Showing posts with label and. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

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!

*****

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, March 3, 2014

And still more router tables!

Paul Homes tells me the router tables with the pivoting fences are quite popular in Australia. He clued me into Gifkins, a web site that not only sells specialty jigs, but has free plans for a router table you can make yourself.(PDF)

Next, head over to Martin Popes blog where he describes how he built his inexpensive router table. Check out his method for raising and lowering the router:

My low tech solution was two blocks of wood with a 45ish degree angle cut between them. A long slit was cut in one block into which a long bolt was passed through into a nut at the rear. As the bolt is turned it closes the blocks together which raises the router, screwing out the bolt lowers the router.

***

Mere Minutes

And now some more router tables!

******
Shawn Graham

Heres another router table for under $20. Shawn made this one from poplar with a plexiglass insert.

Erik van Baarle

A router table from the Flemish part of Belgium! Heres a good idea for the small shop. A bench-top router table that easily stores away. (Hey, thats my Workmate!)

Eddie Antley

This is one of the biggest router tables Ive seen. Looks like it doubles as a workbench.

Saturday, February 22, 2014

Lazy Susan finishing sealing and staining

Im back. Time to stain the lazy susan.

First I disassembled the susan and it was just as big a pain to take it apart as it was to assemble it to begin with:

Pine is a soft wood and as such it can often absorb stains more deeply in some areas than others, with the result being a blotchy-colored surface. I use Minwax* sealers and I sealed both the top and bottom with this:

As the sealer is a golden colored liquid, it deepened the natural color of the pine. I love unstained pine and I wish I could stop here. Lovely.

But my friend wanted it stained a burgundy color. To achieve this I used Behr semi-transparent exterior stain in burgundy:

This type of stain comes in a variety of colors and since its semi transparent, some of the wood grain will be visible through the stain.

I applied this to both the top and the bottom and initially it looked like a pale lavender color and I thought OH NO this isnt burgundy! But I quickly remember that stains often change colors as they dry and this is no exception:

Both the top and the bottom are now stained and Im going to let them dry until tomorrow. Ill take another look and see if a second coat of stain is necessary. My friend emphasized a deep burgundy so additional staining might be necessary.

Now Im going downstairs to apply some poly urethane to the finial. That will take several coats to build up a smooth surface as turning the finial exposed a lot of end grain--and as we all know, end grain sucks up stains and finishes like a sponge.

More tomorrow.

VW

*Note: Im not a paid endorser for Minwax products but I do like to point out the materials I use and Minwax products generally give a good result regards of a persons level of expertise. And they are moderately priced and readily available in the US.

Thursday, February 20, 2014

The Blue House Bowl Discussion and plans

Hi Everyone,

Well, I decided to begin working on a bowl that I am planing on donating to a charity called the Blue House. This charity supports an orphanage in Uganda that takes in girls and young women who have been orphaned because of AIDS. Every year the ladies at my church have an annual craft fair to raise funds to support these young women. And yours truly donates cutting boards and other stuff for sale every year.

This year, amongst other things, I plan on donating a full-sized salad bowl to the sale and this blog posting will be the first in a series about how the bowl was made. I hope this will give people a window on how a large bowl is made and get them interested in the sale.

So, I have gotten a large 12"x3" white ash bowl blank and this is what I will be using for the bowl. The wood is unseasoned, meaning that it has a considerable amount of water in it and so we will be making a green wood turning and this adds several steps to our turning process, and certainly nothing that Selkie Wood Works cant handle! Heres what were going to do: Im going to mount the block on the lathe and completely turn the outside of it and partially turn the inside of it and leave the bowl about 1" thick. This is much thicker than a standard bowl and the reason Im doing this is this will help the bowl retain its round shape while its drying out. When we come back to the bowl in several weeks time, it should have dried out enough to allow me to finish turning and shaping it, and with any luck, it will be ready for the Blue House sale, which always takes place the first weekend in December.

So were off for another adventure in the wood shop. So make some coffee and stop by for photos and a complete process discussion on the Blue House bowl.

Best
VW

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.

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

Monday, February 10, 2014

An Upgrade a Fix a Rant and a PSA

In my very first post of substance--if any could be called that--I talked about making some drawers out of reclaimed firewood. I then put those drawers aside and went to town on the workbench. The other day I made a simple three-sided frame for them, screwed and glued some slides into place and mounted it underneath the bench.

I think the pulls complement the rustic look of the wood.

So now I have a convenient place where I can keep my hand tools close by.

Ive mentioned before how Ive been a little disappointed with the face vise. There has always been a little too much play in the guide rails to keep it nice and rigid when exerting force. I measured the diameter of the guide rail and they came out at a little bit under 1/2" wide. I had some 1/2" copper pipe left over from another project so I decided to make some bushings.

The bushings significantly reduce the amount of play in the guide rails, although not quite as much as I had hoped. I had hoped that their inner diameter would actually be a little small so that I would have to press-fit them onto the rails. They werent, but thats alright; things are much better now.

I really like Irwin Quick Grip bar clamps. They are quick, easy, and typically suit my needs very well. I broke one recently--which ordinarily wouldnt be much of an endorsement--but I have to say that it broke because it was so strong. I forgot it was holding two pieces together when I was lifting a heavy object and the object actually started pivoting on the clamp. The clamp did not let go of the piece, instead the jaw sheared right off.

So thats what got me looking at new ones down at Home Depot the other day. Now, as much as I love the clamps, Irwins pricing strategy is an absolute mystery to me. Heres my collection representing much of their product line:

The Irwins are the blue ones. From left to right: 2x standard 6" clamps, 5x mini 6" clamps, 2x mini 12" clamps, 6x hand clamps, 2x spring clamps, and then 2x micro clamps.

So the hand clamps and the spring clamps are reasonably priced, but explain this to me: one of the tiny micro clamps costs more than one of the 6" mini clamps. A pair of 6" mini clamps costs $18 while a pair of 12" mini clamps cost $30, despite the only difference being a small amount more bar stock. These are weird peculiarities, but once you look at combo deals things get ridiculous. Example: you can get a 6" mini clamp for $13 or get four of them for $20. As I said, you can get a pair of 12" mini clamps for $30 or for $25 you can get that same pair plus a pair of 6" mini clamps plus a pair of hand clamps plus a pair of spring clamps. I think that combo deal is a Home Depot exclusive from Irwin, but its not a temporary sale price...its always available. Im not complaining here--I bought that crazy combo afterall--but it just makes no sense to me.

And finally a Public Service Announcement: anyone who has worked a project with me knows how much I detest Phillips head screws. They are a tidal wave of profanity waiting to happen. People dont realize that they are actually designed to slip (or "cam out" as its known) and once they slip, you know theyre going to strip.

Phillips screws were designed back when a lot of manufacturing was becoming automated and manufacturers needed screws that would tighten to a specific torque but no more. Thats when Phillips came in: the big assembly line machines could easily tighten lots of screws and cam out at a specific torque instead of overtightening. These days these machines have torque sensors or preset clutches that accomplish this...and yet the Phillips head is the design we Americans see the most. Im told that Germans generally use torx/star fasteners--I can verify that my wifes VW does--and that Canadians generally use Robertson drive (square). Im a big fan of both of these and try to spread the good word as much as possible. They really both have two advantages: you can apply lots of torque without fear of stripping them, and the screw stays on the driver much better so you dont need two hands to install them.

This is probably old news to many out there, but what I really wanted to share is something that I dont think many people realize: a lot of Phillips head screws out there are made to accommodate Robertson drive as well and enjoy the same benefits:

Most folks would probably attack this screw with a Phillips driver. However, look closely at the pattern and notice how its also meant to accept a #2 Robertson as well. The corners of the cross are lopped off and square driver fits perfectly in there.

Yep, stays on there really well...even with this sizable screw. No, Im not using a magnetized bit. Pretty sweet. I would also bet that with this configuration you could screw/unscrew 10 times the number of times without stripping it. Ive even been able to use Robertson bits on screws that were totally stripped 100% Phillips screws. The square bit just works better.

So do yourself a favor, buy good screws. I like Spax and Kreg.

One More Bench And Ill Scream

When Christopher Schwarz started to build his recent Roubo workbench, I thought he was nuts. I appreciated it, because I have been mulling over the bench I want to build for a couple of years now, but I still thought he was nuts. Realistically, the guy has enough workbenches to fill a barn, yet here he was, building yet another one.

What didnt dawn on me at the time, but has caught up with me since, is the fact that Chris has a sixth sense when it comes to the average woodworking hobbyists quest for knowledge. If you think this is a bit of an overstatement, check out the flood of new posts on the web about benches, many added since Chris started his latest example. It is what I call, "the Schwarz bench tsunami".

Could I read one more post about the worlds most perfect workbench?

Absolutely not!

Could I write one?

You bet!

Heres the thing, my shooting board is coming together nicely. I have almost completed the prototype for the fence adjustment which I think is pretty cool, and it should be in the mail to DAEDWoRKs sometime this week. I have asked Raney to turn the final version for me, although I think he is a little skeptical that it will work. Now that I have a working model to prove he wont be wasting his time, I am hoping we can come to an agreement for its creation. Raney does amazing work with metal, his planes being what I consider to be hands above many of the others. If I can get him to agree to build it, I know his contribution to the board will make it incredibly special.

As I now have a handle on the project at hand, I can now start to think about the next one. I have chosen to build a workbench for three reasons. The first is the most obvious, you can only work without one for so long before you start to go batty. The second reason is because of the current project. This shooting board will probably become my most used tool, but with an overall size of 30" wide by 38" deep, it is a huge sucker. It is designed to mount on its own stand, but until residences change, room for that to happen will have to wait so it, at least, needs a bench to sit on. Finally, I have been going through the processes of what I want in a workbench for at least three years now, so it is about time.

The result of all of this is...

If working on a folding WorkMate these past few years has taught me nothing, at least I have learned that no matter what, a bench needs weight. My planes and I have chased that little sucker around the room long enough, thank you very much. But how do you add weight when you dont want a huge bench? Not to mention not wanting to break the bank?

My first idea was to add storage for tools under the bench. I would think that is the quickest and most economical way to add some serious weight to anything; fill it up with what you already have. I threw this idea out the window in a heartbeat, mainly because of a bench my old man and I built years ago.

The old man got this brainwave that searching for fasteners was a waste of time, especially if you could have them right were you need them - at the bench. He came up with this design for a bunch of bins along the bench front, and when we were done building it, we had a bench with three rows of eight bins, each of which tipped out to reveal what they contained. Needed a #8 by 1 1/2 screw? No problem; middle row, forth bin from the left. It really was an ingenious system, except for one thing; every time you reached in one of those bins for a screw, nail or dowel, you came up with a hand full of sawdust and shavings. Because the bins didnt seal, every bit of trash produced on top of the bench ended up in them.

I learned very quickly to hate any bench that wasnt open to the floor as you just couldnt keep them clean. My old shop had two benches and not only were both open to the floor, but their stretchers were placed a foot off the floor so I could get the ShopVac head in to clean underneath them properly. There is nothing worse than dust-catchers in a shop.

After selling the house and moving on the boat, I inherited a whopping big bench that someone had left in the yard years earlier and it had the same arrangement; a top, four legs and four stretchers. It was a great big old thing that had sat out in that yard for years and was so full of moisture that it would never dry out, but man, it weighed a ton.

I then ended up sharing a shop with a friend. He had built his benches with a shelf under each to store everything from tools to garden paraphernalia. What a mess. You just couldnt keep anything clean, no to mention find anything.

Hence, storage under a bench was definitely out, or was it?

A month or so ago I was doing some cooking in the kitchen and grabbed a knife from the drawer. When I hit the drawer face with my hip to close it, the nickel dropped.

When I put this kitchen together, I used self-closing slides for all the drawers. Checking out the Valley site, I discovered that they sold dampeners for spring loaded doors as well. If the drawers and doors cant stay open, and they have a relatively good seal when closed, I can store tools under a bench and not have to worry about the drawers and cupboards filling up with bench top waste.

Sounds like a plan to me.

Peace,

Mitchell

Monday, February 3, 2014

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Sunday, February 2, 2014

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