| Blog series by Sandra | updated 87 days ago | 9 parts | 9875 reads | 116 comments total |
Part 1: Finally using a circular saw
It rained all weekend, keeping me from using my new planer, but I did manage to use my tools. I wanted to build a wine rack out of PVC for our basement. (the base is WOOD, I swear) so I did use my SCMS and finally broke down and used a circular saw on a piece of plywood. I think the issue I have with the circular saw is the weight. I took that into consideration when buying it, but it still feels awkward in my hands, particularly at the end of the cut. Here’s my first attempt a...
Part 2: The planer, boss - the planer!
And finally I used the planer… The guys renovating our basement thought birch would stain nicely to match the new laminate flooring. The plan was to make a ledge/rail at the bottom of the half wall and a long ledge (110”) where the wall juts out. I thought it would be a good project for me so I took it on. I found birch and maple on kijiji and came home with a van load of rough lumber. Which lead to me building lumber racks. Funny how these things snowball. Then of cou...
Part 3: The miter saw that started it all
Every time I set up my miter saw, I chuckle to myself about how I ended up with the saw. Yes I do chuckle to myself aloud sometimes. That doesn’t seem to bother folks as much as talking out loud. Thought I’d share. About three years ago, I was in Home Depot (quelle surprise!) with one of my girly friends who ran into her friend and the two women started talking about beading, leaving me to talk to the husband. We were standing near the power tools, so I struck up a conversa...
Part 4: Bandsaw anticipation
After reading, reading, and more reading, I broke down and ordered a bandsaw from BusyBee (BAND SAW 14IN. DELUXE CRAFTEX CX SERIES CSA) . With it being so close to Christmas, I’m feeling a wee bit guilty having spent that much money on myself, and as a result I haven’t broke the news to hubby quite yet. He’s a wise man, and will probably say nothing about it anyhow, but it’s the LOOK I sometimes get. The ‘what did she buy now?’ look. Truth be told, we...
Part 5: 2nd attempt at buying a bandsaw
After my unfortunate experience with Busy Bee, I’ve been looking into my options for bandsaws. I almost went with a 14” King Canada bandsaw because I could buy it here locally. The price was right, but the resaw capacity was paltry. The 17 inch model was out of my price range completely. I finally decided on the Rikon 10-325 and then started shopping around. I could buy the saw on Amazon.com and get free shipping but not to Canada. My neighbour has a PO box in Maine, a...
Part 6: My shiny new Rikon 10-325
Well shut the front door! My Rikon 10-325 is put together and making sawdust! After a unpleasant experience buying and returning a Craftex, I was leery about my new Rikon.It arrived two days ago and I’ve been putting it together a bit at a time. This evening I finally finished it. From reading LJ’s comments about this saw, I expected the instructions to be crappy and I wasn’t disappointed. The black and white pictures are not clear, with arrows pointing to who knows...
Part 7: When the moon hits your eye..... it's a mortise (now with tenons)
So I’ve decided to build my workbench and have settled on this for a design from Fine Woodworking: It’s a nice size for my work area, and will definitely be a skill builder. I can make the bench with or without the drawers, but I’d like to give them a try as well. The frame is mortise and tenon and the drawers are made with box joints, neither of which I’ve ever tried. Yesterday I fired up the jointer and planer and dressed the lumber for the frame. I had b...
Part 8: My three Stanleys
For better or worse, I’ve dipped my foot in the handtool pool. A few weeks ago, I purchased a lovely ‘tricked out’ Stanley #4 from Don W. as well as a Sweetheart #3 from an anonymous LJ. Both planes were auctioned off by LukieB for charity. While I was waiting for the planes to make it across the border, I picked up a Bailey Stanley #4 that looked like this: I wanted to take one apart and understand how it works before possibly ruining all the work that was al...
Part 9: $15 Falcon Pope plane has landed
For $15.00 last week, I bought a Falcon Pope #5 after getting some good advice from LJs http://lumberjocks.com/topics/47849 I chose the Falcon Pope partly because I didn’t have a #5, but also that it seemed sturdy, had all the parts, and it said made in Australia. So why not. Once I took it apart however, I stopped feelin’ the love. Nevertheless, I pitched into a CLR bath and let it sit for a day. When I took it out, the lever cap was peeling, the color looked t...
