Woodworking

I have a few things in common in woodworkers who are also Parents. First cash flow goes several directions and the workshop is not the top of the list and second because of this we either purchase quality tools in which you have a limited tool set or purchase on the cheap in which as in my case you quickly realize you need to upgrade. I find myself in this situation and after thinking on it I realized the tool I needed to upgrade was my router table. This was for two reasons first other than my table saw and compound miter saw I use it the most and second when I started wood working I purchased it on a whim because my father mentioned he always thought they were cool and wanted one so I ended up with a cheap HF model (yes I know hissss). Anyway I purchased the Bosh RA1181 table and after putting it together could slap myself for the first table I purchased. I thought about building a router table but honestly I only have so much time in my shop and prefer to work on other things. I do plan on building in the future. The only problem is that with coaching to of my daughters softball I haven’t gotten to use it yet and the router I have only has a 1/4 collet so I will want to purchase a new router.

These chairs were designed by Kevin Rodel and you may have seen them made by some other people here on LJs, but these are my version. Normally, I design my projects myself, but since I had never made a chair previously, I thought it best to work to a plan this time. First and foremost, I wish to thank Grampa (Dale) Doodie for his 10 part class on making these chairs. The pictures and his explanations were most helpful. Furthermore, he always responded to my questions quickly and was an invaluable resource. Thank you, Dale! I also want to thank a few other LJs for encouraging me to try my hand at making chairs in the first place. Even though I only made 4 of them, this is a significant undertaking. I have a lot more respect for chairmakers now. I choose to use qswo since I am a traditionalist and because I like the look of it. Also, these chairs were made to match the table I made for my daughter, SIL and 2 grand daughters. I regret the amount of wood that I wasted. Some of that is due to the design of the chairs but mostly it was due to my learning experiences. I estimate about half of what I bought went into the scrap pile. I will be happy to answer any questions and thank you for looking.

I am getting ready to build a blanket chest and while doing so purchased a new router table which of coarse made me start looking to purchase new router bits. I ran across a locking miter bit and thought it would work nicely with my project. I am curious if anyone has used the bit and if it is as strong in larger projects as say a rabbet. Thanks in advance.

I made this retirement chest for my boss who was retireing out of the Army after 20+ years. I wanted something that looked a little rustic but had a beauty all its own. This is what I came up with. Its 34inches long by 19.5 inches tall by 16 inches deep. Finger joints at the corners and wooden hinges. I added the shadow box and lined it in cedar. I dyed the wood twice, the first time with antique cherry and the second time with a 50/50 mix of antique cherry and red cherry diluted down to 50%. I sanded the dye back each time after it dried. I used two coats of tung oil followed up by hand rubbed poly. I left the sapwood in it fully knowing it wont color the same over time as the rest but i think it added to the look I was trying to achieve. Unfortunelty I only had half the stuff to go in the shadow box by time of presentation and hope to put the rest in by the end of June for him. He was blown away when he got it as we kept it strictly on the DL in the office

Made from spalted birch.

Recently I posted a video covering common woodworking joinery ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqXLYe783qw ) with the help of a few friends. In that video I talked to you all about making finger joints on the table saw and showed you a finger joint jig in the process. Well as I promised, here is the complete build process of that Jig. Table Saw Finger Joint Jig Also a little reminder about the 2nd Annual Whirligig Wars. It is almost here!! The event Runs from July 10 – 23, 2013 Click here for more information Whirligig Wars 2013 event information and how to enter

In early Feb when it was too cold and wet to do anything outside I was wandering thru one of the BORG’s and happened to take a look at their storage shed display. I found that they could build out to a 16’ x 24’ building. I went home measured out 16×24 in my garage. While my garage was about 6’ wider and 5’ deeper my tools would fit in a building 16’ by 24’ and I would no longer have to move vehicles in and out and tools around to work. To keep the BORGS from getting their cut I visited Tuffsheds and StorMor and got estimates from them on a 16’ x 24’ building on a concrete slab. I went home measured out where I wanted to put the slab found I had plenty of room. I talked to the power company found that to bring power from my existing service on my house to another building would require upgrading to a larger wire from the transformer to the house. My subdivision has all underground utilities the cost of doing that was prohibitive. The back of my lot has a 10’ easementand an overhead powerline. The cost of a transformer and overhead service to a building (the existing power pole was 15’ away) was well within my budget. I just needed to remove a small tree. This is the site cleared and waiting for the slab. I decided to go with StorMor they gave me a quote with the slab and followed up. Tuff Shed couldn’t or Wouldn’t give me a price on the slab and their concrete contractor never followed up. (StorMor’s price with the slab was less than Tuff Shed without a slab.) I called the power company had them hang a transformer and sheduled StorMor in to start as soon as power company had the transformer hung. transformer going in. slab poured Once the slab cured and forms were removed. StorMor came in and in a day this is what I had.

In this time lapse woodworking video I’m using a vacuum bag to laminate 2 panels together, to create a single 3/8’’ thick panel with Bubinga and Walnut on either side. I had the 2 different veneers already on a mdf substrate, so it was simply cutting to size applying glue and turning on the press. Hope you enjoy and thanks for watchingPaul

A little more's been done on the Japanese lamp, namely the internal lamp fittings which have been made in 6mm acrylic (Perspex). The reason for doing it this way is that any shadows cast by the lamp will be kept to a minimum. This stuff is easy to work but doesn't like edge tools so a disc or belt sander is the best thing I've found for smoothing edges...then finish with a bit or sandpaper and a cork block. The fitting consists of two 'L' shaped pieces with a bridge across the middle with all three bits being bolted together with 4mm nuts and bolts.Firstly, assemble all the bits and pieces that are needed. A bending jig (left) and a heating mask (right) with cramps set to the right opening, together with a chinagraph pencil (excellent for marking plastic).A better shot is shown below of the heating template. A standard hot air gun (paint stripper sort of thing) is best to apply localised heat from underneath......so that once the plastic has come up to about 140degF it goes straight into the bending jig.If it's too hot, the acrylic will start to bubble (bad) and if it's too cold it will crack (even badder) when it's bent, so a little practice enabled me to find the 'Goldilocks' temperature when it was just right.Once everything had cooled down and had been cleaned up, drilling the holes for the nuts and bolts was easy...no more than a couple of hours work all told for the whole exercise.Shoji panels next...

This is my first handrail and was commissioned back in february. Its about 38ft long total; the grip itself is about 2” x 4”. I probably used 3gallon of glue and approximately 240 clamps. I made master copies out of cheaper wood which I can use as patterns for future projects. Also used the pattern as the router guide to carve out the grip for the thumb and the 4fingers that wrap around it. I had to make samples first for the client to approve the grip Note that the steps are not mine and were installed 2years ago when the house was constructed. Prior to this, I also make customized door handles with bent lamination. When the client pass by my showroom and saw the door handles, she then inquired about a snake-like handrails for her house. The main wood pieces I recycled and cut to thin slices were Narig, Molave and Mangkono. Though this was a very interesting project, it required a lot of reclaimed old wood which is limited. I do the thin slices to remove the cracks, nails and salvage what I can.