Here's to Another Hundred Years

 Finally, summer is gone, my winterizing chores are done and I get to build something.  First up, I'm going to be building a Roubo Split Top Bench from the BenchCrafted plans via The Woodwhisperer Guild winter build.  I have some phenomenal hardware on the way, also from BenchCrafted.  Today, I went over to the warehouse and brought home some very old friends.  

These old joists and timber frame members were bought over 15 years ago from a guy that had already been storing them for about twenty years.  They were taken during a deconstruction of a 100 plus year old barn in eastern Oregon.  I'm thinking they might be dry enough to work already.  As you can see, old growth red fir has some very tight growth rings!  I can't wait to clean these ladies up!!

Stay tuned for updates!!  THIS is gonna be fun!

A Slight Re-design to Pay Due Respect

You may notice my blog has a little different layout.  I don't know why I hadn't already addressed this, but now is better than never.  I have been following Marc Spagnuolo for about four or five years.  I think I discovered him shortly after he entered the realm of woodworking podcasting.  The guy is simply a genius.  He is a constant student and never claims to know everything about woodworking, but he does knows a hell of a lot and he knows a hell of a lot of other great woodworkers, who know a hell of a lot.  (Could I use "a hell of a lot" anymore?)  He's accessible and his podcasts are the best on the internet and, in my opinion, the best woodworking shows period on or off the internet.  I've been a member of The WoodWhisperer Guild since it's inception and although I don't usually build along with the projects that The Guild is making, the enormous amount of information make it very well worth the money spent to become a Guild member.  Please take the time to to click the affiliate link on the right side of my page and peruse his Guild site.  If you don't know who Marc is or the online presence he has built, check out the free The WoodWhisperer offerings:  The WoodTalk Online site for a really great talk radio webcast featuring Marc, Matt Vanderlist of Matt's Basement Workshop, the Podfather of Woodworking and Shannon Rogers - The Renaissance Woodworker.  On Woodtalk Online you'll also find a new radio show featuring Marc and Matt reviewing woodworking DVDs and giving them a rating of 1 to 5 "grape sodas";  The WoodTalk Online Forum, which is the most friendly woodworking forum you will visit.  Mean spirited or overly judgmental people simply aren't welcome;  Last, but not least, is the Live Chat/Live Stream page where you can chat in real time with fellow woodworkers and usually get a glimpse into one of the many shops that stream live via Ustream, including mine.  All these sites can be reached via the main The WoodWhisperer site.


Another addition is The Hand Tool School badge.  The Hand Tool School is the brain child of Shannon Rogers, mentioned above.  The premise behind the school is to capture the apprentice experience as best we can in this cyber age.  You will learn how to use hand tools, which is an essential aspect of creating fine furniture.   While I'm what is referred to as a hybrid woodworker, which means I make furniture with both power and hand tools, all the fine tuning and fit is done with hand tools.  You simply can't set up any power tools to give you the fine fit and finish you can achieve with hand tools.  


If you love woodworking as much as I do, are a beginner or even a well skilled woodworker, you have a more available knowledge base than ever before.  Take advantage of that.  I hope to see you around the community I love so much.

Modular Sharpening Station

 YEAH!!! SPRING IS FINALLY HERE!!!  

Spring brings mixed emotions.  We had a very long winter and what has seemed to be a quite wet and extended spring has turned our very beige environment into a very green one.  Sylvia's Garden that we planted last year with a bunch of trees and a perennial wildflower mix is vibrant!  More than anything SUMMER IS ALMOST HERE!!  Our summers here are great.  The days are hot and the evenings are perfect for hanging out on the patio and taking evening swims.  The flip side of that is I don't get into the shop nearly as much as I'd like, due to spring wake up and weekly maintenance chores.


Here and there, I've managed to get into the shop and my latest project has been to install my deep sink and small hot water tank.  

This, of course, facilitated a great place to have a sharpening station.

To design this station, I took a few things into consideration.  First, I wanted it to be modular to enable full access to the water tank for maintenance flushing and the sewer clean-out in case I ever need access to that.  Second, I wanted this station to house all my sharpening arsenal, except the variable speed grinder, which will mount around the corner.  Finally, I wanted a no mess solution to my water stone sharpening regimen.

The first thing I did was build the base, 

then the cabinet to house my sharpening tools and supplies.  The drawers come later.

Next up was the sharpening basin.  A buddy had an off-cut piece of Corian he let me have.  I was originally going to use it for the top of my upcoming router table, but I really liked the idea of using it here as it is impervious to water.  The first thing I did was create a sub-base that I could more easily create the actual basin in.  This was made 1/2" plywood for the bottom and 3/4" for the sides.  For proper drainage I needed to create slope.  To do this I split the bottom of the basin.  So, I cut the plywood bottom and then created a deep kerf to allow it to bend.  I also added a small strip of 1/8" plywood on the left and front side, then added the 3/4" sides.  Now, I was ready to start cutting the Corian basin.  The first piece to fit was the thin strip shown here.

Next I cut and fit the remaining pieces and glued them up.  I used epoxy for a watertight seal and torqued the basin as much as I could without breaking it to allow the slope I wanted.

After the glue up I tested it for leaks and proper drainage.  

  

I also cut an other piece of Corian to be the dam for the basin.  That didn't quite work, as you can see in this shot.  It was a slow leak, but I'm kinda OCD and it wasn't good enough. 

Next up, stone holders.  For cutting these little pieces I pulled out my crosscut sled.  It was the only solution I could think of that I felt was a safe option for cutting these.

Then over to the basin to position and mark everything out for glue up. 

I used a file to round over the edges of the blocks, so they were less prone to chip in use.

I used pure silicone sealant to adhere the blocks into place.  I preferred this over epoxy to allow me to remove them in the future if I get new water stones and they don't quite fit.

When I test the basin earlier for leaks and drainage, I noticed surface tension was making the water curl back around the end of the drain and get the wood wet.  The solution to this was gluing on a little off-cut piece I still had. 

 Before I said the dam I'd made of Corian wasn't quite cutting it.  I scoured the shop and found an old foam rubber sanding block I never use and this worked perfectly.

 Here is the final product and everything in it's place!

I know it's not pretty.  It is, however, functional and it's just shop furniture.  I think the only two nice pieces I will ever build for the shop are going to be my hand tool bench and my hand tool cabinet.  Those two objects deserve a little more love and attention.  The rest only needs to be utilitarian.


Thanks for stopping by.  I hope this has been helpful.

Don't Limit Yourself - You can DO IT!!

I'm currently experiencing my 15 minutes of the fabled Andy Warhol fame.  My first fine furniture project is being featured in The WoodWhisperer Viewer Projects.  The reason I'm writing now is to let all those of you who think you can't do amazing things out of the gate know that it's that thought that keeps it from happening.  Yes, you have to tune your machines and hand tools.  Yes, you need to study and practice.  But, this is indeed my first furniture project.  I have done construction related projects over the years, but that has only made me comfortable with most power tools.  This project was night and day away from a construction project.  The things I had on my side were a GREAT support system that consists of people like Marc Spagnuolo, my wife Sylvia, my good friends, Neil Lamens, Kari Hultman, Al Navas the many folks in The WoodWhisper Live/Chatroom and most of all a positive attitude that enables me to tackle anything without first telling myself I can't do it.  There are many other people who have encouraged me and helped me figure out how to do something, but the point is to surround yourself with people who want to see you succeed.  YOU can do it.  Stop saying negative things to yourself.  If you have people around you who don't believe in you, avoid them!  It's really that easy.  If you are going to accomplish any of your dreams, you have to first and foremost believe you can.  

Marketing Genius - An Energy Efficiency Post

Two weeks ago, my co-hort at work attended an energy efficiency marketing conference and came back with this among the many other great tidbits. The link is to Heatballs!! That's right folks...HEAT BALLS!!! You know you want 'em, you know you need 'em. Coming up in 2012 incandescent light bulbs over 60 watts will no longer be available for sale. The reason for the change is to put a limit on how inefficient a light bulb (lamp) can be. This is also the death of the fat tube T12 fluorescent lamps.

This company and the genius behind it decided to see how they could get around the new efficacy rules and I believe they will succeed. Hey, if the Eden Pure, which is a light bulb in a box can sell for hundreds of dollars, why not Heat Balls!?! They are, after all, 95% efficient. The 5% being lost in light!!

Timberwerks Studio: A Year In The Life Of:

Timberwerks Studio: A Year In The Life Of:: "For 2011 I'd like to invite you all in for a glimpse of what a year in the life of a furniture maker is really like....

This is a rare opportunity! Dale Osowski (DJO Furniture Maker) creates some beautiful pieces. That he is willing to share his experience and those around him with us, is a treat! Check out his post and his work.

Woodworkers Fighting Cancer - Shaker Table Build Part II

A few issues have come up during the rough dimensioning that have steered my design in a new direction. Originally, I planned to have the entire table made of the Cherry board from the first post, with a small Mahogany band running up the outside of all the legs and terminating to the Mahogany breadboard ends for the top. Either because I'm fairly new to this or just an oversight (probably both), I found I didn't have enough Cherry to also do the top.

I also found one of my legs had a check running much higher than I originally anticipated. Due to these challenges, I decided to rethink my approach. During Wednesday night's The Woodwhisper Guild meeting, I was able to bounce the idea off of Shannon Rogers of The Renaissance Woodworker, Rob Bois from The Bois Shop and Nabil, who is a prolific woodworker from The Woodwhisperer Chatroom. Thanks to their advice and encouragement, I've decided to go with this approach: From the floor up; Mahogany feet will be attached to the bottom of the Cherry legs to reach the length the legs need to be; I will still be banding the outside of all the legs up to the top of the piece; The top will now be veneered with the Canoe Birch on the bottom, a "breadboard" border of Mahogany and a "sunburst" cut from a piece of Osage I recently picked up at Jensen Hardwoods in Walla Walla, WA for the top.