Woodworking

A dead blow mallet built from the plans in ShopNotes #2. Both the handle and head are laminated beech and ‘makaa’, a Thai hardwood. Makaa is one of my favourite Thai woods. The rough boards are a very rich dark brown, almost red colour but freshly planed it’s quite light. I have no idea how long it takes for the colour to change, it will be interesting to find out.Holes in the core of the head are packed full of fishing weights, they are loose but very full so the rattle is minimal. Finish is a couple of coats of teak oil followed by a buffing with a rag.

I had a good day cutting yesterday. My Christmas box is once again well on its way and I should be able to finish at least the cutting part by today. I am very happy with that and it will mean that I can button up these magazine project submissions for this issue. While I have been working on my submissions, Keith has been doing some designing of new patterns for the site. It is great to have a partner because between the two of us, we are able to keep a pretty good flow of new items up on the site. A couple of weeks ago when he was working on his submissions for the magazine, I was able to provide the site with several new candle trays. This time Keith is in the spotlight on the site with several new word plaques and another addition to his Self-Framing Leaf Bordered Wildlife Plaque series, which has been extremely popular. This time, he made a Lynx: SLDK233 Self-Framing Lynx Plaque I think it is a great addition to this series, and love the way it came out. He also made some more word art plaques. These have been really popular too. As an expansion on his Bible quote series, he added this design: SLDK312 Mark 5:36 He also started a new word art series which are more contemporary plaques. There are three so far in this series, and for those who love to cut lettering, they are fun and really nice. SLDK314 Home Word Art Plaque SLDK315 Family Word Art Plaque SLDK316 Love Word Art Plaque He is selling the patterns for these plaques both individually and in a set. All in all, I think it is a pretty nice addition to what we have on the site. There are many positive things about having two people working together. It is at this time that I think our differences are really a benefit to both of us. By having two of us working and designing, we bring two different perspectives to our business and that allows us to appeal to a broader audience. I realize that it isn’t always easy to find a partner that is suitable in so many ways, but I am fortunate to have Keith here to contribute so much to the business and my life. Even though it is “Sheila Landry Designs”, I like to refer to us as “Team Sheila Landry” and I share every bit of success with Kieth. Together we are able to accomplish some wonderful things. I wish you all a wonderful Friday! For those of you in the States, I hope you have a wonderful long weekend and take time to enjoy yourselves and reflect and have fun.

This is a pair of custom cabinets that I built for a customer. Not really sure what you’d call this style It almost has an eastern feel to it but a the same time a little contemporary. Doesn’t help that I put mission hardware on it. The customer was real specific on certain design aspects, including hole placement in the back. The top is a torsion style top to match the thickness of the post. Wood Type: Maple, Poplar, and MDF Finish: Pigmented lacquer Hardware: Mission from CSHardware.com Date Completed: March 2013 For more building pictures see my Current Projects link at wwbeds.com or poggyskids.com. See what we are doing live:

Some time this summer I’ll be gaining another 96 sq ft for the shop, so taking down a partition wall that now separates my work space from my wife’s gardening stuff. All I had to do was build her a garden shed. :) Anyways, this will give me an opportunity to rearrange the shop quite a bit. My table saw sits pretty much smack in the middle of my current 16×18 space.I’m looking at the operations I do on the saw. I never have the fence on the left of the blade. I don’t crosscut long boards. I don’t break down 4×8 sheet goods on the table saw. (I have a sliding miter, 14” band saw, and a new Makita circular saw as well). I’m considering putting the table saw against a wall such that the far right of the fence rail is against (not actually touching) the wall. Can you think of a reason NOT to do this?

Tremont Nails Centuries ago, nails were a very important – and expensive – method to join boards for projects. So valuable, in fact, that old homes were routinely burned down so the old nails could be recovered and used in a new structure.  Why? Because each one had to be forged by hand by a blacksmith. Today, nails are cranked out by the millions in factories and sold for dirt cheap. But, those new nails don’t have the charm or period appearance of those classic ones. If you are looking for those kinds of nails, there is a company that can help you with period authentic models.  Tremont nails has been making nails in the traditional method using period nail making machines more than 130 years old. They have a wide selection of rose head nails, cut nails and other period types that can lend a flair of authenticity to your next project. ### Similar Posts: A woodworking pilgrimage Tools I use: My striking tools An interesting discovery… Kehoe-ly smokes! Woodworking Spotlight – Tom Hintz Just Try One Woodworker’s Safety Week – Finish and chemical safety

Last year I would have saved a lot of money if they'd offered 1-day passes to Fine Woodworking Live. It conflicted with my family vacation, and after paying for the whole weekend I had to go home on Friday night.I'm a die hard woodworking conference fanatic, so I knew what I was getting into when I bought the full pass. Still, I would have appreciated saving the $175.00 by only buying a 1-day pass.Thankfully they've just announced that 1-day passes are available for Fine Woodworking Live 2013. If you've been holding out because you can't make for the whole event and don't want to pay for the whole event, now's the time to book. Even if you just come for one day you'll have a great time learning and hanging out with your woodworking friends (if you one day is Saturday, you'll even see me).Hopefully the'll let idiots into the conference in 2013 too.

I have an old Belsaw planer that I have almost finished putting back together. However, I need the small brackets that hold the hood over the cutter head and Jim at Belsaw told me that they are no longer available. I could fashion the brackets myself but I’m not sure about the dimensions. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

Hi all, I am working on a dresser of sorts. My wood is a 4’x4’ sheet of walnut plywood 3/4” thick. My plans call for a low angle joint (5 degrees) to join a 2 foot section with a 4 foot section along the end grain. My plan of action is to miter the end of the lower piece only (the 2 footer) to 5 degrees and then place a piece of 1/8” thick aluminum at 3/4” depth as a spline inside the end grains of each side. I am essentially trying to join end grain to end grain, ambitious as it may be, cleanly and without evident joinery. I would opt for a lap joint instead but the overlapping sections would end up being too short given the 5 degree angle change between the pieces. Any thoughts on the strength of such a joint? The two pieces compose the side panels, and I am considering a gusset on the inside if not also the outside of the joint if opinion here is that I am being too optimistic about the strength.

Hi Everyone, New to Lumberjocks, and looking for some advice on a Craigslist bandsaw. I have Skil 9” but need more resaw capacity and came across this Rockwell/Delta that I am not familiar with for $150. Any thoughts would be highly appreciated. Was going to pull the trigger on a Reliant 14” for $120 but I found too many non favorable reviews on that brand even though it is in pristine condition. Hence my dilemma, thanks for the advice.

Hello, I’m a new hobbyist trying to get started and I was curious about any good books that would be ideal for me with very little wood working experience. I have a Ridgid portable table saw18V Dewalt drill and Impact drillOrbital sanderI will be getting a router and table sometime in the near future I just bought Jim Tolpin’s Table Saw Magic + Measure twice Cut Once off Amazon… I would appreciate any other suggestions about books or tool. Thanks alot.