drilled the holes forming the spurs and with the help of Doug and Zane, our shop advisors. Everyone had their feet mitered and the spline recesses were cut, too (Doug used a method for cutting the recesses that is rather interesting and I’ll talk more on that later).

Most everyone in the class decided to take the feet and moulding back to their shops to complete the work because most did not want to glue up the cases before final sanding. Nor did they want to use valuable time when the drawer fronts awaited.

At 1 p.m. we began discussions about the drawer fronts and I demonstrated how to transfer the shape to the drawer front and make the cuts at a band saw. Everyone took to the drawer fronts with ease. I explained that shaping the fronts was as simple as a close and accurate band saw cut, proper technique and a sharp blade.

I worked with each student one on one to demonstrate the exact steps needed as they began work to shape their drawer front. To begin, lay out the flat blocked portion at the end of the drawer front, establish a line that delineates the flat sections from the beginning of the rounded fronts, then peel away excess stock to smooth the transition while leaving a distinct line.

Next, they used low-angle block planes to carefully round the curved fronts. The secret is to rub the surface with your hands and smooth any uneven spots you feel. If it feels smooth, the eye will never see different. That’s a big part of the entire shaping process. Slowly and methodically each woodworker shaped the first drawer front. As you can see from the photo below, some in the class chose to cut all their drawer fronts before beginning any shaping.

Today we’ll complete at least one drawer front and talk about how to tweak the fit and dial in perfect alignment with precise reveals. And we’ll begin the half-blind dovetails used to connect the drawer fronts to the drawer sides. The through dovetails used at the back of each drawer are the same as the dovetails they did when they joined the case sides to the bottom. Discussions on how to cut and fit the drawer bottoms will be interesting due the shaped interiors of those drawer fronts.

Because it’s Friday and class is over at 3 p.m., you’ll have to sit tight for the weekend. Come Monday I’ll post the final photos. In addition, I’ll have a couple funny stories to relate. Here’s a hint: There is always a prankster in the group. And, I’ll show you a use for blue painter’s tape that our very own Marc Spagnuolo, The Wood Whisperer, might never have thought of.

— Glen Huey

p.s. Click here to read “Teaching at Marc Adams – Day One,” here for “Day Two,” here for “Day Three” and here for “Day Four.”

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