A Learning Adventure in the Workshop

Suggested Improvements for SawStop Contractor Saw

I love my newish SawStop contractor saw, but there are a couple of things that I would improve.  They are very minor though.

1.    The dust collection is OK, but not as good as it was on my old Dewalt hybrid table saw.  A lot of dust is ejected out from around the blade, even with the zero-clearance insert and a good 4" dust collection system attached.

2.    The clear plastic blade guard is very thin, and can be accidentally pushed sideways into the blade if given light lateral pressure at its toe end.  It just scrapes the blade, and does not get cut, but it should not be able to be pushed so easily into the blade in my opinion. Since the guard is plastic, it does not trigger the safety system.

3.    When done for the day, I have repeatedly forgotten to turn off the power switch that powers up the blade safety system...this probably doesn't matter much other than lost energy usage, but it seems like the system ought to "fall-asleep" automatically if the saw is not used for a period of time.

Again, these are minor and I would buy the saw again in an instant.

Dewalt 733 Planer RIP

The new belt for the planer came on Friday  and I installed it into the machine (see photo in previous post).  The good news is that the belt was easy to install. The bad news is that it lasted for under five minutes.

I ran about 3 passes through the planer and I noticed that it was making odd noises as I went.  After a couple of minutes, the new belt shredded and the machine sounded like it was going to fly apart.

After removing the cover again, and looking closer at the lower belt pulley, I noticed that the shaft for the pulley was bent.  Apparently this is why both the first and second belts blew...the real root of the problem.

It appears that this repair would take replacement of the entire blade assembly...cost prohibitive on a ten year old machine.  So, it looks like I am in the market for a replacement. 

Normally I would celebrate the need to buy a new tool, but somehow lunchbox planers are just not that exciting.  They do what they need to do, and that is about all.

Dewalt Planer Belt Replacement

My 10 year old Dewalt DW733 thickness planer decided to consume it's motor belt this weekend. 

I was thicknessing some cherry stock for a sideboard that I am building when the planer began to make a loud clunking noise.   A few minutes later it spit chunks of  partially melted beige rubber out at me and stopped cutting.

The side cover of the planer was easily removed, and I can find nothing wrong other than the disintegrated belt.  I ordered a new one from Dewalt ($27), and hopefully that will fix the machine when it comes in.  

Until then, the project will have to go on hold.

 

Photo above is the unit with the side off and new belt installed.

Colorful Wrenches

This weekend I used my box-end wrenches on a project in the yard, and as usual I put them away in a big pile in my "wrench drawer".  After thinking about it, I wrapped each wrench handle with a small piece of colored electrical tape...red for SAE and blue for metric.

Now,  at least I can quickly tell English from metric wrenches in the pile in the drawer.

TS-Aligner, Jr. added to the shop

To help with the calibration of my new SawStop, I invested in a table saw alignment tool.

After doing a lot of internet and magazine research, I purchased a TS-Aligner, Jr.  from Ed Bennett via his website.  Ed makes these tools himself, and the fit, finish and accuracy is excellent.  The included instructions and DVD are also very good.  It is a bit pricey, but for the quality of the tool, I think that it was worth it.  The TS-Aligner also seems to be more versatile than many other similar products (you can use it to align a lot more than table saws), and it also has some unique features that I think work better than other methods.

It was easy to learn to use, and my saw is now calibrated much more accurately than I would have been able to achieve without it.

Calibration and alignment of woodworking tools is a lot like sharpening for me.  I did not realize how important either of these skills was when I began woodworking, but after time and experience, I've learned that they are necessary evils if you want to be successful.

SawStop Contractor's Saw

My shop is once again "open for business".

After months and months of house renovation, and other delays and distractions, the workshop is once again clean and organized enough to actually work on projects other than home improvement work.  I can't wait!

The biggest change to the shop during this long dry-spell was the addition of a new SawStop Contractors saw, fully fitted out with extra cast iron wings, 36" fence, mobile base, etc to convert it into a hybrid-like saw.   I got this saw as combination birthday/father's day gift and it has taken me another month to get it assembled and calibrated (just an available time issue, it was easy to assemble and calibrate).   I will post more on the SawStop as I begin to use it in earnest, but so far I love it.  Fit and finish is top-notch.  I like the power and nice clean cuts.

I will miss my old Dewalt 746 hybrid table saw (soon to be for sale on Craig's List).  It was a great saw that I would not have replaced for any saw except for a SawStop.  The Dewalt did everything that I asked of it, but I did not want to teach my 9-year-old son to use a table saw on anything but a SawStop...so that Dewalt needed to be retired.

"Woodwork" Magazine Discontinued

Apparently, our hobby lost a great magazine this month. 

"Woodwork" magazine, had been sold during 2008 to a new owner, and issued an excellent just-like-old-times "new" issue under its new owner a few months ago...but , NOW it is fully dead.  A letter from the publisher indicates that unforeseen problems have occurred, and that the recently restarted publication has been permanently discontinued.

The letter further stated that my paid-up subscription to "Woodwork" has been converted to "American Woodworker" , a sister publication of the parent company.  Yuck...

Woodwork had personality and depth of content.  It was unique and worthwhile, and had content for woodworkers of all levels and styles.  American Woodworker is an also-ran at best, and clearly targeted at beginning woodworkers.  Not at all an equal substitution. Oh well, my subscription will run out soon. I'll give it an issue or two to see if it improves or is influenced by the old Woodwork.

Over the years, I have subscribed to basically all of the major woodworking magazines and I have developed definite favorites.

Hands down, my favorite is Woodworking Magazine.  No advertising, great content. Worth every penny.

Woodworking Magazine's sister publication "Popular Woodworking", is my second favorite.  By far the best of the "general" woodworking magazines.

A distant third is "Fine Woodworking"...it is a very good publication, but seems to me to have lost its personality in recent years.  It is a bit too polished, a bit too Martha-Stewart-perfect.  It seems almost formulaic to me.  But, I still like it, and learn from it.

All of the rest of the mainstream woodworking magazines, are only OK at best.  I still get several of them, but usually can read them cover to cover in under an hour.

"A Marquetry Odyssey: Historical Objects and Personal Work" by Silas Kopf

I recently met Silas Kopf at  a local book signing event.  I was fascinated with Silas' marquetry work already (from magazine articles), but his new book  "A Marquetry Odyssey: Historical Objects and Personal Work" is rich with color photos of his work and the historic work of others in the field of marquetry.  This is one of my new favorite woodworking books.  It is partly about Silas and his work and career, but equally a primer on the history of the craft.   Silas knows his stuff, both historically and with his tools.  Plus, he was a very open and personable guy.

More images, etc here at his website.

I have yet to try my hand at marquetry, but it is now high on my list of techniques with which to experiment.  Click on the image below for more info on the book.

Worksharp 3000 Wide Blade Attachment

For those of you that have the Worksharp 3000 Sharpening Center, I highly recommend that you invest in the new  Worksharp Wide Blade Attachment  .  I got it for Christmas, and have really put it through its paces since then.

This attachment resolves my only significant dissappointment with the Worksharp 3000...that it could not sharpen blades wider than 2".    With this attachment, you can sharpen blades up to 3" in width, more than enough for all normal plane blades and chisels.

The attachment is solid and well-made, and once it is installed and adjusted so that it is perfectly in-plane with the top of the rotating disk, it is quick and easy to use.

A bit overpriced for what it is, but worth it in the long run.  Highly recommended. 

Woodworking Drought

We've been remodeling our kitchen, and the way that our house is laid out, it has made access to my shop more or less impossible for the past couple of months.

In addition, the demolition of the old kitchen in our 104 year old house has generated an enormous amount of black grit and dust that has settled across all of my tools.

My hope is that by Christmas day the kitchen will be largely completed and I can begin to recover the work shop.  See you then!

Woodworking in America 2008 Conference, Berea, KY

Last week I got to attend the "first" annual (I hope) "Woodworking in America" Conference sponsored by Popular Woodworking Magazine and held in Berea, KY.  Click on the image below to see the conference website and details.

Probably, many of you were there, or have already read a lot about the show, so I will not go into any great detail other than to say it was "FANTASTIC".   If you can go next year.  DO IT!

The presenters, vendors and the attendees were some of the nicest people that you will meet, and it was a rare occasion to spend time with people that are even crazier about this stuff than I am.  A veritable army (or maybe  feeding frenzy) of hand tool nuts.

Someone mentioned that the conference organizers might be considering doing either a bigger show next year, or several around the country.  My vote would be for them to do several smaller shows (no bigger than this year and charge more if they need to) around the country, if those are the two options.  One of the best things about the conference was that it was a manageable size and attendees got to interact personally with many of the presenters and vendors.  A larger show would make that harder.   Also, the hands-on sessions (that everyone wanted) were hard enough to get into as it was.

I know that the organizers need to balance this with the economics of the conference, and I will likely attend again either way.  But I like the conference smaller and am willing to pay a higher entrance fee for it.

It was great to meet many of you last week in person and I hope to see you at the show again next year!

Roubo/Holtzapffel-Hybrid Bench Complete!

I finished the Roubo/Holtzapffel-hybrid bench inspired by Chris Schwarz's book this past weekend.  The bench is made from southern yellow pine and a collection of other wood types from off-cuts, etc.   The front vise jaws, 2" plane stop, and deadman are mahogany, the shelf dowels are walnut, the end vise jaws are maple, the left-end plane stop is oak, etc...whatever I could scrounge up for each step.  This bench is designed to be USED, so I was not worried about matching.

It is basically the French Roubo-style bench that I modified by adding the sliding deadman, a Veritas twin-screw vise  (24" between centers, 42" overall) and a 1/2 length tool tray.  The end-vise is a Groz metal vise.   I cut the slot into the bottom of the front, left leg in case I ever want to switch to a leg vise.   I drilled dog-holes into the bottom shelf for storage of dog devices under the bench (see below the front vise).

Notice the Chris Schwarz designed plane stop on this end of the bench.  Loosen the screws and raise the plane-stop board to the desired height.  The screws ride is a T-track mounted in to the end of the bench top.

Above is the metal end-vise.  Notice the tool tray slots to the right.  The bottom of the tool tray slides out this side for cleaning.

Better view of the tool tray.  Both vises are through-bolted for strength.  Those are the bolts in the bottom left.  Note the only knot that I did not manage to bury in the bench top somewhere, visible next to the bolts.

This is how the tool tray bottoms (two pieces) slide out for cleaning. They can be completely removed.

The bench is finished with two coats of Danish Oil that will be renewed as needed.

All joints are doweled together for extra strength (some are draw-bored and some are not).

I really like the 2"-square plane stop block insert into the bench top above.  It can be moved up and down as needed.  It is held in place by friction alone.

On its own four feet

This past weekend I mounted the legs into the massive mortises that I had cut into the workbench top.   My wife and eight year old son then helped me to "flip" the giant, heavy beast onto its feet.

Next step is to plane and install the under-shelf material, make the sliding deadman and vise chops and install the twin-screw front vise.  After that, drill the dog holes and other work holding, flatten the top and its complete.

I think that I am about a week and a half  away from completion.

Bench Legs

Over the past weekend I planed and fully laminated the wood for the 5" x 5" x 32" legs for the bench. Each leg is made up of four 1.25" boards laminated together, with massive 2.5" tenons on the top end for attachment with the underside of the bench top. After the glue dried, I jointed and planed the laminated leg blocks to final dimension.

Additionally, I made the front and rear stretchers.  The front stretcher has a beveled top edge so that it can act as the lower track for the eventual sliding deadman attachment.

Next, I will make the side stretchers, and design some sort of support at the attachment point for the right rear leg's mortise and tenon joint, since that leg will have to deal with the tool tray location that I added to this design.  I have some ideas for this, but have settled on the final design yet.  I hope to do these items tonight.

No photos recent, because our digital camera is missing.  I hope to be able to post some soon.

Progress on the Bench Project

Slow but sure progress on my Roubo-like workbench project.

The bench top is now "complete" and fully laminated to 24" by 92" long.  I decided to go with a 1/2 length tool tray on the back of the bench.   I couldn't commit to a full length tool tray, but also did not want to exclude one.  I figure that this way, I will have the full bench width in front of the front vise, and the tray to the right, where I tend to stow and reach for tools anyway. The tool try has a sliding bottom (divided into two sections) that can slide out of the bench to the right, so as to allow for easy dumping of wood chips.  The tool tray bottom is 1/4" plywood that runs in 1/4" slots that I routed into the sides of the tool tray with a 1/4" slot-cutting bit in the router.  Photos coming soon.

I have also purchased the twin-screw Veritas vise as my future front vise, and a standard 9" Groz quick-release vise as my tail vise.  These will be stored until the bench is finished.

Last night I managed to plane all of the wood for the bench's legs to final thickness.  Four of these boards will be laminated into each 5" x 5" leg.   I hope to begin the leg lamination glue-ups tonight, or this weekend.

A little more information on the "Pilliod" tool chest and company

I received a nice email from a relative of the Pilliod family today with the following information:

"What you have is a Tool Chest made by the Pilliod Cabinet/Furniture Company of Swanton, Ohio. I have seen a few listed on Ebay but not in the good condition that yours looks to be in. Although related to the Pilliod family I know very little about the cabinet company. I do know that they sold jewelry boxes, silverware chests and the tool chests you have. The company is no longer in operation. It was to my knowledge owned by T.J. Pilliod and passed down to his children. I do not know if T.J Pilliod was the original owner of the company or if his ancestors started it. As for the tools in the chest I don’t believe they came with the tool chest. Hope this helps."

Workbench like a ship-in-a-bottle

Building my new workbench with a 8' laminated top in my tight, low-ceiling basement is a bit like building a ship-in-a-bottle.

Cutting, jointing and planing the 10' rough boards for the workbench's top within the low ceiling and vertical steel support posts ends up being a real dance (similar to my post about long clamps).

Funny how building this new bench that will allow me to use more hand-tool techniques has required more power tools than any project that I have done lately.  LOTS of ripping and planing.

I can't say that this project is a lot of fun (although it is not difficult or complex), but I look forward to the end result.

Disston No. 2 Saw Vise

A few weeks ago I purchased an old Disston No. 2 hand saw sharpening vise on eBay (circa 1890-ish, I think).   It was in reasonably good shape, but was rusted and had not been used in a long, long time.

I sanded and filed off the rust, repainted the vise and oiled the moving parts.  The photos below are the result.  Unfortunately I forgot to take any "before" photos.

 

I have never actually sharpened a hand saw yet...that is a skill that I intend to learn later this year.  In the meantime, the vise is now ready.

Shop Made Drawbore Pins

The laminated wood top for my new woodworking bench is coming along well (but slowly). 

In preparation for eventually joining the legs of the workbench to the top,  I made myself a set of drawboring pins this weekend.  I intend to experiment with drawboring these joints for maximum strength and durability.

My drawbore pins are based on Chris Schwarz's "Drawboring Resurrected" article on the WKFinetools website here:  http://www.wkfinetools.com/contrib/cSchwarz/z_art/drawBoring/drawBoring4.asp

As Chris recommended,  I bought a cheap set of  "alignment tools"  from Sears.  Sears sells an eight-piece set of punches and alignment tools under its "Companion” brand ($6 total).  Two of the eight tools are alignment pins that can be modified into drawbore pines.  The model number of the set was #30130.

I followed the directions in the article, and using some scrap mahogany from the desk project, I came up with these:

One small and one large.  Slight tapered and hex handles to make it easier to "torque" the tools when using them.

I'll try them out on the workbench in a week or two.

 

At last! Good hardwood charcoal is Pittsburgh!!!

Another BBQ post...

Pittsburghers rejoice!  GFS Marketplace in Robinson Town Center (next to Costco)  is carrying the USA-made version of Royal Oak brand hardwood lump charcoal!  Royal Oak is rated "highly recommeded" by the charcoal guru the Nakedwhiz.

I have not been able to find half-way decent hardwood charcoal in Pittsburgh anywhere till now.  All that we could get here is Kingsford (no thanks) and Cowboy (burns too hot for me, but OK for grilling - not smoking).  I was actually mail-ordering charcoal, which I think is ridiculous.

Everyone run out to GFS and buy the Royal Oak so that they continue to carry it.  I bought three 20 lb bags yesterday to get me through the next couple of months.