Showing posts with label a. Show all posts
Showing posts with label a. Show all posts

Thursday, March 6, 2014

It seems I am the only one who couldnt get the ladder toy to work! Heres a video from Ben Johnson showing how his works. Very cool. Thanks Ben!




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Mere Minutes

I am really having a lot of fun building the cajon. Its basically done; I am at the finishing stage. A lot of cajones are brightly colored, so I decided to stain mine a deep red. Today I am applying a bunch of coats of brushing lacquer. I thought this video might be of some help if you have never used brushing lacquer.


Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Make a bent wood photo display stand

Keeping it simple
My favorite kinds of projects are simple ones. Not necessarily easy-to-make projects, but ones that embrace the aesthetic of simplicity. This project intentionally defies complexity: its a bent board with a slot in the edge.

I have made a few bent-lamination projects before. My most successful  attempt was a quilt hanger last year. This time I wanted to simplify the process more by eliminating the need to plane any wood and just ripping thin strips of wood on my table saw. It doesnt really matter how thick they are, mine varied as I moved the fence over for each cut. The thinner you slice the boards, they easier they will bend, but it may require laminating more pieces together to build up the completed thickness of the piece.

For my two photo stands I used five strips of wood each. I cut the middle strip "shorter" than the others to create the slot into which photos would sit. This is a great way to use some of that scrap wood youve been saving. If you are ambitious, I have a sneaking suspicion that these would sell fast at craft shows or maybe even Etsy. Plus it would have a pretty decent profit margin.

What to call it
As I mentioned in the video, I couldnt figure out what I would call this project so I enlisted help from my followers over on Keek. Nearly 100 people offered ideas. One of my favorites was from cbeer69 who suggested merely calling it "Dave". I love the simplicity of that! Unfortunately, very few people are likely to find my video on YouTube by searching for Dave.

The Inspiration Project
Be sure an visit this here web site on Tuesday for a new weekly feature. Im excited about it and eager to see how it develops and where it leads.

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Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Make a wood chain

I really have no idea what use this chain might have, but its fun to make and surprisingly easy. The key is making two simple jigs. Once those are made, you can crank out links by the dozen. Then figure out what to do with the chain!

You will need a flush trim router bit and a roundover bit. Make sure they are sharp: I had a difficult time keeping my dull roundover bit from burning or mangling the wood.


I got the idea for this project from The Router Handbook, by Patrick Spielman. I have a very old edition, but it has been updated since then. Its a good book, especially for beginners.

Porter Cable router

Ive had some time to really test out my new router. You may recall that Porter Cable sent it to me after hearing of my old router woes. The 690LRVS is the first variable speed router Ive owned. It has a 1-3/4 horsepower motor and two collets: one for 1/4" bits and one for 1/2" bits.  Not only that, but its about half as loud as my old router. There is no question that Porter Cable makes sturdy tools.






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Monday, March 3, 2014

Now thats a gate

Riaan Kritzinger sent over pictures of his gate that he made out of English Oak. Its really stunning. I like gates that have the top rail, like a door. It looks nice and really strengthens the gate.



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Wanted to share this project from 12-year-old woodworker Avery L. who made a display case using his dads jig saw. Nice work Avery!



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Last week I posted a video from Festool showing how to make a really neat peg-cutting jig. Its a great, inexpensive router technique from a manufacturer of really expensive tools! Scott Claridge jumped right on that and used it to make a whole bunch of tenons for a balustrade fence.



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I love this cutting board design from Mark Dennen. For his first attempt, he built this using Oak and Walnut. If you still havent made a cutting board, give it a try. They are fun and make great gifts.



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And just when you were really tired of benches, Bill Wilson, (Ive posted lots of his stuff here) jumped on that bandwagon. He is now a member of the club. We need a secret handshake.


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Having a bit of fun with my Facebook cover image this week, changing it every day. Well really just adding to it. Kind of an interactive art piece built by viewers! Haha. Check it out. Im curious what it will look like on Saturday.



Sunday, March 2, 2014

How to Save a Paint Brush



When I am painting, I am usually working on more than one project at a time. As I am waiting for one piece of furniture to dry, I am touching up or starting another. This process is never pretty. Multiple colors of paint cans, some open, some covered, lay about. They are joined by various jars of waxes and stains, along with an assortment of artist brushes and paint brushes. Quite often, in my artistic flurry, I leave a paint brush unattended and fully loaded with paint, only to suffer a slow death. Before long, I find its long tapered handle covered in a cement of dried paint and its soft bristles hard and virtually immovable. I confess I have ruined quite a few brushes this way. So, I was thrilled when I found this simple tip on Pinterest.

 All you need is Murphy oil soap, and of course, your dried up paint brushes.


This brushs bristles had dried together with paint and it was unusable.


  I soaked my brush overnight and in the morning...it was like new!!! I then used this all my brushes and no matter how old the paint on them was, they all cleaned up beautifully. I now use Murphy oil soap to clean my brushes daily.


Find beauty in your day!
Debbie

Saturday, February 22, 2014

A Hundred Little Decisions

In every build, in every piece of a build, there are a hundred little decisions you have to make. The pressure is on to make good decisions at every bend because if you dont the overall work can suffer. Good decisions are an essential part of good woodworking but how do you tell a good decision from a not so good one?

I cringe a little when I look at the woodworking book section of my local Barnes and Nobles because a third of the books there refer to woodworking "done easy" and thats a shame because being good at woodworking is hard. It takes a lot of time and dedication.

After reading that you might think I have something against beginning woodworkers, and youd be wrong. I remember starting myself and all the poor decisions I made. (buy me a beer and ask me about the pencil post bed debacle) But whats missing for many of those would be apprentices is some perspective. The idea that learning is a linear process, that you have to build one mastered skill set on top another, that knowing how to build a picnic table from 2x4s does not translate into being able to build a highboy. You can pull off a highboy shaped object, but not a real highboy. Not one done well and done right with all the right decisions made at the right times. There has to be more in between the two, and I think our modern society doesnt understand that.
Highboy on display at the Chazen museum of Art in Madison Wisconsin.
Without anyone to tell me, it took half a dozen years of making sawdust before I realized that though I had made stuff from wood, I was not a woodworker, I was closer to a child who has made mounds of sand on the beach and then imagines they are magnificent castles.Once I realized that, I knew I had a long way to go, but I still wanted to make the journey. Hell, I needed to make the journey, and I am still on that journey. Here on this blog I get to record the steps of my journey, and if I go back and read where Ive been, Im proud of how much Ive grown.

The thing that nobody says in those books for beginners is that anything worth doing well takes time and dedication. In our world of instant gratification thats a tough horse to sell. Youve gotta put in the hours, so when you make one of those hundreds of decisions, you have the experience to know what will "most likely" work well, so your piece will "most likely" turn out satisfactory.

I say "most likely" because the interesting thing about woodworking is that there are no guarantees, no matter how much experience you have, each piece is a journey.
This piece did not come from a novices hands. A 17th century Joined Chest from the same museum display

I started writing about decisions because as I work on my version of the William and Mary book stand that Chuck Bender wrote about in the November issue of Popular Woodworking, I have my own set of decisions to make. In the original piece, and on Chucks version, the corners of the frame were joined with one single stout dovetail. As I built my failed attempt earlier this year, I used that single tail without thinking about it. When it was time for this rematch I decided that one of the mistakes made was letting the cut list and measured drawing I had from HERE make decisions for me.

I have never been good at follow the leader. Things work better when I use pieces as inspiration rather than a strict blueprint. (One reason I am a better woodworker than I am a carpenter) I dont even follow the exact recipe when I make Mac n Cheese from a box. Me being me, I have to make my own decisions and then I can stand or fall on them, and I can deal with that.

It took a while to decide to bypass the single dovetail. I cut some test joints and I looked at them from different perspectives. I actually kind of agonized over the decision divert from the original, but in the end I decided on a pair of tails over the single.


After I finished cutting all the corners I dug out the failed attempt from the back corner of the shop to get a look at both of them.
The twin tails just feel better to me, and as far as the look of my work, no contest. I almost didnt put up this picture because of the gaping in the oak attempt. Ive done a lot of dovetail cutting this season and practice makes perfect but I believe another big factor is my purchase of an incredible quality dovetail saw from Mark Harrell over at Bad Axe Tool Works. A quality too can make the difference, another lesson Ive been learning. The sticky question is, has the saw made dovetail cutting easier and there fore I get better results, or is dovetail cutting just that much more enjoyable so I tend to cut them more and the practice equals better results?

How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop? The world may never know.
In the end, did I make a good decision? Thats not a question I can answer yet. The important thing is I made a decision and that there are lessons to be learned from each decision.

Ratione et Passionis
Oldwolf

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Todays posting 2 A Silk Oak Bowl

Hi Again,

Its freezing cold outside today and its been raining since last night and Im frozen like a block of ice at the moment so Ill be brief.

I made a bowl out of a block of silk oak that Ive had in stock for a couple of weeks. Ive never turned this type of wood and if I had I would have remembered it--this is a most unusual looking wood. And to beat all it has a scent that smells like ketchup!

Here we go:

Here are a couple of photos showing the basic block and a faceplate and a 4 jaw chuck. Both of these devices are designed to attach a piece of wood to a lathe. Since the block is very heavy, Im going to use the faceplate first with some long heavy stainless steel screws to hold the plate on. The next photo shows the faceplate screwed onto the block and the whole thing screwed onto the lathe:



This photo shows the outline of the foot of the bowl and the tenon that Im going to create to give the 4 jaw chuck something to attach too when I flip over the bowl for hollowing.



These next several photos show the blank being roughed out and in the last photo you can see the finished exterior with a foot and some preliminary sanding. The wood is actually a pink color and you can see the wild grain patterns in the side of the bowl:





These next two photos show the exterior of the bowl with the 4 jaw chuck attached.



These last several photos show the bowl about to be hollowed, the center one shows the bowl off the lathe and you can see the pink coloring.



This last photo show the amazing grain pattern. This piece of wood has whats called a lace pattern because the wood grain is arranged rather  like lace:


This bowl goes in the drying bag for the next 6 weeks, after which well re-turn it to a more usable size.

Im soooo cold at the moment I can hardly speak so Im signing off for now.

More later,

VW



Tuesday, February 18, 2014

If you are interested in woodworking DIY projects which can be a great way to spend your leisure time and very fulfilling, executing a proper plan for wood working projects is important. Whether the project is to build a carport, garage, backyard shed, dog kennel, furniture for your home or office, etc, proper planning ensures that you execute the project timely and within the budget. This will ensure that you are happy and empowered by the end result.

A properly planned wood working project will usually involve determining the proper product requirements, preparing and executing plans. To begin with, you need to determine the type of wood working project that you are interested in. What is the product and what is it to be used for. What tools do you need and are there any building codes that you need to adhere to, etc. You also need to determine where the project will be located and if you have enough room and whether the product shall be suitable for your property or house.

To begin any woodworking project, getting your hands on professionally drawn up woodworking plans is very important. This will help you with the various details of the project such as the best type of wood, the measurements, the cuts of the wood, type of tools needed, etc, and will include diagrams and step by step instructions to help you follow along.

During the planning process for any woodworking projects, you will need to determine how much the project will cost you and if you will need to get some help with any aspects of the projects or if you shall do it all yourself. Determine how much time you are willing to give to the project to ensure timely completion.

When you obtain the professionally drawn up blueprints, determine your requirements and the specifications that you want. The plans will have various sketches and you should be able to find one that meets your needs. These sketches include the measurements that you can use in your planning phase.

The next step will then be procuring the materials and tools that you need to start and complete the project. There are various varieties of wood and timber that can be used for your project. The woodworking plans should include a discussion of the best type of wood for various purposes so that you can make an informed decision based on your budget, the look you are going for and the desired strength of the finished product.

You will also need tools that you can purchase or borrow for the project. The woodworking plans shall give you specifications of the different tools that you will need to start and complete the project. Some of the tools may be costly while others can be obtained cheaply.

If you already have some tools laying around that you have not used in a while, all you will need to do is have then conditioned to make them useful for the project at hand. Blunt edges will need to be sharpened otherwise you will have improper and irregular cuts and you may even damage some types of wood if you use blunt tools.

The next step in any woodworking project is to execute the plan which is the exciting part of the project. Proper care is required to ensure each step is properly executed. Follow the wood working plan without deviation. Any mistakes or deviations that you make will affect the integrity of the plan and end up being costly in time and money.

The final step will then be ensuring that the woodworking project has a proper finish. Be careful with the finish because a proper finish can change the whole look of the wood working product. Choose the finish to use very wisely.

Friday, February 14, 2014

a custom food dehydrator

one of the local bread bakeries had an oven collapse and called in peter moore masonry to build them a new one ... while they were in the design phase, one of the things that came up was all this free hot air that would be floating around ... the owner wanted to try dehydrating along with baking so pete called in sam, who took up the challenge ... he installed the dehydrator today and, from the pictures, it looks like it will be pretty slick ... the view above is a head on shot of the bread oven with the dehydrator on the left side, shown in the photo below ...
click the pictures to enlarge them ...
the frescoed (colored) plaster is a nice touch ... the installed dehydrator ... the niches are for electrical junction boxes, which im sure will get covers before the oven is fired up ....
sam used classic angle and sheet construction to fabricate the main box ... there will be heated air coming in on the bottom rear left and it will go out the top in the upper right hand corner ... there will be stainless racks inside and a small fan to move the air ...
heres a front view before the doors were added. will made the quartersawn oak doors in the woodshop and sam and i modified some hinges to accommodate the stove gasket material that we added to make the doors more airtight. . the expected temperature of the box will be 160-180 degrees so the doors are faced with 24 gauge stainless steel on the inside.
sam added the decorative dampers above to help control the airflow as the fruit is drying ... for more on petes ovens, see this previous post
a previous vermont brick oven project ...

Monday, February 10, 2014

A Home For My Planes

Now that my Bastard Tool Cabinets carcass pieces are cut to size, its time to make my plane shelf. Other than the outside dimensions, Im winging it in terms of the design, so I wanted to get the biggest interior item sized and built before assembling the carcass.

Beginning the shelf layout.
Unlike many parts on this project, the plane shelf was sized by measuring. I made it 24" long to accommodate my 22" #7 and somewhat arbitrarily decided 16" was a good width (this may have been too narrow). Once the shelf was cut, I then switched back to relative dimensioning for the dividers.

Too many planes.
I tried a number of layouts for my planes, and quickly found that when I included them all they spilled well beyond the size of the shelf. I then went through them and decided which were the ones most likely to be used (only about half of them are tuned for use at present). I tried again and ended up getting 8 planes on the shelf. That will certainly cover my normal usage. The others can go on the shelves which will be under the plane shelf (the plane shelf will pivot up on a piano hinge).

Final divider & plane layout.
I made dividers from 1/2" wide strips of 3/4" Baltic Birch plywood scraps. I laid them on their side because I liked the aesthetic. For layout, I began by attaching the first divider even with the right side of the shelf. I laid my #7 against it, used tooth picks as spacers and installed the next divider. I kept this process going until I reached the left side of the shelf. All the dividers are attached to the shelf with #8 x 1" stainless steel flat head screws. I used screws so that as my plane collection changes over time the shelf can change too (I went stainless because Im a sucker for it).

Note the shelves behind the
plane shelf (which is angled).
The next step (after screwing in the last few dividers) will be to mount the plane shelf and the shelves underneath it. I think Ill then probably mount the right carcass side. As for the left, Im not sure if Ill build the slots for the shoulder planes first or put the side on first. We shall see.

How do you store your planes?

Previous posts in the series:
Cutting the Cabinet Carcass (In Relative Terms)
Trudging Towards Tool Storage
The Bastard Wall Cabinet (for Tools)
Winter Wall Cabinet Wonderland

A Monday Night Laundry List

Due to a cold and lots of extra work relating to our year-end review at work I havent gotten anything done in the shop since last week. I have accomplished a few other woodworking related tasks though, so here goes:

Bastard Wall Cabinet
I havent progressed any on finalizing the design since my last post, though I did manage to pick up the baltic birch plywood. As luck would have it, I work around the block from one of the biggest plywood dealers around, Roberts Plywood. I borrowed a van from work on Thursday and picked up 2 sheets each of 1/2" & 3/4" 5x5 baltic birch (boy are 5 wide sheets awkward). I also managed to rip the sheets in half in the warehouse after work. On Saturday I loaded them and some reclaimed (i.e. left over from a job we did 14 years ago) LVL cutoffs into my truck and brought them home. Ive managed to get them stacked in the woodshop and there my progress on the cabinet has paused.

Workbench
Im hesitant to call this progress, but as mentioned above I did manage to pick up some LVLs. They will ultimately be made into at least one (hopefully two) of the bench top slabs.

com
The penultimate Penultimate logo?
My good friend Aristotle came by on Saturday and we tweaked my T-shirt logo into the header you see above. Ive been meaning to do this since we designed the shirts in September, so even though this isnt technically woodworking, it was nice to get this off my task list. We also designed a simpler t-shirt logo in two colors for screen printing. I hope to make more shirts (or open a cafepress.com t-shirt store soon).

Thats the story from sunny Long Island. Till next time, whats been keeping you busy lately?

Monday, February 3, 2014

Guide Build a home library woodworking

#1: Build a home library woodworking one of the best

Build A Home Library Woodworking

How-to projects - lowe's, Want to build a new deck or pergola? or maybe do some general home improvements? whatever your project, lowe's can show you how. you can find step-by-step. Green building - wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, Green building (also known as green construction or sustainable building) refers to a structure and using process that is environmentally responsible and resource. Kitguy - do-it-yourself woodworking projects, home and, Everything you ever wanted to build from a kit, over 40 categories of do-it-yourself woodworking projects, home and garden crafts, free buyer's guide, money-saving.

Build your own earth oven: a low-cost wood-fired mud oven, Build your own earth oven: a low-cost wood-fired mud oven, simple sourdough bread, perfect loaves, 3rd edition paperback. Angelfire - official site, Provides area information, a brief history, events calendar, and links to attractions, restaurants, shopping, lodging and transportation.. Build a free website with web hosting | tripod, Build a free website with our easy to use, free website builder. find web hosting, domain registration, email and more at tripod.com..

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Friday, January 31, 2014

ideas for decorating a wooden box

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Ideas For Decorating A Wooden Box

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Sunday, January 26, 2014

The Chair Is A Political Item

I originally purchased Chairmaking & Design by JeffMiller as an impulse purchase off of Amazon. The used copy I bought cost about $5.00. Since it was rated 4.8 out of 5 stars, I figured it was a good deal. Since reading it over the summer, I’ve had a chair in my head, desperately trying to get into my shop. So it was with great excitement that I read the Woodworking in America 2013 class schedule during my flight to Cincinnati. On Saturday morning there was a chair class (I know there was one on Friday morning too, but I’m sorry. I’m a modern chair style guy, not a Windsor chair fan).

The class began with the discussion of the evolution of chairs.
I arrived at Chairs: Style & Substance to find Ejler Hjorth-Westh introducing himself to the class. Ejler (Eye-ler) immigrated to California from Denmark in the early 1980’s. Since then he has made his trade as a boat builder, a home builder and a furniture maker. He learned furniture making under the tutelage of JamesKrenov at the College of the Redwoods. Now a master (though probably not one to admit it), Ejler teaches at the College of the Redwoods.

The class was a brief history of chairs from a style and political perspective. Ejler took us through from the simplest chairs (basically just a log) to the most ornate Victorian monstrosities. Then World War I hit. Not only did the war permanently disrupt centuries of European social class, it also disrupted the evolution of the chair. After the war the excesses of the Victorian age were cast away for the more practical and balanced styles of the 20th Century (this disruption technically began before the War, but it was the War that pushed it forward).

One of Ejlers full size mock up demonstrated modern chair design.
Though only in the context of chair design, Ejler was able to define Modern, a task that has stumped and derailed previous WIA presenters. To Ejler, the tenants of modern design are that a chair should be both visually and practically functional. Modern exists on a spectrum, between vision without function and function without vision.

Had the class stopped there, it would have been enough for me. I found the history and philosophy of chairs fascinating. There was more.

After talking about chairs through modern design, Ejler then discussed his design philosophy and methods. He described how his design process is gradual. He takes meticulous notes on the client’s request and then ruminates on that request. Once he has worked out the overall design on paper, Ejler moves to a full scale mockup. He assembles his mock ups with a combination of dry joinery and screws. The dry joinery allows him to test different joints, while the screws allow mockups to be disassembled and re-assembled many times over. He emphasized that these steps take time, and the chair maker should not force it. Rather, they should let the design stew.

This is a sample design sketch of Ejlers.
From design, the class discussion moved to comfort. Ejler explained that comfort can only be measured within its design parameter. No chair is comfortable for all functions at all times. A chair should be comfortable for its intended use – reading, dining, etc. If you adhere to narrow design parameters it is easy to define what comfort is.

This classic from Rennie Mackontosh does not ballance vision and function.
There is only vision and no function.
Talk of design then moved to building. Ejler reviewed which joints are stressed in which types of chairs and how he makes them. He finished the class by demonstrating how he makes his arm to seat joint.


From discussions I had during the conference I know that Ejler’s classes were the most divisive of the weekend. People either loved his class or hated his class. I loved his class. I made sure that I was in the front row for his next one.

Dont forget about the +Modern Woodworkers Association Podcast. We talk woodworking with Guests from around the world of woodworking every other week. Subscribe to the RSS feed or iTunes today.

Saturday, January 25, 2014

Its that time of year again, when we take a moment to say thanks for all thing big (surviving Hurricane Sandy) and small (a Tim Hortons Double Double & Cruller actually was good). Its also the time of year Marc, The Wood Whisperer, has his big sale.
Thats one fine cruller.
If youre not flush with Wood Whisperer gear already (and maybe even if you are), head over to Marcs site to check it out. Hes offering 25% off Thursday, 20% off Friday and 15% off Saturday, so dont delay.
Yep, this turkey is a great woodworker.
Be sure to pick up a shop apron, as his are the best available. I gave away my others when I received it. The pockets are nice and the cross strapping that doesnt bother you neck is the best.
A wicked awesome apron.
From everyone at the Penultimate Woodshop and the Modern Woodworkers Assocation, have a safe and happy Thanksgiving.