I found a new woodworker on YouTube

This guy is my new woodworking hero! I cant wait until I have some free time to just sit there and watch all of his videos. http://www.youtube.com/user/lgosseuxdbois

Read More..

Before getting to the OSB, I fastened the XPS panels to prevent them from shifting. I secured each of the 2 x 8 XPS panels with two (2) Tapcons into the underlying concrete floor. Thats not enough for permanent attachment, but since Id be attaching the OSB through the XPS, it only needed to be attached enough to hold still while I installed it. I started every other row of XPS with a half sheet so that though there were many joints where three (3) panels met, there were no four (4) panel joints.

The corded PC impact driver burnt out after
driving about 2 dozen Tapcons.

After the XPS, I installed the 3/4" tongue and groove OSB. I used a half sheet of OSB on every other row also to achieve the same 3 panel joints. Each sheet of OSB was fastened through the XPS into the concrete with 18 tapcons in a 4-3-4-3-4 patten, installed along the factory markings which are painted on the OSB to help identify where the framing is for typical installations. This left me with a floor fastened every 1.7’ on center. It shouldn’t be going anywhere.

Its beginning to look like a floor.

With the XPS installed to 7-1/2” from the garage door and the OSB installed to 12” from the edge of the XPS I called it a day on installing the floor. I has hoped to also make the threshold which will fit in the 7-1/2” space, but I realized too late that my planer was stuck in my living room, surrounded by the other workshop paraphernalia.

The next morning, after I picked up my new jointer, I began the long task of loading all of the tools into the shop by myself. By the time my wife got home in the early afternoon, the only thing left in the living room was my work bench.

Reloaded with the contents of my shop.

Though I still need to build the threshold and tie it into the OSB I’ve spent the few weeks since the floor was installed coloring the walls and setting the shop back up. In that time, I’ve already come to appreciate how nice working on the new floor is. When I step from the concrete at the door to the OSB I can immediately feel how firm and soft the new floor is.

Though I’m far from finished, it’s absolutely delightful to be able to reach a

Read More..

Dylans Clock Stand

Last Saturday my son displayed his art in a show with his art class at the Central Park Zoo. It was a well received show and outside of heat, it was a wonderful day. My frame was actually well received, sloppy corners an all. Luckily though, I was able to make a second piece to help display his art and this one came out much nicer.

Dylans art show display

One of his three (3) dimensional projects was a clock. It’s a collage of clocks glued onto a box, with a round porthole cut out to reveal a clock face inside also.

Since the clock just sits on whatever you put it, I was asked to make a clock stand.

Initially I was going to make a low stand with ornate feet. As the deadline approached I was looking through The Complete Illustrated Guide to Furniture & Cabinet Construction. After thumbing through the section on feet and basically deciding on making a rounded base with mitered legs, I then flipped through the cabinet on stand section. I occurred to me that I could make a tall stand for the clock rather than a stubby one.

With that idea in my head, I went out to the shop and started milling legs and aprons. I was making a tiny shaker table to hold the clock.

Should I clean my table saw blade.

I won’t go into too much detail on the table, as there are many resources online for making a shaker end table (I’d personally recommend the Shaker End Table Woodwhisperer Guild Project).

The one thing that I was rather pleased about regarding the table construction was the mitered frame is used as a top to hold the Clock. After having issues cutting miters on my table saw with my Incra jig, I chose to make these on my miter saw. When I cut a test piece and held it against a japanese miter square I have, I was pleasantly surprised to find the miter saw was perfect. I cut all eight miter cuts on the miter saw and the frame came together 100% gap free.

The finished clock stand with the clock atop.

Perfect miters right off the miter saw.

Read More..

Woodworking Bench II My Bench Now and Future

This is a guest post by Chris Adkins of High Rock Woodworking.  It originally appeared at highrockwoodworking.com.  Feel free to check back there for more of Chriss woodworking rambling.

My Current Workbench

Like many woodworkers my two-car garage is my workshop but unfortunately I have not convinced my wife to permanently give up her side.  So I have my shop bench and tools set up on one side and have to pull her car out to actually work.

Because of the space restrictions everything in my shop needs to multi task.  If I had space to designate an area just for my workbench I would really enjoy the process of building a traditional English style woodworking bench, although I would probably go with a more American style top without the tool well. 

But for now I have adapted my workbench to the few and what I consider necessities.  For my bench top I used a solid 2/0x6/8 birch door with 4”x4” steel legs held together by 1”x1” steel welded together to form the frame.

The top is mounted on the frame and I attached a birch skirt.  The steel frame is probably a bit of overkill but I wanted a solid base to ensure that I have no movement when working.  I have also installed a shoulder vice and bench dog holes. 

Shaker Style Woodworking Bench

Based on my workbench there are several things that I would do again and several that I would change.  I like the base and will probably use it again only needing to build a top when I “upgrade” my workbench.  I also like the width, you will notice most woodworking benches are narrow, I alchoices thought that I would want a wider bench but the 24” width I have now is perfect.  A wider bench would not allow me to work all around my work.

The solid core door has served me well but it does have its restrictions, I have to be extra careful as the top is a veneer and almost any liquids on the top can destroy the thin veneer. 

Tail Vice

As for change I would definitely go with a double screw shoulder vice, the single screw shoulder vice that I have does not provide even pressure when clamping on one end and I often have to use spacer blocks at the other end to even the pressure.  I would also add a tail vise as my woodworking develops I find that I spend more time jointing and planing my boards by hand.  A tail vise would allow me many more options for securing the boards and my work.  With my current top it was not feasible to install a tail vice but it is difficult to clamp long boards for planing.     

In the end I will close the same choice as I opened in part one of this series, the perfect woodworking bench is what works best for you and your situation.  If I had all the time, space, and resources I would probably have a woodworking bench that looked like something belonging to inspector gadget but for now I am happy to continue to improve on what I have and have fun doing it.

Keep on woodworking!

Chris Adkins

Read More..

A video on how to make a handy cubby shelf

One of my projects for this year is to make a wide bookshelf in the kids playroom.  I want to incorporate some drawers in the bottom and some cubbies in the middle with shelves on top.  This is a good plan for the cubbies.

I’m not the biggest fan of YouTube, but I will say that it’s ubiquity means that it is where I consume most of my internet video. With the advent of the ChromeCast, watching YouTube on my flat screen has now become the absolute easiest choice to consume video in my living room.

YouTube is also nice because it’s easy to watch in my shop on a mobile device and it’s easy to share via embedded video here on the blog.

This announcement means that it’s even easier to watch +Marc Spagnuolo. Now that the entire Wood Whisperer catalog will be available, I’ll be able to watch even more.Dont forget about the +Modern Woodworkers Association Podcast. We talk woodworking with Guests from around the world of woodworking every other week. Subscribe to the RSS feed or iTunes today.

Read More..

Rabu, 23 Maret 2016

My Cozy Shop Floor Part I The Cozy Part

My new shop floor is soft and cozy warm.

Where We Started On Friday Night.

There are many components to a great shop. One that I dont think gets quite enough credit - and one that Ive ignored until now - is the floor. Like many woodworkers with a garage shop, for years Ive simply used the original concrete as my floor. It was there and machines on wheels were able to roll on it - it worked.

As Ive finished up the odyssey that was my shop walls over the last few months Ive thought about the floor. After the work of the walls, the floor would be quick and simple - provided I could get all my crap off of it. When I realized that my kids would be achoice with my Dad and my Wife achoice with her sister on the same weekend I knew I had a chance to install the floor that I had to take advantage of.

On Friday of the big weekend, once everyone was on their choice I began by moving all of the living room furniture into the dining room. Then I laid out drop cloths and began moving my shop into the living room. I brought my Cousin over and together we emptied everything out of the shop except the table saw, band saw and jointer. Then I paid him with dinner.

I dragged myself up on Saturday and got to work. Unlike many published designs for installing shop floors over masonry floors, I built mine without sleepers. To get achoice without the support sleepers provide, I used 60 psi extruded polystyrene (XPS) rather than the standard 20 psi. Between the high psi XPS and the diffusion the 3/4" OSB would provide to point loading of weight, I decided no sleepers would be needed. I didnt do any structural calculations, but so far the lack of sleepers hasnt been a problem.

The gap between the wall and the XPS is filled with Great Stuff

After vacuuming the floor, the first step was to lay down the XPS. I measured a relatively straight line about 1/2" off the curb at bottom of the exterior wall of my shop. I used that line to set the XPS. I filled the gap between the curb and the XPS with Great Stuff. I used Window & Door great stuff with my Pro-Gun, as I have for the entire shop renovation. The gun gives application control unachievable with the standard can and straw. The Window and Door Great Stuff is better than standard Great Stuff because it stays softer and expands less than standard Great Stuff, making installation easier.

Air sealing as I go.

The XPS I used has a rabbit around the edge. I installed it upside down so that when the sheets were laid against each other, the rabbits created a channel which I filled with M-1 caulking. This allowed me to air seal between the boards of insulation.

With the XPS down, it was time for OSB.

Read More..

2013 December Shop Tour

2013 is over. With it, my year of monthly shop tours has come to and end. Here, I present to you the final tour of the year: December.

Some of you may have noticed that this only makes 11 tours for the year. Im sorry. I dont know what happened to September.
I have enjoyed these regular tours quite a bit. Ive found that they have kept me motivated and pushed me to make (and finish) many more shop projects this year than in years past. Im going to keep them a regular feature through the coming years as the shop continues to evolve.Im not the only one to finish the year with a tour. Here is +David Harms (justsquareenough.com) December 2013 tour. Hes made quite a bit of progress this year too.

Dont forget about the +Modern Woodworkers Association Podcast. We talk woodworking with Guests from around the world of woodworking every other week. Subscribe to the RSS feed or iTunes today.

Read More..

Selasa, 22 Maret 2016

A Chair Or A Hole In My Head

I need to make a chair right now like I need a hole in my head.

Looks like a chair, no?

I have at least a blog post worth of unfinished, halfchoice built projects in my shop. Yet, I’m having a damn hard time working on any of them. In my head, I keep turning my chair design over and over.

As with many of my ideas, I’m thinking of building my first chair out of Timberstrand. I’m in agreement with all of you who I’m sure are yelling that real wood - Walnut even - is what real chairs should be made of. Even though I’ve a soft spot in my heart for Timberstrand, I agree that it’s not what truly fine chairs are made of.

This chair though, is more experiment than fine woodworking. I’m using it to test my design, push my skill and see if Timberstrand shapes and dyes well.

This video demonstrates the first part of the test. Will my arm and joinery be strong enough?

Read More..

Senin, 21 Maret 2016

New ASDOO video Shadow Casting Lamp

Read More..

Minggu, 20 Maret 2016

My New New Tools

Just a quick post while Im waiting for some glue to dry...

While making my small bedside table I quickly came to realise that I was spending most of my time making my inaccurate cuts to length correct by planing the end grain with a block plane. My old steel backed backsaw is slightly bent, almost blunt and in need of a sharpen, not to mention a slightly loose handle. This combined with my natural inability to saw straight meant a lot of wasted time, especially as I was leaving the marking lines and then some just incase the cut went wrong.

Now dont get me wrong, I know I could spend some time sharpening the saw etc but what better excuse than to splurge on some shiny new toys?

I have to say a big thankyou to my girlfriend for my late Birthday presents...

My new bling bling Lie Nielson 14ppi Crosscut Carcass Saw & 15ppi Thin Plate Rip Dovetail Saw has made cutting to size a breeze. I can choose to split the line or leave it intact with a very minimal of effort and maintain a square cut. Yes they are pricey and probably choice overkill for my beginning needs, but the smile I get just from picking them up makes them worth it!

I was a little worried when I first used the new saws as they seemed to jump out of the cut and generally not seem to behave, but soon learnt not to force the cut and relax both my grip and pressure letting the weight of the saw and the sharpness of the teeth do the work. The result an almost perfect square cut 99% of the time.

The nice shiny plates also allow me to mark a straight perpendicular line on the non-waste side of the cut and the reflection in the saw plate aids as a guide to keep the blade straight and plumb. In short these saws are teaching me how to saw accurately and correctly.

They look stunning as well!...

Read More..

Have I mentioned that this guy is my woodworking hero

Read More..

My first sketchup of the rocking chair cradle

I mentioned in one of my VLOGs a couple of weeks ago that I am going to make a rocking chair cradle for my brother and his wife who are expecting their first child in January. I am hoping to have it completed by Christmas.  I have finished my first draft of the project in Sketchup.  I expect to be making some design changes as I mock it up but this is what I am starting out with.  I have no idea what kind of joinery I am going to use yet or if those rocker bottoms will even work.  It should be interesting...

 

 

?