MWA Banner Rack Beginnings

Last summer, Kari Hultman kindly shared her lumber stockpile with me, and let me take as much as I could fit on my truck (leaving room for the contents of my Sister-in-Laws apartment). Since I brought it home, this lumber has resided in our sun/hot tub/miscellaneous storage room. Unfortunately that room is the only choice to the back door that lets out onto the deck. As the room had to serve duty as a buffet station during our Memorial Day Party, we set about cleaning it out.

The sun/hot tub/miscellaneous storage room lumber pile.

Moving the lumber was, of course, my job. As I broke down the stacks and transferred them one-by-one to the attic I came across a piece with two live edges that looked particularly like a tree to me. I couldn’t initially think of what to do with it, but its form struck me and I set it aside.

This beauty caught my eye.

By the time I was done moving the lumber, it had dawned on me. I knew what I would do. The piece would serve as the left vertical member of the banner rack I have to make for the MWA banner we’ll be displaying at Woodworking in America.I immediately broke out an assortment of sanders and took the rough sawn face and still partially barky edges to a smooth, 80 grit. Then I successfully filled a face crack epoxy. When it came to the multiple cracks in the back face, I first routed out the cracks a little bit to make the epoxy application easier. Unfortunately, the epoxy application didn’t go so well on the back face. I probably mixed it wrong, but whatever the reason, my 5 minuted epoxy was still tacky 2 days later.

A typical crack on the back, routed to allow additional epoxy to fit in.

I allowed it a third day to dry, and when it was still tacky I posed the question to Twitter. What should I do? One of the ideas I liked was to heat it up under a heat lamp in order to accelerate the drying. Unfortunately, within about an hour the heat lamp took hard and tacky to soft and bubbly. Thankfully, removal of the heat and time seem to have restored it to hard and tacky.

Not a formula for dry epoxy.

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed working on the Banner Rack so far, but since I have to design the rest, buy the lumber for the rest and it was one of may pices of word stacked in the shop preventing me from walking around, I took the piece as was and put it achoice in the attack. It gets warm up there, but not crazy, heat lamp hot. Hopefully when I pull it down in a month or two, it’ll be dry enough to work on.These videos walk you through the process of sanding and epoxying the piece.

I’ll keep everyone posted when I get back to it, and please don’t forget to check out the MWA Banner Rack in person when you visit our booth at both Woodworking in America Conferences.

Read More..

Grandpas Workshop in Greenwich

With his seminal work Workbenches: From Design and Theory to Construcion and Use, Christopher Schwarz had me hooked. It is a fantastic tome about workbench theory. Within my limited workbench use Ive come to agree with virtually every point Chris makes about the design & use of workbenches.

The Cover, in its wonderfully decorated glory (image from the Lost Art Press site).

With the later release of The Anarchists Tool Chest, I strayed from the choices of the Schwarz. I could never wrap my head around using a chest in a shop as small as mine. Floor space is far too precious to waste on a tool chest when a tool cabinet frees up the floor and keeps the tools closer to hand. As for the philosophy of a limited tool kit espoused by The Anarchist’s Tool Chest, I own 10 routers. Need I say more?

A fuzzy photo of Chris holding court in my kids Grandpas workshop with fellow
woodworkers at the Northeast Woodworkers Association Showcase 2011.

It was in that mindset of respecting Chris’s projects while not thinking they were for me that his publishing house, Lost Art Press, printed the English translation of Grandpa’s Workshop by Maurice Pommier. Initially I was uninterested in Grandpa’s Workshop, thinking it was simply the French children’s version of The Anarchist’s Tool Chest.

Wesley in my shop.

I began to warm to the idea of Grandpa’s Workshop when I saw many glowing mentions of it by my friends on twitter and google+. When I met people singing the book’s praises at Woodworking In America, I decided to walk across the aisle of the marketplace and finally buy a copy.I’m glad I did. So are my kids.

My Kids Grandpas Workshop, filled with the Long Island Woodworkers Club
during the Northeast  Woodworkers Association Showcase 2011.

I was initially taken by the beautiful illustrations of Grandpa (Pèpère Grosbois) and his tools. It was once I sat down and read the book with my three (3) sons that I really fell in love with it though.

The stories that the tools tell are so captivating, fanciful, pragmatic and instructive that even my 4 year old’s attention was held through the entire 48 page book (read over 3 sittings). The tools tell of history, use and the often tragic lives of the Grosbois family that owned them. By the end of the book you feel you know Pèpère as well as the young narrator does. You’ll also know what all the tools are and what they do.The translation from French by Brian Anderson is wonderful and captures the poetic nature of the text (not having read the original French I assume this to be true, otherwise Anderson added poetry to the English, either choice, its poetic).The illustrations are the perfect compliment in tone to the text. Through images large and small, in full color and in silhouette, the action of the text plays out across the pages for all to see.

Pèpère shows the besaiguë to Sylvian (image from the Lost Art Press site).

For any woodworker with children, Grandpa’s Workshop is a must have. Even for woodworkers without children, it’s a great tale of the tools we use and some of the people who’ve used them.After enjoying Grandpa’s Workshop so much, I feel I may have to revisit the Anarchist’s Tool Chest. While I don’t think I’ll be taking my tools down off the wall, there may be more to the Anarchist woodworking philosophy than I had given it credit for.

Read More..

Penultimate Woodshop Renovation Video 11

Its been a hectic few weeks here. While I cant say its been busier than usual, my holiday schedule has been a lot less predictable.

The caddies and my messy bench.

Thankfully, Ive been able to sneak in a bit of shop time. After finishing my wifes Tin Can Caddies & the Wand Racks, I had a clean(ish) bench and it was time to get back to work on the shop.

The insulation it coming.

I didnt get too much done, but I did get the rigid polyisocyanurate aboard up. Hopefully Ill also get the spray foam done to air seal it before I have to go back to work.

One schedule I did keep during the holidays was our regularly scheduled MWA podcast. For the audio, check out iTunes or the MWA page.

I hope all my fellow woodworkers had an enjoyable and productive holiday season.

Read More..

Selasa, 08 Maret 2016

My Windows Are Extended Are Yours

While I was busting my butt working on the house this weekend, I managed to sneak in just a wee bit of work on the shop wall project. I added jam extensions to the windows. While not rocket science, this was slightly harder than is sounds since the wall are uneven and the nearest reference surface is a few inches achoice from each window. In then end, each of the eight (8) extension jam pieces is different and all are tapered. My normal routine of relative dimensioning helped out big here and I was able to put my TS55 to good use cutting those angles. Heres a quick video I shot showing the completed window jam extensions.

Read More..

Selasa, 23 Februari 2016

BenchMark Table Review

I typically do more home improvement then woodworking. Both are rewarding. Home improvement usually wins out because it address a specific need or deficiency that everyone in the house agrees about. To date, Im the only family member that finds deficiency with our furniture.

The BenchMark Table

When I work on home improvement (and woodworking) my shop usually spills out into my drivechoice. I typically schlepp wooden, metal or plastic saw horsed (I have all three) around from the back of the house where they live and create an ad-hoc work material support system.When I first read about the Benchmark table on ToolRank.com I immediately thought I’d found my solution. It was a collapsible aluminum table that could easily be setup in the drivechoice and maybe even the shop too.

The table, on arriving in the shop.

The table is a bit pricey ($350.00 to $500.00). At first I didn’t question the cost, I just needed to save up to get it. Following my birthday I put together all the Amazon gift cards I got (the only thing I’d asked for), added a bit of my own cash and pulled the plug on the table.

These are the plastic end caps which I broke a few of.

Once I received the table, I did second guess the price as I was assembling it. While the instructions are clear and easy to follow, the little green pieces that line the edge were a bit tricky to install. BenchMark is nice enough to include 4 extra, but I broke all of them during the installation. Because one of the cross pieces and the aluminum angle that makes the side weren’t lining up square to each other, I actually kept screwing right through the green plastic bit, tearing through it’s base. Even after I switched from a screw gun to a screw driver, I still damaged one. Finally, on the last little green plastic piece I went ever-so-gentle and managed not to break it. Luckily, it’s holding so well now that I’ve forgotten which one gave me so much trouble.This bit of frustration, on an otherwise easy assembly, did lead me to question the cost. For hundreds of dollars I was expecting an issue free assembly.

It fits, but it takes up just about all the currently free space in the shop.

I was also a bit disappointed by the relative size. In my one car garage shop, the table is big (64.25"L x 37.5"W) and not really practical to use (as I’d hoped it would be). However, when moved to the drivechoice, it shined.

The drivechoice is much less then flat. The adjustable feet make it easy to
keep the top of the table flat. They adjust in mere seconds.

When setup in my very uneven drivechoice, the table was very stable. The adjustable feet meant there was no wobble and I was easily able to adjust any twist out of the top.

A full sheet of any sheet good is handled with ease.

Once I threw a full 4’ x 8’ sheet of ¾” OSB on the table, I knew it was worth it. Since then, I’ve put full sheets, partial sheets and boat loads of PVC trim on the table. Through everything, the table has been absolutely rock solid. No matter what I’ve done with it, I’ve not been able to make it wobble. This was one of my prime concerns and the reason I’ve alchoices stayed achoice from the Festool Multi-Function Tables. I’ve played with MFTs many times in multiple stores, and they alchoices wobble.

It handles doors with east too.

Itll handle long boards too (with a touch of support).

I’ve now had the table for a bit more than 2 months. I’ve found that the table excels as a work surface. I don’t mean to suggest it’ll replace a real work bench, but as a surface to cut, drill and mark pieces and especially as a work surface for general home work (rather than fine woodworking) the Benchmark table is fantastic. If you find yourself needing to set up, breakdown and move your work table the Benchmark is the choice to go.Editors Note:Rusty asked to see photos of the table folded up (which I should have included originally). Thanks for the request, Rusty. Here is the entire photo gallery, including the table folded and in storage.

BenchMark Table

Read More..

Sabtu, 20 Februari 2016

The Greenwich Frame Part I Design

Dear reader, if youve been following along, you may remember that last March I headed up to the Northeast Woodworkers Association Showcase in Saratoga Springs, NY. One of the highlights of the trip was the great dinner we had after the show on Saturday night at my Dads barn in Greenwich.

Dinner in the Greenwich barn.

Greenwich, NY is about 20 minutes from Saratoga Springs, just across the Hudson River. Greenwich is where my Dad plans to retire and his barn is the retirement home hes building.I mention Greenwich and the barn because this past August, while I was in Saratoga Springs with my family, we found an old timey map of Greenwich, NY. Given my Dads affinity for his newly adopted town we bought the map and decided that Id make a frame for it and give it to him for Christmas.In early November I picked up some Walnut for the frame from Lakeshore Hardwoods while I was at the Long Island Woodworkers Showcase.Skip ahead to early December, and I was reminded by my wife that I had to make a frame for my Dad for Christmas. After I got over the panic (& frustration of having to put the shop renovation I was in the middle of on hold), I started by considering designs.

The state of my shop in early December.

I knew I wanted the frame to be Greene & Greene inspired, but I didnt want it to be a complete knock off and it had to be quick to build. I looked at the Greene & Greene inspired frames made by Kyle, Marc & Brian Grella. They all gave me ideas, but none were just right for what I had in mind. I did however order Marcs Greene & Greene frame DVD & template kit. I figured that the build techniques covered in the DVD would be somewhat universal and that even if different, I could still use his jigs to save me the time of developing my own cloud lift jig.

Kyles beautiful Greene & Greene inspired frame.

For more design ideas I turned to Darrell Pearts Greene & Greene: Designs for the Workshop and David Mathiass Greene & Greene Furniture: Poems of Wood and Light. Pearts book was enlightening on the construction methods used and on page 79 of Mathiass book I found my inspiration. Not a Greene & Greene frame, but living room gateleg table from the William T. Bolton house in Pasadena. The legs of the table are proud of the bottom stretcher and upper apron (below the drawer). The apron incorporates one simple cloud lift and the combined affect is a beautiful frame (in this case for the empty space below the table). I took that design and began sketching.What I settled on was a very similar frame. My Stiles are wider and proud of my rails, and the top rail has a single, simple cloud lift in the center. I added ebony plugs in the stiles to simulate a pegged tenon, as was common in many Greene & Greene pieces.

Next up: The Greenwich Frame, Part II: Construction Begins.

Read More..

Rabu, 17 Februari 2016

The Greenwich Frame Part II Fabrication Begins

Construction began by mocking up the frame with some peg board scraps I had. Once I was satisfied with the dimensions, I milled the walnut. Luckily, I had success with a new jointing technique and didn’t turn any of my walnut into wedges while I was milling the the frame.

My design (this is as detailed as the plans got).

A holy version of my frame.

After quickly cutting the four, rectangular frame pieces to size, I used my new Woodpecker spacer blocks to relatively dimension the table saw fence and blade location. I then quickly cut the rabbets in the rails using two passes on a standard table saw combination blade. For the stopped rabbets on the stiles, I first marked the rail locations so that I would know where to stop. I then milled the stile rabbets using a router and a bearing guided rabbeting bit.

I made the rabbets in the stiles a little extra long. By going long, I didnt have  to square them off.

Once the rabbets were completed, I broke out the trusted Domino and milled my joinery. I again used my Woodpecker spacer blocks and referenced all the Dominos using the integral alignment pins and relative dimensioning.

Everything is made better with relative dimensioning.

Once dominoed, it was time to mill the cloud lift in the upper rail. To do this I made a very simple jig that held the workpiece and Marc’s templete and allowed me to bring the piece to a bearing guided flush trim bit in the router table. I didn’t initally clamp the templete tight enough and it drifted, but I was able to simple enlarge the cloud lift sightly, re-clamp and carry on. It was only a slight enlargement and no one but you (dear reader) is the wiser.

My quickie cloud lift fabrication setup.

With the rails and stiles now completely cut and shaped, I broke out my new DeWalt DWP611PK and put an ?” roundover on all the exposed frame edges.

When the shaping was finally over, I sanded the parts. This was a simple matter of hitting their faces with 80, 150 & 180 grit paper on a random orbit sander and using corresponding grit sanding sponges on the edges and round overs.

Next up, plugging the frame.

The Greenwich Frame, Part I: Design

Read More..

Senin, 08 Februari 2016

The Greenwich Frame Part III Plugging Away

Following the sanding, I moved on to the part I was most leary of: the ebony plugs. Just getting the ebony had proven an issue. I had taken too long ordering it from Bell Forrest, and through no fault of theirs I wasnt set to receive it until two days after I needed it. Forced to find it locally, I turned to woodfinder.com and found Exotic Woods USA in Northport, about 20 minutes from my house. A quick call and trip up there resulted in 3 nice ebony pen blanks. Using the technique shown in Kelly Duntons recent Fine Working article the narrow ebony sticks proved easy to cut. I then used Marcs pillowing technique. By pillowing, cutting and repeating I was easily able to make 10 (1 test, 8 real & 1 spare) little ebony plugs.

Pillowed plugs, ready for action.

Luckily, I had ordered my Veritas square hole punch in time. Following the simple included directions it proved quick & easy to make 8 simple shallow square plug mortises. The key is to square the hole punch before making the hole, so that you’re plugs will sit square to your stock. Since on of each pair of the shallow mortises ran into a Domino mortise, I dry fit Dominos to provide a backing and prevent blow-out that could have later prevent the Domino from fitting.

Achieving perfect, square holes was quite simple with the Veritas Square Hole Punch

You can fit square holes over round pilot holes.

No that the rails and stiles were ready, I proceeded to glue-up. With only 4 Domino joints, glue up proved very easy and only required two parallel clamps and an empty bench. I ended with a bit more glue sqeeze out than I would have liked, and there is a wisp of light visible between the edge of one rail and the connecting stile, but as the glue cleaned up easily and the light disappears once the matting was installed in the frame I’ll call it a successful glue up.

A fairly stress free glue up.

The final pieces to be assembled were the ebony plugs. To install them I pared the sides of each plug slightly so they would fit in the mortises and applied a small amount of Tightbond III glue into the mortises. Then I fit in the plugs and drove each down with a wooden mallet. Since I made each plug and mortise by eye, they’re slightly even, but probably not enough for any one to notice.

The Walnut becomes even richer in tone during the finishing process.

For finish I used blond shellac. I applied 6 coats of a 1 lb cut. Rather than go through the work of mixing my own shellac flakes (I could be missing something here, but that seems choice too much like work) I instead used Kenneth’s fantastic Woodshop Widget to determine how much I should dilute some Zinnser shellac to get to a 1 lb cut. I applied the shellac with a rag and sanded it with synthetic steel wool before and after the final coat.See the frame take shapeThe Greenwich Frame, Part I: DesignThe Greenwich Frame, Part II: Fabrication Begins

Read More..

Minggu, 07 Februari 2016

Shop Renovation Phase 1 Video 2

As the shop renovation continues and the childrens spring activities ramp up, its been hard to find time to sit down at the computer and answer proper email, let alone write an actual blog entry. Luckily, Ive discovered that the built in video editing software in Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0) makes putting together a simple video like this pretty easy.
Here I am, describing the process of adding the jam extensions to the miter saw wall recess. This entire video was shot, edited and shared in the shop (on my phone).

Read More..

Rabu, 03 Februari 2016

The Greenwich Frame Part IV Completion Presentation

Because I was responsible for the entire completed frame, finishing the construction & finishing still meant I had glass, matting & hanging hardware to obtain and install.

The finished frame, ready to be accessorized.

I began with the matting and went to our local Michaels on December 15th. They told me that having them custom cut the matting (as I have alchoices done) would take ten days. Since I had to give the frame as a gift on Christmas Eve I found myself instead buying a piece of matting off the shelf in a similar color. The layout was rather straightforward (I had already figured it out, thinking I was supplying it to Michaels). Trimming the outside of the matting also proved easy, using my 8" shears (every shop should have a giant pair of scissors). What I was really afraid of was cutting out the center of the matting, as I had never before attempted it. Thankfully, it proved easy. I cut the matting using a straight edge clamped over it and a sharp X-acto knife. I started from the corners and worked in, wanting to ensure that I didnt over-cut any of the edges. After a few gentle passes, each side was cut. Three quick reallignments and the matting was cut. I kept the knife plumb in order to make a cut perpendicular to the face of the matting. While I prefer matting that has been cut at a bevel to reveal a narrow white band around the picture, I didnt think I could keep the inside corners clean or the bevel consistent with an X-acto knife. The simple square cut kept it neat.

Apparently, I can cut matting.

For the glass, I did what I alchoices do when I make a frame; I went down to the local hardware store and ordered a piece of 1/8" plate glass, cut to fit.Assembly consisted of washing & installing the plate glass followed by the matting (with the picture taped to the back) and then a simple piece of peg board. I used window glazing points to hold the whole assembly in. I then attached a wire to hang the frame with  using #6 x 3/4" pan head screws.

The back of the completed frame.

The last thing I did was install 4 clear plastic self-adhesive feet to the frame. Ive never done that to a frame before, but I dont like it when the top edge of the frame sticks off the wall due to the hanging hardware. I figured that the clear feet would hold the frame evenly off the wall.

The completed, assembled frame.

Hopefully the feet idea will work, and the whole frame will look good in its new home. I gave the frame to my Dad for Christmas and its now hanging at its new home in Greenwich. I havent been up to see it yet, but Ill certainly let everyone know what it looks like in place.The whole Greenwich Frame Saga:The Greenwich Frame, Part I: DesignThe Greenwich Frame, Part II: Fabrication BeginsThe Greenwich Frame, Part III: Plugging Achoice

Read More..

Langganan: Postingan (Atom)