And With This It Begins

The date and location for Woodworking in America 2013 has been set. For anyone who didn’t know:

Psst: Mark your calendars for Oct 18-20, 2013. Thats all for now.— megan fitzpatrick (@1snugthejoiner) January 3, 2013

The date was first teased on Twitter and confirmed on the Popular Woodworking Editor’s Blog the following day. It will be October 18th through 20th at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center in Covington, Kentucky (Greater Cincinnati). This is the same venue as WIA10, WIA11 and WIA12 MidWest. I’ve been to them all, and it’s a great venue with nearby hotels, a $1.00 trolley and a Hofbruahaus. I’ve alchoices had a good time there and I’m sure you will too.

WIA 2012 MidWest: We came, we saw, we posed on Megans bench.

I’m not such a fan of the piecemeal approach to announcements that has been used for WIA lately (if there’s a date and venue, I’d like a ticket), but at least we can all block out our calendars now.

I’ll see you in Kentucky.

p.s. - There’s a White Castle.

Im at White Castle!

MWA Woodworking in America 2012 Midwest Photo Sharing Event

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Let There Be Light Part II

When I was done with the front ring piece, I layed it on a piece of ½” Baltic Birch and traced the ring shape out. I then made a template handle out of ¼” luan plywood for the light ring. I put the template on either side of the drawn ring on the ½” Baltic Birch and drew the handles on.

My handle template.

I used a jig saw to cut out close to my marks. I then used the front ¾” ring as a guide and template routed the inside and outside circles of the back ½” ring. For the handles I clamped on the luan template and template routed them as well. Finally I routed around the handles with a ¼” round over bit and both circles for the light ring were formed. The last step was to quickly break down the tear out and rough edges with a 60 grit sanding sponge.

Using the template and a bearing guided bit to route a handle to final size.

Once both pieces had been properly milled I layed out the light sockets again. I marked the center line of each by making 12 equal marks around the outside of the circle and connecting lines across the whole thing between opposite marks. I also marked the center and the outside edge of each socket using a stop rule. I was then able to lay the sockets on the marks and with a pencil trace out where the mounting screws would go. I predrilled for the mounting screws (all the choice though, since this piece is only the light ring’s face) and then used a ¾ auger bit to drill out the centers. The ¾” holes will allow me to run the wire from the trough on the back of the face piece into each socket.

The wire holes are drilled for the 12 light sockets.

I took a measurement between the drilled out centers, and cut 11 lengths of wire and one (1) cord. Before inserting the wire lengths into the trough and holes, I stripped & prepped them. With the wires fit into the face piece (which was face down), I dropped the back piece over it, lined them up and camped them together. Then I flipped the clamped ring assembly over and screwed the two (2) pieces together with 24 1¼” course Kreg screws.

All wired up.

It was finally time to install the light sockets. As exciting at this stage may sound, it sucked. As I didn’t want to deal with excessive wire preventing the sockets from sitting properly, I kept the wires short. This worked out well for sitting the sockets, and very tedious for wiring them. Thankfully I have a Klein electrician’s screwdriver with a small post that helps bend wires.

Installing the sockets . . . and installing . . . and installing . . .

Once all 12 were wired,I attached the sockets using #8 stainless steel pan head screws (I love stainless steel screws). I started the screws with a 12v impact driver, but finished them by hand because the I didn’t want to crack the plastic light sockets.

All 12 work fine, I just need more bulbs.

Once everything was assembled, I plugged it in and ran a single bulb though all 12 sockets (I didn’t have 12 bulbs on hand). Success.With the light ring assembled, it was time to set to work on the stand.Let There Be Light: Part I

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Window Trim Fascia A Photo Essay

This is a little out of the norm for a post here at the Penultimate Woodshop, but I was working on the trim to my bay window today and I photographed the milling of the relatively complex (for a fascia board) trim which caps the sides of the bay window. I thought Id take a brief break from the Wanderful Saga and present the fascia milling photos as a photo essay. The trim is Versatex PVC and once milled it is fastened using stainless steel trim head screws. Here goes:

The trim piece set up under the jig I made for milling the 30 degree angles next to a test piece.

Milling the angle.

Using relative dimentioning to mark the slight cut that gets made at the end.

Cutting perpendicular to the main 30 degree cut. This cut to to adjoin the fascia  on the wall adjacent to the window. Yes, I know the saws not cutting, but I couldnt cut and take a photo at the same time.

All cut.

Determining the width of the fascia above the window by referencing the adjoining fascia.

About to cut of the excess at the other end.

Cut and ready for milling.

Determining the router bit depth by adjusting it to my line.

Marking of the angled cut needed to fit tight to the soffit, which is not plumb.

Using a melamine shelf as a reference for the bushing guided bit to mill the angled cut.

I didnt clamp the melamine to the trim piece well enough and made a small mess with the cut. Luckily this is the top and the joint between the fascia and soffit will get caulked anychoice so I can hide this.

Trimming the wide end ever so slightly so that it is perfectly flush with the adjoining fascia piece.

A test fit. So far, so good.

Milling the notch to accommodate the window.

I clamped this board to the fascia piece and used it as a reference for my hand saw to square up the router cut.

Cleaning up the inside corner (yes, you can chisel PVC trim).

The notch to accommodate the window.

A nice, tight fit between the fascia on the side of the window and the fascia along the eave.

The installed fascia piece.

The next piece of trim to mill and install will the the extension of the eave fascia to bring its bottom edge flush with the fascia on the sides of the window. Ill biscuit the fascia along its length to ensure the pieces stay flush.

The bay window, almost completely trimmed.

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Covering a Window Well

This weekend I made a quick project for a friend. Its a cover to fit over one of his basement window wells. Its designed to allow light to come in, but keep rain and snow out.

The wooden carcass for the window cover.

To make the well, I built a simple frame from 1/2" plywood. To join the frame, I used sections of dimensional lumber and screwed both faces in, rather than try to pocket screw or screw into the end grain of the thin, 1/2" plywood. The back of the frame was cut as an inverted "U" shape so as not to block the water. On the top, pitched surface I installed 1-1/2" wide strips to support the Lexan top. I place one of these strips on each end and one in the middle.

Fabricating the aluminum was much easier using commercial equipment
such as this finger brake.

Once the wooden carcass was done, I then clad the sides and front apron in .040 aluminum. The aluminum extends 2" down passed the sides and front to lap over and seal the joint between the wooden window well cover carcass and the masonry window well. I also covered the center support strip. It didnt need the aluminum from a waterproof perspective, but I though the clean white surface looked much better than plywood. To fabricate the aluminum, I used our commercial sheer and brake at work. Using commercial sheet metal equipment is much faster and cleaner than forming each piece by hand. Once formed I attached each piece to the carcass with neoprene gasketed stainless steel screws.

I was careful not to crack the Lexan when I drilled out for the fasteners.

When I installed the Lexan top, I ran a thin bead of M-1 sealant under each side to seal it. Since its a water shedding design, the bottom didnt need to be sealed. The overlap at the bottom is sufficient to keep water out.
At the top edge the aluminum trim fits over, rather than under, the Lexan to shed water.

Dry fitting the cover over the window well.

The entire assembly rests loosely on the existing masonry window well. In order to keep water which may run down the wall from running behind the cover, as separate, nail-on counter-flashing was installed on the wall. Its sealed with a non-curing butyl mastic under compression and more M-1 to prevent water entry.

The nail-on counter-flashing is the only part actually attached to the house.
The top trim of the window well cover extends behind it.

The top of the cover extend behind the nail-on counter-flashing. This properly sheds water while allowing the cover to be removed if and when its necessary.

The completed cover, installed over the window well.

This wasnt the most existing of woodworking projects, but I did get to use my track saw and I do like working with sheet metal. Most importantly, its a simple project that should help my friend out and keep his basement dry.

Basement Window Well Cover

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