36 days ago
by ChunkyC |
0 comments »
Right hand sideLeft hand sideThe underside
I not certain that this qualifies for a “project” but it’s been raining here for the last two days (on vacation not withstanding!) so I had to do something.
The base started from a 12×12 blank of 1/8” hardboard and trimmed down to final size of 12×11-1/16. I made the base a lot wider on the left hand side so that I can use the saw with my good hand (left hand). The way is was before, the motor would hit the c...
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92 days ago
by mreagleeyes |
17 comments »
I am working on yet another piece and thought I’d share me project so far with you guys.
The Magnolia ‘Salicifolia’ tree had stood in the grounds of the Inner Temple on London’s Thames for over 80 years but due to a fungus it had to come down.
My original plan was to use the timber as a practice piece that I could use my new Arbortech grinder on, however whilst the guys where cutting the tree down the girl in charge of the gardens asked what I would do with the t...
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114 days ago
by PurpLev |
13 comments »
After last week’s ongoing progress, it felt a bit slow this week (which it is), but I did have some things I wanted to share, and also was able to finish the base with 3 coats of BLO which is what I’m going to keep on it for conditioning the wood, and protecting it from moisture.
Mistake #1: Drawboring to the wrong side (cringe) 2 legs on each side of the base are connected together using 2 short rails. The top one is using a sliding dovetail, while the lower one uses M&T. ...
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166 days ago
by Gary Fixler |
8 comments »
I didn’t like how the “Ebony 2718” Minwax stain looked in the last entry in this series, so I grabbed a can of flat black paint from a recently completed project for my friends’ wedding, and after a 24-hour drying period, painted right over the stain.
I went out to the shop several times yesterday to sand @ 220-grit, and apply another layer of Minwax’s water-based polyurethane. Water-based simply because I had it, and I also don’t love finishing ...
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167 days ago
by Gary Fixler |
13 comments »
I know dark colors are a bad idea in a dusty shop, but I just couldn’t resist their siren song. Time to go crash my boat on the rocks! I looked at the colors of the planer, and with the help of our office manager at my company, decided I wanted a black cabinet with a red drawer.
I labored over my choices for an hour in Home Depot, and even had them unpack stock boxes to get some Minwax ‘blank’ stain so we could mix up some reds. I chose “Spice” and “Chin...
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169 days ago
by Gary Fixler |
5 comments »
Up early, I got a little done this morning before work. I tested 2 stains from my small stock pile on some scrap poplar, the same stuff I used in this rolling base.
That’s Minwax “Golden Pecan 245” on the left, and “Red Oak 215” on the right. The pecan is less saturated than the online sample. The red oak is much less red, and much more like chocolate, but I like how it makes the poplar sort of look like a hardwood. I’m tentatively going to use that ...
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171 days ago
by Gary Fixler |
6 comments »
I have to say, posting projects as I do them does two things. I puts the pressure on me to not screw up, after getting great comments from you folks about how to proceed through difficult parts. I sure don’t want to come back and say “Thanks for all the suggestions, but oh well! I shattered the entire thing in a big kickback!” It also really drives me to keep working when I might otherwise say “Meh, I’ll finish that part tomorrow, or this weekend.” So thank...
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172 days ago
by Gary Fixler |
8 comments »
I got the casters on yesterday, cutting some scrap wood board to fit along the edges inside the bottom, and joining them in with pocket hole screws from underneath. Extra sturdy now, and the wheels are all in plane with each other. I wasn’t sure how tall they were, and it was critical, as I was designing this to be as high as possible, while still fitting comfortably under my work table. I have Rockler’s digital height gauge, and it showed me they were all exactly 2.5” (actu...
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172 days ago
by Gary Fixler |
9 comments »
My Craftsman 13” planer is a real beast to move around in the shop. It’s very heavy, and really bulky. As such, it’s just always either in the way when I don’t need it, or really hard to get to when I do, having collected many items from other projects on and around it since its previous use. After setting up to use it, I’m often too tired to. I’ve even changed some projects to avoid planing altogether, just because I don’t want to move a few dozen th...
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178 days ago
by PurpLev |
27 comments »
I guess this is a tool gloat more than anything.
I like hand planing boards, but sometimes, and especially when trying to get a board to a certain thickness (while keeping it straight) I just want to be able to throw the board through an infeed and automate that process. especially since I’m coming up with some projects that require large/long boards to be planed down.
so, with a budget in mind, I keep an eye on craigslist from time to time. the only things I’ve seen in my p...
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