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Thursday, March 6, 2014

Make a cheese cutting board

Time to kick off the holiday gift-making season! For those of you in America, this would also make a great Thanksgiving project.

Rather than make an end-grain cutting board, I decided to make this using the edge grain. While its not as durable as an end-grain cutting board, it is much easier to make and can be run through a planer, something you probably dont want to try with end grain.

I imagine a cheese board will only see use occasionally, for entertaining. Plus, slicing cheese doesnt require a lot of knife-chopping action, so scratches on face grain will be minimal.

I made mine using padauk and cherry. Any hardwood will work.

This is a great opportunity to give your router some action if you havent used it much. The two recessed areas in the board are made using a cutting template. I used a round, bull-nosed bit, but a straight bit would work fine too.

Cutting template

WWMM Cheese board cutting template (pdf)

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Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Build a rustic wine cabinet using free pallet wood Great upcycling project

In case I ever become a grape farmer and bottle my own wine, my son Wyatt designed this hipster bottle label that will work out perfectly. ("Its so exclusive, youve probably never heard of it.")

Over the years I have had a number of people ask me to build a wine rack or cabinet. Oddly enough, I live near the heart of Californias Wine Country, but am not a wine drinker myself which probably accounts for why it has taken me this long to make one.

I decided to make a display cabinet for those of us who like to keep a few bottles on hand for special occasions or guests. I designed it to resemble a wooden crate, possibly one that has been taken apart and hobbled together for a new purpose. I also wanted the bottle labels to show, making the entire unit a decorative piece: I like the juxtaposition of the rustic assembly with fine wine. The shelves tilt to the side to keep the corks from drying out.

Monetize your woodworking

Rustic projects using recycled wood are very trendy at the moment. This project would sell well at craft fairs. (Probably starting at around $80 - $100.) It is simple to make and if you use free pallet wood the profit margin is huge. Buyers like to feel they are part of an effort to reduce waste, and expensive wine displayed in a unique cabinet is a great conversation starter.

Free plans:

WWMM Rustic wine cabinet (pdf)
SketchUp file

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Build a really simple garden bench And a contest!

Heres a really easy project anyone can build in a weekend. I was inspired to build something that required very few tools and would be a nice summer project. To build this bench, you will just need a saw (any kind), a drill, and some screws. I built mine with four 2x4s and six 1x3 boards. Total cost: $30. I can imagine all sorts of ways to enhance this bench too!

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Update: here are cutting sizes for the boards:

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I also wanted to showcase a few tools from Kreg that can make the project even easier. I have a video contest this week and Kreg was kind enough to offer up some prizes.

Grand Prize:

The Kreg pocket hole jig.

First Prize:

Kreg Klamp Vise

Second Prize:

Kreg Square-Cut

Two bonus prizes.

Be the neighborhood show-off with a mere Mortal Tee!

To enter, watch the following video for instructions. Basically, shoot a ten-second video illustrating the theme: "A Mere Mortal..." Supply your own verb and finish the sentence. Get creative! Then post your video on YouTube as a video response to this video. Hurry! Contest ends Sunday, May 27th. Good luck!

Monday, February 24, 2014

A little off track today

I just thought I'd post something that I come across quite often. I'm a frequent shopper of Craigslist. Being 25 miles from Los Angeles to the west and the heart of Orange County to the south, there are a plethora of sales every single day. I can spend hours perusing the furniture sections looking for anything and everything. With that being said, people who want to sell their items are sometimes, well, clueless. I'm going to post a few pics of actual ads I've come across........

Are you kidding me??? Any idea what this person is selling??? How about the

lovely desk/organization center?? Hmmmmm????

Seriously people, clean up your mess!!! Good God.

Thursday, February 20, 2014

A finish to one

Finished off the open handle this morning with a coat of Danish Oil, I have to say I feel really lucky that the JB Weld I decided to use worked great for filling the crack in the wood and strengthening it. Took it for some test cuts last night and even pushed the pressure on the saw greater than I normally would have to, and the repair held up great. Man is this thing even nicer to cut with than before.

It gets me excited to get the other handle onto the Dovetail blade I have, But that will require retoothing the blade first, I will have to do some research on that before I start. Anyhow just wanted to drop off the pics here and the note. Probably work more on the other saw this Saturday and youll see updates then.

Cheers

Oldwolf

Ever Put a Wooden Bowl in a Microwave Oven

Hi Everyone,

One of the enduring difficulties in turning unseasoned wood is the drying that occurs when a bowl or platter is turned. The turning exposes the grain of the wood and any water that is inside of the wood evaporates away. Sometimes, if the grain dries evenly, the bowl will retain its shape and not crack. But if the grain dries unevenly cracking and distortion of the sides of the bowl or the bottom of a plate can occur.

One way to get around this is to turn an unseasoned blank several times, each time removing a little more wood and then wrapping the bowl blank in heavy paper so it will dry slowly and hopefully evenly. And youve seen me do this many times. It can take 4-6 months for a large bowl to dry out this way and a long time for a project to come to completion.

Another way to dry out a bowl is to place it in a microwave oven and heat the wood up. This drives out the water in the wood and can speed up drying from months to 30 minutes. Thats the good news. The bad news is that it can cause the wood to rapidly dry out and distort, ruining the piece.

Ive never tried it before and since I have a small block of linden wood in the shop I decided to go down and turn the linden block into a natural edge bowl and to then take it into my kitchen and microwave it.

So heres what I did:

Here is a photo of the linden block. Its half of a large branch that Ive had for about 1 1/2 years or so and so Im going to turn it into a natural edge bowl. This is a bowl that still has some of its bark left on the edge:

This is about 90 minutes later. This type of turning produces a saddle-shaped bowl and you can see the shape beginning to form:

Here is the bowl after Ive hollowed it out. This took approximately an hour of turning. The wood is soft and even though Ive sanded it, its still has a ragged surface in places:

Here you can clearly see the saddle shape and the bark on the edge:

Here is the bowl after its had a session in the microwave. Its hot to the touch and very damp at this point but I dont see any cracking or obvious distortion. Ive placed it on my bread rack to dry and Im going to put it in front of an open window. Ill check back on it later today.

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Build A English Saddle Stand PDF Plans 8x10x12x14x16x18x20x22x24 DIY Building Shed Blueprints

build a english saddle stand Get Access To 12,000 Shed Plans in Size 16x16,12x20,12x16,12x12,12x10,12x10,12x8,10x20,10x16,10x14,10x12,10x10,8x16,8x10,8x12,8x8,8x6,6x8,4x8 Shed plans Easy To Follow Instructions.

build a english saddle stand Shed Plans

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Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Wood working and a video you must see

Hi Everyone,
Well, I went out and bought a couple of small short pieces of white oak and maple for the tea boxes this morning. I also purchased a thick, very aeromatic piece of pine. It is about 2 inches thick and probably full of pitch. I can hardly wait to turn this! Im going to save the shavings and make a sachet for my closet out of it.

I also have a link on my FB page to the Heritage Craft Association in the UK and they feature all sorts of information about craft making in Britain. A really first rate group of people. They had this video today and I just finished watching it and I want to share it with you. This is exquisite hand crafting.

http://www.finewoodworking.com/item/42136/adrian-mccurdy-furniture-riven-from-the-log

More later,
LaV.

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Woodworking blog Woodworking Magazine A Dovetail a Day � Hurray

So, the other day I was just posting on how I am practicing my dovetail cuts so that I can get better at hand cut dovetails. Well, yesterday, Chris Schwarz posted a blog entry about an article he did 2007 where he set out on the same task as I am undertaking. What he did was to make a dovetail a day until he got better at it. One of his readers, Bob Jones, followed along and did a dovetail a day for 90 days! I dont know if I can manage one a day with my schedule or not, but it is definitely worth a shot if I can get results like Chris and Bob. The blog post is below and a free copy of the original article can be found, either at the bottom of that post or here: FREE DOVETAIL ARTICLE

Woodworking blog Woodworking Magazine - A Dovetail a Day – Hurray

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

A Bunch Of This And That

Black Friday/Cyber Monday

I hope you all found the fantastic deals you couldn’t refuse on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Strange, isn’t it, how terminology is adapted from one application to another, resulting in completely opposite meanings.

When I hear the term “Black Friday”, the first thing that pops to mind is that my already black and blue retirement plan just took another sh_t kicking. Instead, in this application it means that the retailers hope to be in the black part of the ledger by the end of this particular Friday, the traditional “lets get out and spend” day in the United States.

While not a thumper about it, I am quite strong on the idea of Canadians shopping in Canada, as Americans are about supporting their own economy. This year is a little different for me, though. This year I am advocating “Cross Border Shopping”. That’s right; all you Canucks should head over to your nearest state and shop your brains out.

Here’s why I say this…

I read an article in the paper the other day about a old guy who had to replace his clock radio so he went to the local Canadian Tire store, a chain that started life in automotive supply and over the past 100 years or so have spread out to carry just about everything, doing justice to none. The old man picked out a radio he could afford and went to pay for it. The price of the clock alarm was $9.95, Added to this price was the new Ontario Eco Fee, a fee for disposal at the time of sale, which added $2.75 to his bill. Then the standard “harmonized” sales tax (8% provincial and 5% federal) was added not only to the selling price of the radio, but to the eco fee as well, adding another $1.87 to his bill. This brought the total of that $10 radio to $14.56, almost 50% more than its purchase price.

All of this, to me, is just way over the top. Add it to all the other ridiculous ways our multi-levels of government here in Canada are reaching into our pockets and it becomes time to call a time-out.

Save the planet, please! I’m all for it and I’ll even help you. Doing so on the backs of some poor old guy on a fixed income, though, is beyond reasonable. I just think it is time the governments got taught a lesson.

Peace.

Interesting Site

I was sent a link this morning for http://www.thenewchinkyworkshop.com. Yes, the name is a little out there for this day and age, isn’t it, but as the site’s owner explains, it is a play on his name that his parents gave him years ago, so it is not used to cause offense.

Ray, the owner, is seriously into woodworking and creates some amazing projects. He has made everything from a carving knife holder to tables, desks and cabinets. It is not the projects that amazed me with this site, nor the craftsmanship that he obviously applied to each. It is the pure number of things he has created that blew me away. I have no idea how many he has displayed on this site, but whatever the tally, the number will be incredible.

Take some time and have a look around. He is extremely talented and amazingly innovative. It is worth the click.

Here is an image I lifted from his site. It is just a simple fence, but to me shows this man’s creativity. How would you like to wake up one morning and find this running along your driveway? I know I would, and I don’t even have a driveway.

Peace.

Time To Make Some Sawdust

Things are slowing down for me considerably by the end of this week and I am going to have just over a month where there will be few demands on my time. To celebrate a slow work schedule for a change, I am going to get to work and enjoy myself. While the project at hand is not really my cup of tea, it will fit in with some of my wife’s other pieces and given it has been a while since I have really built anything, Im looking forward to it.

Early this year I tried to get my wife interested in growing orchids. Not only has she become enamored with them, she is starting to try her hand at herbs and other green things. To me this is great, and to give her even more incentive, I want to make her a plant stand with grow lights.

For those of you that are not familiar with orchids outside of what you see in the florist shop, without flowers, they can be the ugliest things God ever created. When they flower, their hot. When they arent, their not.

I should explain why the design of this thing is not something I would choose to build or buy. Shortly after my wife and I were married, my wife asked me to take her to an antique show which I agreed to do, but only if she agreed to leave her wallet at home. We attended that event as, surprisingly, she agreed to my terms, but what did I know at the time, I had just married the woman. Walking the aisles she came across a craftsmen styled sideboard which she wanted. Im huge on the Craftsman architectural style but not enamored at all with the furniture style. Knowing that she didnt have her wallet, I figured why upset the apple cart. I told her that if she could figure out a way to pay for it, she could buy it. Man, I was so naive back then. I went off to look around some more and left her to her quandary.

When we hooked up again, nothing was said and we wandered around the show some more and did a little window shopping afterwards, as well. When we pulled into the driveway that evening, there was a rather large truck parked in it. It was the dealer delivering her Craftsman styled sideboard. The way she settled the problem of not having her wallet was to tell the dealer that when he delivered it that evening, her husband would cut him a cheque.

So this almost-Craftsman styled, solid oak monstrosity will sit in the diningroom. Even though it stands 6 4" in height, there is only enough height for three shelves. This is because of the 4" facings along the underside of each shelf to hid the florescent grow lights. I will be 5 wide, though, so hopefully it will have enough shelf space to hold all her green-thumb endeavors. I included four doors across the bottom to give her some hidden storage for dirt, pots, watering cans and other sundry items.

I hope she will enjoy using it as much as I am going to enjoy building it. I started doing the glue-ups today, and here is what the end result should look like…

Peace,

Mitchell

Capping a half wall

Ive been working on a house for the past few weeks doing all of the doors, cabinets, case, base, and other trim work. There is a small double stairway partitioned by a half wall. Im giving it a cap, and some under cap trim to finish it off. The cap is a simple 1x8 prestained poplar, and the under trim is colonial stop, also stained. Here is the progression of pictures...

Starting at the top, this first corner is not a 45, but close (the rough framers were not totally square with their work - whats new right?). But my job is to make it work. Ive biscuit jointed the miter.

Fitting the next piece...

A shot of the under trim...

Monday, February 10, 2014

Making A New Turning Saw Part III

It was time to refine the shape of the new saw; making it lighter both visually and physically. Most of the work was done on the shavehorse, but some work was done over at the bench vise. The tools used were: drawknife, spokeshaves, files, and a knife. The work was slow but fun.

Heres the beginning of the shaping process on the shavehorse:

I just shaped it by eye. The hardest part was not taking off too much - its addicting!

Some sections were easier to work on at the bench with the piece held in the front vise:

I ended up taking off quite a bit of stock. The areas around the mortise and the bottom of each arm I kept close to full thickness. Here are some comparison shots between the unshaped arm and the mostly finished arm:

After shaping the two arms with rounded, curving surfaces, the stretcher looked out of place with its flat surfaces and beveled edges. I decided to rework it to more closely match the arms. Heres two shots of all three pieces, with most of the shaping work complete:

And a shot of the assembled frame surrounded by the tools that have been working on the shaping:

Next up are the tension device (easy) and the blade assembly (not too hard, except I have this new idea on how to attach the rods to the knobs without using epoxy) so maybe this will be a four part post. Probably shouldnt have said that...