# My Journey Into Woodworking



## Steve_B (Oct 30, 2009)

*Flash Back To Five Years Ago *

So there I was, standing in the big box store shaking my head. "They want how much for this crap?", I was saying to my wife. I couldn't believe the cost and the terrible quality of the cabinets I was looking at. I told her if I had the tools I would just build my own. Even if they were less than perfect they would be ten times better than what I was looking at. My wife being the enabler of all times looked at me and said. "Well you just got the shop you've always wanted. Why don't you just buy what you need and do it?"

Now I've built some aquarium cabinets and other small projects over the years. All built with simple tools, the most elaborate being a borrowed chop saw. I always knew I could have done better but lacked the space, tools and practice to do so. I've been building radio control model planes for 30+ years and attention to detail is important or they just don't fly well. I wanted to be able to put that kind of workmanship into my woodworking projects. The "enabler" was right. I did have that shiny new 25×50' empty shop in the basement. However, 4 blank walls do not make a shop. Add in over 250 planes, helicopters and such and you have nothing more than a lot of decisions to make. Plus I still needed a bit of storage area for the things that can't be stored in the pole barn during the winters in NW Indiana. What I really needed was a plan and some more convincing.


----------



## jockmike2 (Oct 10, 2006)

Steve_B said:


> *Flash Back To Five Years Ago *
> 
> So there I was, standing in the big box store shaking my head. "They want how much for this crap?", I was saying to my wife. I couldn't believe the cost and the terrible quality of the cabinets I was looking at. I told her if I had the tools I would just build my own. Even if they were less than perfect they would be ten times better than what I was looking at. My wife being the enabler of all times looked at me and said. "Well you just got the shop you've always wanted. Why don't you just buy what you need and do it?"
> 
> Now I've built some aquarium cabinets and other small projects over the years. All built with simple tools, the most elaborate being a borrowed chop saw. I always knew I could have done better but lacked the space, tools and practice to do so. I've been building radio control model planes for 30+ years and attention to detail is important or they just don't fly well. I wanted to be able to put that kind of workmanship into my woodworking projects. The "enabler" was right. I did have that shiny new 25×50' empty shop in the basement. However, 4 blank walls do not make a shop. Add in over 250 planes, helicopters and such and you have nothing more than a lot of decisions to make. Plus I still needed a bit of storage area for the things that can't be stored in the pole barn during the winters in NW Indiana. What I really needed was a plan and some more convincing.


I HAVE JUST ONE QUESTION STEVE… WAS IT REALLY NECESSARY THAT YOU PUT THIS IN THREE SEPARATE BLOGS, BACK TO BACK AND PUSH OUR MICHIGAN LUMBERJOCK GATHERING TO THE SECOND PAGE ON THE FIRST DAY IT WAS POSTED. I'M JUST SAYING, YOU COULD EASILY HAVE PUT IT ALL IN ONE POST, I READ THEM ALL.


----------



## Steve_B (Oct 30, 2009)

Steve_B said:


> *Flash Back To Five Years Ago *
> 
> So there I was, standing in the big box store shaking my head. "They want how much for this crap?", I was saying to my wife. I couldn't believe the cost and the terrible quality of the cabinets I was looking at. I told her if I had the tools I would just build my own. Even if they were less than perfect they would be ten times better than what I was looking at. My wife being the enabler of all times looked at me and said. "Well you just got the shop you've always wanted. Why don't you just buy what you need and do it?"
> 
> Now I've built some aquarium cabinets and other small projects over the years. All built with simple tools, the most elaborate being a borrowed chop saw. I always knew I could have done better but lacked the space, tools and practice to do so. I've been building radio control model planes for 30+ years and attention to detail is important or they just don't fly well. I wanted to be able to put that kind of workmanship into my woodworking projects. The "enabler" was right. I did have that shiny new 25×50' empty shop in the basement. However, 4 blank walls do not make a shop. Add in over 250 planes, helicopters and such and you have nothing more than a lot of decisions to make. Plus I still needed a bit of storage area for the things that can't be stored in the pole barn during the winters in NW Indiana. What I really needed was a plan and some more convincing.


No need to yell. I'm new to the blog thing and didn't realize that would happen. Did it to keep from having one long blog. Figured as a series I could break it down by years and make it easier to follow. Plus not have to type it all at once. Unfortunately there's nothing I can do about it now. I'm finished now so hopefully I didn't make life to rough for everyone. I apologize for any inconvience I caused.


----------



## HerbC (Jul 28, 2010)

Steve_B said:


> *Flash Back To Five Years Ago *
> 
> So there I was, standing in the big box store shaking my head. "They want how much for this crap?", I was saying to my wife. I couldn't believe the cost and the terrible quality of the cabinets I was looking at. I told her if I had the tools I would just build my own. Even if they were less than perfect they would be ten times better than what I was looking at. My wife being the enabler of all times looked at me and said. "Well you just got the shop you've always wanted. Why don't you just buy what you need and do it?"
> 
> Now I've built some aquarium cabinets and other small projects over the years. All built with simple tools, the most elaborate being a borrowed chop saw. I always knew I could have done better but lacked the space, tools and practice to do so. I've been building radio control model planes for 30+ years and attention to detail is important or they just don't fly well. I wanted to be able to put that kind of workmanship into my woodworking projects. The "enabler" was right. I did have that shiny new 25×50' empty shop in the basement. However, 4 blank walls do not make a shop. Add in over 250 planes, helicopters and such and you have nothing more than a lot of decisions to make. Plus I still needed a bit of storage area for the things that can't be stored in the pole barn during the winters in NW Indiana. What I really needed was a plan and some more convincing.


Steve,

Mike's not yelling. He types ALL CAPS because his vision makes it more difficult for him to read lower case type…

Welcome to LJ. I look forward to seeing more from you in the future.

In the meantime…

Be Careful!

Herb


----------



## jockmike2 (Oct 10, 2006)

Steve_B said:


> *Flash Back To Five Years Ago *
> 
> So there I was, standing in the big box store shaking my head. "They want how much for this crap?", I was saying to my wife. I couldn't believe the cost and the terrible quality of the cabinets I was looking at. I told her if I had the tools I would just build my own. Even if they were less than perfect they would be ten times better than what I was looking at. My wife being the enabler of all times looked at me and said. "Well you just got the shop you've always wanted. Why don't you just buy what you need and do it?"
> 
> Now I've built some aquarium cabinets and other small projects over the years. All built with simple tools, the most elaborate being a borrowed chop saw. I always knew I could have done better but lacked the space, tools and practice to do so. I've been building radio control model planes for 30+ years and attention to detail is important or they just don't fly well. I wanted to be able to put that kind of workmanship into my woodworking projects. The "enabler" was right. I did have that shiny new 25×50' empty shop in the basement. However, 4 blank walls do not make a shop. Add in over 250 planes, helicopters and such and you have nothing more than a lot of decisions to make. Plus I still needed a bit of storage area for the things that can't be stored in the pole barn during the winters in NW Indiana. What I really needed was a plan and some more convincing.


Sorry for bad mouthing you. After reading them all I can understand why you broke them down. My apologies. Welcome to LJ's and blog away my friend. I've posted that damn thing so much I'm tired of it. If all the Michiganders don't know about it by now, they never will. Again, my apologies.


----------



## Steve_B (Oct 30, 2009)

Steve_B said:


> *Flash Back To Five Years Ago *
> 
> So there I was, standing in the big box store shaking my head. "They want how much for this crap?", I was saying to my wife. I couldn't believe the cost and the terrible quality of the cabinets I was looking at. I told her if I had the tools I would just build my own. Even if they were less than perfect they would be ten times better than what I was looking at. My wife being the enabler of all times looked at me and said. "Well you just got the shop you've always wanted. Why don't you just buy what you need and do it?"
> 
> Now I've built some aquarium cabinets and other small projects over the years. All built with simple tools, the most elaborate being a borrowed chop saw. I always knew I could have done better but lacked the space, tools and practice to do so. I've been building radio control model planes for 30+ years and attention to detail is important or they just don't fly well. I wanted to be able to put that kind of workmanship into my woodworking projects. The "enabler" was right. I did have that shiny new 25×50' empty shop in the basement. However, 4 blank walls do not make a shop. Add in over 250 planes, helicopters and such and you have nothing more than a lot of decisions to make. Plus I still needed a bit of storage area for the things that can't be stored in the pole barn during the winters in NW Indiana. What I really needed was a plan and some more convincing.


Don't worry, we're ok.


----------



## Steve_B (Oct 30, 2009)

*The Plan*

*PHASE 1:* I had my wife make a list of all the things she would like to have in the house we had just bought. The list was even more reasonable than I figured it would be. Then we went "window shopping". We got two prices for everthing on her list. One from the Wallyworld type stores and one from better furniture stores. We had a blast anylizing the furniture and picking out the flaws as we saw them.

*PHASE 2:* We went window shopping for tools. We've both always been the type to spend wisely. So the tools had to be quality but at a price that would fall into line with what I planned to do. Not an easy task. I quickly found out that tools are like everything else in life today. Made in China and pretty much a joke. The designers need a swift kick you know where for some of the stupidity they show in *their* work. Like plastic gears in my tablesaw. What moron thought that was a good idea? But I digress.

*PHASE 3:* Planning the shop. First off it had to be functional. The best way I could see to do that was to make it as mobile as possible. That also made it easier to change if flaws in my layout showed up. Wiring was no problem as I've been doing that kind of stuff since I was a kid. Plenty of lighting and outlets were in order. Lots of peg board as this would be my R/C shop as well and their parts alone would require a mass amount of space. Not to mention at least 2 workbenches minimum just for R/C work and another for woodworking. The original plan was to be a R/C shop with woodworking capabilities. The end product is a multi-functional shop that does both equally well.

*PHASE 4:* I had to decide if I was actually going to go for it and forray into what I considered the world of "real" woodworking. This was probably the biggest hurdle. I finally decided if I could build something and recover the tool cost I would be happy. In the end the tools would pay for themselves and if I never used them again I would have broke even. Don't laugh. I know it was a bit naive to think that, but it helped me justify the idea. Actually I'm pretty well on track to doing just that.


----------



## DerekL (Aug 18, 2008)

Steve_B said:


> *The Plan*
> 
> *PHASE 1:* I had my wife make a list of all the things she would like to have in the house we had just bought. The list was even more reasonable than I figured it would be. Then we went "window shopping". We got two prices for everthing on her list. One from the Wallyworld type stores and one from better furniture stores. We had a blast anylizing the furniture and picking out the flaws as we saw them.
> 
> ...


Interesting series - but paragraphs are your friends.


----------



## Steve_B (Oct 30, 2009)

Steve_B said:


> *The Plan*
> 
> *PHASE 1:* I had my wife make a list of all the things she would like to have in the house we had just bought. The list was even more reasonable than I figured it would be. Then we went "window shopping". We got two prices for everthing on her list. One from the Wallyworld type stores and one from better furniture stores. We had a blast anylizing the furniture and picking out the flaws as we saw them.
> 
> ...


LMAO. I know, they just didn't seem to be there when I posted it. I couldn't figure out why at the time.

Ok, I've figured out how to start a new paragraph. Now how do I indent it? I hate not being able to use proper structure. It must be part of the new way of internet communication. Like all of the abreviations. I mean who has time to use proper form and complete words? It just makes for tired thumbs when the young 'uns text each other. Texting is something I will never do. If I'm going to use my phone, I'll *talk* to you.


----------



## Steve_B (Oct 30, 2009)

*Implementing The Plan *

So now with all of the planning done I just needed to get started. I painted the shop white, ran conduit and pulled enough wire to circumvent the globe. I made one wall a parts wall and put up lots of pegboard (also painted white). Hung lighting and set them up in sections so I could turn on all or part of the shop lights. Bought some steel shelving and set up a basement area. Then drug my grinder and drill press in from the pole barn along with all of my hand tools and small power tools. This took most of a year but I was on my way. LOL

Just after Christmas I picked up a 10" Hitachi table saw that looked like it would work for what I needed. My brother also donated his chop saw to the cause. A few simple projects were done, mostly for the shop.


----------



## Steve_B (Oct 30, 2009)

*The Second Year*

The second year I saw some plans that were for beginners marked 50% off. The blanket chest looked like a good gift for my daughter's Christmas present. It was simple enough. Using red oak plywood and some hard wood as well. It looked like a no brainer and an easy way to get my feet wet. The project went well even though I had a few hitches along the way. It was about this time I found the Lumberjock's website. This made things a lot easier as I was able to troll about a bit and get answers to some things I was trying to figure out. In the end, everyone thought it looked great and my daughter was thrilled. There are pictures of it on my projects page.

The biggest issues I was having was still a lack of tools. I decided at that point that trying to work off the cost of a tool before buying the next one wasn't going to work out so good. I needed more tools. I picked up a Hitachi scroll saw, some decent clamps (50% off sale) and other various hand tools. I figured out very soon that the scroll saw was great for the plane and not for me when it came to the scroll saw project type stuff. Way too tedious for me. The people that can spend all those hours of putting blades in and out of little holes to make a tiny cut and do it all over again have gained my respect! It just about made me scream though. Definately not my thing.


----------



## rivergirl (Aug 18, 2010)

Steve_B said:


> *The Second Year*
> 
> The second year I saw some plans that were for beginners marked 50% off. The blanket chest looked like a good gift for my daughter's Christmas present. It was simple enough. Using red oak plywood and some hard wood as well. It looked like a no brainer and an easy way to get my feet wet. The project went well even though I had a few hitches along the way. It was about this time I found the Lumberjock's website. This made things a lot easier as I was able to troll about a bit and get answers to some things I was trying to figure out. In the end, everyone thought it looked great and my daughter was thrilled. There are pictures of it on my projects page.
> 
> The biggest issues I was having was still a lack of tools. I decided at that point that trying to work off the cost of a tool before buying the next one wasn't going to work out so good. I needed more tools. I picked up a Hitachi scroll saw, some decent clamps (50% off sale) and other various hand tools. I figured out very soon that the scroll saw was great for the plane and not for me when it came to the scroll saw project type stuff. Way too tedious for me. The people that can spend all those hours of putting blades in and out of little holes to make a tiny cut and do it all over again have gained my respect! It just about made me scream though. Definately not my thing.


Scrolling is not my thing either- for exactly the same reasons. Though like you, I do admire the beautiful scroll work. I just can't do it.  I have to ask- what made you think you would need a scroll saw anyway?


----------



## Steve_B (Oct 30, 2009)

Steve_B said:


> *The Second Year*
> 
> The second year I saw some plans that were for beginners marked 50% off. The blanket chest looked like a good gift for my daughter's Christmas present. It was simple enough. Using red oak plywood and some hard wood as well. It looked like a no brainer and an easy way to get my feet wet. The project went well even though I had a few hitches along the way. It was about this time I found the Lumberjock's website. This made things a lot easier as I was able to troll about a bit and get answers to some things I was trying to figure out. In the end, everyone thought it looked great and my daughter was thrilled. There are pictures of it on my projects page.
> 
> The biggest issues I was having was still a lack of tools. I decided at that point that trying to work off the cost of a tool before buying the next one wasn't going to work out so good. I needed more tools. I picked up a Hitachi scroll saw, some decent clamps (50% off sale) and other various hand tools. I figured out very soon that the scroll saw was great for the plane and not for me when it came to the scroll saw project type stuff. Way too tedious for me. The people that can spend all those hours of putting blades in and out of little holes to make a tiny cut and do it all over again have gained my respect! It just about made me scream though. Definately not my thing.


I build r/c models and it gets used a ton for that. Cutting individual wood ribs for wings and stuff.


----------



## HerbC (Jul 28, 2010)

Steve_B said:


> *The Second Year*
> 
> The second year I saw some plans that were for beginners marked 50% off. The blanket chest looked like a good gift for my daughter's Christmas present. It was simple enough. Using red oak plywood and some hard wood as well. It looked like a no brainer and an easy way to get my feet wet. The project went well even though I had a few hitches along the way. It was about this time I found the Lumberjock's website. This made things a lot easier as I was able to troll about a bit and get answers to some things I was trying to figure out. In the end, everyone thought it looked great and my daughter was thrilled. There are pictures of it on my projects page.
> 
> The biggest issues I was having was still a lack of tools. I decided at that point that trying to work off the cost of a tool before buying the next one wasn't going to work out so good. I needed more tools. I picked up a Hitachi scroll saw, some decent clamps (50% off sale) and other various hand tools. I figured out very soon that the scroll saw was great for the plane and not for me when it came to the scroll saw project type stuff. Way too tedious for me. The people that can spend all those hours of putting blades in and out of little holes to make a tiny cut and do it all over again have gained my respect! It just about made me scream though. Definately not my thing.


Steve,

I just looked at your blanket chest project. It looks good and I hope your daughter will cherish it for years to come.

Be Careful!

Herb


----------



## Steve_B (Oct 30, 2009)

Steve_B said:


> *The Second Year*
> 
> The second year I saw some plans that were for beginners marked 50% off. The blanket chest looked like a good gift for my daughter's Christmas present. It was simple enough. Using red oak plywood and some hard wood as well. It looked like a no brainer and an easy way to get my feet wet. The project went well even though I had a few hitches along the way. It was about this time I found the Lumberjock's website. This made things a lot easier as I was able to troll about a bit and get answers to some things I was trying to figure out. In the end, everyone thought it looked great and my daughter was thrilled. There are pictures of it on my projects page.
> 
> The biggest issues I was having was still a lack of tools. I decided at that point that trying to work off the cost of a tool before buying the next one wasn't going to work out so good. I needed more tools. I picked up a Hitachi scroll saw, some decent clamps (50% off sale) and other various hand tools. I figured out very soon that the scroll saw was great for the plane and not for me when it came to the scroll saw project type stuff. Way too tedious for me. The people that can spend all those hours of putting blades in and out of little holes to make a tiny cut and do it all over again have gained my respect! It just about made me scream though. Definately not my thing.


Thanks for the kind words.


----------



## Steve_B (Oct 30, 2009)

Steve_B said:


> *The Second Year*
> 
> The second year I saw some plans that were for beginners marked 50% off. The blanket chest looked like a good gift for my daughter's Christmas present. It was simple enough. Using red oak plywood and some hard wood as well. It looked like a no brainer and an easy way to get my feet wet. The project went well even though I had a few hitches along the way. It was about this time I found the Lumberjock's website. This made things a lot easier as I was able to troll about a bit and get answers to some things I was trying to figure out. In the end, everyone thought it looked great and my daughter was thrilled. There are pictures of it on my projects page.
> 
> The biggest issues I was having was still a lack of tools. I decided at that point that trying to work off the cost of a tool before buying the next one wasn't going to work out so good. I needed more tools. I picked up a Hitachi scroll saw, some decent clamps (50% off sale) and other various hand tools. I figured out very soon that the scroll saw was great for the plane and not for me when it came to the scroll saw project type stuff. Way too tedious for me. The people that can spend all those hours of putting blades in and out of little holes to make a tiny cut and do it all over again have gained my respect! It just about made me scream though. Definately not my thing.


Here's what I use the scroll saw for. Woodworking that soars. Made from balsa, spruce and birch ply. 154" wing span.










Here's what it looked like finished. The wokbench picnic table behind it I built as well. It's getting ready to be repainted. It was made from recycled wood from a room addition I tore down.


----------



## Steve_B (Oct 30, 2009)

*The Third Year Gets Frustrating & Expensive *

I wanted to add a belt/disc sander to my tool collection. I purchased a Grizzly POC. After months of returning one bad unit after another I gave up. I bought a cheapo from Harbor Freight and tore it apart and rebuilt it into a working unit. Sad that you should have to do that with a new tool but such is life.

Soon I figured out that like most things I do I have a tendency to be very critical of my work. Miters were my biggest gripe at this point. I've come to a conclusion that miter guages that come with machines are just to add fluff to the box. Every one that I've had was so inacurate that it was junk in my eyes. I broke down and hit another holiday online sale. I bought an Incra Miter 1000 HD. Now that's a miter guage! Finally miters that were acurate. I then prceeded to add a good chisel set, dove tail saw, digital angle finder and a few other goodies to the growing pile of tools. All the time muttering about how I was digging a deeper hole and still not reaping the rewards that would justify all of this.

At the same time I was having a lot of fun. I also started feeling a bit intimidated by the amazing projects I was seeing by other members. There are so many talented people on LJ. This got me to thinking of the best way to build my skills and claim my goal of tackling those kitchen cabinets. So with each project I add a new skill I would like to learn and I go to it. With mounting piles of clamps I built a LJ inspired clamp rack. Using my new bicuit joiner. Lumber was everywhere and a making a mess. So another LJ inspired project, a lumber cart. That one was more out of necessity. Both can of course be seen on my projects page. My son-in-law bought me a nice router set for Christmas. I intended to build a router table but saw that I could buy it cheaped and that meant using it sooner. Then came a 14" Grizzly bandsaw with a riser. It was an expensive year to say the least!


----------



## fito (Jan 13, 2009)

Steve_B said:


> *The Third Year Gets Frustrating & Expensive *
> 
> I wanted to add a belt/disc sander to my tool collection. I purchased a Grizzly POC. After months of returning one bad unit after another I gave up. I bought a cheapo from Harbor Freight and tore it apart and rebuilt it into a working unit. Sad that you should have to do that with a new tool but such is life.
> 
> ...


yes it is an expensive hobby, but remember is very enjoyable and remember also to save to be able to buy a better tool than to buy a cheaper one, remember what they say always buy your second tool first.


----------



## RonPeters (Jul 7, 2010)

Steve_B said:


> *The Third Year Gets Frustrating & Expensive *
> 
> I wanted to add a belt/disc sander to my tool collection. I purchased a Grizzly POC. After months of returning one bad unit after another I gave up. I bought a cheapo from Harbor Freight and tore it apart and rebuilt it into a working unit. Sad that you should have to do that with a new tool but such is life.
> 
> ...


Used to be that the Japanese would import American cars, tear them down and rebuild them too.

It's nice to get tools as gifts!


----------



## Steve_B (Oct 30, 2009)

*Year 4 - A Long, Tough Year*

I decided to build a coffee table with drawers. I wanted to learn mortise & tenon joinery originally. Along the way I picked up a pocket hole jig. I decided to give it a try instead as my next project would have through tenons. That way I wouldn't repeat a skill set. I know. Doing something once doesn't make you a master but it does teach me the basic skills. Not to mention each project gets either bigger, more complex or both. I want to get as much experience under my belt as I can for those cabinets. Then I made the mistake of taking my wife along to the lumber store. I went off to look at some walnut that had just come in. Since it was very cold in the back storage area (it was winter) she decided to wander the store while I was gone. I came back to find her in the exotic lumber section where I personally have drooled over many a piece of wood. She promptly explained that she found the wood she wanted for the table's top. Then she proceeded to show me a large 13×115" piece of Wenge. I promptly showed her the price tag. LOL She then started her enabling process. She explained that the worst case scenario was that I screwed it up and then cut it down to make something smaller out of it. Well she kind of had a point but I knew how bad I was going to feel if I took something that expensive and beautiful and then destroyed it. The salesman joined in by saying a lot of people looked at it but weren't sure what to do with it for a project. Next thing I know I'm forking over the cash. That's when they start telling me about the splinters and how irritating the dust can be. Remembering the dust flying about every time I use the band saw I realized something. I was going to need a dust collector. No shop (especially a basement shop) is complete without good dust collection. So more cash left my wallet. I also managed a splinter and found out that of all places, the lumber yard doesn't sell tweezers. By the time I get home my splinter is festered like it's been in there for a couple of weeks and I thought, "What have I done?"

Along about this time I decided to start an international R/C soaring program. This took up a lot more of my time than I had planned. So the project sat. Then one day I'm over at my buddy's house and my wife calls. She never calls me when I'm out flying. It's her day to have alone time and my day to play with the boys. She tells me I need to come home right now and she's in tears. My butt is rolling before she even hung up. All the way home I'm thinking somethings happened to my dad. He's elderly and in poor health. It just didn't feel right though. I get home and now she's not looking good. She tells me that during her routine yearly physical they found out she has lukemia. Then everything got hazy.


----------



## Steve_B (Oct 30, 2009)

*This Year - Just When We Thought It Was Calming Down*

The year started with my wife doing pretty well. Things were getting back to normal. I was starting to think about that coffee table again. I had a major plane build going though so it had to wait as I wanted to fly this one right away. With a 154" wing span, that's a lot of wood to cut and glue and it was getting on to flying season. Plus I decided it was time to renovate the house. Then it hits the fan again. I managed to tear the muscles in my arm in 5 places humping 3/4" plywood by myself. Then my wife finds out she has breast cancer. She just had surgery a few weeks ago and all is looking good. Radiation is next. In the mean time, I'm healing and have thrown myself back into the coffee table project. It keeps me close and has been my therapy in these trying times. It's actually getting close to done. Of all the woods to choose from, I went with poplar for the base. I wanted a huge contrast and so far it looks good. I have the drawers built and the tracks are just about installed. I'm already looking at finishes. I had to take a couple of days off as we had some concrete poured for an addition and the sealer made the shop uninhabitable due to the fumes for a bit. My wife has informed me that my skills have reach the point where my next project is going to be a dining room table for her. It's time to learn mortise and tenon joinery I guess. She's trying to decide what wood she wants it out of. Rosewood was her first choice. Good lord she has expensive taste. I haven't seen anything that big so I should be safe. I have bad lungs so epoxy is out of the question, so no veneer I guess. Maybe some nice walnut or cherry. So it shouldn't be long before you see my coffee table on my projects page.


----------



## HerbC (Jul 28, 2010)

Steve_B said:


> *This Year - Just When We Thought It Was Calming Down*
> 
> The year started with my wife doing pretty well. Things were getting back to normal. I was starting to think about that coffee table again. I had a major plane build going though so it had to wait as I wanted to fly this one right away. With a 154" wing span, that's a lot of wood to cut and glue and it was getting on to flying season. Plus I decided it was time to renovate the house. Then it hits the fan again. I managed to tear the muscles in my arm in 5 places humping 3/4" plywood by myself. Then my wife finds out she has breast cancer. She just had surgery a few weeks ago and all is looking good. Radiation is next. In the mean time, I'm healing and have thrown myself back into the coffee table project. It keeps me close and has been my therapy in these trying times. It's actually getting close to done. Of all the woods to choose from, I went with poplar for the base. I wanted a huge contrast and so far it looks good. I have the drawers built and the tracks are just about installed. I'm already looking at finishes. I had to take a couple of days off as we had some concrete poured for an addition and the sealer made the shop uninhabitable due to the fumes for a bit. My wife has informed me that my skills have reach the point where my next project is going to be a dining room table for her. It's time to learn mortise and tenon joinery I guess. She's trying to decide what wood she wants it out of. Rosewood was her first choice. Good lord she has expensive taste. I haven't seen anything that big so I should be safe. I have bad lungs so epoxy is out of the question, so no veneer I guess. Maybe some nice walnut or cherry. So it shouldn't be long before you see my coffee table on my projects page.


Steve,

Sounds like the health problems for you and your wife have made things difficult for a while. Hope things improve and that you both are healed…

Look forward to seeing your coffee table.

Be Careful!

Herb


----------



## Steve_B (Oct 30, 2009)

Steve_B said:


> *This Year - Just When We Thought It Was Calming Down*
> 
> The year started with my wife doing pretty well. Things were getting back to normal. I was starting to think about that coffee table again. I had a major plane build going though so it had to wait as I wanted to fly this one right away. With a 154" wing span, that's a lot of wood to cut and glue and it was getting on to flying season. Plus I decided it was time to renovate the house. Then it hits the fan again. I managed to tear the muscles in my arm in 5 places humping 3/4" plywood by myself. Then my wife finds out she has breast cancer. She just had surgery a few weeks ago and all is looking good. Radiation is next. In the mean time, I'm healing and have thrown myself back into the coffee table project. It keeps me close and has been my therapy in these trying times. It's actually getting close to done. Of all the woods to choose from, I went with poplar for the base. I wanted a huge contrast and so far it looks good. I have the drawers built and the tracks are just about installed. I'm already looking at finishes. I had to take a couple of days off as we had some concrete poured for an addition and the sealer made the shop uninhabitable due to the fumes for a bit. My wife has informed me that my skills have reach the point where my next project is going to be a dining room table for her. It's time to learn mortise and tenon joinery I guess. She's trying to decide what wood she wants it out of. Rosewood was her first choice. Good lord she has expensive taste. I haven't seen anything that big so I should be safe. I have bad lungs so epoxy is out of the question, so no veneer I guess. Maybe some nice walnut or cherry. So it shouldn't be long before you see my coffee table on my projects page.


The construction part of my coffee table is done. Now I just have to sand it. Then find a stain color I like for the poplar. It shouldn't be long now.


----------



## Steve_B (Oct 30, 2009)

Steve_B said:


> *This Year - Just When We Thought It Was Calming Down*
> 
> The year started with my wife doing pretty well. Things were getting back to normal. I was starting to think about that coffee table again. I had a major plane build going though so it had to wait as I wanted to fly this one right away. With a 154" wing span, that's a lot of wood to cut and glue and it was getting on to flying season. Plus I decided it was time to renovate the house. Then it hits the fan again. I managed to tear the muscles in my arm in 5 places humping 3/4" plywood by myself. Then my wife finds out she has breast cancer. She just had surgery a few weeks ago and all is looking good. Radiation is next. In the mean time, I'm healing and have thrown myself back into the coffee table project. It keeps me close and has been my therapy in these trying times. It's actually getting close to done. Of all the woods to choose from, I went with poplar for the base. I wanted a huge contrast and so far it looks good. I have the drawers built and the tracks are just about installed. I'm already looking at finishes. I had to take a couple of days off as we had some concrete poured for an addition and the sealer made the shop uninhabitable due to the fumes for a bit. My wife has informed me that my skills have reach the point where my next project is going to be a dining room table for her. It's time to learn mortise and tenon joinery I guess. She's trying to decide what wood she wants it out of. Rosewood was her first choice. Good lord she has expensive taste. I haven't seen anything that big so I should be safe. I have bad lungs so epoxy is out of the question, so no veneer I guess. Maybe some nice walnut or cherry. So it shouldn't be long before you see my coffee table on my projects page.


I decided to take a little trip to the wood store just to look around. I came home with a corner clamp for my pocket hole jig, some stain and some tulip wood and walnut. I want to try the tulip wood to see how it is to work with. Nothing large, just some little projects to hold me over until I find what I need to do the dining room table. I've already started a tulip wood grease box for the wife to put her wedding ring in. I think a small jewlery box may end up coming out of these as well. I've been wanting to try a box build. But who knows? Something else may come to mind before I use it all up. Picked up a sheet of birch ply to make some jigs too. Looking around can be expensive. LOL They had a huge pile of zebra wood that just came in that was really hard to walk away from. However, I did managed to not put a planer and a joiner in my van. Good thing I missed the big sale this weekend or I would really be broke.


----------



## Steve_B (Oct 30, 2009)

Steve_B said:


> *This Year - Just When We Thought It Was Calming Down*
> 
> The year started with my wife doing pretty well. Things were getting back to normal. I was starting to think about that coffee table again. I had a major plane build going though so it had to wait as I wanted to fly this one right away. With a 154" wing span, that's a lot of wood to cut and glue and it was getting on to flying season. Plus I decided it was time to renovate the house. Then it hits the fan again. I managed to tear the muscles in my arm in 5 places humping 3/4" plywood by myself. Then my wife finds out she has breast cancer. She just had surgery a few weeks ago and all is looking good. Radiation is next. In the mean time, I'm healing and have thrown myself back into the coffee table project. It keeps me close and has been my therapy in these trying times. It's actually getting close to done. Of all the woods to choose from, I went with poplar for the base. I wanted a huge contrast and so far it looks good. I have the drawers built and the tracks are just about installed. I'm already looking at finishes. I had to take a couple of days off as we had some concrete poured for an addition and the sealer made the shop uninhabitable due to the fumes for a bit. My wife has informed me that my skills have reach the point where my next project is going to be a dining room table for her. It's time to learn mortise and tenon joinery I guess. She's trying to decide what wood she wants it out of. Rosewood was her first choice. Good lord she has expensive taste. I haven't seen anything that big so I should be safe. I have bad lungs so epoxy is out of the question, so no veneer I guess. Maybe some nice walnut or cherry. So it shouldn't be long before you see my coffee table on my projects page.


We're adding a small addition to the back of our house. It will give me a properly ventilated area to apply finishes. The basement isn't a safe place and the pole barn is not an option this time of year. It won't be ready to use for about another 3 weeks. In the mean time I'm doing some odd little projects and will post them here until I can get them finished. Once finished they will appear on my projects page.

I decided to make a grease box. I haven't done one before and thought it would be a quick little project. I ended up making two holes in it so it could hold my wife's wedding band and friendship ring. It's from the tulip wood I just bought. It just needs sanded and finished.










I have a weather station and a weather radio that I will be making a shelf for next. Sounds like a good thing to use that newly aquired walnut for.


----------



## Steve_B (Oct 30, 2009)

Steve_B said:


> *This Year - Just When We Thought It Was Calming Down*
> 
> The year started with my wife doing pretty well. Things were getting back to normal. I was starting to think about that coffee table again. I had a major plane build going though so it had to wait as I wanted to fly this one right away. With a 154" wing span, that's a lot of wood to cut and glue and it was getting on to flying season. Plus I decided it was time to renovate the house. Then it hits the fan again. I managed to tear the muscles in my arm in 5 places humping 3/4" plywood by myself. Then my wife finds out she has breast cancer. She just had surgery a few weeks ago and all is looking good. Radiation is next. In the mean time, I'm healing and have thrown myself back into the coffee table project. It keeps me close and has been my therapy in these trying times. It's actually getting close to done. Of all the woods to choose from, I went with poplar for the base. I wanted a huge contrast and so far it looks good. I have the drawers built and the tracks are just about installed. I'm already looking at finishes. I had to take a couple of days off as we had some concrete poured for an addition and the sealer made the shop uninhabitable due to the fumes for a bit. My wife has informed me that my skills have reach the point where my next project is going to be a dining room table for her. It's time to learn mortise and tenon joinery I guess. She's trying to decide what wood she wants it out of. Rosewood was her first choice. Good lord she has expensive taste. I haven't seen anything that big so I should be safe. I have bad lungs so epoxy is out of the question, so no veneer I guess. Maybe some nice walnut or cherry. So it shouldn't be long before you see my coffee table on my projects page.


It's been one of those days. The weather man got it wrong *again* and we have about 3" of snow on the ground. God I hate snow! I made a list of projects for the winter. Some jigs for the shop, new shelves for the pantry and some odd and ends. About a dozen projects total so far. I started to the shop with jig building on my mind. Next thing I know I have a step stool for the wife. Not that I'm complaining mind you. But the piece of birch ply that's left is exactly what I need for the two sides of the pantry shelf. I guess no jig building today after all. As soon as it's painted, yes she wanted it painted to match the kitchen, it will get posted in my projects. I'm waiting for the primer to dry now. In the mean time I made a squirrel feeder for a friend from scraps and re-sawed some short hard maple logs my brother dropped off. Now I'm looking for something else to do to chase away the winter blues. A trip to the lumber store is on the list for the week. I'm also going to try to make it over to pick up a 3" x42" x 8' hard maple section of bowling alley lane to use for another workbench. Well, dinner is over so it's back to the shop.


----------



## Steve_B (Oct 30, 2009)

Steve_B said:


> *This Year - Just When We Thought It Was Calming Down*
> 
> The year started with my wife doing pretty well. Things were getting back to normal. I was starting to think about that coffee table again. I had a major plane build going though so it had to wait as I wanted to fly this one right away. With a 154" wing span, that's a lot of wood to cut and glue and it was getting on to flying season. Plus I decided it was time to renovate the house. Then it hits the fan again. I managed to tear the muscles in my arm in 5 places humping 3/4" plywood by myself. Then my wife finds out she has breast cancer. She just had surgery a few weeks ago and all is looking good. Radiation is next. In the mean time, I'm healing and have thrown myself back into the coffee table project. It keeps me close and has been my therapy in these trying times. It's actually getting close to done. Of all the woods to choose from, I went with poplar for the base. I wanted a huge contrast and so far it looks good. I have the drawers built and the tracks are just about installed. I'm already looking at finishes. I had to take a couple of days off as we had some concrete poured for an addition and the sealer made the shop uninhabitable due to the fumes for a bit. My wife has informed me that my skills have reach the point where my next project is going to be a dining room table for her. It's time to learn mortise and tenon joinery I guess. She's trying to decide what wood she wants it out of. Rosewood was her first choice. Good lord she has expensive taste. I haven't seen anything that big so I should be safe. I have bad lungs so epoxy is out of the question, so no veneer I guess. Maybe some nice walnut or cherry. So it shouldn't be long before you see my coffee table on my projects page.


The day is coming to an end. Not such a bad day in the shop. I made a new push stick for the table saw. One of those jobs I'm always going to do and it never seems to get done. Then re-sawed a piece of tulip and glued it up. It's going to be an insert in a box lid. The rest will be walnut. Added an outlet to the sander/sharpener stand. No more cords to trip over. Did some cleaning and then cleaned the tops of all the saws before calling it a day. All in all, a fairly productive day in the shop. Some times I just like puttering instead of working on a major project.


----------



## Steve_B (Oct 30, 2009)

Steve_B said:


> *This Year - Just When We Thought It Was Calming Down*
> 
> The year started with my wife doing pretty well. Things were getting back to normal. I was starting to think about that coffee table again. I had a major plane build going though so it had to wait as I wanted to fly this one right away. With a 154" wing span, that's a lot of wood to cut and glue and it was getting on to flying season. Plus I decided it was time to renovate the house. Then it hits the fan again. I managed to tear the muscles in my arm in 5 places humping 3/4" plywood by myself. Then my wife finds out she has breast cancer. She just had surgery a few weeks ago and all is looking good. Radiation is next. In the mean time, I'm healing and have thrown myself back into the coffee table project. It keeps me close and has been my therapy in these trying times. It's actually getting close to done. Of all the woods to choose from, I went with poplar for the base. I wanted a huge contrast and so far it looks good. I have the drawers built and the tracks are just about installed. I'm already looking at finishes. I had to take a couple of days off as we had some concrete poured for an addition and the sealer made the shop uninhabitable due to the fumes for a bit. My wife has informed me that my skills have reach the point where my next project is going to be a dining room table for her. It's time to learn mortise and tenon joinery I guess. She's trying to decide what wood she wants it out of. Rosewood was her first choice. Good lord she has expensive taste. I haven't seen anything that big so I should be safe. I have bad lungs so epoxy is out of the question, so no veneer I guess. Maybe some nice walnut or cherry. So it shouldn't be long before you see my coffee table on my projects page.


This week has seen my shop gettting torn apart. I'm adding an addition to the house and the secondary shop stairs are about to be removed. Then the whole shop will be re-arranged. So I've been cleaning/sorting out tool boxes, cabinets, boxes and working out the new floor plan. I still managed to get the parts all rough cut for the pantry shelves and made another utilitarian piece from scraps. This time a prototype basic gun rest. When the addition gets done this week I'm going to have a lot of stuff to put finish on and add to my projects page. My brother went with me to check out the bowling alley lanes for the bench. Ended up with the yellow pine. The maple ends are too beat up from balls so all of the glue joints were shot.


----------



## Steve_B (Oct 30, 2009)

Steve_B said:


> *This Year - Just When We Thought It Was Calming Down*
> 
> The year started with my wife doing pretty well. Things were getting back to normal. I was starting to think about that coffee table again. I had a major plane build going though so it had to wait as I wanted to fly this one right away. With a 154" wing span, that's a lot of wood to cut and glue and it was getting on to flying season. Plus I decided it was time to renovate the house. Then it hits the fan again. I managed to tear the muscles in my arm in 5 places humping 3/4" plywood by myself. Then my wife finds out she has breast cancer. She just had surgery a few weeks ago and all is looking good. Radiation is next. In the mean time, I'm healing and have thrown myself back into the coffee table project. It keeps me close and has been my therapy in these trying times. It's actually getting close to done. Of all the woods to choose from, I went with poplar for the base. I wanted a huge contrast and so far it looks good. I have the drawers built and the tracks are just about installed. I'm already looking at finishes. I had to take a couple of days off as we had some concrete poured for an addition and the sealer made the shop uninhabitable due to the fumes for a bit. My wife has informed me that my skills have reach the point where my next project is going to be a dining room table for her. It's time to learn mortise and tenon joinery I guess. She's trying to decide what wood she wants it out of. Rosewood was her first choice. Good lord she has expensive taste. I haven't seen anything that big so I should be safe. I have bad lungs so epoxy is out of the question, so no veneer I guess. Maybe some nice walnut or cherry. So it shouldn't be long before you see my coffee table on my projects page.


Yesterday was my birthday. While getting older sucks, being able to treat yourself to a nice present doesn't. I decided to take the plunge and bought a Veritas low angle block plane. Picked up the large tote, front knob and a 38* A2 blade as well. I can't wait to put it to use.


----------



## Steve_B (Oct 30, 2009)

*talking to myself*

Some times I'm a bit, well, shall we say slow. I started my blog thinking a new series entry for each year. Just today I realized that as I've been commenting on my entry for this year, instead of just making a new entry, I've basically been talking to myself. Like I said, a bit slow some times. Oh well. Now that I've figured it out I guess it won't look like I wanted but will at least I won't be talking to myself.  With no way to delete the old comments I'll just move on. If any one cares to see what I've been doing up to now you can check it out here.


----------



## Gregn (Mar 26, 2010)

Steve_B said:


> *talking to myself*
> 
> Some times I'm a bit, well, shall we say slow. I started my blog thinking a new series entry for each year. Just today I realized that as I've been commenting on my entry for this year, instead of just making a new entry, I've basically been talking to myself. Like I said, a bit slow some times. Oh well. Now that I've figured it out I guess it won't look like I wanted but will at least I won't be talking to myself.  With no way to delete the old comments I'll just move on. If any one cares to see what I've been doing up to now you can check it out here.


I don't mind talking to myself, the problem comes when I start arguing with myself. LOL


----------



## Steve_B (Oct 30, 2009)

Steve_B said:


> *talking to myself*
> 
> Some times I'm a bit, well, shall we say slow. I started my blog thinking a new series entry for each year. Just today I realized that as I've been commenting on my entry for this year, instead of just making a new entry, I've basically been talking to myself. Like I said, a bit slow some times. Oh well. Now that I've figured it out I guess it won't look like I wanted but will at least I won't be talking to myself.  With no way to delete the old comments I'll just move on. If any one cares to see what I've been doing up to now you can check it out here.


LOL, I know what you mean.


----------



## Steve_B (Oct 30, 2009)

*Some times it can't be helped*

I haven't posted in a while. We've been putting on a small addition. All windows pretty much and it will be where I do my finishing so there will be good ventilation. Unfortunately to do the electrical work I had to trash my shop. Now I'm not exagerating, I mean trashed! In the end there was an 18" path through it and a messy one at that. Some times it can't be helped. The only good side is it gave me a good reason to finally do the revamp of the shop layout. By the time I'm done it will have that new shop smell again. LOL Now that I've put up the insulation in the addition I can get some of the almost finished projects cleared out of the shop. So I spent 5 hours cleaning and can now use the shop again. So today I finish sanded four projects that have been waiting for finishing. My coffee table was one of them. I can't wait to get that done. It takes up quite a bit of room in the shop and I really want to use it. I've also been working with some new tools so I have some reviews to get done. You have to love Christmas when the kids are all gone and you get to spend the money on the shop instead! The sales have been good and I'm adding several new things to the shop. So I figured I might as well do some reviews after I use them a bit. I even broke down and turned a couple of pens with one of those drill press add ons. I've never turned wood and I found it enjoyable. So guess what? A new lathe is going to be coming soon. I won't gloat on what all I picked up, let's just say Santa was very kind this year. Mrs Claus has a big new list of projects to use them on as well. Starting with 25 pens for the nurses and staff that helped her with her radiation treatments over the last 7 weeks. Which brings me to my greatest gift this year. My wife's breast cancer is gone and her lukemia is in full remission now. No tool can compete with that news. Life is good! Stay tuned for some up coming reviews.


----------



## degoose (Mar 20, 2009)

Steve_B said:


> *Some times it can't be helped*
> 
> I haven't posted in a while. We've been putting on a small addition. All windows pretty much and it will be where I do my finishing so there will be good ventilation. Unfortunately to do the electrical work I had to trash my shop. Now I'm not exagerating, I mean trashed! In the end there was an 18" path through it and a messy one at that. Some times it can't be helped. The only good side is it gave me a good reason to finally do the revamp of the shop layout. By the time I'm done it will have that new shop smell again. LOL Now that I've put up the insulation in the addition I can get some of the almost finished projects cleared out of the shop. So I spent 5 hours cleaning and can now use the shop again. So today I finish sanded four projects that have been waiting for finishing. My coffee table was one of them. I can't wait to get that done. It takes up quite a bit of room in the shop and I really want to use it. I've also been working with some new tools so I have some reviews to get done. You have to love Christmas when the kids are all gone and you get to spend the money on the shop instead! The sales have been good and I'm adding several new things to the shop. So I figured I might as well do some reviews after I use them a bit. I even broke down and turned a couple of pens with one of those drill press add ons. I've never turned wood and I found it enjoyable. So guess what? A new lathe is going to be coming soon. I won't gloat on what all I picked up, let's just say Santa was very kind this year. Mrs Claus has a big new list of projects to use them on as well. Starting with 25 pens for the nurses and staff that helped her with her radiation treatments over the last 7 weeks. Which brings me to my greatest gift this year. My wife's breast cancer is gone and her lukemia is in full remission now. No tool can compete with that news. Life is good! Stay tuned for some up coming reviews.


Good health to you and all your family… and play safe with the new toys..


----------



## Steve_B (Oct 30, 2009)

*the new shop layout*

I decided on a new shop layout. Everything got moved to one end of the shop. Then the cleaning began. I have swept the ceiling, walls, cleaned every shelf and went through every box on the shelves. Not one piece of equipment is getting moved without getting cleaned and serviced. I figured it was as good a time as any to do it. Almost every thing in the shop will be in a new location. I'm about half way through the process now. I can't wait to get it finished. The new layout looks to be way more efficient as well as giving me more open floor area as well. There's a lot to say for a good layout! The difference is like night and day. Even after adding another 42×96" bench. This means I won't have to choose between planes and woodworking any more. The original 4×8' bench can now be used for planes and I can work on woodworking at the new bench at the same time. The new bench also acts as a off feed table for the table saw. The little HF woodworking bench will be relegated to the 12" mini lathe that's coming. The 3×4' workbench will be for helicopters. I'll post pictures as soon as it's finished. Work kind of slowed a bit. I had to move a stack of drywall. I decided instead of moving it twice I might as well just hang it in the new addition. This accomplishes two things. It's getting it out of the way and it's moving the addition project along as well. Aaahh, you have to like multi-tasking. LOL I'm hoping to be done in the next two weeks. I'm also installing two walk in closets up stairs where the old stairwell used to be. Nothing like having multiple projects going. I can't wait to get the list whittled down. Right now it's whittling me down. Old age is hell.


----------

