# Wood Thoughts



## thomasosb (Nov 15, 2013)

*Ommm = Zzzzuhm*




  





Growing up in a family of six on a First Sergeant's pay, meant that my parent's provided my brothers and I with what we needed but there wasn't much left over for extras. My father actually learned to refinish antiques because busted-up old - what other people called trash - antiques were cheaper than buying couches, beds, and dining room tables.

The remainder of this week's blog is now available on my website. Check it out.


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## FatherHooligan (Mar 27, 2008)

thomasosb said:


> *Ommm = Zzzzuhm*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


To preserve my mental well being….although some days it may have the opposite effect


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## thomasosb (Nov 15, 2013)

*Yuz got skillz*

Do you have any favorite, little known, online woodworkers?









I was a strange kid. When I was in high school in the mid-nineties my peers were interested in watching Married with Children and playing on their PS1s. (I was still slumming it with my NES.) Sure I was happy to watch an episode of Married with Children; but if I flipped across PBS and the New Yankee Workshop was showing, I was going to stop and see what Norm Abrams was up to. (Though I am pretty sure it was Seattle Grunge Music that piqued my interest in flannel. Ahhh, ... times.) As college and graduate school became my focus, woodworking was forgotten about. (Years of therapy later - not sure if it was for the forgotten woodworking or forgotten years - I have come to grips with it.) My need for books though led me back. SKERRRT!!! Books and woodworking, how in the name of Pearl Jam - or perhaps I should say Hoobastank since it was 2004 - did that fit together? After 3 years of college and 4 years of grad-school, with a 2-year hiatus to join the monastery, I had amassed a small library and needed a place to store them. A quick DIY project later and I had built my first piece of furniture #EVER.

The remainder of this week's blog is now available on my website. Check it out.


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## thomasosb (Nov 15, 2013)

*My Harbor Freight Experience from H-E-Double Hockey Sticks*

Consider Checking Out My Website: MonkWerks.org



Did He Just Say He Went to Harbor Freight?!? I know … I know what you're all thinking: "You get what you pay for." - Actually I was thinking, "What a cheapskate." The old HF - great now he thinks he's one of the kids using acronyms - gets a lot of excrement for low-quality products. I'm definitely not being a commercial here, but if you look at their consumable goods (no, I stopped eating glue in first grade) or the basics such as screw drivers, hammers, drill bits, etc., you can't beat the price for what you're getting. I think when most people associate Harbor Freight with poor quality it is in their power tools. In my opinion, it is the lack of quality control. Looking online I've seen people








rave about how great their tools are and others "rage, rage against the dying of the light" (or the shotty craftsmanship). Its hit-and-miss. I bought two cordless drills from them for $15 each and both of them conked out after one battery charging. I also bought a half-dozen rachet bar clamps; one failed after a couple of uses, but the others are still going strong 6 years later. They also have a decent return policy.

Anyway … back to the story - you haven't even started yet. Given my personal experience, I decided that if I needed something that did not have complicated internal parts or mechanics I would check out HF. I get their weekly email flyer and *read* it. (A philosophical inquiry: Is junk email really junk email if you actually signed-up for it and read it? Let's toss that one to the philosophy faculty, and they will have an answer for us in 7 and a half million years.)







As they often do, they were running a big sale at the beginning of March (Insert funny joke about Spring Cleaning … or not.) One of the items was the "4 Piece Anti-Fatigue Foam Mat Set," and was listed as $7.49. I have spent the majority of my working life standing on hard concrete floors, the only exception was the 3 months I spent doing janitorial services at a stair building shop my freshman year of high school. (That means I know something about having lower back pain.) Here was my opportunity to alleviate the discomfort and not spend a lot of money. I splurged and ordered *10 SETS*! I wait. I wait. I wait. And I wait some more - you make it sounds like decades.

I finally decided to contact them, and I call customer service. It turns out that they simply cancelled my order. A bit odd since I had received a follow-up email on behalf of the president of the company thanking me for my purchase. Naturally I asked why? - Ask him about his tone. The customer representative (I wonder if they are truly representing the customer or the corporation) said that it should not have been on the website, as it was an in-store only item. Okay … by the time all this had occurred the sale was over and the price had reverted to the presale price of $9.99. So it was going to cost me an additional $25 and 120-mile round trip to the "local" Harbor Freight store. Not a happy customer. I asked to speak with the supervisor. Put on hold. I wait. I wait. - DefCon 3 - I wait - Oh come on, it was 7 minutes. The customer representative returns and tells me that he spoke to the manager and that they were going to offer me a $10 gift card for the inconvenience. So I explained that it still left me paying $15 more for the item and a trip out-of-town. "Sorry. You weren't charge on your credit card. Its all we are going to do." - DefCon 2 - I asked to speak to the supervisor. I wait. I wait. I wait. (You get the picture.) The customer representative returns to the line and says that the supervisor is on another call and so I cannot talk to her, but the offer of a $10 gift card is still presented. I tried to explain again that the difference was still $15. To the customer representative, it did not matter because the item should not have been available online.







Though because I refused the $10 gift card, he would forward my complaint to the HF corporate office, and I was told I would receive a response in no more than 24-hours. 48 hours passed and no response. A hotly worded post on HF's Facebook page elicited an invitation to write an email to Jack (the official complaint department of Harbor Freight).

After a few emails and phone calls with someone in the corporate office. I was offered the 10 sets of anti-fatigue mats at $6.49 a set, free shipping, and a $10 gift card for use at a HF store. In the end they did what was right, but boy was it hard to get them there. - It probably didn't help that they had a stubborn German/Irish/Scotsman arguing against them. (Yeah, you already made that joke before!)



Oh … and the anti-fatigue mats are back on sale again via their website. (So much for them not being able to be purchased anywhere else but at the store.)


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## craftsman on the lake (Dec 27, 2008)

thomasosb said:


> *My Harbor Freight Experience from H-E-Double Hockey Sticks*
> 
> Consider Checking Out My Website: MonkWerks.org
> 
> ...


Love this story.. well written.


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## iamcliff (Jul 4, 2012)

thomasosb said:


> *My Harbor Freight Experience from H-E-Double Hockey Sticks*
> 
> Consider Checking Out My Website: MonkWerks.org
> 
> ...


Funny story! There is a harbor freight nearby to where I live, but I've never been. I've heard that it's great for stuff like latex gloves and the sorts of things you mentioned. One day, I may stop by and just have a look.


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## garbonsai (Jan 17, 2013)

thomasosb said:


> *My Harbor Freight Experience from H-E-Double Hockey Sticks*
> 
> Consider Checking Out My Website: MonkWerks.org
> 
> ...


HF is actually quite good for a lot of things, as long as they're not bits or blades or sandpaper (there are exceptions to this, too). I've had great luck with their brass threaded inserts, more expensive pipe-clamps (with feet), more expensive oscillating multi-tool, polishing compounds, tie-downs, blue-handled bar clamps (not the best, but you can do much worse), pocket-screw jig, some of their hand tools (lifetime warranty-take 'em back to the store and they'll replace 'em, just like Craftsman), air fittings, mobile bases (these, in particular, are a great deal), dust collector, nitrile gloves, casters (hit or miss)... I'm sure I can come up with more, and my needs may not be as great as others', but, honestly, I have nothing bad to say about HF, especially if you have one close by.


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## gfadvm (Jan 13, 2011)

thomasosb said:


> *My Harbor Freight Experience from H-E-Double Hockey Sticks*
> 
> Consider Checking Out My Website: MonkWerks.org
> 
> ...


I admire your tenacity!


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## squaretree (Feb 5, 2014)

thomasosb said:


> *My Harbor Freight Experience from H-E-Double Hockey Sticks*
> 
> Consider Checking Out My Website: MonkWerks.org
> 
> ...


I gave my local HF a try last year (Indianapolis). I called with a question about a product they were advertising. The person said "I dont have time for this". That was after one question! The call lasted about 15 seconds. I will not be visiting their store so that I can sift through their junk and try to figure out which products might last more than 6 months. "I dont have time for that."


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## Jim Jakosh (Nov 24, 2009)

thomasosb said:


> *My Harbor Freight Experience from H-E-Double Hockey Sticks*
> 
> Consider Checking Out My Website: MonkWerks.org
> 
> ...


I buy stuff at harbor Freight and they do have some good stuff for the average guy but I feel that some of it was designed okay, but it was not finished to a usable state and therefore you have to complete the manufacture of it.
An example is the sheet metal drill that is tapered to open holes to any size. When I bought it, it just went round and round in the hole and never cut a chip. All I had to do was sharpen it on the belt dander so the cutting edges was the highest point and the rest tapered back from there. Now is cuts real good!!!

The half blind dovetail fixture is another one. I replaced all the screws with socket head cap screws and use a T handle allen wrench to tighten them and I added a shim to the back of the horizontal edge so the top board is very square with the vertical one now when it is all tightened down. The fixture works like one 3 times the price now…...Jim


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## thomasosb (Nov 15, 2013)

*Dear Diary ... (A Day in the Life of a Hobby Woodworker)*

Please Consider Checking Out My Website: MonkWerks.org

Dear Diary,










This morning I awoke to a beautiful Saturday morning with the birds chirping and the sun shining, and I was reinvigorated and ready to tackle a new woodworking project. I quickly dressed, had breakfast, and checked out the new woodworking videos on YouTube. I couldn't believe my luck. All my favorite Youtubers had posted new videos!!! Though tempted, I was not to be deterred from my task - I will start and finish a project today. I did allow myself the guilty pleasure of watching Matthias Wandel take on glue.

It must have been my day because as soon I finished watching the video, I knocked the remote on the floor and landed so the power button turned on the TV. And guess what was on? It was a rerun of TNYW (Season 10, Episode 6) on the Morris Chair. It was perfect because now I didn't have to wait until next month for the Guild Build.









I hopped back online to order Norm's plans and Christmas came early - I was The New Yankee Workshop's 1,000,000th customer and they immediately emailed me a link with digital editions of the entire TNYW oeuvre! I didn't have to wait. It was fate and time to create.









I arrived in the shop, and boy was I glad that I cleaned it up last night because I could get right to work. My stack of quarter-sawn white oak was just large enough to complete the project. I should mention that I cleaned the shop up last night because I had milled up the oak yesterday. I thought, "If I continue to be this lucky, I might have to buy a lottery ticket." It was going to be a long day so I quickly busted out a bending form for the curved slates on the back, resawed the oak and laminated the pieces back together. Setting them aside to cook, it was off to working on the legs.








The legs were fairly straight forward after I dimensioned them, it was only a matter of cutting the mortises and tenons. While I was at it I did the same for the stretchers. Those new titanium hollow-mortise chisels and table saw blades sure did cut through the wood like butter. I batched out the rest of the base parts, did some preliminary sanding, and had it all glued-up by 11:30am.

The BLT with a Double IPA at lunch was a welcomed relief. I waited 1.18567 hours for the alcohol to metabolize (a longish nap) and then back out to the shop.

I cut out the posts for the back rests. I decided not to buy a lottery ticket - the blade on the band saw was wandering too much. But I still made quick work of them with the fret saw (only about 10 minutes each). Then I bored out the mortises for the slats. I wanted to give the back slates a little more time in the bending form, so I spent an hour making some glue blocks for the seats and a set of corbels for the arm rests. It didn't take Norm this long to build his Morris Chair, oh well. LOL. It was getting late and since I wanted a one day project, I popped the back slates out of their forms and cut some more tenons. A little glue, waited an hour and now its ready for finishing. A few coats of Danish oil and boy is that baby looking sweet.









*Anngh. Anngh. Anngh. Anngh. Anngh. Anngh. Anngh.*










Anybody can do April Fools' on the First; it takes talent to do it on the Fourth.


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## thomasosb (Nov 15, 2013)

*Just When I Thought It Wouldn't Happen to Me …*

Please Consider Checking Out My Website: MonkWerks.org

Lets make one thing clear: I was certainly not expecting to be writing this blog entry this week. I had a lovely little piece on some preliminary reports that showed the shavings (only garnered from boards planed with a #365 Stanley Jointer plane) from 3000 year old, spalted, birdseye, curly, Spanish, aromatic bubinga cured *CANCER*. 








I had to hit the delete key, however when two things happened: 1) The world's supply of the wood was used up in a single woodworking project, and, more importantly, 2) The MonkWerks YouTube channel hit 1000 subscribers!

In all seriousness - Poor, poor man, when you have to start a sentence that way, you've lost the ability to speak 'in all seriousness' - I want to thank everyone who has subscribed and watched my videos. 

I posted my first one 5 months and 1 week ago and it has been a lot of fun doing the projects and interacting online with a lot of interesting people. - Should we remind him that he said he would be putting out videos twice a month? - (I heard that! Filming AND doing the woodworking is a lot harder than I initially thought. Cut me a little slack.) Sorry about that, trying to keep the minions under control. There are several online woodworkers who have promoted my channel and I owe them a debt of gratitude. In particular is Steve Carmichael, Tom Iovino, John Heisz, Jay Bates, and David Picciuto; a big thank you to all of them. But I am also thankful to you, my subscribers, when you view, comment, and like the videos it is a nice reminder that someone appreciates my style of woodworking - 'style,' I suppose that's one way to say it.

I made a short video, which is posted below. It contains some information about a 1000 subscriber, thank-you giveaway, so check it out to see how to be involved.

Click Here to See the Video: 1000 Subscribers and Giveaway Announcement!


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## LJackson (Jan 13, 2014)

thomasosb said:


> *Just When I Thought It Wouldn't Happen to Me …*
> 
> Please Consider Checking Out My Website: MonkWerks.org
> 
> ...


I have just three words for you: L O L


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## NormG (Mar 5, 2010)

thomasosb said:


> *Just When I Thought It Wouldn't Happen to Me …*
> 
> Please Consider Checking Out My Website: MonkWerks.org
> 
> ...


Yea

and

Thank you


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## thomasosb (Nov 15, 2013)

*The Wood of the Cross (Different Style Than My Normal Entry: Good Friday Meditation)*

Please Consider Checking Out My Website: MonkWerks.org

This year is my 10th anniversary of priestly ordination, or at least it will be on June 11. Before I was ordained I spent 4 years studying at Saint Meinrad School of Theology and living with the monastic community there. In the archabbey church there are many beautiful stained-glass windows. One of my favorites was nestled on the northwest side, and we passed by it every time we went in procession into the church - the Crucifixion. I had not seen the Crucifixion depicted in this way, and I have not seen it done since. The upper part of the window has a traditional depiction of the Christ on the Cross with the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. John on one side with the now-believing centurion - St. Longinus according to tradition - kneeling and another Roman soldier observing on the other. The lower panel, however, was the image of the Expulsion from Paradise of Adam and Eve. Running through both images is the Tree of Life, the forbidden tree is the same as the Cross upon which Jesus hung. What a powerful image! Our greatest failures - turning from God and killing God - become the instrument of our salvation. The Tree of Life finally came to fruition and now we can properly take from its fruit.


Another powerful crucifixion scene that caught my imagination when I was working on my thesis was an Old English poem, Dream of the Rood, which is a vision seen by the unnamed author. He is visited by the Cross, and the Cross tells the tale of how it came to be. It recounts how it was forcibly taken from its forest, transformed, and finally installed on the hill at Golgotha. It learns that it was not destined to bear a lowly criminal but the Savior of the world. The Cross had a new purpose, to stand strong and be the mount of Christ as He did battle against the forces of evil. All the wounds inflicted on Christ were wounds inflicted on the Cross too. The Cross, now soaked with the Blood of Christ and the standard of His Passion, is glorified by the action performed upon it and filled with power and healing.


The martial imagery evoked by this poem was not unique. The Cross was seen as a great instrument of power, a medieval version of the Ark of the Covenant that the Israelites carried into battle as they took possession of the Promised Land. Secular powers used the symbol of the Cross as their standards as they conquered rebellious people, carved new domains from other lands, or expelled those who refused to conform. All echoed with the battle cry, "Deus vult!" The Cross was power, but power was understood, then as today, as controlling other people. It should not surprise us then, that in certain parts of the world (or among secularists) the Cross is seen as a symbol of oppression rather than redemption.

What is the Cross? At its core it was an ordinary piece of wood. Yet that which was ordinary was transformed into something greater. Amidst all the martial imagery in Dream of the Rood there are a few important lines that are easily overlooked. The Cross is explicit in where its power lies, "Therefore I, glorious now, rise under heaven, and I may heal any of those who will reverence me." (vs. 84-85) It does not conquer territory nor is it a totem for victory in battle, instead it's medicine for a sick body or soul. The victory is over sin and death. Eastern Christian iconography prominently portrays this truth in the icon of the Resurrection. Christ carrying his cross - his standard - breaks down the gates of Sheol and lifts Adam and Eve from the underworld so that they may enjoy eternal life in heaven. Before the vision ends and the dreamer awakes, the Cross commands that the seer tells of what he has seen so that all may glory and hope in the healing power of the Cross.


The sacramentality of these early Christian images have a great resonance. God using the ordinary, using the material and transforming it into something greater, sanctifying it, perfecting it. I think that is the message of the Cross. It made me and it made you greater than what we allowed our appetites to create within us. As Christians we were commanded to take up our own crosses and follow in Christ's way (cf. Matthew 16:24; Luke 9:23). So doesn't that mean that we have to get a little bloodied and battered about in the process of our transformation? Growth has never been an easy process, but seeing that we are not forsaken but loved and wanted by the One who gave to the last measure gives us the strength to persevere. We now bear His name. Doesn't that mean that we are called to be standards of power and healing? Not the control and domination of the past, but of the transformative power of salvation and healing.

The Cross - a few pieces of lumber - is the instrument of salvation. We - simple, broken, sinful individuals - are called to be instruments of salvation too.


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## Notw (Aug 7, 2013)

thomasosb said:


> *The Wood of the Cross (Different Style Than My Normal Entry: Good Friday Meditation)*
> 
> Please Consider Checking Out My Website: MonkWerks.org
> 
> ...


I really like that stained glass window, I as well have not seen the Crucifixion depicted as the cross coming from the Tree of Knowledge.


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## revieck (Dec 29, 2009)

thomasosb said:


> *The Wood of the Cross (Different Style Than My Normal Entry: Good Friday Meditation)*
> 
> Please Consider Checking Out My Website: MonkWerks.org
> 
> ...


A nice meditation for this Good Friday! ...I have seen the stained glass window at Saint Meinrad too!


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## SteveCherry (May 21, 2013)

thomasosb said:


> *The Wood of the Cross (Different Style Than My Normal Entry: Good Friday Meditation)*
> 
> Please Consider Checking Out My Website: MonkWerks.org
> 
> ...


Fr. Bailey; thanks for the beautiful meditation on the cross.


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## thomasosb (Nov 15, 2013)

*Who Me? You Want Me to Build What?!?*

Please Consider Checking Out My Website: MonkWerks.org









I decided to take last week off; Holy Week was a busy one and I needed a little rest - he didn't go to Cozumel, no really he didn't. But I am back this week talking obliquely about a project I started in my shop. Its a little hush-hush because I am participating in a tool swap on the Woodworkingtalk.com forum, and we are not supposed to say what we are building nor for whom we are building it. If we do so, the tool being built for us is automatically swapped out with the Little Tikes Discover Sounds Workshop (I thought about it, it is a sweet toy) and we have to make a pair of winding sticks only with the tools provided with the workshop. I am enjoying the build immensely. I have near carte blanche on what to build (it just has to fit in a medium sized, USPS Flat-Rate box) and the biggest problem is narrowing down what I want to build with my skill set.









Before the advent of mass production - really, you're giving a history lesson - part of the way you moved from an apprentice to a journeyman was building your tool chest and the implements of your trade. The chest was your sales model, how you advertized your capabilities. It is so far from our modern experience that we see it as out of our grasp, reserved for the select craftsmen who are meticulously obsessive about detail. That view is simply untrue. Building your own tools is not that difficult, and with a few basic skills anyone can build tools of which to be proud - don't worry, we edited out the part where he quoted himself from a few months ago.









I cannot give too many details right now, but the tool I am building requires only a basic number of skills: flattening stock, cutting wood, drilling a hole, tapping a hole, and finishing (oh, and using a hack saw and grinder is helpful but not required). Those simple skills can build a tool worth $100. That is it! When approaching a project, look at the skills necessary to complete it, not the size or time or perceived difficulty level - now I get it, he's doing a motivational speaker thing - which will tell you whether or not is a doable project. It will also let you know if it is a skill you are capable of learning. Push yourself, learn new skills. I do not consider myself a great woodworking guru - at least we can agree with him on that one - but I am able to make some tools.


Alright, because I am interested in possibly getting the Little Tikes' toy, I am going to drop a hint:


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## thomasosb (Nov 15, 2013)

*Are You Ready for Woodworking Safety Day? Or As I Like to Call It, "Not the Zombie Apocalypse"*

Please Consider Checking Out My Website: MonkWerks.org



Let me start off by saying that safety is never a joking matter, - So why are you writing this post? - and in the short five months that I have been writing this blog, safety has occupied 5% of all posts on this website (now standing at 10%). The last time I talked on this subject it was the basic idea of personal responsibility. If you are uncomfortable with it, do not do it; just say, "No." Well … I do not want to beat a dead horse - or a live one for that matter - so lets get to the matter at hand: 2014 MWA Safety Day.

There will probably be a lot of talk about the things we use in our shops:
1. A running table saw should not be used as a leaning post.
2. Your power drill cannot be converted to take plaque off your teeth.
3. If you are thirsty, mineral spirits is not a good substitute for water.
4. Juggling chisels to wear a Hello Kitty band-aids is not appropriate.
5. Butchers use band saws too.

All the usual stuff.









But I do not want to spend too much time on the obvious - Socrates tried to be original too, look what happened to him. The thing I want everybody to do on this Woodworking Safety Day is to look down. What do you see? - Do you mean besides the fact that your shoes need to be polished? - If you see concrete, bad; if you see an anti-fatigue mat, good. 

We often get caught up in the gory part of shop safety, but we also need to remember that just as we protect our hearing we should also protect our feet and backs.

When I was setting up my shop a few years ago, I was able to get the monastery's old DeWalt radial arm saw out of storage and moved into place. I had help getting it moved from the storage room to the shop but others things were happening and my confrere could not help me set it up right away. I sometimes get impatient - by sometimes he means regularly - and I did not want to wait and I started jostling it into position. The next thing I know I hear a 'pop' sound and the most excruciating pain courses through my back. Since then my back has been fairly sensitive. A couple of hours on bare concrete and my back is killing me - it reminds me of this. After getting the anti-fatigue mats in April, I can work in the shop for hours. I can still over do it, but the difference is amazing.


And if you still need the threat of something being cut off for you to pay attention to a safety announcement, remember this … Back pain means that you become more focused on your back and not the power tool in front of you. Lack of attention focused on what you are doing in the wood shop has every potential to necessitate a trip to emergency room. But do not do it just to keep all your fingers, use anti-fatigue mats because you deserve happy feet and a happy back.


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## NormG (Mar 5, 2010)

thomasosb said:


> *Are You Ready for Woodworking Safety Day? Or As I Like to Call It, "Not the Zombie Apocalypse"*
> 
> Please Consider Checking Out My Website: MonkWerks.org
> 
> ...


Happy feet yes


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## thomasosb (Nov 15, 2013)

*Oceans and Oceans of Glue, But Still Don't Eat It*

Please Consider Checking Out My Website: MonkWerks.org









Some people may have thought that the glue blog title I mentioned in Clamps, Clamps, and More Clamps!!! was made up. And yes it was, but such a good title should not go to waste - he's quite the recycling monk, mostly other people's ideas. So I took it upon my self to patent, trademark, copyright, and claim it as my own. Let's see those royalty checks just start rolling in - you do remember that you're a monk and have a vow of poverty? Well they can go to replace those beams I "borrowed" from the abbey church.

Anyway, glue is certainly one of those indispensable items in the workshop and used in practically every project. None of us will ever begin a project without making sure we have enough glue on hand - yeah, nobody would ever do such a silly thing … I just wonder where he got the idea - but what if the unthinkable became the reality? Can other adhesives fill-in for our trusted friend and companion? Matthias Wandel has put glue under the test before: Gorilla Glue Sucks (at filling gaps) and Can You Squeeze All the Glue Out of a Joint? His test are more scientific than any I am able to create - and more entertaining - because of his engineering background. I am not going to let it deter me, however, from testing whether or not other adhesives, probably hanging around peoples' shops, can substitute for wood glue in a jam.



I went to the local hardware store and purchased three products that claimed to work on wood. I also decided to throw the towel in the ring - again with the colloquialisms, get on with it - for cyanocrylate glue (CA glue) because I had it on hand in the shop and many woodworkers use it for a variety of purposes, as well as, a traditional wood glue as a control. The parameters for the experiment were to follow any manufacturer directions (e.g. allowing full curing times) and to create a variable of both clamped and unclamped samples - if you're bored no one will blame you if you leave now.



The Results Sample DesignationAction to Break BondAftermathI - Clamped2 Blows w/Hammer II - Unclamped1 Blow w/Hammer IV - Unclamped1 Blow w/Hammer V - Unclamped1 Blow w/Hammer 
*[TD][/TD]*
*
[TR][TD]I - Unclamped[/TD][TD]Placed in X Form and Hit w/Hammer[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]II - Clamped[/TD][TD]1 Blow w/Hammer*
[/TD][TD]

[/TD][/TR]
*
[TR][TD]III - Clamped[/TD][TD]Pulled Apart by Hand[/TD][TD][/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]III - Unclamped[/TD][TD]Pulled Apart by Hand[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]IV - Clamped[/TD][TD]1 Blow w/Hammer*
[/TD][TD]

[/TD][/TR]
*
[TR][TD]V - Clamped[/TD][TD]3 Blows w/Hammer*
[/TD][TD]

[/TD][/TR]
*
**

*Only the weight of the hammer was used. 
I (Wood Glue), II (CA Glue), III (Contact Cement), IV (Construction Adhesive), V (Wood Epoxy)

[/CENTER]

[/CENTER]Unexpectedly the clamped wood glue sample was more easily broken than the unclamped sample - what does it mean when the control fails? - and most joints failed with roughly the same amount of force. Joint failure due to a failure in the adhesive occurred only in the contact cement sample, all other failures were the result of weakness in the wood. So I think it is a safe bet that if you ever find yourself in the unenviable position of running out of wood glue, you can get away with using construction adhesive, wood epoxy, or even super glue.


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## Jim Jakosh (Nov 24, 2009)

thomasosb said:


> *Oceans and Oceans of Glue, But Still Don't Eat It*
> 
> Please Consider Checking Out My Website: MonkWerks.org
> 
> ...


I use Harbor Freight epoxy for a lot of different things- including putting metal or plastic in my wood products and have never had a failure. It is cheap and super good.( wait until it goes on sale for 99 cents a package)
If it is wood to wood, I use mainly Titebond III now because it is super strong and waterproof.

I was surprised at the contact adhesive. Usually I let it dry to a tacky stage and them clamp the pieces together or rub them down hard if it is thin stuff and it holds really well. If you wait a day of so the bonds gets even stronger.

How long was it between gluing and testing for these samples?
....................Jim


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## craftsman on the lake (Dec 27, 2008)

thomasosb said:


> *Oceans and Oceans of Glue, But Still Don't Eat It*
> 
> Please Consider Checking Out My Website: MonkWerks.org
> 
> ...


Like you said, i wouldn't associate wood failure with glue failure. I used to cut a guitar neck blank at an angle and reverse it to make the head tilt at a shallow angle. The two pieces were glued together. When the guitar was done it was strung up. They exert about 180 lb. / square inch. I've never had one come apart. If you glue two 2×4's together overlapping about 6" with white glue and clamp it will break someplace else, not the glue joint if put under pressure.

BTW, a well sanded or planed surface with wood glue will substantially increase the strength of the clamped joint.


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## thomasosb (Nov 15, 2013)

thomasosb said:


> *Oceans and Oceans of Glue, But Still Don't Eat It*
> 
> Please Consider Checking Out My Website: MonkWerks.org
> 
> ...


@Jim Jakosh: I followed the directions as written on the package. I applied contact cement to both pieces and waited 15 minutes. I then pressed them together, one sample with clamps and the other I held together for a short period of time (about 20 seconds). The directions did not specify a curing time, but as I had to wait 24 hours for the epoxy to fully cure that was how long I waited for all the samples.


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## thomasosb (Nov 15, 2013)

*IKEA and the Workshop (Should Those Words Ever Be in the Same Sentence?)*

- If you answered "yes" or "maybe" to the above question, please click this link.

I returned home to my monastery last week, and boy was I in for quite a shock - the monastery moved without telling you?; changed all the locks?; turned out the lights and pretended no one was home? I only noticed one thing at first, someone had committed the unforgivable sin of utilizing the top of the table saw as a place to water and take care of Easter lilies. After I stopped seeing red and "gingerly" removed the lilies from the table saw - we wish we could say that no lilies were hurt in the making of this blog but that would be a falsehood - I coated the entire top with "lubricant, penetrating oil and water-displacing spray" (the generic name for WD-40) and let it sit overnight. The top was scrubbed, cleaned, and a fresh coat of paste wax was applied.









Once the emergency had passed, I took a minute to look around my shop and I noticed another pressing problem; the place was a mess, and it was not one I created. The abbey shop is not a dedicated space, and it has a tendency to become a catch-all for a lot of different things. We do quite a bit of recycling (paper/cardboard, plastic, glass, and metals), which tends not to stay very neat. There are gardening materials, painting materials, work clothes from deceased monks. I think you get the picture. I usually have to spend a few days cleaning the place up when I return home before I can start doing any work in there.









I was not too keen to continue this time-honored ritual - the unofficial motto of monks is: We've always done it that way - and wrote up a little proposal to the abbot. As to be expected not everything was approved, but enough was acceptable to do a major reconfiguring and cleaning of the shop. And so for two days my motto became: When in Doubt, Throw it Out - it's none of our business, but we think he made quite a few people unhappy in the process.

*3 Trips to the Recycling Center, 2 to the Burn Pile, and 2 to the Dumpster Later*


Not all of it was thrown away, some things were relocated to a different location and consolidated with similar items. I am certainly not a Pollyanna - we had to look up that reference, it means an overly optimistic person - and know that monks being monks means that items will soon start accumulating again. (There was even one item tossed in the dumpster that was returned within 24 hours.) So my list of summer projects has begun. I will build a large storage unit along the wall with plywood. It will have three modules: a closet, shelving, and deep cubby holes, all enclosed with sliding doors. I am also going to build a new outfeed table to the left of the radial arm saw - self-promotion alert: he wants the forthcoming build video to go viral - a new stand for the thickness planer (pictured in the photos), and replace the free standing router table behind the table saw with a table saw extension router lift. If there is time left in the summer, I will also build a small outfeed support for the table saw.


My planned summer projects have adapted to fit the new situation, but I am hoping to still be able to finish Part 2 of the shoe-shine box build - in case you don't remember is was the project he started working on in NOVEMBER - as well as adding a tail vise to the workbench and a review for the new Narex mortising chisels I bought. Let the summer begin, actually it already has with the planer stand. It was a simple enough build made from 2×4s and utilizing half-lap joints and screws.

Please Consider Checking Out My Website: MonkWerks.org


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## NormG (Mar 5, 2010)

thomasosb said:


> *IKEA and the Workshop (Should Those Words Ever Be in the Same Sentence?)*
> 
> - If you answered "yes" or "maybe" to the above question, please click this link.
> 
> ...


You may be aware of the reality show Amish mafia, well there could be a monk mafia if needed


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## thomasosb (Nov 15, 2013)

*My Dirty Little Secret*

"For there is nothing hidden that will not become visible, and nothing secret that will not be known and come to light."
- Luke 8:17










It was bound to happen one of these days, but I was finally caught at Harbor Freight. And so, "My name is Fr. Thomas, and I am an Harbor Freight customer." To which we, the minions, were forced to respond, "Hi, Fr. Thomas;" how humiliating. I did not have a lot to do today except sit around and watch DIY/Maker/Woodworking videos on Youtube. (Classes do not begin at the university until tomorrow.) I decided to take a break around lunchtime, and somehow I found myself surfing the Harbor Freight website. Oh no … Father is about to do an unboxing blog. That 20%-off coupon is extremely tempting, but I stumbled upon their 99¢ section. I could not help myself, and I was convinced that I needed a half dozen 2″ c-clamps and a combination sharpening stone.








And now you see my problem. I was sucked up into the excitement of it all and left with more than I expected. It all made sense in my head. The tape measure was the freebie; I had the coupon. And then I thought, "If that sharpening stone is a dud, I do not want my good chisels to be ruined." No chisels were harmed in the writing of this blog. We we're told not to make a juvenile joke about size, and so we aren't. The next thing I know, I found myself staring at a 6-set of chisels, which included a size I did not have (1-1/2″). The $9.99 price tag almost had me walking away, but then I remember that flibberdy-gibbet 20-percent off coupon. I felt as if my body was possessed, and the wicked woodworking demons put it in my shopping basket. If worse comes to worse, they can be a set of beater chisels. Please wait … Rationalization in Process.








I suppose I should not complain too much. I walked out of there with 14 tools and only spent $16.12. Just to make the Engineers, Mathematicians, and OCD people upset … that's $1.14 per tool. But there I go again, rationalizing it all away. "My name is Fr. Thomas, and I am an Harbor Freight customer." I need help?!?


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## racerglen (Oct 15, 2010)

thomasosb said:


> *My Dirty Little Secret*
> 
> "For there is nothing hidden that will not become visible, and nothing secret that will not be known and come to light."
> - Luke 8:17
> ...


I feel your pain, just left a Princess Auto store (Canadian HF type store) yesterday in the same way, but my haul included a mortise chisel set..need to see how that works out..lol..


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## Smitty_Cabinetshop (Mar 26, 2011)

thomasosb said:


> *My Dirty Little Secret*
> 
> "For there is nothing hidden that will not become visible, and nothing secret that will not be known and come to light."
> - Luke 8:17
> ...


Good stuff, Fr! Love the turning video too (candlestick holder).


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## Dave10 (May 29, 2012)

thomasosb said:


> *My Dirty Little Secret*
> 
> "For there is nothing hidden that will not become visible, and nothing secret that will not be known and come to light."
> - Luke 8:17
> ...


Nice haul. Not all of our tools need be gold plated.


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