A Learning Adventure in the Workshop

Blog Moving

Hello all,

I am in the process of moving this blog (and my other two websites) from Typepad to Wordpress.   I am going to try and make this move as seamless as possible, but please pardon any broken links, etc.

As long as you are getting here through www.intheworkshop.info, you should automatically see the new site when the change happens, but if you are getting here through one of the typepad.com links, you will need to update your link.

Thanks and see you on the new site in a few days!

Matt

Mr. Toad's Wild Ride

Soon after our pond was built, the wildlife moved in.

Almost immediately, Mr. Toad began living pond-side.

Soon, the kids discovered Mr. Toad.

Then the  kids helped Mr. Toad find a boat....looks relaxed, doesn't he?

Mr. Toad took a 1/2 hour ride in the boat.  Since escaping the boat, he has never been seen again.  Do you blame him?

Pond Keeping and Construction

It's been a long time again...life has kept me busy and while I have completed a variety of house projects, etc, very little woodworking has been taking place.  I hope to change that soon.

I did manage to build a decorative "pond" in our backyard with koi in it.  It is about 8000 gallons and has a rubber liner, a small waterfall, two pumps and a skimmer.  I used a natural bog filter design that should allow me to maintain the pond without chemicals...just adding natural bacteria to the pond from time to time and lots of water plants.  The pond is now three months old and we are really enjoying it.  The sound from the waterfall is really relaxing.  I will begin posting pond-keeping thougths on this blog as well.

Below are some photos of the pond from back during construction.  I will post some more recent photos of the pond fully planted and the fish soon.

Overview of the pond before planting....water was still very cloudy

Waterfall with natural bog above it for filtration (before planting)

Natural bog filter above waterfall before planting - filled with red lava rock

Hope you are all having a good summer!

 

Hisey Bells - Beautifully Handmade

I had nothing to do with making this bell other than ordering it, but I want to post a very positive note about a craftsman that hand makes bells in Ohio.  I love anything that is still made by individual craftsmen.

My wife wanted a "dinner bell" for Christmas, and I found "Hisey Bells"  through the internet and ordered a custom cast bell (6") that included our names and wedding date from way back in 1998.  The photos below are the result.  We are very pleased.  They are professional, and great to deal with and make beautiful bells.

American Girl "Stack-able" Bunk Bed Project

My six-year-old daughter got a pair of American Girl dolls for Christmas, and they needed somewhere to sleep.

So, after a little internet research I agreed to make them bunk beds, and my wife agreed to make the mattresses, pillows and quilts for the beds (I think that I got the easier job).   The photos below are the result, minus the quilts which are still in production.

I decided to make the beds out of red oak since it was easily available in the thin sizes that I needed.  They are finished with dark walnut Watco Danish Oil.

I also decided to make the beds "stack-able" so that they could be used as two twin beds, or stacked to form a bunk bed.  The stack-able bunk bed design will also allow for additional beds to be added to the top if another American Girl doll were to ever need a bed.  Note that each of the corner posts on the beds has a small square block (or tab) on top of the post that fits into a recess in the bottom of each bedpost that attaches above it, Lego-like. 

I didn't use any formal dimension or drawings for these, I just scaled them from the dolls and started cutting wood.

Below are the beds separated into their two "twin bed" format:

 

My wife made the mattresses and pillows from the scraps of one of my old oxford-style dress shirts that had become ink stained.   She is working on the quilts now, and will post them when they are complete.

In the photo below you can see that next to the beds is a "riser" level that goes between the beds when stacked to allow for more headroom for the bottom doll.

 

Below is a closer photo of the "riser" level:

All of the side rails and headboard and foot board joints are attached with mortise and tenon joints for strength.

The photo below shows the bottom bed with the riser level installed:

 

and finally, photos of the two beds and the riser level snapped together into bunk bed formation.

 

You can see the stack-able Lego-like connectors better in the photo below:

So far " my client" (my daughter) seems to like the new beds and so do her American Girl dolls, Emily and Molly!

Galoot-in-Training (GIT) Project

My son (just turned 10), has been working with me in the shop since he was very small.  This year for Christmas, he made his mom a clipboard with only safety support from me.

Using the SawStop saw (purchased so that I could teach him to use the table saw), the Dewalt planer and an assortment of hand tools including a Japanese pull saw and a couple of hand planes, he made the clipboard below.  It is made from alternating strips of maple, cherry and walnut with hardware from Rockler.  The "ruler" on the bottom of the clipboard was his idea and it is made from a scrap piece of ebony.  He engraved the inscription on the top of the board and the ruler marks with my Turbo Carver high-speed engraver. Great tool by the way...I should post on that sometime.  The finish is Danish Oil.

My wife uses a clipboard everyday to manage the complex schedules of two school kids, so she will get a lot of use from this.

If you don't know what a Galoot-in-Training (GIT) is, join the OldTools email list.   Basically, it refers to the younger generation of woodworkers that we should all be bringing up into this great hobby.  I am a strong believer that kids should learn to use tools and get their hands dirty, in addition to learning about the computers, etc of the modern world.   The true "Galoots" on the email list might insist that I should only be teaching hand-tool methods for my son to be a real "GIT", but I have a broader definition of the term.

I hope that he continues to grow in this hobby and enjoy it as much as I do. 

I recently noticed a post from Matt Gabardi about his concept for a "Legacy Guild"  and I think that the concept is very interesting.  Maybe it is the similarity in our Italian roots, but the concept resonates with me.  To quote  the Guild's goal from Matt's website:  "Create a forum or blog for people who love woodworking and want to share this joy with their kids and grandkids."  A good goal.  

By the way, Matt's  infill planes are absolutely amazing.  Go see them.

 

The good, the bad and the ugly (online vendors)

Every year I do most of my holiday shopping via online vendors, and this year I think I did 100% of it online.

I always have mixed results with online stores, with some exceeding expectations and some failing miserably.  This year, I thought that I would post a few results to possibly benefit the good vendors and encourage the poor ones to improve.  After all, if enough if us post the poor vendors, maybe they will come up in searches and warn away other victims (I mean customers). 

These are not all workshop related vendors, but several are included in the list.

For 2009....

The GOOD (definitely use these vendors)

Amazon.com - Year after year, Amazon has provided me with good service at good prices.  This year was no exception.  Many orders, many good results. They also carry many tools (mostly power tools), and I have purchased both full-size floor-mounted shop tools through Amazon as well as smaller tools all with good results.  Sure, they advertise on this site, but this review is still the truth.

LeeValley.com - Oh how I love Leevalley.com, let me count the ways.  Great tools, great people, good prices, fast shipping...buy stuff now! (I get no advertising or any other support from Lee Valley, although I should).

ArtisticHobbies.com - Good, prompt service and friendly staff.  They bailed me out when bananahobby.com (listed under bad, below) left me hung-out-to-dry with 5 days till Christmas.  Buy from here, not from Banana (the name should have tipped me off).

The BAD (Do not use these vendors)

Bananahobby.com  - I knew nothing about this hobby store before I placed an order...never do that.  They came up in a Google search for a particular item that I wanted to buy my son for Christmas (radio controlled vsTank...super cool and highly recommended!).  In stock and ready to ship with more than two weeks to go till Christmas.  Soon after I placed an order, I got an email from UPS saying "manifest received" and looking like it was shipping...so, I happily assumed that it was about to ship.  It did not.  5 days before Christmas, I got an email saying that one item in my order was back-ordered.  Did the rest of the order ship?  Couldn't tell.  The 1-800 phone number says that they don't answer the phone during the Holidays, web-chat support only.  Wait on web chat for 30 minutes.  Find out that, no, they had not shipped any of my order and now I had to pay for expedited shipping if I want anything to arrive before Christmas...I paid it only reluctantly since it was Bananahobby's mistake, and not mine.  I also paid for expedited shipping at another store's website to get the item that was not available at Bananahobby in time for Christmas.   I did a search on Banana Hobby complaints too late to help me, and found out that my experience with them was typical. 

Finally, when the item arrived, it was broken and had obviously been opened before shipping. I am still fighting with them to resolve.  They do not respond to emails or to chat messages.

Do not use!

If you want a vsTank, buy from ArtisticHobbies.com above instead(note that Artistic Hobbies is not paying me and I am in no way involved with them).

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 disappointment 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.