For one cup of hot tea, use one teaspoon of dry herbs or up to 3 teaspoons of fresh herbs. Bruising leaves of fresh herbs will help release flavor. Pour boiling water over herbs in a glass or china pot. Metal pots can sometimes leave a metallic taste. Let steep for 5 or so minutes. Strain and enjoy with a little honey to sweeten.

Sun tea can be made simply by filling a jar with water, throw in a handful of crushed fresh herbs, and set in sun for 3 or 4 hours. Stir in a little honey to sweeten, pour over ice and enjoy.

Trying different combinations of herbs is fun. Remember you can also add spices you have on hand, such as cinnamon, cloves, etc.

There are many benefits to growing and making your own herbal teas. Gardening itself is very relaxing and rewarding. With herbs from your garden you can soothe away your troubles with a cup of chamomile tea or make yourself a refreshing cup of peppermint tea after a hard day at work. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Look in perfumes of flowers and nature for peace of mind and joy of life. --Wang Wei

Step 4: Truing second face

The thickness planer is by far best tool to accomplish this. On jointer it is simple to get second face true but it is quite difficult to get it parallel to first.

The thickness planer guides board and makes second face exactly parallel to first. Once second face is true and parallel to first continue to plane board until it reaches finished thickness, in this case 5/8". Remember to feed stock with grain to ensure a smooth clean cut. Step 5: Square one edge

Back to jointer for this step. Set jointer fence so it is exactly 90 degrees to table and be sure cutting depth is set to 1/16". Determine direction of grain and place on face against jointer fence and make a pass through cutter applying steady pressure against fence.

Once you are satisfied that edge and face are square to each other mark edge for reference.

Step 6: Square other edge

Now that you have one edge prepared it is back to table saw to rip board to width. Set fence 4-9/16" (1/16" larger then needed). With marked edge against table saw fence rip board. Now return to jointer and make one final pass, milling new sawn edge. Be sure that jointer is set to 1/16".

Step 7: Squaring ends

I prefer to use a table saw to square end and cut board to length although a table saw with a miter gauge will work as well. Check that your miter saw is cutting a true 90 degrees and when you are sure it is trim one end of board, taking as little off as possible. Now measure finished width of 30" and make cut taking care to cut on waste side of line. Conclusion:

You should now have a board that is 30" x 4-1/2 " x 5/8" with all four sides square to one another.

There are a number of methods that will work for milling a board square; however I have always had good luck using this method.

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