I’ll add to this blog as I discover more treasures, but here is my short list:

Freud Glue-Line Rip blade. Freud has really pulled it together with this sawblade! I was skeptical at the hype, but I can honestly say that it is everything “they” say…and more. I was re-sawing some 2X5” spanish cedar (on edge) on my tablesaw on Monday (Bandsaw is out of commision) and gave it a shot. Without a word of a lie, I didn’t even have to joint the cut surface….it looked like it just came out of the planer.

Veritas (Lee Valley) Brad-point drill bits. One word: Fantastic! These are the nicest cutting brad-point bits I have ever used….period. Custom ground by Lee Valley, they bore holes that are very, very clean with no chip-out around the hole….none. These bits are so good, they have changed the way I work. I quite often now drill holes for shelf standards, etc. AFTER finishing. This leaves a cleaner look, easier finishing, and I have yet to have to refinish because the bit messed up.

Back to Freud again: The FTE3000VCE 3 1/4HP router. I’ve had this router mounted in my table for about 6 months, and it is such a joy to use this review will probably come off sounding like a snake-oil pitch :) The machine runs extremely smoothly, and spins everything from 1/8” spirals up to panel raising bits without a hiccup. This router has above-the-table depth adjustment and bit changes, as well as a remote manual spindle lock which is accessed from above the table (I much prefer a manual lock, as it prevents “accidents” from raising the bit too high while running)

Bosch “Impactor” 14.4 V impact driver. OK, so not a fine woodworking tool…but it is one of those tools that just works. I’ve used this driver to do everything from driving hinge screws to spinning the jacks on my travel trailer to changing lug-niuts on my tractor. TONS of power, great size and feel, great battery life…what’s not to like?

Bahco card scraper (cabinet scraper): I don’t know what they did differently, but the Bahco scraper is different. It takes a razor sharp burr with minimal effort, and holds that burr longer than any other scraper I own (I have 8 others). If you are a cabinet-scraper fan, buy one of these…you’ll be happy.

Now I am on the hunt for the “Ultimate Forstner bits”....More to come later!

Ryan Shervill

I am new to Sketchup, and far from a “SU guru”, but I hope I managed to do at least a passable job on this…forgive me for any errors.

This bookshelf is inspired by Japanese Shogi Screens. Built to be very open and “airy”, the design allows it to be used both in the center of the room as a divider (Like a Shoji Screen) or in a traditional location against a wall. Built in my preferred style, it looks complex to build, but in reality it is an intermediate project. The frame is a combination of 1” maple (legs) and 3/4” cherry, and the (optional) doors are simple 1/4” maple ply set in stopped dados in 3/4” cherry frames and inlayed with 1/8” cherry stock to form the “grass” (Although veneer would work just as well), and have decorative square maple pegs. The inlay in the plywood panels and walnut “tree” in the top are simple router-inlays and are scaled to use one of the 1/8” router inlay kits available at woodworking stores. I’ve also considered replacing the 1/4” ply in the panels with actual Japanese paper, as a real screen would be made of. If I went that route the only change would be that the rails only would recieve a dado, and the top and bottoms of the paper would be wrapped around 1/4” wooden cauls that would fit into the dados.

All four doors are “hinged” with pieces of brass rod sunk into the tops and bottoms of the outside portions of the “H”, and either/both sets of doors can opened, or even be eliminated all together if a more open look is desired.

The joinery is a little unique in that it uses the end of a half lap to form a tennon that passes through the leg mortises, but this step can be eliminated all together for those who want a simpler build. The M/T can be replaced by a biscuit joint, dowels, or (gasp!) screws with contrasting cherry tapered plugs.

The shelves add to the open feeling, and are just simple half-lapped maple grids sunk into 3/4” cherry stock. The center groove in the shelves are just accents cut with a 1/8” saw kerf, and the inlay strip in the front is just a 1/4X 3/8” maple strip set into a dado cut with the tablesaw.

Thanks for looking!

Ryan Shervill

http://www.box.net/shared/j4zztv6ogs

OK…it’s going to happen….I’m going to finish….I’m SURE of it! Geez …after the two weeks of figuring out how to actually bend the stuff, the rest of it is a walk in the park :)

I do have a hint though…..take a look at this pic of a table and sculpture I did….theres a hint in this pic as to what I’m building ;)

Everything will be revealed tomorrow!

Extra gratuitous pic of the sculpture….you may see this pic on the Lee Valley cover in the near future.
I built this to donate for the Rosewood Women’s Shelter auction. It’s titled “Wetlands”, and I am happy to say it brought in a sizeable amount for Rosewood.

After the complete and utter hell of two weeks of trying to steam-bend this thing, it is really great to have something positive happen for a change :)....and I’m actually starting to believe I might actually get this thing done in time!

How’s everybody elses projects coming?

Ryan

First time I’ve ever had wood splinter after being in the forms…oh well, in true LJ form I took a deep breath, collected my thoughts, then….... started over. I am down to 2/3’s of a stud now, which is OK because my original design was asthetically too “top heavy” and I needed to make the change anyway. I apologize for the lack of pics, but A: ANY pic I posted other than the ones in my first blog post would give away my surprise, and B: SWMBO has total control of the camera ;)

To anybody else that is trying to bend wood from a standard stud, you have my utmost respect….I’m into about 30 hours total now, and still don’t have anything that looks like a finished component. I have this “vision” of what this 2X4 can turn into: Gracefull curves and an organic appeal, while maintaing the usefullness of a functional piece of furniture…..but it really…REALLY doesn’t want to play along! Remember before when I said it was “personal” now? Well….now it’s at a whole new level. Now I’m making it my priorioty…no, my mission….no, my primary mission in life to bend this 2X4 to my will (pun intended). I have one more day to focus on this thing….then it will be decision time. It’s funny, the picture in my head seemed do-able…but the “getting there” is far more difficult than I would have imagined. I am on my final 2X4 (also removed from my 1/2 done basement reno) and I won’t be removing anymore framing. It’s this time or never!

My box entry was put on hold due to my (unhealthy) obsession with this piece of framing lumber, but I started the final finishing steps. Oil and french polish: Beautifull, but you really can’t rush it…..that’s OK, some projects, for some special people, are worth the time. And seeing as this one will be for my wife? I’m willing to take the time…I owe her way more than that.

Thanks for letting me vent, it’s 9:45 PM here and I’m heading back out to wrestle with my curse a little more…..wish me luck!

The 2X4 entry has turned into my nemesis…...all the bending and softening and laminating is turning out to be VERY time consuming, and far more labour intensive than I ever would have thought. Oh well, the upside is that I get to give all those who say softwoods can’t be steam-bent a great big raspberry, ‘cause I did it! :) . This is one of those “everything that can go wrong will” and “Well…I can start again, it’s only two tries so far…” projects. LOL, it’s testing me, but I will prevail. I WILL finish this project….now it’s personal, and I can’t get beat by a simple 2X4, I have to show it who’s boss.

I am really enjoying this contest, as it gives me a chance to try new things and experiment a little, all while having a “purpose”. Let’s face it, in my normal everyday life, I can’t just up and say: “Hey, I think I spend the next four days seeing how badly I can mangle a 2X4.”

Anyway, thanks for letting me vent a little, I hope to have the box entry done and entered by the weekend, and the 2X4? If things keep going the way they are, it will be last minute for sure.

I am making some progress on the two entries. The “not just any box” catagory is a great opportunity to do something I otherwise can’t really do…build somethiing that I’d seen before (sort of!) I saw this jewellry box a while back, and it really “spoke”to me…but when your business is original woodworking, well…you kinda have to build “original” stuff! This is my chance to build it, and I have to admit….this is actually harder for me!
SWMBO is super excited, as she likes the lines of this box, and it’s going to her. (How ashamed should I be that I’ve been doing this full time for years and never built her a jewellry box?) She has NO clue as to the board I’m using though…I think she’ll be floored. There is a story behind the wood, but I’ll leave that for another page.

I had to scale everything back by about 10% to use the very special stock I had set aside, but all in all it’s coming together. Where the real work is going to come in is the inside. In the one I saw, the compartments are all empty…...mine definitely won’t be! I’ve always believed that a good box looks great on the outside, but a truly great box also looks spectacular on the inside. So in this one I will be trying a few new things to get maximum utility and maximum beauty into…and out of….the small space. I generally spend 2X the amount of time on the inside of my boxes than it takes me to construct the carcass…this means I have some SERIOUS bench-time coming up I guess…..

Heres what I did yesterday, all roughed out and ready for the precision work.

Now…the 2X4…..holy cow.

I bought a standard crappy wall stud, and thought “no problem! Lots of lumber there!” Not so much.
When I started layouts, I soon realized that I was going to have to rethink stock dimenions or find a way to make the sawdust part of the project :) Rule #1: Always allow for the kerf waste…it can mess you up!

I wanted to do something artistic, yet functional, and show alot of both technique and creativity…So far I’m many hours into it, and havent even brolken out the glue yet….I guess I’ve got the technique part covered ;)

I’m not going to give away what I’m building, but I will reveal that it is going to involve Chemical softening, steam bending, form laminating, peg jooinery, router technique, inlay, compund angles, dye and stain, and a whole lot of pure luck. What the heck…might as well jump in with both feet!

Heres some peeks.

Step 1. Build a steam chamber

Step 2. Build 8 different forms (two are here)

Step three: Rip a bunch O’ strips
Step 4: NOT telling! ;)

I just pray that I can get this done in time…..here’s hoping!

Thanks for looking everybody.

Ryan