199 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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113 days ago
by mreagleeyes |
18 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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134 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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187 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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449 days ago
by PurpLev |
12 comments »
So I’ve been planning on getting a bandsaw for a long time, but at first I didn’t have the space for it – then I figured, maybe I can squeeze a 12” version in the tight space that I did have – but that would mean I will not be able to resaw – which is one of the main reasons I wanted to get a bandsaw, so eventually I just had to put this wish on the back-burner…
I had recently moved to a larger place, with a larger garage that is currently dedicate...
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851 days ago
by TheGravedigger |
12 comments »
Well, it’s finally done. The workbench base is done and has been mated to the top.
I gave the finished base three coats of finish. The first was equal parts turpentine, BLO, & spar urethane. The next two were just BLO & spar urethane 50:50. All were applied with a rag & then rubbed dry like all finishes of this type. This gave me a good seal for the wood, and gloss wasn’t really a consideration. Yes, I know lots of folk will go for a proper finish, but I’...
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285 days ago
by Loogie |
10 comments »
Ok, All the parts have been trimmed and fit so it’s time to put the base together for the the first time. It will have to come apart multiple times after this for some finishing touches.
I can attest that I am unable to rack this base AT ALL – even though the top rails aren’t secure with their lag bolts yet. That sure will be nice. My old bench would shake and jiggle when I was planing on it. Next I will be drilling the holes in the two rails on this side of the bench...
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908 days ago
by mot |
10 comments »
I joined the bases with the stretchers by using dowels as anti rotation pins, and then running a bolt through the stretcher to pull everything up tight…
I added a top that is 22" x 12" of double thickness birch plywood. You can see some blade burn on both the plywood and the hard maple bases. It was a sharp blade, but I had feed rate issues.
Cutting the top. The excalibur blade guard is a real asset when cutting sheet goods for not only finger protection, but overblade dust...
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192 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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909 days ago
by TheGravedigger |
9 comments »
As requested, here is my basic plan for the workbench base. This was my first (semi) successful drawing with Google SketchUp, so please pardon the crudeness. I plan on starting on this phase in the next week or two (after payday).
The wood will be southern yellow pine dimension lumber. With the exception of the 2x6 lower stretchers, the rest will be 2x4's. The upper stretchers will be single thickness, the outside legs and feet will be glue-lams of 2 studs, and the center legs and ...
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