My "First Project"

Very nice, it doesn’t look like a first project to me. I see why you got orders right away the way you did.

Diane

-- http://s205.photobucket.com/albums/bb276/DMarcella/

I love the design, the carvings and raised panels.

-- Jesus is Lord!

Phil that is one heck of a First Project. Very creative and your artistic talents are very obvious. I think that you are in for a very bright future as a woodworker. Congratulations.

-- Bill - "Suit yourself and let the rest be pleased." http://www.cajunpen.com/

all these amazing “FIRST” projects makes me wish that I had started bigger!!

well done!

-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

Phil, what a great story and moreover, what a great urn! Your talents are show the mark of a great craftsman. Thanks for sharing your life and projects.

-- Jimmy

Nice work! I’ve played with those sears moulding cutters on an old craftsman saw. Kinda dangerous.

-- http://www.woodsongsfurniture.com

I never played with the moulding cutters, but my dad had one of those saws and I saw it grab a piece of lumber and hurl it pretty far more than once.

I love it when people manage to take cheap wood and do amazing things with it. You did.

-- Dan Lyke, Lagunitas California, http://www.flutterby.net/User:DanLyke

What a great story! Thanks for sharing your accomplishment; nice job.

-- BarbS, Wenatchee WA

A very nice box Phil,
Is that front panel in segments?
I bought about six of them molding cutters, real cheap. The first time I tried one it flung the board across my shop. I quit right then. They are now still in the boxes they came in. Being a collector, I never throw anything away.

-- Dick Cain, Hibbing, MN. http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/gallery/member.php?uid=3627&protype=1

Very cool. It is interesting to see how the radial arm saw has faded from use.
I have thought about buying a used one. They have way more cutting capacity and function then mitre saws. Plus they can be placed up against a wall. Most chop saws need clearance. Do you still use yours?

Thanks for sharing.

-- -John "Do I have to keep typing a smiley? Just assume it's a joke." www.flickr.com/photos/gizmodyne

Wonderful first time piece. I still have that same problem with my radial arm saw from time to time! That problem lies with not using it much. Mostly I use a table saw. Nice story on your art work.

-- Carpe Lignum - Seize The Wood,

wow very nice

-- Phil, Chattanooga,TN

First project? The bar is being raised pretty high around here. Nice work.

-- John

Phil, this is a very impressive ‘first piece’. Many woodworkers wouldn’t aspire to making one of these until after many years of experience.

I’m interested in your creative process. Did this evolve as you made it, or did you sketch some drawings and work to a plan?

Sears Craftsman Radial Arm Saw – Wow – does that bring back memories. My very first attempt at woodworking was in 1957 after a friend gave me one of these with all the accessories available at the time. It could do every thing – or so the promotional material stated. As this was long before John Eakes, I never did get this beast set up to cut true. And yes, I had my share of wood flying around the basement shop. In fact, one went right through a window. That was the end of my woodworking ambitions. The untamed beast so frightened me I never touched it after that.

Perhaps I never gave it a fair chance, but it was that experience those many years ago that dampened my initial interest in woodworking until I saw some of the stuff my late father made in his retirement shop.

Back to your project. Why do you refer to it as a urn? First a coffin then a urn – mmm – what are you telling us Phil?

-- CanuckDon "I just love small wooden boxes!" http://www.canterburybaptist.org/

my first project was a box too…but nothing like this!!! Beautiful!!!

-- Matt, Napa, CA...SING WITH ME: Ugh...August has arrived...

Very Very nice. Thanks for sharing.

-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov

Beautiful work Phil. Outstanding.

-- Better to say nothing and be thought the fool... then to speak and erase all doubt.

One thing that seems to be true among lumberjocks is having a “first project” that is several steps ahead of where we really are skills wise – yet we rise to the challenge gloriously!

-- The opposite of war isn't peace. It's creation. -- Wood T's: http://www.printfection.com/snbcreative

Hi folks. Thanks so much for your comments, interest and encouragement. Its 1:45 am and I just got in from my first time behind the wheel of a big rig in five and half years. I asked my old boss for some crating work to make extra money, because my business grant runs out next week. He suggested I take a night run instead which will actually come through my little town in a month and I will be able to park the rig at home and have most of the early part of the day in my workshop.

Yes I still have that original radial arm saw. It was old in 1988 when I bought it. I have a second one just in case my baby blows up. Sears is great for parts. I replace the carriage bearings and guide rails every couple of years and keep it tuned up. I use blade stiffeners from Lee Valley as well. The radial arm saw works better than any chopsaw for most of what I do. I use an 8 1/4” chopsaw for some work and would like to get a sliding 10” in the future.

I accidentally climbed over a piece of wood once, in a hurry, and had to peen the arbor straight , checking with a dial indicator. I forget which magazine had the article on how to do that. It worked for me.

If you take the time to learn how to tune the saw and set up the table, you will enjoy the radial arm saw. Blade technology is important as well. Research the proper hook angles for this type of saw and buy the right blades. It was my first saw and I actually was intimidated by my table saw for the longest time. I’ve learned how to tune it also and for a $99 bench saw set into a surplus government office table it works great.

I also saw an article where a woodworker built a light metal structure around his radial arm saw to eliminate any flex , set it at 45 degrees with a dado blade and cut v’s into something like particle board with laminate for speaker cabinets – not through the outside veneer – then applied glue to the v shaped dados and folded the thing closed into a speaker box. The saw was computerized as well and for something that looked like a contraption, actually mass produced speaker boxes with amazing accuracy.

Even after I bought my first router I still used the radial saw moulding head cutter to perform rail and stile operations for various pieces, not having the appropriate router bits. It was tough going and a backer piece was always needed to eliminate tearout.

As for the design of the keepsake urn, the sunburst idea came from the stern of a boat in Wooden Boat magazine. The raised panels I saw in Fine Woodworking on a blanket box and decided to incorporate them. Theres a little eastern style in there as well. I rarely use plans, maybe twice in all. Once I used plans for a pine cradle and once for a light with removeable scroll sawn panels, a Woodsmith project. I’ve done so much furniture moving over the years that dimensions and designs come naturally to me. I must have a built in library. All I need is a spark or an idea and I go from there, putting combinations of ideas together. From so many years of crating in a hurry to get the job done I also don’t use a measuring tape sometimes. I just lay boards on the saw table, guestimate, and cut. When I need to get maximum accuracy however, I measure in metric. I remember the measurements easier with that system.

The front of the piece is in segments fastened through a masonite panel to allow slight movement. I will post my “Second Project” as soon as I can( I have to finish a painting tomorrow morning for a Ducks Unlimited auction in my area then drive 50 miles into the city for my trucking run) because its a full size blanket box / hope chest version of the urn. The sunburst turned out much better, more symetrical, and I purchased my first router to properly round over the segments.

To answer the question of why I call it an urn – I meant the box as a place to put keepsakes, kind of a misuse of the word but it would make a nice receptacle for ashes. I’ve also been inquiring into pet caskets locally and nobody seems to be making them. Small boxes like that would make great pet caskets.

-- Phil Brown, Ontario

Very nice, keep up the great work. Jockmike

-- Mike. Profisher50@yahoo.com

That is a very nice piece. Congratulations.

-- Mark