Woodworking

Well well well reached the big six two today have had a tired lazy day.I hope you all had anice day too Yours Alistair 62 years young LOL

I embarked on this project almost entirely as a skill builder—though we have no other outdoor seating at the moment, so it’ll be nice to have around. I started from rough cedar 2×4s and fired up the jointer to try to make usable lumber. I ended up taking the boards down to 1 1/4” thick, and learned why you don’t thickness material on a jointer. Also, cutting the boards roughly in half after making the rip cuts made it much easier to go back and clean up the sawed faces on the jointer. I ran a 1/4” round-over on every edge, which started some nasty slivers splitting off the edges. I didn’t have wood to replace those pieces, so I just sliced them off and turned that bit to the outside of the chair, but they’re pretty unsightly. Sanding that many faces was not terribly pleasant, but at least cedar sands easily. I strung all the sticks up between garage door tracks using the 1/8” cable that eventually went into the chair, and wiped them down with thinned spar urethane. I still think hanging them all by the cable for finishing was a good idea, but the execution lacked finesse—5 coats of wiping varnish and a couple of steel wool rub-downs on 25 dancing dangling sticks while standing on a ladder was…...interesting. I followed the plans linked to from eddie’s original project here: The only real deviation from the plan I felt was necessary was the addition of a small bit of heat shrink at the end of each cable, just to keep them from fraying. Those little wires can be nasty. I doubt it’ll hold up to the UV all that long, but we’ll see. This project sure made me wish I had a miter saw or a RAS. I don’t think I’ll make another without rigging up some way to use a stop block for the cutoffs.

how can i get rid of mould on an end grain cutting board?

I’ve build thousands of sets of stairs, but none like this. the 2 stringers are 3×12s and the treads are 4×12s screwed with sds screws then plugged and sanded. they are made out of douglas fir.

Just built this out of wood i found on my street this week, seems to serve its purpose.. i am going to glue down some lego boards later. Had some help from my little boy, he does really good with a sandig block..

First i would like to thank all the response i recieved from fellow Lumberjocks. I took the advice and just uncrated a GO514X . So I hope this week I get time to put it together. I will give a review after i use it . Thanks again Dick

My wife was conscripted to create the wedding topper for her brother’s wedding cake, which was to be button themed. This quickly turned into a request for me to provide a 6” button for the couple to stand on. I was originally intending to carve it on a router table with round-over bits, but I struggled with how to make the inside profile. Because I lack the artistic ability, regardless of tools involved, to turn a block of wood into something recognizable without detailed plans, I pulled out a caliper and measured and sketch-up’d a button, then scaled it up. At this point I realized that the curves weren’t even close to full round-overs, and this was unquestionably a lathe project. But I don’t have a lathe. I’ve never turned anything. Rather than listen to my internal this-is-probably-going-to-end-poorly-o-meter, I grabbed my workmate, an old craftsman motor with a threaded spindle adapter, some clamps, and a plug from a 3” hole saw. I cut out a disc of poplar with my scroll saw, and screwed it to the plug with a pair of cut-down screws. I managed to attach it in such a way that the screw holes eventually were drilled out to become the button holes. Next problem—no lathe tools. I had some fairly sharp carving tools that were so cheap that I didn’t care if I destroyed them, but the “pop” when I barely touched one to the spinning wood told me to put them away. Next up, some worthless chisels I picked up at the dollar store for sharpening practice (well, someday). These had enough metal in them that they didn’t scare me to try, but I didn’t expect much because they’re completely dull. Surprisingly, shavings started coming off, and I quickly saw how so many people can get addicted to turning. It ended up a little rough in spots, but honestly I expected much less from my first attempt. The only thing I really was a little disappointed in was that I was hoping for a little more of the poplar green. The finish is clear spray lacquer, but it seems to have hidden the color completely. I was trying to keep the color lighter and brighter to match the cake.

I have a show coming up and have been trying to get a variety of things ready to sell. These are a few calls I finished up yesterday. Now back to the shop to come up with something else.

J Christopher White inspired me to try my hand with movement in carving. This was carved out of a large Walnut burl. As you can see there was a large blemish in the wood in the lower wing that adds interest. His work is truly inspiring.

Starting to carve human faces has given me a new perception of everyone I see.