# STL 132: Kickback, and why you should trust your gut before you cut

- Show: [Shop Talk Live](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/shop-talk-live)
- Published: 2017-03-03
- Length: 1h 07m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/shop-talk-live/2017-03-03-stl-132-kickback-and-why-you-should-trust-your-gut-before-you-cut
- Listen: https://shoptalklive.podcast.static.taunton.com/stl-132-kickback-and-why-you-should-trust-your-gut-before-you-cut

## Summary

Host Tom McKenna and editors Mike Pekovich and Matt Kenney discuss essential hand tool kits for beginners, recommending specific hammers, mallets, and planes while advising users to define their project goals first. They analyze furniture design choices, specifically warning against pairing Bubinga and Walnut due to contrasting aging rates, and suggest using figure or sapwood for contrast instead. The episode features detailed safety discussions on router table kickbacks, including a personal account of a dangerous kickback incident, and advice on evaluating vintage Stanley planes and upgrading old machinery like General International planers and Baxter Whitney table saws.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/shop-talk-live/2017-03-03-stl-132-kickback-and-why-you-should-trust-your-gut-before-you-cut#t=0) Introduction and Fine Woodworking Live 2017 Promo
- [2:41](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/shop-talk-live/2017-03-03-stl-132-kickback-and-why-you-should-trust-your-gut-before-you-cut#t=161) Building a $1000 Hand Tool Kit and Essential Tools
- [6:32](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/shop-talk-live/2017-03-03-stl-132-kickback-and-why-you-should-trust-your-gut-before-you-cut#t=392) Selecting Hammers and Mallets for Woodworking
- [13:18](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/shop-talk-live/2017-03-03-stl-132-kickback-and-why-you-should-trust-your-gut-before-you-cut#t=798) Furniture Design: Contrast, Wood Selection, and Bubinga
- [23:04](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/shop-talk-live/2017-03-03-stl-132-kickback-and-why-you-should-trust-your-gut-before-you-cut#t=1384) Smooth Moves: Drawer Making Mistakes and Shop Maintenance
- [32:04](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/shop-talk-live/2017-03-03-stl-132-kickback-and-why-you-should-trust-your-gut-before-you-cut#t=1924) Router Table Safety and Kickback Incident
- [35:27](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/shop-talk-live/2017-03-03-stl-132-kickback-and-why-you-should-trust-your-gut-before-you-cut#t=2127) Buying Vintage Stanley Planes and Used Tools
- [43:30](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/shop-talk-live/2017-03-03-stl-132-kickback-and-why-you-should-trust-your-gut-before-you-cut#t=2610) Upgrading Old Machinery vs. Buying New
- [48:01](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/shop-talk-live/2017-03-03-stl-132-kickback-and-why-you-should-trust-your-gut-before-you-cut#t=2881) Choosing Whiteside Flush Trim Bits and Routing Techniques
- [57:49](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/shop-talk-live/2017-03-03-stl-132-kickback-and-why-you-should-trust-your-gut-before-you-cut#t=3469) All-Time Favorite Furniture: Bern Chandley and Charles Rennie Mackintosh

## Topics

- [Industrial & consumer product design](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/industrial-design)
- [Mechanical engineering](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/mechanical-engineering)
- [Sourcing & supply chain](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/sourcing-and-supply-chain)
- [Debugging & failure analysis](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/debugging-and-failure-analysis)
- [Materials & manufacturing processes](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/materials-and-processes)
- [Maker community & events](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/maker-community)

## Most relevant to

makers and hobbyists

## Mentioned

- Fine Woodworking (other)
- Stanley (other)
- Woodcraft (other)
- Liberty Tool (company)
- Baxter Whitney (other)
- General International (other)
- Whiteside (other)
- Bern Chandley (other)
- Charles Rennie Mackintosh (other)
- Center for Furniture Craftsmanship (other)
- Heidi Martin (other)

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- [Episode 033: More listener questions](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/making-it/2015-08-21-episode-033-more-listener-questions) (Making It)
- [Making It #010: If it looks straight….](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/making-it/2015-02-26-making-it-010-if-it-looks-straight) (Making It)
- [Episode 297: I’m not sick, just 53](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/making-it/2021-02-26-episode-297-im-not-sick-just-53) (Making It)
- [Episode 219: Really? Plastic? Really??](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/making-it/2019-07-05-episode-219-really-plastic-really) (Making It)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/shop-talk-live/2017-03-03-stl-132-kickback-and-why-you-should-trust-your-gut-before-you-cut. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to Shop Talk Live.