Grumpy's Blog at LumberJocks.com

Emergency Toilet Door-My Solution

Grumpy — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 01:21:10 GMT

Some time ago I posted a blog asking if anyone had any ideas on a two way opening door system for a toilet entry.
http://lumberjocks.com/Grumpy/blog/8405
I got some good ideas from that & also chased the World wide web. Many thanks to those who responded.
There are manufacturers that make systems just for this purpose but they are generally expensive & some require considerable modification to the door jamb structure which was what I wanted to avoid.
After a lot of thinking & not much doing I had an idea that was simple, cost effective & practical.
I used a bi-fold door mechanism which was pivoted at the top & bottom of the door (no hinges). I used the track & the pivots from this kit.
;

This allowed the door to open in both directions.
Next came the issue of a door stop to allow the door to open & close internally under normal use & to open outwards in an emergency. The door was free to swing in either direction because I had reduced the width so that it fitted inside the jamb. I needed something to act as a stop that could also be moved in an emergency to allow the door to open out.
The kit for the bi-fold door system had a spring loaded overhead plastic runner for a second door. This was not needed because there is only one door. But it had a use as a door stop. I cut the runner so it had one flat side & the rest was the original circular section. The flat side was to act as a door stop.

In an emergency the stop could be pushed in so it was flush with the jamb allowing the door to open out. The red was added graphically for effect.

There was one more problem Grrrrrr @#$%$%%^^&&(*&(
The door needed about 1/4” gap between it & the jamb to allow it to pivot both ways. This resulted in a privacy issue because there was some limited view of the inside.
To overcome this I added a privacy strip either side of the jamb. It allowed the door to pivot but blocked any view of the inside.
This is the profile.

This photo is with strips fitted to the jamb

As you can see the project is not finished yet but the idea is the important part.
The total cost was $50Aus (about $41.50US)

Help! Wanted For A Two Way Door

Grumpy — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 23:42:47 GMT

I am in the middle of renovating our toilet. It is a small 1mX2m (3’X6’) room separated from the main bathroom.
Now this may seem funny but a very high proportion of deaths occur on the WC.
The problem is how do you get someone out of a small enclosure when the door only opens inward. The door can be a big obstacle. I am sure many of you that are medicos would have experienced this problem.
I want to redesign the door & jamb so that it will open inwards normally but outwards in an emergency.
Has any Lumberjock done this?. I am looking for design ideas & hinge systems. Photos or drawings would greatly assist.

Boni Chainsaw Carving

Grumpy — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 00:34:36 GMT

This woodworker has done some amazing carvings

Choosing A Bandsaw Blade

Grumpy — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 23:05:31 GMT

Here is an article that may interest those starting off with a bandsaw. It does refer to Australian hardwood but is probably relevant to hardwood species generally.
Courtesy of Norwood Tools Queensland
http://www.toolco.com.au/BandSaw_101.html

Circle Cutting Jig

Grumpy — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 04:17:37 GMT

I needed a jig to make a lazy susan, my blog is at;
http://lumberjocks.com/jocks/Grumpy/blog/6612
This jig was not my design but came from an article in a magazine. It is fairly simple & I thought it might be worth sharing.
There are 3 wooden components & a handful of metal bits.

A 1/4”X6” disc can be stuck to the item you want to shape or a 1/4 pin can be screwed into a hole in the centre of the item as in the above photo.
A 4 1/2”X 1/2” piece of desired length is then needed to mount the router on. The router is actually mounted on a separate piece of shaped wood at the end.

A 1/4” slot runs along the centre of the longer piece & a 1 1/4” groove is cut on the under side.

I used a metal piece to act as a pivot & also act as a slider along the groove in the longer piece.

The white pieces of tape under the router base was added for this cut to adjust the height because double sided tape was used under the centre piece.
Thats all folks.

Lazy Susan

Grumpy — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 03:01:16 GMT

This project had more hickups than an old drunk in the park but thanks to three of my buddies who gave some excellent advice I was able to straighten (I do mean straighten) things out. Our Kitchen table is an 8 seater. Reaching items in the middle was a bit of a nuisance unless you stood up. A lazy Susan was the answer, but what size?.
I drew the whole thing on sketchup but that did not give a satisfactory idea of proportion. I then cut two 8mm (5/16”) plywood templates, a 500mm & 600mm diameter (19 1/2” & 2’). It was then very obvious the 600mm would be the right size.
The kitchen table is 1500X1500mm (just under 5’X5’) & is constructed from 90mm (3 1/2”) pieces so it was obvious to use 90mm boards on the lazy susan.
Thats where the fun started & mistakes were made.

Problem 1
Rather than lay the 90mm boards with the radial ends in opposing direction (as I recently saw Norm do) I did not give it a thought. I used biscuits to align & glue the pieces & that was not a problem but I could have paid more attention to the clamping. Everything looked straight but when the clamps were released I had a 1/4” cupping over the width of the boards. Not obvious in the photo but a definite no no for a lazy susan.

Rather than throw it away & start again (typical woodie) I thought of straightening it out. This is where my buddies came to the rescue. Many thanks to Todd Clippinger, Lee Jesberger & RusticElements who all gave similar advice.
The real key was to wet down the cupped (concave) side . The result was almost instantaneous but did not last long. So I kept on repeating the process & eventually after 3 or 4 attempts & some heavy weights over a few days I ended up with a very satisfactory result. Thanks to my 3 buddies.

Problem 2
How to make a perfectly round lazy susan. I could have used the bandsaw & made a jig to suit or used the outrigger on the lathe but decided a circle cutting jig for the router was the easiest particularly if there was to be any further circle cutting feature work.
The jig is not my design, I saw it in a magazine. It was not difficult to make & worked very effectively even using double sided tape over the centre of the susan. I will post another blog on the jig.
After two or 3 passes I had a perfectly circular joined piece of wood.

I then routered out a shallow circular feature on the top just for visual effect. The base was firstly a template cut out on the bandsaw then later cut down to size, again on the bandsaw.

Problem 3
After sanding with the belt sander & fine manual sanding I came to the colour matching part of the exercise, a part I am not particularly good at. The first attempt with wood stain was a disaster. I ended up with something much too red. Sand it back Grumpy & try again. This is where the colour wheel & the colour triangle came to the rescue. I used the base colours of yellow blue & red.

I started with yellow & after some experimentation I had an approximate colour. I still needed rub with a thinning agent to lighten the colour. The end result was satisfactory & perhaps a bit of luck was involved as well. Finished with 4 coats of poly then buffed.

The base is 8mm (5/16”) X 380mm (15”) ply with black felt glued to the bottom. The underneath side of the top is stained black with poly finish.

A metal roller bearing mechanism was purchased for the local timber supplier

That’s all folks. Sorry to be so long winded but there where some lessons I learned on the way that were good to share around.

Grumpy's First Year

Grumpy — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 00:01:15 GMT

Well 365 days here at Lumberjocks and it seems like only a short time.
I have made a lot of new friends in the past year on LJ’s & have learned much from the great skills that are possessed world wide.
I never cease to be impressed by the quality of both amateur & professional work.
I hope I have helped fellow Lumberjocks on the way & look forward to a continued relationship with you in the year ahead.
Special thanks to Martin, MsDebbie, Karson and all my buddies.

Which One Would You Keep

Grumpy — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 02:36:21 GMT

Here are a few Christmas/birthday presents just completed.
The dilema is which one would you keep for yourself (if any)
please let me know what you think
You can pass your vote 1 to 10 or 11 if you would not keep any.
The wood is all from Australian eucalypt burls. Pens are either blackwood, myrtle or camphor laurel. The bases are either blackwood or myrtle.
The finish is wipe on poly on pens & bases.

Number 1
Myrtle

Number 2
Myrtle

Number 3
Myrtle

Number 4
Myrtle

Number 5
Myrtle

Number 6
Blackwood Base, Camphor & Blackwood pens.

Number 7
Blackwood

Number 8
Myrtle

Number 9
Blackwood

Number 10
Blackwood

Pen Finish

Grumpy — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 23:11:07 GMT

I was at the Canberra ‘Working with Wood’ show last weekend & was talking to one of the wood turners, I think he was with the ACT Woodcraft Guild. He was turning a pen & had a great finish on it. I asked him about the finish & it was simply linseed oil & super glue. That got me interested so I did a little websearching & found this Utube video on how it’s done.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBTbCOL4npg

For all the Texans & others who like a laugh

Grumpy — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 02:13:01 GMT

An email from a friend that I thought was worth sharing;
Dept of water and Rancher

A Department of Water representative stopped at a ranch and talked with
an old rancher. He told the rancher, “I need to inspect your ranch for
your water allocation.”

The old rancher said, “Okay, but don’t go in that field over there.”

The Water representative said, “Mister, I have the authority of Federal
Government with me. See this card? The card means I am allowed to go
WHEREVER I WISH on any agricultural land. No questions asked or
answered. “Have I made myself clear? Do you understand?”

The old rancher nodded politely and went about his chores. Later, the
old rancher heard loud screams and saw the Water Rep Running for the
fence and close behind was the rancher’s bull. The bull was gaining on
the Water Rep with every step. The Rep was clearly terrified, so the
old rancher immediately threw down his tools, ran to the fence and
shouted out…..

“Your card! Your card! Show him your card!”