Milling a huge acacia log
I came across this log a few weeks ago. A tree service guy gave a call and I bought it off him. I am now in Glendale, Az. Give me a call if you are interested in wood slabs. 602-319-7968.
My Journey As A Scroll Saw Pattern Designer #1036: Working Weekend
Yesterday was a pretty productive day. I wound up pretty much finishing the design that I was working on for the holiday issue of Creative Woodworks and Crafts magazine, and I began to map out the companion piece that I will be making with it. Usually, once I get things rolling like this, I am well on my way. I am pleased with how the project looks. Even on paper it is nice, and once it is cut in wood and I have added the ‘extras’ to it, it should make a nice presentation. I ...
Changing Table Build.. #4: Nearly There...Plus My First hand cut Mortise and Tenon joints
Trucking right along here. The bulk of tonight’s work was trimming the table top and carving out a couple through mortises. I have never done that before and don;t quite know what possessed me to do so but they turned out “OK” for a couple firsts. They are nice and tight but are less than pretty from the viewing side so some wedges will be in order. I do however feel very confident in their holding ability since I had to pound the crap out of the stretcher to get it set ...
Shop Vacumn Cart #3: Day 2
Got the base and sub-base cut out yesterday. Had to revise the drawing several times to fit my shop-vac from the original design. Today was mostly a bust on working on the cart. Friend came by and we made a trip over to Mike’s Discount Store to see if anything new had came in. Mike’s is a returns/close out store that stocks about anything you can think of. Most is damaged or NOS, but you never know what your going to find.After lunch got back in the shop for about an hour and...
New jointer
Sweet new 8 inch spiral parallelogram jointer. Now I can get rid of my 6 inch benchtop jointer.
New Book on Arts & Crafts Furniture Coming in June
14 of my articles on building reproductions of Arts & Crafts style furniture, that were originally published in Popular Woodworking over the last 9 years have been collected in a new book “Classic Arts & Crafts Furniture: 14 Timeless Designs”. You can pre-order a signed copy directly from me. Details and a preview at my website
My New Hatch Cover #2: Cosmetic Veneering
You may have seen this video before. It was made for this blog but I added it to my “Hide Glue for Beginners” one as well. It sort of belongs in both. Anyway skip it if you’ve already seen it. When we left off, the hatch cover was structurally finished but didn’t look too good. So the next step was to veneer it with some nice mahogany strips These will make the cover look like it was actually made out of the narrow boards necessary to form the curve. I got to use my ne...
Using a 4 x 4 in tile for glue
Yesterday I poured some glue on a 4×4in ceramic tile I had laying around the shop because I was gluing up a cedar planter. I thought to myself well if it doesn’t come off oh well. Today when I went back to my shop to finish I was able to peel the dried glue clean off!! This is a cheaper alternative to the silicone trays that are on the market. I think mine cost me $.25!!
Planting time on the farm, finally!
This video is by Merv French of Australia in his Case Quadtrac, like Merv, I have been there, done that!.... With all the modern technology in farming today, farming can get a little boring!... When the work is done, to the woodshop I go!
Scroll saw Blade storage
While at Mom’s the other day I salvaged an empty pill bottle (fish oil, it’s BIG) thinking “This might be big enough to put scroll saw blades in.” Brought it home and today, while waiting for finish to dry… I tried it out and with some scrap 1/8th inch plywood made the holder. Nothing fancy. I didn’t even sand it. I made a ‘collar’ that will keep the blade ends in the center of the bottle so as to not interfere with the lid and labled it with th...
