Quality Tool - Repaired and Things.

    Years ago I bought two galvanised pails.  These pails began as indoor floor washing etc pails. Over the course of time the pails hauled dirt, stones, saw dust, parts and tools. As the stuff rattled around in the cans the bottoms grew thinner and thinner, soon both of my pail's bottoms developed small leaks. 

  These heavy galvanised pails are so much more study and useful around the yard and garage  than typical plastic pails something needed to done to extend their working lives. If you look you can see the pails also have really comfortable handles with make them worth saving. 

   

   The solution is one of those things I do because I have a workshop with wood and some tools.  With compasses I measured  the inside diameter of the pail then cut out from 1/8 inch plywood a disk on the band saw.  Next I soaked the disk in exterior grade vanish.

  To install the new bottom I liberally coated the disk and the bottom with construction adhesive and put the new bottom in place holding it  by gravity clamps while the glue set. 

  The pails will still leak, slowly,  but be tight enough to carry water around the yard or beach and the new bottoms will distribute the general bashing enough for pails to last a long time.

  Project In progress: I have a design idea for this recycled mirror.  I am planning a rustic style wooden frame, that will help high light the cat tail silhouettes.

  

  And of course a work shop filled with potions and glues is where hiking boots go for maintenance.

  So our Grandchildren are back in school, my wife has been able to visit family in Sweden and we are mostly returning to "normal life".  I guess we have to cross our fingers and hope that everything goes according to plan.

  cheers ianw

 

Two Tough Tools for Re-claimed Lumber Projects.

 I am currently making the many stakes that will be used to hold up Eva's peonies.  

  The stakes is about 24 inches long and are made from construction grade left over 2x4 and 2x6.  Some of the wood had been outside for the whole winter. so pretty rough.  I brought it in for a couple of days to dry out and then set to work cleaning, cutting and shaping. 

  To rough this wood to length I used a rough cut saw.

  This is a pull cut saw generally used to cut plastic pipe among  other nasty on site jobs.  It was purchased for just that sort of thing.  I use enough construction lumber and pallet wood to need a cheap no worries rough saw. It came from a local hardware store a while ago for a reasonable price thus I have no reservations when using it. There are no shortage of handsaws  with  impulse hardened teeth for under $30.00 CAN. I really recommend every shop and home should have one for everything from garden trimming to rough carpentry.

 The other rough tool is not as obvious.

  Ten years ago I imported hand planes from India made by Anant Company.  There are a couple of companies that make a similar low cost planes.  I have two of these Stanley 33 copies, one for rough work and one with a fine blade setting.  Since this plane cost about $25.00 and the blades aren't great to begin with I use this plane to explore the wood I am working.  Some re-claimed wood is so nasty it needs to be wire brushed or hosed down before I can do much with it, once it is 'cleaned' I use this plane to round edges and clean up rough grain.  Yes there is a nick in the blade, but.. better this tool than my good Veritas low angle smoothing plane. This is also the tool I put into the hands of my Grandchildren.  The less I fuss the more the kids are comfortable in the shop. 

  I have made some quality things from pallet wood, the wood can be nice once the gritty exterior is removed and then you can use your 'good' tools to finish your project.

cheers, ianw

  

   Peonies can be top heavy.

Dala Horses

  Two Dala horses, technically one Dala Horses and one Hamilton Horse. The horse on the right is right off the band saw from the Dala Horse Factory in Sweden. There has been no craving done to it. 

  The horse on the left is my version of the famous horse.  I copied the general shape and cut it out on my band saw then I finished it with my Mora wood carving knife. 

Mora 120

  The standard Dala horse is carved from local spruce, then sanded and painted and sanded and hand painted.  My horse is aromatic cedar with a couple of coats of Clampham's Bee's Wax Polish. I've got a spoon roughed out and ready to carve but the last couple of days have been taken up with catching up with the local stuff.

  Things should return to normal (?) on Monday.

 cheers, ianw

Shop Safety - Band Saw Safety.

A Shop Safety Story, 

with a happy ending.

   Clara is proudly showing off her new shirt but this is really a photo of a bandage. On the pinky of her right hand is a work shop related injury, her first and I hope (but don't really believe) her last.

  All you Opas and Pappas that are working to encourage your grandchildren should take note of that bandage.  

  Clara is three years old and so doesn't know what is sharp or dangerous and...she is small enough that her fingers fit into places we would never, ever try to put our fingers. Clara believes that if she is close to her big people that life is good and safe, and that is what she should think and what we should be working to provide.  On Saturday I had the worse feeling in my shop that I have ever had, including the three times I've cut my fingers working on the table saw. 

  Clara was being a very good helper and was sweeping up saw dust with a hand brush and putting it the garbage.  She worked away in the shop for close to an hour, sweeping and scolding me for making such a big mess. Kieran was working on a boat and Clara was helping clean, and Opa was feeling about as good a anyone in the world could feel.

  Underneath the table of the band saw there is a significant gap, as you know. Though I have dust collection on my band saw a goodly portion of saw dust collects on the bottom wheel and trunnions below the table.  In amongst the saw dust is the blade. There is really very little blade exposed, and certainly an adult would not ever come in contact with that little bit of blade by accident, and have little purpose to encounter it intentionally. An adult would know that the blade was sharp, that it was there and if an adult was going to clean in there they would use a shop vacuum.

  My darling little Clara is not an adult, she has no idea there is a blade and wasn't using a shop vacuum.  She reached up under the table and used her tiny fingers to clean out the saw dust and touched the blade.  (the saw was off) She got a tiny boo boo on her finger and Opa felt terrible, probably much worse than she did. At that instant I decided that I need to seriously review all the possible dangers in my shop and work on teaching the little people more about safety.

  I am not going to over react and not let them in, and I don't expect them to escape forever without the occasional cut or scrape but I need to be extra vigilant so that wood working is fun and safe. 

  If shop time is enjoyable and safe I may be able to entice a generation away from their computers and the virtual world and into the real world. 

cheers, Ian W

My Favourite Little Clara Bear.

  

Band Saw Boxes

This little box was one of my first efforts at making a bandsaw box. Also an early effort at flocking.  Steve at
woodworkingformeremortals.com  inspired me when he made a short "how to" video and then sent us off to a couple of other really good sites to see results and methods.
http://www.woodworkingformeremortals.com/2010/05/how-to-make-bandsaw-boxes.html

The box was made from a left over 4x4 and so lacking in real character. Since it was a prototype I also jumped in and tried to flock the inside. The box was more successful than the flocking.  I think I need to use painters tape to control the glue edges. Live and learn.  This poor little box was a further test bed for aniline dyes. I kind of like the orange, it does bring out the grain.  For all its courage in the face so many new things it just sits on my dresser and smells nice. (I love aromatic cedar)

This was also an early effort. Again a glue up of lumber from the cut off bin.  I like everything about this box but the design. Doesn't it look top heavy to you??
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?81703-Simple-Bandsaw-Box-Making-101&referrerid=5960
Is another link to a really good step by step method for making a box.

Now that my shop is showing signs of being usable again I want to get back and try this with better materials.  Something is cedar would be nice.

I'll keep you posted.

Band Saw Tricks and other good ideas

   There is a site out there, a Canadian site judging by the web address, woodgears.ca that is very interesting. 
   The title says it is an engineer's approach to woodworking.  My daughter is a mechanical engineering graduate from Queen's University in Kingston so I have developed respect for engineers over the last few years.  When I was at McMaster all I saw of engineering was over turned benches and toilet paper flapping in the breeze.
   I look in on this site regularly to see what he is up to and to get inspiration for my own workshop.  I use his Zero Clearance Insert for the band saw all the time.



Zero Clearance Table


  Has anyone tried using 7 1/2 inch circular saw blades on their table saw that he talks about in his wood shop trick section. His logic is good but I haven't tried it yet.