I was looking through the projects earlier this week and noticed some of the wonderful chip carvings that the amazingly skilled and talented folks on LJ have posted. I thought, “Hey, that’s something I could do in the house, or front portch, or under a shade tree, when it’s too hot in the shop!” With that, I was off to the <insert> to buy a knife and a book.

A few hours later, I had a chip carving knife and a book. I bought the “Complete Guide to Chip Carving” by Wayne Barton and a Pfeil knife. At first glance, it looks like chip carving might not be that hard. I mean, how hard is is to draw triangles then carve them out with a tiny little knife. That was a big, bad, assumption on my part. To quote my dad on a multitude of situations while I was growing up, “It ain’t as easy as it looks, is it?” Haha.

After a couple of hours, I think I made some good progress making chips but I’m nowhere near anything I would like to post here. I’m not one that ever backs down from a challenge and I won’t be putting the knife down any time soon. However, I could see how those with less determination would become frustrated and give up.

The cost (so far!), convenience, and portability are the main appeal right now because it sure ain’t the beautiful things I’ve created. I would say, if you’re a beginner, don’t give up early on, because “It ain’t as easy as it looks!”.

I’m interested in hearing from you experienced chip carvers about the early stages. If you have any additional suggestions, let me know.

In the meantime, I’m looking for some ideas on a few personalization touches like posters, signs, pictures, or anything else. Please drop me a line if you have ideas or pictures.

I’m posting a few pictures here but the rest of them can be seen over at my new website, ‘The Workshop Garage’. It’s in my signature. Please let me know what you think…OR…if you have suggestions, they are more than welcome.

I’m also looking for pictures of your ‘Workshop Garage’ to be highlighted on

Thanks for following this. Man, I love this site!

This wall is right inside the door (which is seldom used in the summer time). The drill press is soon to be replaced. I dropped it off the bench this winter and broke the shaft on the original motor. I retrofitted a motor from a smaller drill press and it’s just not quite up to the task. Yuck!

Here is an overhead shot. That’s my FWW New Fangled Workbench in the foreground. If you need a great bench for a ‘tad’ under $200.00, this is the one to make.

Here is the last one. I need to get some of these uploaded to the ‘My Workshop’ page and then a post over on my site with the full collection.

Thanks again,

Here are the initial models I’ve created.

1# The basic concept. The overall shape could be modified to suit just about anything you could imagine. The joinery for the laminations will also involve having the CNC drill holes (Visible or invisible from the outside. My/Your choice) through the layers to make assembly simple with dowels or rods. (Hole placement has not been added to these models yet) I’ve also planned to mill ‘cheeks’ to allow for more ease of alignment of the components.

2# Exploded. This is just an exploded model to show the various components that would go into creating ‘CNC Hand Plane Version 2’.

3# This is the actual model that would be imported into my CAM software to generate the toolpaths I’ll need for milling. I though about using thicker wood to limit the amount of slices but with this model, I should be able to make everything from 3/4 inch stock.

I also need to make a consistent method for attaching the blank and then being able to machine the entire outside and inside of the body. I devised a plate made from MDB (in the picture) with T-nuts. I then drill the blank slightly long, counter bore the holes to take 1/4-20 hex screws of varying lengths, depending on the piece. This part is working pretty good so far.

Now, the first body is probably not even a good shape for a plane but this was about getting the equipment performing the way I expect. That piece is nearly 8 inches long (not including the hold downs). Everything started pretty good. I used a 1/2 inch end mill for the first roughing pass. I had planned a 1/4 inch end mill for a 2nd roughing pass but opted against it. This is where I made the mistake. As I was running a relief cut with a 1/4 inch ball nose, I ‘dragged’ the bit and lost a few ‘steps’. This cause my X axis reference to be off. This is evident by the ‘stair-steps’ inside the pocket (they should have been removed) and the ridges on one end. Regardless – This is failure #1 and it provided some valuable lessons for me. As long as I make progress, I don’t mind messing up. This is gonna be fun!

P.S. Once I get my workflow and equipment dialed in, would anyone be interested in doing some trading of services? I’m offering some CNC services for plane iron. (Preferably, if you can make your own and they are thick). I could probably cut saw handle blanks really easily. Jig templates, etc. Name it. (As long as its smaller than 12X20. :)
Thanks guys!

Here are some pictures and video of the fun.

1/2 inch end mill – 1st roughing pass

Failure #1 in all its glory!

Video of the 1st roughing pass.

Here is a video of the relief pass. It was messed up a bit at this point but I think it’s cool watching things take shape.

Based on recommendations from all the good, helpful, folks and friends I’ve met here on LJ, I picked up the Garret Hack book, “Hand Planes”. There is a section in there on these wonderful little things. After a lengthy thread in the forums and several sharpening/using type videos, I was ready.

I stopped by my local Woodcraft and picked up the Lie-Nielson set. It came with two scrapers (a thick and a thin). When I got home, I went straight to the shop and found a rough cut piece of cherry. Well, frustration immediately ensued. I was thinking there has to be an art form to these things. True be told, there is a trick but it’s a strick you can learn in about 15 minutes. By varying the angle at which I presented the edge to the surface, I was able to find ‘my groove’ and start making thin ‘see through’ shavings. It only took about 15 minutes to get the small board flat and polished. No sandpaper necessary! Yes, they are that cool!

If you don’t have any of these in your toolbox, get some. You can burnish them with any round rod. Like a turning tool shaft, screwdriver, burnisher, etc. The only other things you’ll need are some sandpaper, a flat surface, and upper arms that are slightly stronger than my 8 year old daughters! It’s one of the best $5-15 dollar purchases you can make.

Here is a picture of my first attempt. Thanks to all the LJ’s who now have me addicted to hand tools! ha

With that, it was off to the BORG to get some lumber for shelves and the new bench. Here are the benches in their completed states. I added a small shelf to the front of the lathe bench with a small lip to keep my chisels from rolling off. I’m thinking about adding a tool holder to the left side. It was a long Saturday!

Let me know what you think.

Here is the NFB

And the NFLB (Not really ‘new’ or ‘fangled’)

A quick trip to the BORG and I had several pieces of 2X10 lumber in the shop. I got to stretch the legs on my Rigid Granite table saw while getting all of the boards cut. I took an approach that might be a bit different than what you might have taken. I built the top first. I thought I would make the top as flat as I possibly could so I used the top of my table saw as the guide to getting it all straight. When it was all said and done, the top boards have a ‘hair’ of cupping to the tune of less than a 1/16 of an inch. Once I learn to tune, sharpen, and use my jack plane, I should be able to get it really flat. I was really happy with how it turned out. Here is a shot of it sitting on my saw.

From there, I basically assembled on down to the feet. I attached the top leg support to the two legs then screwed that to the bench top. After that, I lined up the feet and created my pilot holes. Making sure things were ‘square’ as I went along, putting on the feet was uneventful. I flipped it over and, for the first time in my entire life, it didn’t rock even one micron. I’m serious. It’s solidly planted on the floor. I had to stop and pat myself on the back after that. I should go buy a lottery ticket or something. This never happens to me.

I still neet to add the stretcher between the legs and the parts that go with the pipes and clamps but it’s all downhill from here. I can’t wait to start using this thing. I also plan to add a second stretcher to the back leg so I can build a shelf down there to hold my hand and power tools that get used the most. Here are some more shots. It’s not pretty but it’s solid and it’s straight. That’s all I care about. All in all, I think I have between 6 and 8 hours total in this. My cost is right at $200.00. Not too shabby.

Enjoy!

Take care,

In all actuality, I’m glad I hired a pro to do this. I have a couple of brackets to add to some conduit before the inspector gets here and I should be good to go. Now, who wants to come over and help me run all the conduit for all the circuits after my inspection is done? Yeah, right!

Here’s a picture. 100amps of Tesla’s magic, right there in my shop.

That’s about all I have for now. Need to work on my next post.

Take care!

The walls are insulated, covered with sheetrock, mudded, and taped. I have installed (4) 2-bulb 4ft light fixtures in the ceiling. There is still room for 4 more and I’ll be adding those later. I have some of the conduit and outlets in the ceiling as well as starting to run the wiring for the wall outlets. I plan to alternate circuits to provide me with the flexibility of running multiple tools but spreading out the amp draw. The wall outlets will be a minimum of 52 inches from the floor to avoid any sheet goods or large items. I have a single access hole cut in the ceiling. As seen in my previous posts, things are looking pretty good.

So far, I’ve spent close to $500.00 on this project.

What is next? I have the electrician coming over Saturday to run the new 240v circuit to the shop and install a 100amp subpanel. The box I’m getting provides me with 16 slots. That should be more than enough for a 400 sq/ft work area. The bid from the electrician came in at a hair under $540.00.

I have been using a 3d modeling tool and Photoshop to create a 2D diagram of the floorplan. I think I have arrived at a solution that will work as a great starting point for me. I would be interested in hearing your thoughts. See the picture below.

The TS, BS, DC and CNC are all on wheels. Most of the time, I think they can live a little futher out in the middle but this is the ‘small’ working area if I’m turning, or making things that don’t require larger space. This will also leave the shop configured to allow the wife to get her SUV in there if she needs to. (It better be a pretty good reason. LOL!). The wall on the bottom left corner is reserved for Lawn/Garden/Sporting Goods (twins girls toys.) The Bench will provide some outfeed for the TS and the DC is right there as well. The same goes for my BS. DC hose will probably not be longer than 6 feet. It’s a small one.
To Do:

I still need to finish running all of my circuits. There will be individual circuits for the following. Lights, ceiling outlets (3), wall outlets (alternating, 2 circuits) TS (220v), BS (220v), DC (220v). The motors for the 220v machines still need to be reconfigured for the new voltage. Decide on a climate control system for the shop. Heat or Heat+A/C. I’m leaning toward the latter if the price is right. It’s only 400 sq/ft so it shouldn’t be a real big stretch. And lastly, I need to get an initial storage/bench solution established.

For cost reasons, I’m planning to build a ‘FWW New Fangled Bench’ and have already purchased the construction lumber, screws, pipes, and clamps. For now, it seems to be the ‘best fit’ for me in the new workspace. Cabinets and a permanently mounted bench are also planned for the near future. Gotta have the storage!

That’s about it for now. Look for a new blog series on my bench building (hope I don’t screw it up) coming soon.

Thanks guys,
Matt

Rather than code a bunch of pictures into this post, here is a link to my Flickr Set for this plane.

So, recently I’ve taken an interest in hand tools. I don’t own any vintage or nice ones (unless you count this one) but that may change really soon. I have always been a history buff so that part of it appeals to me as well. I think being able to go out to my shop and having some nice quiet time working with wood would be very satisfying. Rather than go through my educational process again, you can visit the thread I started a couple of weeks ago. It has been a wealth of info (Thanks ‘Jocks!’). Here is the thread.

Armed with that, I took the plunge. That’s the way I work. I now have the plane so I have to ‘care for it’. That motivates me to learn more about it. I picked up the Garret Hack book from Amazon. I have begun to research sharpening, tuning, cleaning, restoring (if I want to), lapping, etc. I am a bookworm/knowledge sponge so I’m already finding it very stimulating.

I picked this plane up on Ebay for $21.00 + shipping. Total, it came out to less than $30.00. It arrived in 3 days, to my suprise. On a whim, I adjusted the blade to just touch the wood when I sat the plane on the wood and gave it a little push. It made a nice little curly shaving. It wasn’t full blade width but it was very thin. I’ll call this moment, “My First Success”. hahaha Already I’m lovin’ the little gal and I’m already on the hunt for a #4, #7, and a block plane just to give me a starter set.

I linked to my Flickr Set to give everyone a better look at the plane and give me some feedback. I shot them with a Canon S5IS in macro mode. Which, coincidentally, is an awesome ‘point and shoot’ camera. I highly recommend them.

I’m still looking for some decent chisels too.

Thanks for all the learnin’ guys!