With the holidays approaching fast I begin to repeat to everyone how I do not like what Christmas has become.
It is so commercialized, to me the meaning has been lost, and I wither into my Grinch mode.
My spirit has been kindled for the season by this gift, it is so special to me and has come at a time when I really needed the connection of friends. This is what Christmas means to me. The thoughtfulness of others, and ourselves, to give without expecting, and celebrating the cherished connections we have with others.

Patron you are a blessing in disguise, thank you for this special and exceptionally beautiful box.

I will treasure it FOREVER !

Happy Holidays to everyone,

Lisa

55 gal plastic drum- free
4×8 sheet of remesh- found with rebar at Home Depot and cut to fit inside barrel
1 rebar rod- woven into remesh
8 cups Arm and Hammer Washing Soda
55 gal of water
Cost around $15.00 total

Hooked up battery charger….bubbles like a witches cauldron !

Can’t wait to take this upper armature out and see how she looks.

Thanks for looking,
Lisa Currier

When Ellen (Ellen35), Lorna (moonls), and I arrived on Friday as the show was beginning, Dave was busy turning a pen. Bruce (brunob) was manning the station.

We were greeted by Rob on left

That was great because it meant….the girls could go SHOPPING !
I waited for Saturday whenmy husband came in to make large tool purchases….hehe, he knows how I am, but I love him despite the fact he buys me everything I want.

Carter Products did a seminar on Tuning Your Bandsaw which we enjoyed, more shopping and then a seminar from Jim Heavey and Wood Magazine on jigs. Then all of the above LJ’s and Len (Dusty56) were off to dinner at the Outback Steakhouse, Yummy !

Saturday was another high energy day. Dave, Bruce, and the three LJ ladies joined forces to man the table and alternate seminar times so that everyone could get to the informationals they wanted to see. Ellen, Lorna and I went to the inlay session presented by Micro-Fence, it was awesome but I am going to have to wait to buy this system – it IS on my list.
I watched Geoff Noden of Noden Inlay Razor crafting some phenomenal inlay work, there was a blog done here on LJ last year on his process. So cool to actually see it.

We were back to the table- Ellen, Lorna, and Lisa

I plopped some projects I had made as gifts on the table to attract attention. When Len showed up in the afternoon he brought some of his showpieces. (nice work Len does for sure)

And had some surprise visits from other LJ members

Sharon (purplev) and Eli from Rough Cut

Tom (Wingstess) stopped by, Some I can’t remember their LJ handle like Tom from Australia, Rob and many others who were not identified. Sign up sheet next year because I can’t rely on my memory. If I met you and forgot I apologize, please comment below that you were forgotten, and give thoughts on the show experience you had.

Saturday wound down quickly but before I headed home, I wanted to see the card sharpening seminar by Mike from Fine WoodWorking Magazine. I asked Mike when the next session was, as he looked to his watch I mentioned I brought my cards and they were in the car. He said, ” Run and get them, I’ll do a private session.”
We went through the process, I got to do hands on, and I was ecstatic. As we were finishing up, some guy came over and we were all shooting the bull about woodworking. Then he introduces himself as Tommy Mac. Oh Nice ! He invited me to come to see his workshop, which of course, I am so going to take him up on, and I am dragging Ellen and Lorna with me, not that they need dragging to go. LOL.
I left on woodworking cloud nine !!
There was so much to see and do, and vendors to visit I could go on forever.

Wish I could have gone today, hopefully whoever was there will post on how the day went.
Next year…..DON”T MISS IT !

Lisa

Here is the final project. It just needs some outside sanding and a couple coats of something to be all complete.
I cut the shelves to size on the table saw with the blade set to 14 degrees. EASY !!
The shelves slide in and out to adjust the height.
The overall size is 18” H x 11 1/2” W x 12” D.

I plan to use it for sandpaper storage : )

Thanks for looking,

Lisa

The table top is two sheets of MDF stacked. I left the lower one 8 ft and cut the upper one to the length of the bed 79” and butted countertop to it over the cabinet.
I routed the lower table with slots to fit the width of a carriage bolt head with a washer. Then put a second layer on the table of MDF and routed slots between two drilled holes to drop the carriage bolt into.
Homemade T-track.

I was so excited at how well the Torque preformed routing the slots with my router.
It is like the difference between a wading pool and an Olympic pool. There is so much room, and I can actually see what the router is doing; not to mention I don’t have to feed the workpiece into the router or hang onto the router freestyle. I am free !! I set my stops X,Y,Z pulled the arm towards me…..DONE.
This is so amazing and awesome, and my brain has gone wild with all the things I can do now.

I plunked the door frame for the Torque cabinet onto the bed, clamped it down, set my stops, and I routed a recess for the caning I am putting on the door to be covered with Plexiglas. This whole set up and cut took me about ten minutes. It would have been near impossible for me to get this so clean and accurate on my router table.

I put a piece of countertop on the overhang of the lower MDF to use as a place to work. Still working on the drawers for the inside of the cabinet. I took some video of me routing the frame, now I will try to figure out how to upload and edit.

I did myself in for the day…

Lisa

There is a tent also for woodworking machinery, and two tents for metal working machinery.
Dewalt, Makita, and Milwaukee Tools also have tents with great discounts on new power tools.

I was looking for a second router, so I can set my 2 1/4 hp Rigid up on the Torque, and still have a router set up in the cabinet. I have been looking at the Dewalt DW618B3, 2 1/4 hp with 3 bases.

Tent special was $207.00, my husband bought it for me.
Also found a drill press mortising attachment kit for $40.00 reg price $63.95- tag said the 1/4” drill was rusty.
I own steel wool so I bought it.

Picked up a Pro Stix 15” x 20” rubber sandpaper cleaner for the drum sander $15.00 reg price $64.95. The rubber is glued to a 1/8” piece of ply and it is bowed. Glued and clamped it to a 3/4” piece of ply and it is now FLAT. I need to clean the paper on the drum sander, I should get more wear out of the paper that way.
A friend of mine was looking for a scroll saw, there were twelve of them, all 22”, each $25.00. I picked up two that had shipping damage. One has a cracked base, the other a broken lower arm, I ordered the replacement parts right there. $9.00 for the base and $14.50 for the arm. These units sell new for $135.95, I got my tools out and made one unit complete, my friend is picking it up tomorrow for $75.00. I will fix the other unit when the parts arrive and sell it. I found that this is a rather course machine, very basic, and has some vibration that I couldn’t work out if it. It is good for a starter machine if you are trying to decide if you will even like scrolling without spending alot of money. I have a Rigid that performs much better than the Grizzly.

My husband and I are going to replace the carpeting in the house with hardwood floors. We picked up a flooring nailer for $25.00 reg price $195.00 . The tag said the pin driver has a bur on it. Will fix that up.

Inside the store I bought a bench top radial arm drill press for $195.00 a one day only sale price.

Picked up some odds and ends…sandpaper rolls, Timberwolf band saw blade, and some files.
It was another good trip, lots of dust collectors….I counted 16, a dozen or so various sizes dust collectors, band saws, drill presses, and so much more. The thing about the sales is you never know what you will find or if you will beat someone else to the prize.

Thanks for looking,

Lisa

Needs a bit of hand sanding yet.
I bought this wood some time ago and for the life of me
I can’t remember what kind it is.
Splashed it with a bit of MS to see the grain and color.
Will finish with satin poly an glue him to the side of my cabinet.

I am ready to take on the shoe !!

Thanks for looking,
Critiques welcome as this is a first carving,
and I am not sure if it looks right,

Lisa

Back up the story, last February my husband bought me the Woodline Ultimate Joinery Deluxe Combo System when we were at the Woodworking show in Springfield MA.
This is the set here
They had a show special and the system came with nine template sets, six were a bonus, and the show price was I think $240.00. I have been looking at the box ever since waiting to be able to get to it.
The Torque cabinet

is a good practice piece for me to try out some new techniques, since I didn’t have a lot of shop time this weekend, I played with the route a joint system. My husband was pleased since he was wondering if I was ever going to use it. Like I said good things are worth the wait.

Here is the jig

I set it up with Heart joints template

Maple front and walnut sides. I just got a boatload of walnut shorts from my cabinet maker friend (free)
that’s a gloat in case it went over your head. LOL
Also I picked up drawer slides, under mount to make the drawers easy to open and close. These are great slides for 20” I paid $2.88 a drawer set from Harbor Freight. They are self closing and smooooth to roll.
Sweet !!

I also made this little guy for the outside of the cabinet, he needs some carving and sanding….

That’s all I got accomplished this weekend, thanks for looking, and check out the Woodline USA website, they have some nice stuff,

Lisa

Here she is -

I set it up in more than a few hours…I am slow…. and got a 3/4” sheet of MDF for the top.
I was going to cut the sheet to the size of the bed, 24” x 6’ 7” but decided to leave it at 8’ and use the extra as a work surface. For support under the extra length I built the case for drawers that will house the tooling for the Torque. I will post the cabinet again when it is completed. I have something special in mind for the front.
I am going to make drawers and put a door with a lock on it, so when we travel the tools will be secure.
It is a separate rolling cabinet that fits precisely under the height of the bed overhang. Somewhere in the process of cleaning up I misplaced the fourth wheel for the cabinet so it is missing one front wheel for now.
My husband just brought me home another wheel, I think he thinks he put it in with his stuff when he moved out of the garage. Probably, but either way he fixed it for me.

That’s it so far, will hook up the power to it with an extension cord until my husband runs some outlets for me.
I am very excited to get it running. In putting it together I was amazed at the engineering and the strength of the materials that went into making this workstation. It is truly amazing. Now if I can make something amazing with it, I will be really really happy.

Thanks for looking,

Lisa

This ol’ boy belonged to my husbands father, who if he was still alive today would be 106 years old. Wow !
It has a General Electric 1/2 hp motor on it which is the size dimensionally of todays 3hp motors.
They don’t make them like they used to that’s for sure.
My husband was going to take this to his shop and give me his 2 hp compressor which is an upright.
I am still undecided if I want to part with this one.
I really like the popping and hissing sound this one makes,
what do you think keep or trade ?

Lisa

I am currently shut down on production to expand, organize, and set my Torque Worcentre into action in it’s new found space. I officially moved the husband out of the garage, giving me 12’ x 14’ more floor space. He is still sneaking in to use my tools !! Out Out damn spot !! He won’t go away : )
Anyway, in the process of organizing I am building storage drawers and shelves. Now back to the purpose of this blog.
Here is the box-

and here is the drawer carcass that will replace the box-

It is made with 3/4” plywood, and is made to fit the double angle of the lathe stand.
largest dimensions are 36 1/2” L x 16 3/4” H x 17” D. Now I need to make the drawers and the long term plan is to do an intarsia picture for the drawer fronts like I did for my other bench drawers.

Only the scene will be different.

Thanks for looking, I will post when the drawers are done and the unit is set in place.

Lisa

I don’t actually have one to be made from the start right now, so I pieced together what I have to try to illustrate the process. In some places you will have to use a little bit of imagination, but I think it will be clear.

Okay, the key to the weave or the tight weave boards is-
1. lumber should be square
2. cuts must be accurate
3. continuous grain

Otherwise the glue up will be a gaping crooked mess, doable, but not fun,
and the continuous grain is eye pleasing.

First I start with sizing my wood to the length, width and thickness I want to use.
For this board I started with square strips, the main color of the board,
5 strips = 2” wide x 1 1/2” thick and 14 1/2” long
4 strips = 2” wide x 1 1/2” thick and 20 1/2” long

Pinstripes from stock – you will need 18 – 1/8” strips so the width is 1/8” plus the kerf, times the # of strips.
10 strips = 1 1/2” thick x whatever width x 14” long 8 strips = 1 1/2” thick x whatever width x 20 1/2” long

I did use multiple pieces of stock for this, it doesn’t really matter about the continuity of grain because it can’t be seen in the 1/8” pinstripe. Mix and match is fine for these.

This will make a 13” x 19” board. Adjust the lengths to your desired board size.

Now use your imagination and pretend the stock shown is the appropriate size, you will see later how it will look after making cuts.

The Pinstripes-
I set my Incra miter gauge as a thin stock guide to cut 1/8” from the blade.

I move the Incra to the front of the saw, set the stock against it and bring the rip fence up to the stock.
Remove the miter gauge and cut your strip. It should be 1/8”.
Set the miter gauge back in place and repeat the process for all of the pinstripe stock.
You can make a thin stock cutting jig for this purpose, which I will eventually do. See here. Nice work drewdawg. There are others also, but I am short on time for this blog. Feel free to add your jigs to the comments : )

Now with all the pinstripes cut, you are ready to cut your main color stock. The first cut will be the left side of all of the stock. I set my Incra as a thin stock guide again for just over 1/8”. The reason ? After gluing up all the strips, I will run them through the thickness planer, so that both main color pinstripes are approximately 1/8”.
The reason ? The glue will change the dimension of the stock width, I want it as accurate as I can get it and I like a nice easy fraction to work with for the width as this will be the length of the squares to be cut.
This should make sense in a minute.
I forgot to take a picture of this, but it is the same as the setup for the first pinstripes, just a bit wider.

As you might be able to see the walnut on the outside edge is just a bit thicker than the 1/8” maple pinstripe.
I did try to keep the grain orientation on these cuts.

Now you want to cut the main width of the weave. I think I cut them to 1 7/16” but it will depend on how much you lose with the kerf of the blade and still have enough off the cut to be wider than 1/8”. You can even go to 1 1/4” if needed. This cut is a rip cut against the fence to the width you choose.
I made them off the side opposite the first cut, again for grain orientation. This is again done with all of the main color stock and will leave you with the right outside edge stripe.

This cut will leave you with the right outside edge stripe.

Just for clarity this is what you will end up with, although this is different main color and pinstripes, I think it will make it clearer. This is what I have now to be glued up.

Now you can glue up the stock so that you have strips to cut your squares from.
Once the glue is dry I thickness plane the edges to bring it to an nice fraction leaving the outside stripes approximately 1/8 (+ or – ). 1 7/8” worked out perfect for this.

Now it is time to cut the squares to 1 7/8”. I put a scrap piece of stock against the ripfence and measure to cut 1 7/8”. Move the block to the front of the saw and tape to the fence. Don’t leave it up along side the blade it will cause pinching.

Using the miter gauge again with backer board to prevent tear out, set you strip against the thickness block on the fence.

Check the cut on scrap first to make sure it is accurate,

then cut away. I number the squares as they are cut to maintain the orientation. I have had a disaster where I didn’t # the squares and the whole thing ended up in a pile on the floor, I spent hours crying and cursing while putting the puzzle back together.

The long strips are the length and the short strips are the width of the board. Each strip of squares will be enough squares for two rows on the board. There should be four blocks left over. I used these to replace a knot in one of the squares. It is always good to have a few extra for this reason.

GLUE !!

That is the long and short of it, hope it made sense, let me know if it is still unclear,

Lisa

Last May when I went to Grizzly tent sale, I ordered the hook and loop conversion kit for this drum sander.
Now the only reason the kit is for this model drum sander is because the hook cloth with sticky back and the loop sandpaper is precut to the angle and length to fit the drums. Technically it can be used on any drum 24” or less. The kit here comes with 2 lengths of hook 6” wide, 1 length of 80 grit, one length of 120 grit. The catalog doesn’t show a picture of it, it costs $27.95 which is a steal considering the cost of the hook cloth from the craft store.

So I finally had enough of the tensioned paper and decided to convert today.
The felt on the drums was a little beat up, and I was dreading getting it off. Decided to get out the acetone and soak down the felt. It worked great, not like peeling a banana, but it sure was easier then trying to scrape it off. The felt came off in one piece with a bit of adhesive left on the drum. More acetone and some elbow grease and the drums were spotless. Both drums took me about an hour.

Applying the hook paper was a bit tricky. The adhesive backing was beyond industrial. The second it touched the drum it was stuck, I had to readjust here and there as I was rolling, and it took a lot of pull to get it to let loose. Once both drums were set with new media, the sandpaper went on slick.

Tested her out with a 13” x 19” x 1 1/2” tight weave I made to order for a wedding gift. (Project post when it is oiled)
WOW ! this hook and loop stuff is awesome!! The machine runs quieter, the dust collection works better, and I couldn’t be more pleased. Wish I had done it sooner : (

If you are thinking of changing over….DO IT ! It is worth the time and the little bit of cash.
Did I say how happy I am ?

Thanks for letting me share,

Lisa

I got to tour both of their shops today, and I’ve decided they must have OCD because both of the shops are spotless and tidy. Next time I will arrive unannounced…hehe.

I was amazed at Ellens cordless drill collection, every one of them has a different tip, ready for use
(coincidence ? perhaps…LOL) She kept pulling out all these really cool tools from her magic cabinet. I never knew you could hide so much under a bench.
We built a wave jig for her band saw, so watch for her post – “the next wave” I am expecting great things.

Lorna has a nice little nook for a shop and has everything stored just so, she is brilliant in her space organization.
A table is in the works, looking forward to the completed project.

Walked to the corner dining hangout for lunch…delicious !! This was a fabulous day for me being able to hang out with the girls, talk shop, build a project, and to see the box that arrived from Mike (littlecope). Felt like family, and I am glad I was able to feel so comfortable, like I have known them forever : )

Thanks Ellen and Lorna

Lisa

I didn’t have time to crack it open until this morning…...

My heart began to flutter wildly…..this is awesome, even in the box ! I could see how well constructed this table is, it is not just heavy duty, it’s industrial ! This is going to be sweet. I am sure now 100% that
1. It was worth the wait
2. It is definitely worth the money
3. It will be able to be pushed to the limits and beyond my expectations.

This is very exciting !!
Now to get it assembled and into it’s designated shop space….I am doin’ a dance…... today I have things scheduled, tomorrow will begin the next leg of the journey.

Thanks for looking,

Lisa

For the wave cutting board I could only use it in one direction
because two sides of the board have the wave.
The convex rows are beyond the concave rows
so if I clamped it in that direction the wave rows wouldn’t line up.

For now I give this jig a 3.5 star rating out of 5 stars.
I have a few issues to fix-
Smitty mentioned about not being able to micro adjust the clamp- that is true.
so I made a few different thicknesses of shims to place against the cauls. That worked.
Now I need to fix the drift on the jack clamping face plate.
The bar that has the straight gear teeth on it, likes to lift under pressure.
I think if I put a block under the back side of the bar it will stop this.

With that fixed I would give it a 4.5 star. The micro adjustment thing
adds an extra step to the glue up. If I could figure out how to do a
permanent fix to the gear ratio this would be perfect. A bit more tweaking….

Any ideas besides shims ?

Lisa

I did have to modify the clamps a bit so that they function in the manner I intended. They are bolted to 3/4” melamine. I still need to put a protective coat on the cauls, then I’ll give her a try.
The way I have it set up right now is for gluing up a 12” x 16” cutting board-
specifically the woven board which is a nightmare to glue up !

Thanks for looking,

Lisa

Conversion kit for the drum sander to make it a hook and loop system instead of paper with tension.
A two stage cyclone separator that snaps onto a 55 gal garbage can.
From the tent- A hanging air filter 3 speed with remote. This was the best buy of the day. $50.00. The tag said it had a bent motor shaft- NOT. A couple of the motor mount screws were loose, allowing the motor to wobble a bit. Tightened everything up and it runs like a charm. I do have to get a new filter for it, the one on it was ripped. Doing a dance with this purchase.

RazorSharp edge making system for hubby’s bench grinder
Hook and Loop rolls of sandpaper
Diamond point dressing tool for the 10” wet stone pictured below.

From the tent- 10” wet sharpening system. Tag said it had a bent motor shaft- NOT. The stone is not true on the shaft. This can be fixed with a dressing stone and diamond tool above. I had to order a new stropping wheel as the one on it was cracked. Parts were ordered before we left.
From the tent- a carving set- something for me to play with.
From the tent- Heat gun- always a handy thing to have.

From the tent- 3” 3 jaw lathe chuck. Tag said it was rusty. Well it looked like rust at first around the snap ring on the bottom. I scraped it with a fingernail…..it was sawdust. Hehe another gem.
From the tent- 0-6” micrometer set for hubby. In the store the price was around $200.00, got this set for $71.00. The bottom of the wooden box it was in was broken. The mics were all fine and intact. I will fix the box.

Not pictured- a 9×12 x 3 granite stone for hubby. It was out of stock in the store. I cried some tears about it and that it was for his birthday, and they are shipping it without me having to pay shipping costs. SWEET !

All in all I saved a boat load. It was basically like them giving me 50% off my entire purchase, that is what I saved. Some things I needed some I just wanted. I am already planning for the trip in September. This was an unbelievable sale day. If you get a chance to go to one of these tent sales don’t pass it by…GO.

Thanks for letting me share my great finds…

Lisa

It already had a mineral oil and wax finish on it, but has been kicking around the shop since I made it. Someone asked if I still had this board and they were interested in buying it. So I dug it out and thought I would run it through my Grizzly 24” drum sander to get rid of a few scratches. I started out okay sanding, but when the sanding side lost it’s wax coat the sander grabbed it (the bottom was still slick with wax) and shot it out the back of the sander at rocket speed.
It went about twenty feet before being stopped by my workbench. I thought for sure it would be in pieces, it made quite a racket. Nothing but a small dent on the rounded over edge. Wow this is one tough board.
Lesson learned- DO NOT PUT WAXED BOARDS THROUGH THE DRUM SANDER without first removing the wax !!

I know jet propulsion is one of the safety issues with a drum sander so I never stand in front or behind the sander while it is working. Good thing I payed attention.
Now if I had thought one second about the wax issue….

Putting a new finish on it and it is sold.

Lisa

I am currently working on a box for a friend to give to her husband for his birthday. I have abandoned all else as this is due in two weeks. I have cut all the pieces and have done the ebony inlay on the lid and front drawer. I have never done inlay before so I was up for the challenge, and dug out my Dremel with the router attachment that I have never used either. That was interesting to say the least.
I ordered 8/4 rough cut mahogany and it looked good from the outside. When I started cutting it I found it was lousy, kinda stringy, fuzzy, and pulpy. I had to go with it due to a time constraint. I have decided to stain it mahogany and finish with wipe on poly. Then I will throw the stain away because it is evil. I like natural colored wood.
The hardest part of this design is the drawer. My friend requested no pulls with a flush face. “So…how ya gonna open it”, and she said, “you can figure that out”. I did. I used magnetic click lock catches. Those are the two brown things in the picture. They sit at the back of the drawer, the drawer is flush, you press it in and it releases the drawer to just outside the box. The drawer can be pulled from the magnets with a finger. It worked.
I could have ordered lower profile catches, but again, time is of the essence. They take about an inch and a half from the drawer. Oh well, the drawer is still big enough.
I am getting ready to sand, stain and finish the inside pieces, then glue it up and finish her off.

Thanks for looking,

Lisa