The new Craftsman router table has been assembled and is ready for its first test

I put the new Craftsman router table together yesterday and it was much, much easier than the Ryobi.  Each leg is held on by 4 bolts.  The vertical ones just screw in and have washers and lock washers.  The horizontal ones have lock washers, washers, and nuts.  I found a diagram in the manual for installing the model of my router and it screwed right in with 3 bolts and the height adjustment hole lined right up.  I installed the fence and featherboards in a couple of minutes and the table is now ready for testing.

I couldnt get the Ryobi router to fit in the new table so I returned it and bought this Craftsman router

on sale for $50.99.  I checked the router table manual before I went shopping for compatible
routers and this one was on the list.

Here is the fully assembled table.  It went together much faster then the Ryobi table.

 I cant remember what this is called but it is used for routing end grain and smaller pieces.  This one is made out of metal whereas the Ryobi one was made out of plastic.

It came with 5 insert plates.  The Ryobi also came with 5 but they all had holes.  Im not sure what the solid one would be good for.

The included wrench has a wider handle built into the bottom which makes it a little more comfortable to use.

The router has a small push button to hold the shaft while you tighten or loosen the router bit.  There is a small plastic shield behind it that you have to remove to reach the button.

The table has a hole in the top for adjusting the height of the router.  I am using an allen wrench for now but would like to buy a t-handle wrench for it.  Sears had a t-handle kit for $39.95 but I dont want to spend that much money. I just want to get the one to fit the router.

This is the allen wrench coming through the table top and into the router.

The plastic handles on the sides are a nice touch.  They make the table comfortable to pick up.

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Minggu, 03 April 2016

First Post!

This is my first post in my new blog. 
My name is Donald and I am an amateur woodworker.  I started this site to share my hobby with you and to document my learning process.  I want this to be a place where you can come and see my thought process about how I made something and then hopefully add your two cents in.  Im not going to be able to make a project every week but I will make as many projects as I can as often as I can.

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The first thumb chair is done!

I finally finished the first thumb chair!  Why do these projects alchoices seem to take so long?

I forgot to put the pocket holes for the seat in when I cut the pieces to length

so I added them here.

The plan called for 4 pocket holes for the seat back but I put 5 to play it safe.

I drilled a 1 inch hole in the seat back for a thumb.

Here is the hole sanded smooth.

Time for some finish sanding

And more sanding....

I couldnt think of a good choice to clamp the 2 pieces together and like alchoices

my piece drifted a little bit when I screwed it together.  I thought of a possible choice
to clamp it for next time so we will see if that works better on the next one.

The 2 pieces are ready for assembly!

 I centered and clamped them and then screwed them together.  No glue.

 Here is the chair ready for stain. 

Here it is stained.  If you have seen any of my other kid projects then you know

that I used the same stain to try and make them all match.

Somehow, I alchoices manage to blow out the thumb on the glove on my right hand

when I stain projects.

1st coat of poly applied.

I let it sit over night and then gave it a light sanding and applied the second coat.

3rd coat of poly applied and it is ready to go in the house!

I put some self adhesive felt pads on the bottom of the feet.  I dont know if they will last

but it is worth a try.  I forgot to mention it above but I also put 2 coats of poly on the bottom
of the chair as well.

All ready for my 2 boys to start fighting over.  I better get the second one done

quick!

?This is post 3 of a 3 part series.

You can read part 1 here:
2013/01/lets-make-thumb-chair.html

and part 2 here:

2013/02/thumb-chair-update.html

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Sabtu, 02 April 2016

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.
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.

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Minggu, 20 Maret 2016

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...

 

 

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Senin, 14 Maret 2016

A Sight 4 Saw Eyes

Its a happy day! After waiting for over 3 weeks, I finally have my saws back from being sharpened.

As mentioned previously I have been given some saws (1,3 and 4) which I promptly de-rusted, cleaned and oiled and sent off for sharpening as follows:

1. Warranted Superior 26" - 5ppi RIP

2. Sandvik 22" - 10ppi RIP

3. NoName 21.5" - 8ppi Crosscut

4. Warranted Superior 20" - 10ppi Crosscut

All saws have been jointed flat and resharpened and set, each costing £10.50. I will get myself some files and a saw  set to learn to do it myself eventually but for now, for just over £40 I should be able to cover most of my larger sawing requirements - bargain! 

Unfortunately, the guy who normally does the sharpening has been on holiday, hence the delay, the service normally only takes a week. If anyone in the Surrey area is interested, the company who carried out the sharpening is Winsor Saw Ltd of Windsor 01753 862029, but you can also drop off and collect saws from  Village Mowers in Hersham, Surrey 01932 248538.

Aside from my Lie Nielson backsaws (a crosscut carcass saw and a dovetail saw), which I use all the time. I still need (would like) a larger tenon saw. Common sense suggests something like a 400mm 10ppi rip saw as the largest cuts are with the grain when cutting a tenon, but would it still be suitable for making precision crosscuts when my carcass saw is a bit small ... or should I just try and do precision cuts with the panel saws above ... decisions decisions.

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Minggu, 13 Maret 2016

First video on Woodworking by Hand!

Heres a first movie! As an actor I am a beginner but I hope to improve quickly! As subject I chose just the tool I was working today: the plough plane.

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Sabtu, 12 Maret 2016

Stephens Step Stool Part IV

With the steps and legs joined I turned my attention to the stretchers.

The legs are glued to the steps.

The stretchers are made from the 1" thick stock I milled for the steps and legs during the milling process. I began by ripping two (2) pieces to about 1¼” width.

Next I took two (2) scrap pieces and cut them to be the exact length between the sides, where the sides meet the steps. I fit these pieces between the legs at the base of the stool in order to hold them parallel (they were angled in, so the legs held the spacers under compression without clamps).

With the legs held parallel by the spacers, I used an adjustable square to mark up from the bottom evenly on both legs. I didnt go for a particular measurement. I aimed for about 1/3 of the choice up. The square ensured that the marks on both legs were even with each other. I followed the same process to mark out for the back stretcher, making it about 1½” higher (by eye) than the front stretcher.

The stretcher blanks were laid across the legs, with the bottom edge of the stretchers even with my marks. Then I marked the top of the stretcher on the legs and the inside and outside of the legs on the stretchers. I cut the stretchers to length at the outside edge of the leg marks. Then I used a bevel gauge and laid out a single tail on each end, extending from the inside leg mark to the end of the stretcher. I cut down the side of the tail with my dovetail saw, then I scored the shoulder line with a chisel and cut it with the saw too.

The "pins".

Once the tails were cut, I laid the stretchers back down in place on the legs and marked the pins (it’s really just a single negative tail, but for the sake of clarity, I’ll call it the pins). The sides of the pins were cut with my dovetail saw and I chiseled out down to the base.

Hand cutting dovetails is not an operation I do often, so their fit was gappy. It was nothing a little epoxy wouldn’t fix later.

Not the prettiest, but itll do.

As I had done with the steps and legs, I took the stretchers to the router table and rounded over the edges that I would not be able to reach once the step stool was assembled. Then I glued in the stretchers with NexaBond. Actually, I installed the front stretcher before I remembered I should have rounded it over. This left me more work to do with the rasp and resulted in the back edge not being as evenly rounded as the others. Be sure to round over your unreachable edges before assembly.

For previous Step Stool posts, click here.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.

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Minggu, 06 Maret 2016

I posted my first project video to YouTube!

Like most things this video took longer than I expected and I am not 100% happy with it.  Overall I think it is a good first video and I learned a lot from making it.  I hope you enjoy it enough to subscribe to my channel on YouTube.  I am alchoices open to constructive criticism so please let me know what you think in the comments section.