random #7: The tiniest woodshop - resawing miniboards

A dust mask is essential. I had nearly a tablespoon of sawdust after all of this resawing work!

Priceless! I have to draft all those mice that love my shop so much for a workforce.

-- "Find out what you cannot do and then go do it!"

EEngineer – Sounds positively adorable. Please take pictures of this.

-- Gary, Los Angeles, video game animator

Looks like you have some pieces left over for some bowl blanks as well. Maybe you could give the table to Barbie for her 50th birthday!

-- if the hand is not working it is not a pure hand

Gary, Thanks for the post while quite funny it is neat to see the entire process of the resawing in small scale where you can see everything not just small biits.. well you know what i mean :)

CtL

-- Chris L. "Don't Dream it, Be it."

Too funny and useful information too. I have been wondering how to do this myself since I work in miniature size myself.

Maybe Woodmizer needs to make a minature sawmill.

-- "Heaven is North of the Bridge"

Now all you need is to build a mini shed to store ALL that lumber.

-- Julian, Park Forest, IL

those are HUGE hands ….. (and machinery…and everything else) ;) nice post

-- When in doubt - There is no doubt - Go the safer route.

kiwi – you don’t want to know how long I stood there in the shop, turning those little stumps around in my fingers, scratching my head, trying to figure out how I could affix them securely to the lathe, and if a bowl could be shaped out of them. Especially a natural-edge bowl. They’re just so tiny, though. I’m pretty sure I’m still going to try it, spurred on a bit more by Mike Rowe's amazing work.

Chris – thanks! I’ve been thinking about it more, and I think I’m going to build myself a little jig for use with my Japanese flush-cut saw. It can be as simple as a little wooden thing with hardwood rails on which to slide the saw, and a bottom that can be adjusted up and down by a screw to set depths. Once I set it, I can just press the halved minilog’s face against it, saw along the rails to remove the bottom, then take that piece out, and reseat the log in between the rails to make a whole bunch of boards exactly the same thickness. This is upsetting me, because it seems really cool, and I’m suddenly interested in making some small tables, chairs, and such for dollhouses, for sale, and I already don’t have nearly enough time to finish my projects :)

Xander – just took a look at your newly-posted project. I like the rings! I have a thing for miniature work in spalted woods. Here’s another example. So cool. Thanks!

8iowa – I will sign that petition! There are some pretty sweet miniature woodshop tool makers out there. Here's one (seriously have to enlarge that first image and look around), and another of his mini creations is this beautiful mini workbench

Julian – And a mini wood drying kiln! I sure have my hands full for awhile…

PurpLev – I’m HUGE. Thanks!

-- Gary, Los Angeles, video game animator

This is really cool. I enjoyed this post. I used to be in to model railroading when I was a kid, and I would do stuff like this. You brought back some memories. I really like miniatures.

-- Check out my new website! http://www.blakeweberwoodworking.com

That is awesome… Can’t wait to see what you make with them!

-- Ryno

That’s cool.. It would look good with a miniature railroad setup. Maybe even build a miniature mill..
Great job!

Blake – Thanks very much. I have a particular love of nostalgia, so this makes me happy.

Ryno – I was just having fun, not planning to build anything with them, but now that I said “natural edge top hall table,” and having seen how cool these little slabs look, I actually do want to build some little things out of them. When will I find the time. Maybe I’d have more time if I wasn’t going off on flights of fancy like this all the time :)

David – You’re right! I know of a family friend with a large model train setup in his basement who would probably love something like that. Maybe I’ll surprise him this Christmas.

-- Gary, Los Angeles, video game animator

I took a look at those photos of the complete branch you found. The way it grew and the ball that seemed to have come from underground makes me think this might actually be a vine instead of a tree branch. I am not familiar with common vines planted in California so its hard to say what the likely types might be.

Thanks for the link, those are amazing. The detail in such a small form just astounds me. Maybe one day I can do that level of work.

Gary A great job on the trials of cutting small logs. I just cut a bunch of 1/16” strips to be glued as edge banding on drawer fronts. So the mini work is not just a small trial. It has practical implications.

-- What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop. No wait that doesn't sound right. Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †

Xander – I think socalwood nailed that one in the first comment in that other series. It looks to be an uprooted Pride of Madeira, or at least of the Echium genus. It’s hard to find any shots of its bark, however. The leaves so cover and spread over the base, that I don’t think anyone’s found it necessary to get a peek ‘under the skirt.’ I’m thinking about a little ‘mini resawing jig’ for use with a japanese pull/flush-cut saw. That’ll make such things easy, clean, affordable, and it’ll waste even less wood than a thin bandsaw blade.

Karson – Thanks! I did a little bit of thin resawing in my table saw recently for a rim on my very first lazy susan. I did a test in walnut, but found the color to not go well, and switched to an all-maple design. What I’m building now – soon to be blogged about – is a little lumber rack, and I definitely do want some walnut edging on the front of its plywood frame. I’m also doing walnut through-pegs into the shelves from the sides, with the pegs I turned recently, and would also like to peg the fronts of the edge banding with something like maple, to reverse the dark-on-light color scheme of the sides. I think it’ll look nice, like some old-style toolbox inlay. More to come soon re: that!

-- Gary, Los Angeles, video game animator

This is awesome… Like Blake, I like this idea for model trains.

-- Respect your shop tools and they will respect you - Ric