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Posted by
chun
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11:16 PM
Labels:
australia,
updates,
Woodworking
Bob Wiseman from Ulverstone, Tasmania just completed his first box, all made with Aussie wood! It consists of Huon Pine mitred sides, with a Blackwood veneered lid and River Red Gum keys and removable divider. Beautiful wood. Nice work Bob!
*****
Now, Paul Homes in Perth, Western Australia tells me it is not a very comfortable time to be working in the shop. Check out these temps. (38 C is the same as 100 F.) Yep, there are guys in Minnesota right now having the same problem with their shops being too uncomfortable to work in!
*****
Mere Minutes
Handy Australian table saw jig from Warren
Posted by
chun
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12:33 PM
Labels:
and,
bamboo,
building,
mallets,
many,
Woodworking
Ive been building a shishi-odoshi this week with that bamboo I picked up from my sons school last month. It is proving to be more difficult that I thought it would be. Lots of fussiness. I should have it and the video done by Friday. Heres where I was with it last night. Then I had to think about it overnight.
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After I posted my garden gate video, a few people sent me great examples of gates they have made. But I think this is my favorite. From
Romano Bertarelli in Germany, this one speaks for itself!
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Wait, more mallets? Sure, why not. If you havent jumped on that bandwagon yet, try one! Im tellin ya...youll find all sorts of uses for it.
Heres one from my pal
Brian Gidney: And Bruce Thoms version:
Now Bruce has also been busy making boxes. Check out this bandsaw box...only his second one. Very cool.
*****
Larry Briski made a couple of projects based on videos I posted eons ago. A beautiful jewelry box:
And a drill press table! Out of all the home-made shop upgrades and jigs I have made, noting is more useful than my drill press table. I highly recommend building yourself one!
*****
Now Daniel DeKeyser is a very busy 17-year-old woodworker who has made not just a mallet:
But the drill press table too!
A table saw sled,
and a router lift for a router he doesnt have yet! Wow. Thats ambitious!
.
Posted by
chun
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8:14 AM
Labels:
a,
build,
cookbook,
stand,
Woodworking
All cookbooks should be spiral bound for ease of use. Same goes for woodworking books that wont lie open when you are trying to follow a plan. I suppose the main drawback for publishers is that a spiral-bound book cant display its title while on a bookshelf.
Usually I end up setting a heavy object on the open book to keep it open while Im using it. Of course, this eventually ruins the binding.
So a few weeks ago Ryan Mackey posted a picture on Facebook of a cookbook stand he made. This immediately got me thinking about building one of my own to finally put an end to my frustration.
Heres my version. It solves the problem of spring-loaded books and it keeps them upright at an easier angle to read.
Read More..
Posted by
chun
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8:12 AM
Labels:
and,
barrel,
planter,
plus,
preview,
project,
table,
windmill,
Woodworking
A few of the many viewer photos posted on the WWMM Facebook page this past week.
*****Check out this incredible set Doug DeYoung made from an oak wine barrel. I can totally imagine a bunch of these made for a bar or restaurant.
I love how Ivan Parrish made the "bricks" in this windmill planter by scoring lines with an angle grinder before assembly.
Moving on to shop projects, heres a storage idea from Eric Johnson and a great way to store saw blades.
And finally a couple of small, clever projects. Lyndon Hare made these drink coasters from two different types of oak with mahogany inlays, the stand has an oak bottom and lilac sides. Love natural-edge projects.
Heres a simple cookbook/iPad stand Chad Fry made for his wife. The wood burning gives it a lot of character. Its a flexible design: I recently saw something similar used as a ukulele stand!
*****
Project preview
Heres a sneak peak of what to expect tomorrow. Yes, it was painful to apply those blue and green colors!
Posted by
chun
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|
1:19 AM
Labels:
a,
box,
lid,
on,
sliding,
Woodworking,
working
I finished up a sliding lid box this weekend. Its funny, because I was originally going to make this using a router for the inside. Unfortunately, my router bit wouldnt dig deep enough, so I decided to cut it out on the band saw. Then I decided to use a scroll saw, so I could avoid cutting the entry point that would require gluing.
Well, I screwed up a key part cutting the lid and ended up having to make the box much shallower. I could have done it on the router to begin with! I like the way the lid works out, though. Video on Friday.
Posted by
chun
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|
12:12 AM
Labels:
and,
clamps,
inspiration,
made,
projects,
shop,
Woodworking
In what has to be a record,
Neil Buchan made a secret-compartment pencil holder hours after I posted the video! Can you guess he made it for his daughter?
*****
Ty Lam, from Boston, is just getting started on woodworking but starting out big. Check out some of his work. This is a really beautiful table made out of 2x4s and scrap marble. He even had a go at my candle holder.
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If you do any woodworking, you will make picture frames. And as soon as you start, requests for more will never end! Les Cain has been cranking out lots of versions of my simple picture frame. Those are his grandkids, CJ and Hope.
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Mere Minutes
Dave Rutan sent me a shop-made clamp. Its very clever and looks pretty simple to make. Plus, you can make is with scrap lumber...a lot cheaper than buying clamps. (Seen how much clamps are lately? Ouch.) Dave was also kind enough to write up instructions on how to make your own!
Here are a couple of PDFs:
How to make the bar clamp
An improved spinner for the clamp
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Wanted to share this quick video from Johnny and Joe, who entered my video contest. (That a 1950s Craftsman bandsaw they showed in their video entry. Pretty cool.) But mostly, kids like these are further indication that the future is not a bleak as some of us old guys want to believe. Thanks gentlemen.
Read More..
Posted by
chun
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11:12 PM
Labels:
uk,
usa,
vs,
Woodworking
God makes work for idle hands...
My favourite tool manufacturer is Lie Nielson basically because those few tools I have purchased so far have been amazing both in quality, initial set up and overall performance.
A stark contrast to the new Stanley Planes (a no#6 & no#4), I bought only a few months ago back in August. I wish I had realised that Stanley was no longer a quality name in tools - Oh well, lesson learnt.
So ... Looking forward to tools I may buy in the future, the shopping bill rises very quickly after only a small number of tools. I decided to compare the cost of Lie Nielsen tools in the USA to here in the UK.
Exchange rates were calculated using XE Prices were obtained from the Lie Nielsen website and the Axminster Tools (Lie Nielsen UK distributor) website.
| Product | USA Lie Nielsen | UK Axminster |
| Dowel Plate | $50.00 | £43.50 |
| 5pc Chisel Set (O1 steel) | $340.00 | £239.00 |
| 2 x Mortise Chisels (1/4, 1/2) | $130.00 | £113.00 |
| Lie Nielsen no#5 Plane | $325.00 | £282.95 |
| High Angle Frog for no#5 | $75.00 | £65.00 |
| Spare Plane Blade for no#5 | $40.00 | £34.80 |
| Lie Nielsen no#7 Plane | $425.00 | £369.95 |
| Totals | $1385.00 (£887.93) | £1148.20 ($1790.73) |
| 1 GBP = 1.55960 USD | | 1 USD = 0.641189 GBP @ 02.12.2011
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Holy Cow! ... In the UK we pay £260.27 or $405.97 more than our American friends. Thats a huge difference for a small handful of tools!
Basically in the US, the no#7 (almost) becomes a 2for1 deal!
Anyone coming to the UK from the US anytime soon?....
Read More..
Posted by
chun
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8:13 PM
Labels:
a,
coat,
make,
rack,
shaker,
style,
Woodworking
Well sure its still summer. What better time to prepare for winter?
This is a good woodworking project to consider for the three day Labor Day weekend. Its a Shaker inspired coat rack thats surprisingly simple to make. I used pre-made Shaker pegs on mine, but if you have a lathe and feel extra creative, make your own.
I added some small drawers to this one: prefect for storing keys. If you dread the tedium of making drawers, Ive got a simple method to make all four at once.
Read More..
Posted by
chun
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6:05 PM
Labels:
dust,
extraction,
router,
table,
Woodworking
My regular Mere Mortals video will be Sunday this week. So it gave me some time to shoot an update to the router table and lift, now that Ive had over a week to work on it.
Missing an opportunityIve spoken to Shop Notes (August Home Publishing) and they have no desire or interest in offering project plans online. Its kind of odd, but their reasoning is that putting plans online would cheapen them because people would be distributing them willy-nilly all over the place. (I guess people wanting to sell pirated versions havent thought of just scanning the magazine?)
Even stranger is that they have no plans for any online presence for Shop Notes. (Other than the "brochure" that now exists.) You cant even buy the last issue (with the router lift) anywhere. Shop Notes is not even on Facebook! Is it possible for any business to survive without some sort of online component? Especially a business whose sole means of income is printed material through snail mail. Weird.
A good router lift drawingAt any rate, Bruce Beatty took the time to design and offer this SketchUp drawing of a router lift that is quite similar to the one I made for my table. If you are interested in making that lift, check it out. If you have these plans and follow along with my video, it should be pretty simple. Thanks a bunch Bruce!
Dust extraction testsI ran a few very unsophisticated tests on the dust extraction on my router table. (And yes, every time I look at this picture I think of cookies!)
Mainly what I discovered is that most of the sawdust produced by my router lands on top of the table rather than falling below. My conclusion is that having dust extraction on the fence is very useful, but does little in the cabinet.
Of course, the cabinet could be redesigned in a way that would direct sawdust to the port. An extractor with more power than my ShopVac might also be better. As it is now, Ill just hand vacuum the inside of the cabinet.
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Teds stolen plans revealedFinally, I wanted to give you an update on Teds Woodworking. Jim Barry at Copyrighters Sharing Information has a complete list of all the plans Ted is selling and from where they are stolen. For what its worth, there arent 16,000 plans, as advertised. Only about 2,300. Cant believe Ted would lie to us.
Anyway, definitely check out this PDF. It will give you a little bit of insight into the vast web of shenanigans known as "Ted".
Posted by
chun
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12:46 PM
Labels:
1907,
manual,
woodturning,
Woodworking
As a follow up to yesterdays coping saw jig, Tim posted this on Facebook:
This is a page from 200 Original Shop Aids & Jigs for Woodworkers By Rosario Capotosto isbn 0-8069-8929-7 (c)1983 that shows the coping saw jig in use. Notice how it is clamped to the work bench. So if you dont have a scroll saw, there still is a way to cut small wood items. Enjoy.
But wait, it gets better! Tim also sent over a
PDF of a great woodturning manual from 1907: Elementary Turning, by Frank Henry Selden. Its a fascinating 208 page book that actually has some really good techniques and ideas we can still use today. Download it and check it out.
But the best part about the book is the pictures! Here are some of my favorites. I love the ties.
Read More..
Posted by
chun
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11:46 AM
Labels:
and,
book,
holder,
paper,
recommendation,
towel,
Woodworking
Looking for a simple project for this weekend? Check out these paper towel holders
Jim Jarvis built. I think the rod just wedges into the base hole.
*****
I picked up a cool book at the library yesterday I wanted to tell you about:
American Woodworkers The Great Book of Woodworking Tips. It is packed with all sorts of handy tips to try out in your shop. Every article is super short. Hey, great bathroom reader!
Mere Minutes
Posted by
chun
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5:55 AM
Labels:
a,
and,
boards,
hearts,
horse,
Woodworking
Nighthawk sent over a picture of his version of my bent-wood Valentine candy box. He says it was a good way to earn bonus points with his wife and justify tool purchases. Read more about it on his blog.
*****
Over on Facebook,
Mark Martinez posted his heart. His first attempt at bent lamination.
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Bill Wilson, always in the shop, tried his hand at his first cutting board. Since Ive made my first, family members are putting in requests for Christmas!
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Wanted to also show off some very creative pieces by
Vincent Fulton that remind me of highly stylized cutting boards!
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Finally, I wanted to show you a new woodworker making videos. This is 10-year-old Matthew Agate from Placentia, Newfoundland Canada, who built a rocking horse as part of Marc Spagnuolos Woodworkers Fighting Cancer charity build. A lot of people built these horses, but Matthew has to be the youngest. Nice work Matthew! Looking forward to more videos.
Read More..
