| This blog is written by Gary Fixler | 125 entries so far |
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tragedies #4: Jimi_C nails it - my planer suffered a blown bearing
In my last post, I mentioned my planer seizing up entirely. I couldn’t move the belts, and ...
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random #29: Brian May's guitar
I just learned from a reddit post (I know some of you are also redditors) that Queen guitarist Br...
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tragedies #3: Craftsman 13" planer woes
I’ve been so fantastically lazy these past 3 weeks of pseudo-laid-off time. I wanted to use...
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tragedies #2: National Lampoon's Economic Downturn Vacation
I work in video games, and it’s seemed this year to be pretty immune to the recession. Kids...
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Wood Art #2: Biggest, Tallest Tree Photo Ever
It is a pretty awesome photo, but I won’t repost it here. Check it out over on NPR, which a...
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Amazing Tools #7: The Circular Swing Blade Mill
Just stumbled upon these tonight. I’ve never seen them before. Very clever! It’s basi...
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random #28: Archival footage: Wood turning in Germany, 1926
This video from 83 years ago follows a German woodworker as he selects a log half, cuts out a bow...
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turnings #11: first hollow-form failure update - major checking!
Just an update on this post. When I left off, it looked like this: I took a week’s h...
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random #27: New Rule: Face shield mandatory (when turning barked pieces)
Just a quick note. I found some logs (again!) and quickly sliced up a half log for the turning. I...
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random #26: Burl Wood... "Nutz" :(
This makes me laugh almost as much as it makes me cry. There’s a guy in my neighborhood wit...
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Jacaranda natural edge end grain goblet
Two weeks ago, on a whim, I got home after work, sliced off a piece of smaller branch from my lar...
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turnings #10: Newfound respect for hollow-form turners
Well, I tried out the tools I got from mom for my birthday recently. Of note: 1) My 1/2”...
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turnings #9: A turned Jacaranda bowler hat
Monday of last week, some 12 days ago, I was talking with a coworker who was wearing a small fedo...
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My Tools #1: A very Robert Sorby birthday
Everyone’s going to hate me for this, but I just fell – not literally – into a ...
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random #25: Internet intrigue! What have I wrought?
What a day I’m having! Okay, so September of last year I was gearing up to buy a band sa...
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turnings #8: red oak "70's ashtray" - square edge bowl turning
I found a nice 5’ piece of red oak at Home Depot that was a bit odd in hue, having more dep...
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resawing #6: slabbing a huge Eucalyptus log
While looking through old Flickr sets, I realized I never made public one in which I slabbed one ...
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turnings #7: ~9" wide face grain Jacaranda bowl rough
In my last post, I showed some Jacaranda log halves I’d cut up and sealed in preparation fo...
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found wood #13: Inside Jacaranda
I’ve done some smaller things in Jacaranda lately, but what does the larger stuff look like...
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turnings #6: two natural-edge jacaranda bowls
I didn’t take process shots, but I rough-turned these two over the last week or so from the...
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found wood #12: wood gloat: superior grade alder scraps
I can’t believe it’s been just over 3 weeks already since I picked this stuff up. Thi...
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random #24: list of favorite woodworkers
While searching up something else on the Google last night, I stumbled upon an exactly 900 day ol...
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Wood Art #1: Tania Kovats' TREE
At 17m long, TREE is London’s Natural History Museum’s largest botanical specimen...
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A big Ficus bowl - nearly 10" (hey, that's big for me!)
In the first half of this blog post, I cut up a Ficus log and made a nearly 11” round for l...
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turnings #5: too thin a champagne glass turning
After knocking out a Jacaranda bowl in one lunch break, I was a little fired up that night to do ...
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turnings #4: A bowl from that fallen Jacaranda wood
This past Wednesday, all in the span of an hour lunch break, I ran home, cut a chunk off the end ...
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Amazing Tools #6: The Bench SlideMount
I think I’m going to end up with several Bench SlideMounts. They’re exactly what I di...
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turnings #3: European Olive champagne glass
Not a drinker, but I still appreciate the form of champagne glasses. I had a chunk of completely ...
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Is there such a thing as *too much* Jacaranda? Let's find out...
In part 2 of this saga, I got a call from Camille who’s lawn was coated in freshly fallen, ...
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found wood #11: O frabjous day! Free Jacaranda!
In yesterday's dramatic episode, Camille – the homeowner who’s Jacaranda mimosifolia ...
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turnings #2: turnings - some failures as prelude to some successes
Earlier this week I ended up with some scrap baltic birch ply, and cut it into squares with the b...
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found wood #10: Full, fallen Jacaranda mimosifolia tree - wish me luck!
I take different routes on my daily commutes to see if any limbs or trees have come down. Today, ...
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turnings #1: from ficus log to turned bowl preform
This past Sunday I decided to saw a Y-shaped Ficus log in half and get some bowl blanks out of it...
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resawing #5: Utility pole crossbar resawing, and another small tragedy
Because time is flying, it’s already 3 months ago that a car ran into a telephone pole (and...
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A quick 2x4 chair
On July 3rd I threw together a chair to bring to the 4th party the following day. I decided to us...
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tests #1: a thin, fig dish test
This is from nearly a month ago. I’m behind on my adventures. Chucking something properl...
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Wood IDs #16: The American Woods - 350 N. American species specimens
I just tumbled into a fantastic vat of info hosted by the Special Collections Research Center of ...
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random #23: Band saw wizard
Well I’m impressed. via videosift.com Just watch those fingers, everyone.
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random #22: JACKPOT
In early February, 2009, in rough seas 14 miles off the coast of Sussex, England, Russian car...
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AP400 filter upgrade!
I got an exciting shipment in today – a canister filter for my Delta AP400 Shopmaster 1HP d...
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random #21: some ramps for my truck, almost
To save my back the next time I luck into some huge logs, I found and purchased some Highland Ram...
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Wood IDs #15: African Blackwood and conservation
I picked up another box of 20 exotic wood turning blanks from Rockler. It’s been on a big s...
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resawing #4: European olive (Olea europaea) turning blanks
I never posted it, but the day after I got those paperbark branches I went back to the same locat...
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found wood #9: kiln-dried Douglas fir stickers
As a home hobbyist in a big city, not working as much in BF as in “oh look, a log!” I...
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tragedies #1: sealed with a trip
Let me show you why tonight’s shop-time sucked… Sigh… So I had a 2gal bu...
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found wood #8: Largest Eucalyptus log - I knew it was over 200lbs!
In a comment by Topamax in this post he made some assumptions, and ran some numbers, and got 188l...
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found wood #7: No, not MORE huge Eucalyptus logs!
I tried to get in touch with the guy who put the logs out in Canoga Hills to see if there were an...
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Amazing Tools #5: 1 man, 1 door, 1 minute and 37 seconds
Looks like I went the slow route on my recent (and first) frame and panel doors! Might as we...
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random #20: The whimsical art furniture of Jake Cress
I found this talented woodworker’s site tonight through a post on Make Magazine’s blo...
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resawing #3: some samples straight off the new jig
I promise not to start posting every log I resaw (lest my blog becoming nothing but!), but I thin...
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resawing #2: first test of the new jig!
I routed in grooves on the fence of my new resawing jig for screwing logs to it, and with that, i...
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Amazing Tools #4: cedar shake saws
This is without a doubt the scariest looking sawyer job I’ve seen yet. Check out how casual...
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resawing #1: At last, a resawing jig!
I got 2 1” Timberwolf blades from Suffolk Machinery Corp. – 2TPI and 3TI – seve...
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hanging the doors, and some revelations
Here’s my most boring time-lapse yet – sanding up the cabinet doors to flush the rail...
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project: under [garage] door shelving cabinet #5: and now, some doors
When we last left off, I was about to glue up the first cabinet door. Here it is clamped and dryi...
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found wood #6: Ficus microcarpa - MAKE IT STOP - 3rd and 4th hauls
A bit over a week ago I found some logs outside a neighbor’s place down the street while on...
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found wood #5: more Ficus microcarpa
Remember that haul last week of fig logs? I used the new dolly to move them around back: H...
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found wood #4: quick and dirty homemade dolly (for moving huge logs)
If you recall the enormous gum tree logs I rescued recently, you might have wondered how I was go...
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project: under [garage] door shelving cabinet #4: cabinet doors work begins
For the doors, I had a look through my stock piles, and this board, a 1/4”x8”x4’...
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log [drying] racks #2: finished!
I got the last 2 of the 5 sections built last week, sans the corrugated roofing. Here’s how...
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project: under [garage] door shelving cabinet #3: shelves
With the carcass hung on the wall, I turned to the cheapest 1/2” BC plywood I could find at...
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project: under [garage] door shelving cabinet #2: Time lapse panel work
I recently remembered that my Canon PowerShot SD500 IS Digital Elph Longest Name For A Camera Eve...
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project: under [garage] door shelving cabinet #1: A simple carcase
I’m still hunting for space to end the clutter in my 1-car garage shop. I found some when I...
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Amazing Tools #3: Predator: V8 Chainsaw
The Predator – born in Washington state, USA – is a 2-man chainsaw powered by a V8 en...
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Amazing Tools #2: the "dragsaw"
Most of the dragsaws I’ve managed to find online seem to be from years in the range of 1910...
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Amazing Tools #1: Palax Power100S Firewood Processor
I come across some pretty amazing woodworking/woodprocessing tools online during my nightly resea...
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found wood #3: When it rains... found some more logs ON MY BLOCK!
My bones haven’t finished knitting back together, and the gum tree chunks are still in the ...
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found wood #2: large Eucalyptus log pics - I wasn't kidding when I said big!
Here are some pics of the haul! This one shows a ton of Eucalyptus Longhorn Borer ...
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found wood #1: HUGE Eucalyptus score
Sheesh. Good thing I have a truck now. I saw a note on craigslist today (online classifieds) t...
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log [drying] racks #1: the initial build
This is a bit old now, as I built these starting in late March this year, but I’m expanding...
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Wood IDs #14: Figured out what kind of Eucalyptus it was that I found
It’s a #2 phillips, based on the seed pods. In other news, I stuck all the old sets ...
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random #19: Most elaborate dollhouse ever: Moscow?
I continue to be amazed by how many amazing things there are out there by which to be amazed. I f...
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random #18: Progress on those Hollywood Juniper limbs
22 days ago I posted about the decimation of my Hollywood Junipers (Juniperus chinensis). My plan...
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project: a rolling base for my planer #6: polyurethane, drawer handle, and bolting on the planer
I didn’t like how the “Ebony 2718” Minwax stain looked in the last entry in thi...
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project: a rolling base for my planer #5: staining
I know dark colors are a bad idea in a dusty shop, but I just couldn’t resist their siren s...
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project: a rolling base for my planer #4: stain tests, and drawer stops
Up early, I got a little done this morning before work. I tested 2 stains from my small stock pil...
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project: a rolling base for my planer #3: at last, a drawer
I have to say, posting projects as I do them does two things. I puts the pressure on me to not sc...
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project: a rolling base for my planer #2: flush sanding, a drawer, and a nice big mistake
I got the casters on yesterday, cutting some scrap wood board to fit along the edges inside the b...
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project: a rolling base for my planer #1: general assembly
My Craftsman 13” planer is a real beast to move around in the shop. It’s very heavy, ...
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random #17: I finally have a proper wood lathe!
Mom visited last week, and with some ideas of things she wanted me to build, we checked out Ander...
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random #16: What LA does with its wood (and lawn trimmings)
I’ve been trying to figure this out for a bit, and last weekend I cracked the case. Where d...
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random #15: New truck pics - 2005 Toyota Tacoma TRD Off Road
Here it is. Certified preowned, but no dents or dings or anything. It’s 5 years old,...
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random #14: I bought a truck tonight!
No pics yet or anything, but after looking at an ‘06 Ranger at the Ford dealer with 42k on ...
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Wood IDs #13: Hollywood Junipers heavily trimmed = probably a lot of pen blanks
Wow, it’s been a busy month. These are from a month and 2 days ago. My landlady stopped by ...
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techniques #2: New way to clean my borer bug eaten Eucalyptus - wire wheel brush
Previously:Wood IDs #6: Found Eucalyptus tree in LA - part 1 of 3Wood IDs #7: Found Eucalyptus tr...
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random #13: Bryan Nash Gill's Hemlock Relief Print
Artist Bryan Nash Gill has created a series of 12 prints in the traditional block printing style ...
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Wood IDs #12: Not a California Bay Laurel after all...
Previous blog entries on this tree: Wood IDs #5: Mystery fallen tree in LA - my biggest haul y...
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Wood IDs #11: Paperbark branches
A couple weeks ago I passed some tree trimmers cutting up a handful of paperbark trees (Melaleuca...
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random #12: Hatchback toy update
I decided to update my old toy version of my ‘00 Ford Focus hatchback to more accurately re...
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Wood IDs #10: Found limb - Bottlebrush
This branch, found a week ago now, was a mystery for awhile, but then I accidentally identified i...
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Wood IDs #9: Sealing up the mystery tree (probably California Bay Laurel)
You folks helped me to ID this as probably a California Bay Laurel, blown down a pretty strong wi...
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Wood IDs #8: Found Eucalyptus tree in LA - part 3 of 3
In part 1 I found a Eucalyptus tree in a nearby neighborhood. In part 2 I cut it up and had a bet...
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random #11: What a way to test out my new lumber rack!
Last night I ran to home depot for 4 pressure treated 4×4s, 8 2×4s, and 5 sheets of 23/...
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Tree IDs #8: The deadly Chinese Elm
I was not expecting to ID this tree this way. At the end of my street is a tiny triangular park &...
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Wood IDs #7: Found Eucalyptus tree in LA - part 2 of 3
In part 1, I found a Euc in an LA neighborhood, went back under cover of ninja darkness around mi...
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Wood IDs #6: Found Eucalyptus tree in LA - part 1 of 3
I went out for a walk from work late in the day last week sometime, through a neighborhood IR...
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Wood IDs #5: Mystery fallen tree in LA - my biggest haul yet
I was putting in the rafters on my shed roof today, when while taking a break I noticed a message...
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random #10: Hooray for windy days in LA
After a little get-together with friends last night around a backyard campfire in the ‘burb...
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Wood IDs #4: mystery ornamental branch identified
After some online snooping, it looks like the branch I found the other day is of the Juglandaceae...
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Wood IDs #3: Another found ornamental tree, with a mystery hole
More trash pick… I mean, recycling this past Thursday night. Someone in the neighborhood th...
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random #9: Just having one of those projects...
I’m building a little rack system currently, and I just keep failing miserably. I wanted to...
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techniques #1: Found a way I like to cut straight-end, non-through rip and crosscuts in plywood
This is probably a common technique, with a name, but it only occurred to me today. I gave it a s...
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random #8: Square trees - how convenient!
So little waste in the resawing process! Also handy – “extrusion trees” ...
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Tree IDs #7: Second mystery tree - Any ideas?
These shots are from late February. I have several more since then backing up in my collection, s...
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Tree IDs #6: First mystery tree followup - Orchid Tree (Bauhinia variegata)
Our very own socalwood immediately picked off my first mystery tree. It would seem indeed to be a...
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random #7: The tiniest woodshop - resawing miniboards
I didn’t want to waste any time slabbing up some of the minilogs I cut out of the mystery b...
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Wood IDs #2: A look inside the second mystery branch
It would seem Rob (user: socalwood) nailed another species down for me in my previous post –...
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deals #2: Free lumber, in bits and pieces
I followed a classified to a small pile of free pine and fir last night. I made the 12mi. round t...
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Wood IDs #1: 2 species of branches found in my green waste bin - what are they?
I’ve had quite a weekend here in LA with the free wood gathering. It’s laughable to y...
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deals #1: Rockler 25-Piece HSS Brad Point Bit Set
BLERG! I bought these last weekend, 6 days ago now, for $40. I tend to stock up on 50%-off items ...
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Tree IDs #5: First mystery tree - help me ID it!
Status: SOLVED We arrive finally at the trees I don’t know, though there may be a few mo...
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random #6: Suffolk Machinery band saw blades - helpful folks
I made the mistake of ordering 1 each of their 1” thick (my saw’s max) 103PC (3TPI) a...
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random #5: Ouija Router
I just had this idea after commenting on roman’s Bosch laminate trimmer review. I need to g...
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random #4: homemade walnut pegs
(don’t miss the video at the bottom!) I’m currently building a rack for lumber sho...
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random #3: Anthropomorphic tools - My DeWALT sander is watching me
I hadn’t noticed until now, but I think my little DeWALT ROS is a robot who’s been wa...
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random #2: Just realized exactly how tiny my shop is :(
I finally ran the numbers. My shop is a 1-car rental garage in cramped, suburban LA. Making thing...
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Tree IDs #4: Silver Birch (Betula pendula)
I believe this will be the last of the trees I post in this ongoing series that I’ve alread...
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random #1: Walnut Wood - I just need to know...
Does anyone else – when working with black walnut – think it smells delicious? I just...
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project: maple lazy susan #3: finishing work begins
Getting close to the end here, and I finally locked down my simple finishing schedule. Here’...
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Tree IDs #3: The Coast Coral Tree (Erythrina caffra)
I thought I’d get the ball rolling on this Tree ID series with the one I’ve already m...
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project: maple lazy susan #2: unclamping, cleanup, and sanding
The edge-band/rim glue-up dried well, but it was about an hour of work to chisel, scrape, and san...
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project: maple lazy susan #1: everything up to, but not including the finishing work
This is a very simple one. I was hired by our office manager to slap together a lazy susan in map...
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Tree IDs #2: collecting wood
I’m overwhelmed by the love shown in my last post in this series, asking if anyone was inte...
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Tree IDs #1: Dendrology
Hi folks! I’m new here, as of tonight, but it already occurs to me that this might be the p...
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Really excited to be here!
I’m going to have to get used to LJ not meaning “LiveJournal,” as it has for me...
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