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Poor Man's Tools

15K views 29 replies 10 participants last post by  retired_guru 
#1 ·
The Series

A couple of posts back, I wrote about a simple shop-made honing jig that I use regularly in my woodworking tool sharpening operation.

Being elated at seeing more than 10…yes ten!!! responses to that post from the LJs readership, I was inspired to entertain the idea of creating an on-going blog series covering similar tools and accessories cobbled together from the scrap wood bins, random parts bins and 'Hudnut' boxes of the handsawgeek world.

Since my workshop operates on a really tight budget, all of the items to be presented here are ones that I will have actually made and used because I have not committed the funds necessary to go out and purchase the commercially available version.

Most of the items to be offered here will definitely not be precision, state of the art devices. Some of them will likely be down-right gnarly and ugly, fashioned from gnarly and ugly materials. All of them, however, will be something that I have found to be somewhat useful in my own shop. They may or may not work for yours….

To start off, here are pics and links to some of my earlier posts covering widgets that definitely fit in this category.

Hudnut Sorter
Keep that hardware and them small parts under control.

http://lumberjocks.com/handsawgeek/blog/41990

Wood Floor Flooring Hardwood Gas


45 Degree Rip Jig
For hand sawing a 45 rip cut on a long board

http://lumberjocks.com/handsawgeek/blog/41998

Wood Flooring Floor Wood stain Hardwood


Simple Vise Mounted Planing Stop
An old reliable benchtop accessory

http://lumberjocks.com/handsawgeek/blog/44417

Wood Rectangle Hardwood Composite material Wood stain


Hope you will follow along, and thanks for reading!
 

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#2 ·
The Series

A couple of posts back, I wrote about a simple shop-made honing jig that I use regularly in my woodworking tool sharpening operation.

Being elated at seeing more than 10…yes ten!!! responses to that post from the LJs readership, I was inspired to entertain the idea of creating an on-going blog series covering similar tools and accessories cobbled together from the scrap wood bins, random parts bins and 'Hudnut' boxes of the handsawgeek world.

Since my workshop operates on a really tight budget, all of the items to be presented here are ones that I will have actually made and used because I have not committed the funds necessary to go out and purchase the commercially available version.

Most of the items to be offered here will definitely not be precision, state of the art devices. Some of them will likely be down-right gnarly and ugly, fashioned from gnarly and ugly materials. All of them, however, will be something that I have found to be somewhat useful in my own shop. They may or may not work for yours….

To start off, here are pics and links to some of my earlier posts covering widgets that definitely fit in this category.

Hudnut Sorter
Keep that hardware and them small parts under control.

http://lumberjocks.com/handsawgeek/blog/41990

Wood Floor Flooring Hardwood Gas


45 Degree Rip Jig
For hand sawing a 45 rip cut on a long board

http://lumberjocks.com/handsawgeek/blog/41998

Wood Flooring Floor Wood stain Hardwood


Simple Vise Mounted Planing Stop
An old reliable benchtop accessory

http://lumberjocks.com/handsawgeek/blog/44417

Wood Rectangle Hardwood Composite material Wood stain


Hope you will follow along, and thanks for reading!
Get down-right gnarly and ugly. The gnarlier and uglier the better, if it accomplishes the task set for the tool or jig, as cheaply and simply as possible. You are the man. Remember that!

Now, for my unsolicited take on these glorious three:

Hudnut Sorter
This is way too neat and well made, Ed. Pretty close to being a nice piece of furniture. ;)

I have plastic containers of various sizes filled with nuts, bolts and screws…of various sizes. The contents either lie dormant, never diminishing in volume, or they propagate like metal roaches. I can see adding handle slots on the wide sides and using this to sift, sort and dispense like minutiae into…more plastic containers! Yes, simple mind. :)

45 Degree Rip Jig
I couldn't figure out how the jigs worked until I saw the original post. Very interesting. To keep the jigs from being sacrificial, I take it you slide the boards on them. As long as you use opposing sections for your cleats, it wouldn't matter being off plus or minus on the 45 degrees. Ingenious. I was wondering if the weight of those long boards was causing any tipping while sawing?

Simple Vise Mounted Planing Stop

It's a shame the shadowing in the picture doesn't show the details below the top plane. I would like to see that detail to get a better understanding how this is used as a stop.

Keep the coming, Ed. Thanks.
 

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#3 ·
The Series

A couple of posts back, I wrote about a simple shop-made honing jig that I use regularly in my woodworking tool sharpening operation.

Being elated at seeing more than 10…yes ten!!! responses to that post from the LJs readership, I was inspired to entertain the idea of creating an on-going blog series covering similar tools and accessories cobbled together from the scrap wood bins, random parts bins and 'Hudnut' boxes of the handsawgeek world.

Since my workshop operates on a really tight budget, all of the items to be presented here are ones that I will have actually made and used because I have not committed the funds necessary to go out and purchase the commercially available version.

Most of the items to be offered here will definitely not be precision, state of the art devices. Some of them will likely be down-right gnarly and ugly, fashioned from gnarly and ugly materials. All of them, however, will be something that I have found to be somewhat useful in my own shop. They may or may not work for yours….

To start off, here are pics and links to some of my earlier posts covering widgets that definitely fit in this category.

Hudnut Sorter
Keep that hardware and them small parts under control.

http://lumberjocks.com/handsawgeek/blog/41990

Wood Floor Flooring Hardwood Gas


45 Degree Rip Jig
For hand sawing a 45 rip cut on a long board

http://lumberjocks.com/handsawgeek/blog/41998

Wood Flooring Floor Wood stain Hardwood


Simple Vise Mounted Planing Stop
An old reliable benchtop accessory

http://lumberjocks.com/handsawgeek/blog/44417

Wood Rectangle Hardwood Composite material Wood stain


Hope you will follow along, and thanks for reading!
Hi, Paul,
The footprint of the sawbench is wide enough so that it doesn't tip with everything rigged up. During sawing, one knee rests on the top of the bench as it would in regular rip sawing. And you are correct that the stock gets constantly re-located as the cut progresses.

As for the plane stop, here is a re-do of the pic that I re-adjusted for brightness and contrast. The 2×4 piece clamps into a bench face vise and the board being planed thrusts against the edge of the plywood.. Simple shtuff!

Wood Rectangle Table Hardwood Wood stain
 

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#4 ·
The Series

A couple of posts back, I wrote about a simple shop-made honing jig that I use regularly in my woodworking tool sharpening operation.

Being elated at seeing more than 10…yes ten!!! responses to that post from the LJs readership, I was inspired to entertain the idea of creating an on-going blog series covering similar tools and accessories cobbled together from the scrap wood bins, random parts bins and 'Hudnut' boxes of the handsawgeek world.

Since my workshop operates on a really tight budget, all of the items to be presented here are ones that I will have actually made and used because I have not committed the funds necessary to go out and purchase the commercially available version.

Most of the items to be offered here will definitely not be precision, state of the art devices. Some of them will likely be down-right gnarly and ugly, fashioned from gnarly and ugly materials. All of them, however, will be something that I have found to be somewhat useful in my own shop. They may or may not work for yours….

To start off, here are pics and links to some of my earlier posts covering widgets that definitely fit in this category.

Hudnut Sorter
Keep that hardware and them small parts under control.

http://lumberjocks.com/handsawgeek/blog/41990

Wood Floor Flooring Hardwood Gas


45 Degree Rip Jig
For hand sawing a 45 rip cut on a long board

http://lumberjocks.com/handsawgeek/blog/41998

Wood Flooring Floor Wood stain Hardwood


Simple Vise Mounted Planing Stop
An old reliable benchtop accessory

http://lumberjocks.com/handsawgeek/blog/44417

Wood Rectangle Hardwood Composite material Wood stain


Hope you will follow along, and thanks for reading!
The footprint of the sawbench is wide enough so that it doesn't tip with everything rigged up. During sawing, one knee rests on the top of the bench as it would in regular rip sawing. And you are correct that the stock gets constantly re-located as the cut progresses.
I see. Both the knee up and width of the sawhorses are enough to keep the whole affair stable.

As for the plane stop, here is a re-do of the pic that I re-adjusted for brightness and contrast. The 2×4 piece clamps into a bench face vise and the board being planed thrusts against the edge of the plywood.. Simple shtuff!

Wood Rectangle Table Hardwood Wood stain
I thought that what was it looked like. It took your brief explanation to get my mind thinking in the correct direction. I was looking as the top of the stop and wondering how you held the board to be planed from slipping. I didn't see the obvious, that the edge would be used on the bench as a stop. Sometimes when things are too simple they go over my head. Now nuclear subs: their easy. ;)

Thanks, Ed.
 

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#5 ·
Center Finder

Wood Material property Font Wood stain Rectangle


Who needs expensive brass and rosewood to get to the middle of those dowels and chunks of turning stock when all you need is a piece of scrap 1/2×3/4 stick and a BORG paint stir stick?

Presenting ….

…the handsawgeek Poor Man's Center Finder !!!

The only thing to be diligent with here is that the marking edge is straight and that all the relative angles of the bearing surfaces and 'blade' are laid out as accurately as possible.

It might also be wise to slap a quick finish on this (unlike mine) to distinguish it from other pieces of scrap wood when you're cleaning up your bench.

Oh, and I would not recommend using a marking knife with this particular version…..
 

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#6 ·
Center Finder

Wood Material property Font Wood stain Rectangle


Who needs expensive brass and rosewood to get to the middle of those dowels and chunks of turning stock when all you need is a piece of scrap 1/2×3/4 stick and a BORG paint stir stick?

Presenting ….

…the handsawgeek Poor Man's Center Finder !!!

The only thing to be diligent with here is that the marking edge is straight and that all the relative angles of the bearing surfaces and 'blade' are laid out as accurately as possible.

It might also be wise to slap a quick finish on this (unlike mine) to distinguish it from other pieces of scrap wood when you're cleaning up your bench.

Oh, and I would not recommend using a marking knife with this particular version…..
Sorry about the incomplete post for you first couple of readers. I accidently hit the 'GO' button while I was still editing and had not yet transferred the photo.
 

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#10 ·
Depth Gauge

Wood Hardwood Metal Nickel Titanium


Ah, the things that one can make with just a length of dowel, a scrap of wood, and some random bits of hardware!

Today's handsawgeek Poor Man's Tool offering combines just those very materials to fashion an accurate and functional depth gauge for use in bowl, box, and vase turning.

Simply put, a length of dowel is sharpened on one end, poked through a hole drilled in a straight piece of scrap wood, and secured at various positions by a set screw held by whatever appropriate hardware can be found around the shop.

The biggest concern here as far as accuracy goes is that the cross -beam should be as straight and square as possible, and the hole should be drilled so that the dowel is exactly perpendicular to that bearing surface.

Besides turning, I can imagine many other uses for this device: Checking depths of mortises, dados, and rabbets, and checking depths of stopped holes being drilled. By turning the dowel around and using the squared end, this device could be useful as sort of a variable-length story stick.

Dare I say, that it could even serve as a quick gauge for setting the height of a table saw blade…
 

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#11 ·
Depth Gauge

Wood Hardwood Metal Nickel Titanium


Ah, the things that one can make with just a length of dowel, a scrap of wood, and some random bits of hardware!

Today's handsawgeek Poor Man's Tool offering combines just those very materials to fashion an accurate and functional depth gauge for use in bowl, box, and vase turning.

Simply put, a length of dowel is sharpened on one end, poked through a hole drilled in a straight piece of scrap wood, and secured at various positions by a set screw held by whatever appropriate hardware can be found around the shop.

The biggest concern here as far as accuracy goes is that the cross -beam should be as straight and square as possible, and the hole should be drilled so that the dowel is exactly perpendicular to that bearing surface.

Besides turning, I can imagine many other uses for this device: Checking depths of mortises, dados, and rabbets, and checking depths of stopped holes being drilled. By turning the dowel around and using the squared end, this device could be useful as sort of a variable-length story stick.

Dare I say, that it could even serve as a quick gauge for setting the height of a table saw blade…
I haven't a lathe and probably won't for some time to come, but you know, by rabbeting along one edge on the bottom side, made to fit your power tool's miter track, you can make an inexpensive and quite accurate blade or fence adjustment gauge. This is a keeper for my shop, Ed. Thanks.
 

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#16 ·
Sanding Block

Wood Hardwood Wood stain Composite material Varnish


Today's poor man's tool offering is a somewhat fancy shop built sanding block. It's still considered 'poor man's' because it was fashioned from scrap ¼" plywood and 1" pine.

The unique feature of this design is the holder for the sheets of sandpaper. These consist of pieces of 1" brass strip with an edge bent over at 90 degrees. These are secured with a brass flathead screw, washer and wing nut. When tightened down, the lip secures the edge of the sandpaper.

The tool is dimensioned to accept standard 3×9 sheets of sandpaper, which, of course, are interchangeable.
A thin sheet of cork is glued to the bottom as a backing pad.

The only thing I would do differently if I were to build another would be the shape of the handle. This one on the original looks cool, but a standard oval like those common to table saw/jointer push sticks would be better.

Nevertheless, this sanding block has been a true workhorse in the handsawgeek shop.
 

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#17 ·
Sanding Block

Wood Hardwood Wood stain Composite material Varnish


Today's poor man's tool offering is a somewhat fancy shop built sanding block. It's still considered 'poor man's' because it was fashioned from scrap ¼" plywood and 1" pine.

The unique feature of this design is the holder for the sheets of sandpaper. These consist of pieces of 1" brass strip with an edge bent over at 90 degrees. These are secured with a brass flathead screw, washer and wing nut. When tightened down, the lip secures the edge of the sandpaper.

The tool is dimensioned to accept standard 3×9 sheets of sandpaper, which, of course, are interchangeable.
A thin sheet of cork is glued to the bottom as a backing pad.

The only thing I would do differently if I were to build another would be the shape of the handle. This one on the original looks cool, but a standard oval like those common to table saw/jointer push sticks would be better.

Nevertheless, this sanding block has been a true workhorse in the handsawgeek shop.
If you ever decide to rebuild this one, I think that handle would work great with a pointed (triangular) tipped sanding end, like used on the oscillating multipurpose tools. Maybe a screw on sanding head that is interchangeable with several shapes.

The metal clamps are a great idea.
 

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#18 ·
Turning Accessory

Wood Textile Rectangle Table Hardwood


This week's Poor Man's Tool is born of an idea that I learned about from a gentleman who turned beautiful aspen wood vases and sold them on consignment at my Step-Dad's art gallery. Possibly, many of you who are experienced turners may have seen something like this before.

Some of his pieces were decorated with a series of thin dark bands at various locations. I learned that these were made by holding a thicker-gauge wound guitar or piano string against the piece as it turned. The friction from the string would burn the band into the wood.

I never got to see the actual tool that he used, so I designed my own.

It is made by simply threading the guitar string through small holes drilled in a couple short lengths of dowel, making them into T-handles.

If you don't have any used guitar strings hanging around, or don't have a musician friend that can supply you with old discarded strings, generic sets of new strings can be purchased inexpensively at any music store. (Just don't go for the fancy, high end, pricey phosphor coated varieties.)

Here is how to thread the string so that it is tight and secure:

Aircraft Font Illustration Drawing Automotive design


And here is an example of the decorative effect on a turned piece:

Wood Natural material Wood stain Varnish Hardwood
 

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#19 ·
Turning Accessory

Wood Textile Rectangle Table Hardwood


This week's Poor Man's Tool is born of an idea that I learned about from a gentleman who turned beautiful aspen wood vases and sold them on consignment at my Step-Dad's art gallery. Possibly, many of you who are experienced turners may have seen something like this before.

Some of his pieces were decorated with a series of thin dark bands at various locations. I learned that these were made by holding a thicker-gauge wound guitar or piano string against the piece as it turned. The friction from the string would burn the band into the wood.

I never got to see the actual tool that he used, so I designed my own.

It is made by simply threading the guitar string through small holes drilled in a couple short lengths of dowel, making them into T-handles.

If you don't have any used guitar strings hanging around, or don't have a musician friend that can supply you with old discarded strings, generic sets of new strings can be purchased inexpensively at any music store. (Just don't go for the fancy, high end, pricey phosphor coated varieties.)

Here is how to thread the string so that it is tight and secure:

Aircraft Font Illustration Drawing Automotive design


And here is an example of the decorative effect on a turned piece:

Wood Natural material Wood stain Varnish Hardwood
Pretty snazzy. As a new turner, I say THANKS for the tip!
 

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#27 ·
The Other Mallet

Venkman: "Egon, this reminds me of the time you tried to drill a hole through your head, remember that?"

Egon: "That would've worked if you didn't stop me!" -from Ghostbusters

A few posts back, I wrote about an old well-used mallet that I had purchased at a yard sale. This reminded me of the other mallet that graces the handsawgeek workshop with its presence.

Wood Rectangle Tree Wood stain Hardwood


This wonderful work of art dates back to the early 1990's and represents my first neophyte attempt at producing a shop-made tool. Since I knew next to nothing about hand tool woodworking at the time, this mallet is downright primitive.

I still scratch my head over why I bothered to build it in the first place…at the time I was a power tool guy who didn't even own a chisel or a carving tool. Neither was it fashioned to allow me to assemble any fancy joinery… It was 'butt-joint, glue & screw' all the way.

Perhaps it was merely a hint of things that were yet to come to pass.

The business end of the mallet is made from some un-identified large chunk of wood I had hanging around at the time, I believe it might be Doug fir. Whatever the wood, it is too light for a proper mallet.

The hole in the head (of the mallet, of course) was made using an electric drill and a spade bit.

The handle is a piece of oak dowel with a couple of decorative embellishments on the end. At least I had enough sense to kerf and wedge it into the head piece.

As a nice added feature, the striking faces are decorated with numerous dents and divots.

These were put there by my young daughters, who discovered that the tool made a splendid hammer for pounding nails.

At the time, I was irritated by this, but now these defects only make me smile when I remember the quality time spent in the garage with the kiddoes!

Despite its glaring shortcomings in design and construction, this is still my go-to mallet, and has been a part of the construction of many a handsawgeek project.
 

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#28 ·
The Other Mallet

Venkman: "Egon, this reminds me of the time you tried to drill a hole through your head, remember that?"

Egon: "That would've worked if you didn't stop me!" -from Ghostbusters

A few posts back, I wrote about an old well-used mallet that I had purchased at a yard sale. This reminded me of the other mallet that graces the handsawgeek workshop with its presence.

Wood Rectangle Tree Wood stain Hardwood


This wonderful work of art dates back to the early 1990's and represents my first neophyte attempt at producing a shop-made tool. Since I knew next to nothing about hand tool woodworking at the time, this mallet is downright primitive.

I still scratch my head over why I bothered to build it in the first place…at the time I was a power tool guy who didn't even own a chisel or a carving tool. Neither was it fashioned to allow me to assemble any fancy joinery… It was 'butt-joint, glue & screw' all the way.

Perhaps it was merely a hint of things that were yet to come to pass.

The business end of the mallet is made from some un-identified large chunk of wood I had hanging around at the time, I believe it might be Doug fir. Whatever the wood, it is too light for a proper mallet.

The hole in the head (of the mallet, of course) was made using an electric drill and a spade bit.

The handle is a piece of oak dowel with a couple of decorative embellishments on the end. At least I had enough sense to kerf and wedge it into the head piece.

As a nice added feature, the striking faces are decorated with numerous dents and divots.

These were put there by my young daughters, who discovered that the tool made a splendid hammer for pounding nails.

At the time, I was irritated by this, but now these defects only make me smile when I remember the quality time spent in the garage with the kiddoes!

Despite its glaring shortcomings in design and construction, this is still my go-to mallet, and has been a part of the construction of many a handsawgeek project.
I like it! It is unique and "speaks" of it's unique origins!
 

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