The Other Router

computer router

 

   If you were to type router into an Internet search engine this is the sort of thing that comes up.  I realize that the wood working router is a fairly new tool but it is sad that a black plastic box filled with magic,  designed to fail in a few short years should have usurped a real tool.

 About two weeks ago our computer router stopped working, all the lights still worked all the tests said it was fine, it just didn't deliver digital goblins from the ether to our computers any longer.  We fiddled around for a week using a wire, which would only talk to my wife's computer but not to mine and then last Saturday I went out and spend $100.00 on a small plastic box.  The box will last a very few years before it has to be replaced, probably it will e workng just fine but the digital goblins will be a new flavour and so no longer want to talk to it, though it still works.(technically).

 The real routers of which I have several work for ever, it seems.  I have the first one that I acquired 25 years ago, it still works fine.  In the workshop is my wife's router, at least as old as mine, it still works fine. I also have a trim router, works fine and two Triton routers, all work fine.  My JessEm router table has a Milwaukee router motor mounted on it, it works great.

   All the routers use the same bits, regardless of age.  I note that my HSS bits now just collect dust, though I do turn to them when I am doing something with reclaimed wood.  I am prepared to sacrifice a cheap old HSS router bit to grit and stone or nails.  Interestingly  when I am that careful I nearly never hit anything nasty. (sort of like carrying an umbrella to keep away the rain).

    The newer routers come with more power, (not often necessary), will use larger bits, (kind of nice sometimes) and have variable speed adjustments that I understand do quit working some times. ( a small cheap piece that can be replaced easily)  The old routers have brushes in the motors, again easily replaced but seldom worn out, at least by me.

  I confess to not being a big router guy, I had used the routers on and off for a long time but usually for small things.

  I’m talking about computer routers since though I have been busy in my shop nothing of the work is of interest to anyone but family.  
 
What have I been doing:
   
   The downstairs baby gate, important for the safety and peace of mind of us all.
I repaired two trucks for Kieran, important for Opa’s reputation and our peace of mind.  I don’t want to disappoint a two year old, he has enough of that to look forward to as a man. 
 I also cut up and sanded a 6 quart basket of wood scraps that were turned into garages and houses by the little boy.  
I have been making little pate spreader knives for a customer and sanding down cutting boards for other customers. 
Then there is the boring stuff, patching dry wall and sweeping and cleaning, lots of shop time, not much romance.

    This week my wife is away visiting her son and daughter-in-law and instead of days of shop time I have been running family errands, doing volunteer work and tackling the dreaded garage monster. (it is time to clear the garage to the point that the car can get in at night, we hate scraping frost off the wind screen in the morning)

   It is my hope that next week will have some creative and interesting shop time to share

Shop Organization

1.How to become a More Organized Wood Worker:

http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/woodnews/2008january/chrisblack.html

Thank you Chris Black

2.Clock for your Computer

 It is fun and actually tells you the time.

3. The Rule of Ten: Every time you come into the shop or pass through the shop on the way to the beer fridge put 10 things away.

   

    Today's blog is about organization.  The first link is from a site where the writer talks about how they use their time and what it takes to get jobs done. 

   Number two is just fun. This is how I think about and tell time.  For years my Mother had a wrist watch that only had a minute hand, she used it to time cooking and the like.  If you asked her the time is was usually 1/4 past or 1/2 past or 1/4 to, but you needed to know what hour of the day.

   The rule of Ten came from something I read and is something that I have written about before.  It forces a degree of dicipline on me in the shop that is outside my basic nature, and that is a good thing. 

 There are hours of satisfaction to be had in a shop, and if one is not careful; hours of frustration too. My goal is to have more s and less f.

cheers,

  

Free Wi Fi Hot Spots - Saying Thank You

  This morning I was out running errands and delivering my Father to a Doctor's appointment when I spied a McDonald's Restaurant with "Free Wi-Fi".  Since our Grand daughter is a little bit sick and my wife has headed to Toronto to baby sit and help out I was  curious for the latest update on Clara's progress.

Clara and Opa in their PJs.

   Our family communicates via email in just about every situation so I knew if there was news, it would be a family wide email.  Seeing the "free Wi-Fi" I slipped into the restaurant and checked my mail.  I also bought a coffee and a muffin.  When ever I use a "free" service, be it internet, or bathroom or parking spot I always spend some money with the vendor that has provided the "free" service. 

  I know people that say "they are only doing it to attach business, you don't have to pay".  My feeling is that it is a service that costs the company money, and if everyone uses and nobody pays the company will drop the service.  In the business world spending money in the store or restaurant is how you say thank you.  And I was always taught to say thank you, and mean when I said it.
  

The Cost of wood working, non-billable hours

   I was following a thread on another blog as they discussed and pondered why people buy mass produced lower quality furniture instead of going to their local crafts person and getting something really nice,and long lasting.


   The discussion was quite illuminating.  The reasons for buying cheaper goods were in some cases quite compelling. Many people think they are saving money buying cheap.  I know that cheap is seldom a money saver, but that is tough to make most people believe. Time is another reason, it is quicker to trade money for a bedroom suite than it is to build one, also much quicker to just go to the store and bring it home in pieces, you will have the whole unit assembled before the craftsman has the wood milled and cut to size.


 It was also generally decided that lack of knowledge and education has meant that many people can't really tell the difference between solid wood and veneer covered sawdust board so they can't understand why a crafts person feels their work is worth 5 to 10 times the price for "the same thing". We see that same situation with food in restaurants all the time. Many people have not eaten enough good food to know the difference between fine food and fuel.


Without any experience or education people also often don't realize how much work or skill goes into making things, be they dovetailed boxes or hand knit sweaters.  Many people grew up with out making anything, their free time was filled with sports and group activities, not shop time.  If a role model was not into crafts or woodwork then the person just won't know.  So there are two problems, one the customer don't know the value of the materials and the second problem is they have no idea of the time investment the crafts person makes. 


Relating to the question of time an area that most people do not understand is non-billable hours, sometimes even other crafts people.  In my past life I managed a law office so billable hours were very important, tracking them, collecting on them and....being sure that the work being done was billable.  A work shop is filled with work that is not related to one particular project or invoice related item.  


Last Friday afternoon is my most recent example:


Last Friday afternoon I worked in my shop for 3 1/2 hours, doing nothing specific to a project but working non-the-less.
Let's review how that time was spent:


1. I swept, cleaned and vacuumed the shop, top to bottom front to back.  Most days I do some cleaning but now and then it demands a serious full on assault on dust and little bits of wood.


2. I gathered off cuts and sorted them into fire wood and keepers.  At every saw and machine there is box of off cuts.  Usually 2/3 of the off cuts are fire wood, the remaining 1/3 are combined, glued and used for small projects, jigs etc.  Sorting them out takes time and saves money in the long run, I think.


3. After all the cleaning the dust collection system and the various shop vacs needed to be emptied.  If you have ever wrestled with the bags on a dust collection system you know that that is work and takes time.


4. Sharpening. chisels, knives and pencils. Now I don't let things get too far out of hand but it still takes time to do. Recently I spend an entire day getting my sharp tools in shape.


5. Sorting my way through the wood rack.  Pieces of wood get pulled of the racks randomly and so now and then the rack needs to be reviewed and re-stacked.
6.Changed a band saw blade.  My very least favourite job in the shop, very least. But I use one of my band saws, everyday.


7. Washed the paint brush cleaning sink. It looks terrible but...would be even worse if I didn't give it 5 minutes every week or two.


8. Filled glue bottles.  I buy glue by the gallon and put it into little bottles for ease of use.  This always takes time to fill and to wipe up the little bit of spilled glue etc.


9. Putting away the coffee cup full of loose screws, dowels, nails etc.  I have reduced this to a manageable task by limiting the amount of random bits and pieces to one coffee cup,when it is full it must be dealt with.  I used to use a coffee can. A cup of mixed screws and nails is a few minutes of work, a coffee can a hour. ( in truth I ended up with several coffee cans full of crap and good stuff.  The crap hid the good stuff and it all went into recycling one day)


Those are all jobs that needed to be done.  Ultimately a couple of times per month half a day is used up on non-billable tasks.  To make a shop pay that half day cost has to be included in the invoiced products somehow.


It is tough to get people to understand those costs and so they don't want to pay for them.  It is the same problem musicians have, the customer doesn't think they should pay for the time spent practising either.


I admire people that make their living producing quality  products that are beautiful and will last for generations.  I wish we could get the world to fully understand and reward that commitment.

Why Wood?

   The other evening I was at a small social gathering and while making small talk mentioned that I have a woodworking shop in my basement and that playing there is my favourite pastime.  "Oh, Why wood ?" was the question.

    "cause I like it", is the short answer, the long answer is somewhat more complicated.  I began to think, why do I like it.  There are thousands of hobbies available to us now days.  Having been relatively thrifty and very lucky with money cost was not really a deciding factor in my decision.  I don't suppose that I could have taken up diamond cutting as a hobby but, wood work, medal work, painting,  spinning, weaving, basket making, tailoring, all would have been possible and all are cool and worthy things.

   Partly why, is that my grandfather had a shop and I played in it as a little kid and before Ikea and other prefab furniture stores were launched,  bookcases were mostly home made and I've always needed book cases. ( my folks have an early effort of mine in their basement still. In a darker corner I note)


   But I really think that my shop and wood and the love of it goes deeper than just making a few practical things, though I still do many practical wood projects.  Wood is beautiful, it has character and texture and will allow you to dress it up with paint or stain or shellac or varnish or lineseed oil, or, or, or, your imagination is the only limit.  Wood is old and our relationship with wood maybe eternal.  Culturally we have imagined the wood of the True Cross, or the Ark of the Covenant, even of Noah's ark.  Big broad beams in the ceiling mean comfort and stability and security.  Weathered barn boards are like looking into wise old wrinkled faces.  Think also of wooden boats, there is a shape, an organic line to them that speaks to something primal and basic. 

    Often there is a new wonder material that tries to replace wood, plastic is lighter and doesn't leak as readily but it has no soul.  Fiber glass boats, ....just don't work for me. (I know they are less work etc etc. but they all look like they are made by the Tupperware Co.)  Stone is good but again mostly without character, unless you spend big big bucks and get into marble and granite. 

     With wood, the cheapest old hunk of spruce stud lumber can be filled with grain and interest.  Maybe it is that wood is the material of the working man, the material that we build civilization from that makes it something to which I and we can connect.

    The following photo helps show why wood.  The rocking chair my two year old grandson is sitting in while listening to the story is 75 years old.  It is my Mother's rocking chair.  She got it when she was two.  She and her three brothers sat in it, then years worth of friends and cousins, pets and teddy bears sat in it.  Then my brother and I sat in it, and years worth of friends  and  cousins, pets and teddy bears sat in it.  Now my grandson and his pets and teddy bears and soon his brother or sister (they won't tell us) will sit in it.  There is no reason to imagine that when Kieran is 75 that his great grand children won't be sitting in it with there cousins and friends, pets and teddy bears.  There is nothing else I can imagine can be used and last as long or as well.  That's "why wood"

Re-learning or Why I should make notes in the shop

 

3 thread winders and what it looks like before I start to work.

   There is a company in Hamilton that provides historic products called Spencers Mercantile.  In the past I've made some thread winders for them to sell in their store.  I guess these were used before thread came on spools like it does now days.  Historically many of this type of small object was made out of bone or ivory, the last time I made four from poplar. Poplar was and is a common tree, easy to work and somewhat harder than pine. It was a harmless little distraction on a rainy evening.

   Last week Spencers Mercantile  ordered two dozen.  Now I have to get smart and develop a production system to make the thread winders efficiently.  Two dozen is not just fiddling around for a bit after supper any more.  Done properly 24 will not take too much time if my method is good. 

  First I gathered the wood, cut it with a mitre saw, drilled it on my drill press and then shaped it with a band saw. That represented only a few minutes work.

   Everything was going swimmingly, then I tried to decided how best to do the final shaping and sanding.  The following photos show some of the tools at my command. I left out the obvious, many different power sanders: finishing, belt and orbital.

needle files, knives and rasps

nearly every bit and burr that you can imagine

power shaft driven by my 1/2 drill.

   I worked away for sometime trying to quickly shape and sand the items smooth.  In my mind high tech + power = success.  I could not get a smooth enough result to suit me, regardless of bit, file or rasp; hand or electric powered.  In desperation I next  scoured the Lee Valley catalogue looking for the perfect burr for my drive shaft and planned a trip to their retail store for the following morning. After supper I took a coffee and went down stairs, not to work but to putter around, you know the routine, put some tools away and vacuum up the day`s mess, maybe fiddle with one small thing that was left on your bench from the afternoon.  Nothing big.  It was then that I discovered, or more correctly re-discovered the perfect tool.  The one that I had used the last time.

  The very best tool for quickly and easily finishing the thread winders.

a small bit of sand paper wrapped around a pencil.

   Sanding the thread winder is not that big a job,( It can be done by hand, quickly). When I have sanded the items smooth with the sand paper wrapped around a pencil I wax it.  It feels good to the touch and won't bleed colour.

   I spend hours in my shop, it is my Man Cave, my sanctuary, the place where  I can spend time doing things that are real.  Much of my working career was paper movement based, and not as satisfying as making stuff can be.   The thread winder is a case were had I made a few notes and taken a photo or two last time I would not have had to spend time re-inventing my wheel. The project would be done and I`d be onto something else. Will I learn from this experience?? as they say, Stay Tuned to see the thrilling conclusion.

  

What do Ordinary People Do??

   OK, this is a blog that wonders how the other half lives, or more to the point what the other half does. 
   You know the "other half" they are the "they" of "they say". Or they are the "them" that does things that we just don't understand.
  Well, this weekend was beautiful, even the thunder storm Saturday morning wasn't a problem.  On a beautiful weekend there is gardening to do and this weekend  Grandson to entertain as well.
  On Saturday my wife and Grandson went flower shopping and came home with a lovely "Golden Chain Tree".  This tree was in a very stout plastic pot that had to be removed before the tree could be planted in front of our house.  Being a DIY and wood working guy I went downstairs to my shop and brought up a super aggressive toothed Japanese style keyhole saw and cut that stout plastic pot to pieces and simply slid the tree, root ball and all out of the pot and into the hole.  No problem, what would the other half do.  If I'd not had such good tool the tree would have to have been dumped out and the root ball may have been damaged.
   Also on Saturday my Grandson, the centre of the universe (just like yours) was building with blocks.  He made a garage for his trunks and wanted a ramp.  While he napped Opa went to the work shop, rummaged in the scrap bin and found a nice piece of plywood (about 36 inches long), and a couple of thin strips to go along the side to keep the trucks on the ramp, glued and assembled the ramp and it was waiting for the trucks and the boy when he got up.  What would the other half do? You know, that half without a scrap bin and brad nailer and carpenters glue and sand paper.
   This was a weekend off so I didn't really work in the shop at all, except on Sunday afternoon when I made a trellis for the Golden Hops that are going in the back yard.  I used some pieces of oak that were left overs from a cutting board that I  made last week.  Oak lasts well in the weather and is certainly tough enough to stand several seasons before I need to re-built.  What would the other half do?
   The other half would have to do without or they would have to go to a store, pick from the stores selection of trillis' and live with what was available.  The ramp, I guess that just wouldn't have happened.  The tree, would have had to take its chances that the root ball was not all torn apart when the tree was dumped out.  Sometimes I think this is why the other half seems mostly to watch television,
  I am glad to be "this half" and not "the other half".

What would Sherlock Holmes think?

    My favourite deductive reasoner is Sherlock Holmes, in fact I was a bit of a Holmes geek back when you had to remember things rather than just quickly Google them.
  
   Holmes was not a wood worker but  he knew the various trades well, and went undercover as a plumber and a horse groom in the course of his adventures. No doubt then he knew the tell tale signs of a woodworker's home. 
  
   Should he one day come to our house he will see on the front porch a wooden mat at the door and oak hand railings as you come up the steps.  If he looked into the garage he would see a rack/shelf unit for recycling bins, a landing and steps to get into the house from the garage as well as two tool boxes, made years ago and still standing the test of time.
   
   Once inside, a mirror on the wall is made from pine and the coat rack featuring Shaker pegs are in the mud room.  The front  entrance features a stout bench and the bowl for keys and loose change in one of my carved bowls that we call the "peanut bowl".

  A quick glace into the kitchen shows cutting boards and at one end a large rolling kitchen island, wood with a marble top. In the living room are my sofa table and a footstool/magazine storage unit. The clock in the bedroom was made for my Grandmother, since passed and there is another mirror.  Our powder room has been featured before so it is my woodwork and Eva's tile work. The on-suite bathroom has a clothes rack designed for that specific space, Eva's design my construction...etc..etc..etc.

   Our house is filled with boxes for storage or jewelry, various foot stools as well as chip carved coasters and trivets with tile inlay. Our Grandson's toys are wood and so is his crib.  The list goes on and on, in fact the desk on which I am working was made by my wife many years ago.  Lets face it how many guys get to marry a woman that has her own power tools? Lately Eva's efforts have gone into tile work.  She did the tile work in two bathrooms and our kitchen.

   Now... would Holmes say "obviously Watson this is the domestic abode of a woodworker", or would he say,"aha we have clearly stumbled upon a cheapskate." 

  It is my hope to one day raise my quality of work to that of craftsman, from its current level of DIY woodworker.  It would be nice to think that one day Sherlock Holmes would say,      " Watson, observe, we are in the home of  skilled craftsmen. This space is filled with beautiful and functional objects that have been created and collected with care."

   Holmes will never be here to say that, but Eva and I still aspire to have that thought pass through the minds of our guests when they visit. 
    

Wednesday In The Shop

   I am writing this entry this evening, and tomorrow after the shellac, and Hand Rubbed Poly dry, you can see the result of a long days learning.  Now you just read about it.

   The morning began with me filled with ambition.  Mark Eaton the router guru is a friend and collegue of mind from my KREG tool days.  Everytime I see Mark at a woodshow he inspires me to get the dust off  my router table and do something other than round overs with it.  Usually the inspiration passes and life quietly goes on.  This time, I WAS INSPIRED.

   So...this morning I went to my shop to make a Box Joint Jig for my small router table.  I have a piece of 1/4 inch high density plastic suitable for making jigs and a piece of 1/2 baltic birch ply that both of which  I bought for this purpose. ( some time ago).

  The first part of the task was to put my Triton 2 1/2 hp router into the large router table and put my little old PC router into the small router table.  The Triton router has some sort of problem.  It will not go all the way down on the guide rods and so I can't change the router bit once it is in the table.  Of this I was not aware until I had mounted the router.  To add to the days fun, I couldn't find the 1/4 collet for the PC router.  Naturally I realized none of these things  until I have drilled screwed fitted etc. etc. etc.

   The next step was to put my other Triton Router into the large table, after taking out the spring.  I tried to fit any of my other old 1/4 collet routers into the small table.  NO LUCK.  The router plate is already holey and I didn't want to drill more holes, nor did I want to stray out into the blizzard to buy bolts had I have drilled the holes.( I would have had to walk today, my wife was off with the car)  {the weather was so appalling crappy I wouldn't have wanted to go out in the car anyway}

   Finally after some more searching I was able to find the 1/4 collet for the Porter Cable router and get it mounted on the small router table. (sort of )  (that will have to be revisited soon)  I also mounted a switch onto the small table because the on/off switch on the Porter Cable router is a true pain to reach, it also moves as the body of the router turns in raising and lowering the bit. Personally, I don't think it is safe to go fumbling around looking for the on/off switch.
    
  The large table is a project for another time.

   With the 1/4 inch router bit on the small router table I cut a groove in the Baltic birch ply, then I drilled a hole for the bit to peak through.  Cutting the platic was a bit of a trick, I sandwiched it between two pieces of wood and ripped the sandwich to size.  I kept the meat and threw out the bread.

    I glued the beast together and retired to lunchen. ( that was four hours of fussing, searching and tinting the air bluish)

   After lunch I went to work to learn how to use the Box Joint Jig.  I am a simple man I guess, I think it is cool. 

  Photos to follow tomorrow.

The Computer and the Wood Worker!

  Aside from being a Blogging sort of guy I find myself turning to the internet/computer more and more in pursuit of my woodworking hobby.

  For example, "What does a 6 inch jointer cost?"  I jump on the net and zoom, I have prices from three or four local dealers, I can find out what is in stock and then I type in the model number I can read reviews from all over the world.  I can answer all the important questions and make a decision without having to get out of my PJs.

  Another example, "Sweetie, Can you make a tea chest for the church auction?"  Type in tea chest in any search engine and see links to dozens of plans.  Type in Etsy and see what the world thinks a home made tea chest is worth.

  How many of you use your computer for those tasks?

  What other uses do you have for your computer?

  How many of you have turned to the computer grudgingly?  Aren't they great when they work.  It is tiresome that the world has become so dependent on computers that they can't even make change at the local store when the computers are Down.

   I am writing this blog entry while sitting in a local McDonald's restaurant waiting to go to a meeting.  To a guy with grey hair the whole thing is like a scene from Star Trek. (including the girl with the green hair).

cheers, Ian W