Friday Morning

  The day began with a crash. A large glass vase filled with pine cones crashed to the floor and exploded into about a million transparent shards.  We have been very lucky in the nine years that we've been hosting grandchildren, this morning was the first notable damage.  So before coffee I was picking up the mess and vacuuming up the microscopic bits of glass.

  The cleaning fell to me because Eva was busy.

I know its not wood, but it wants to be.

  This morning Eva is creating a two layer wedding cake that is to look like pieces of birch tree.  The cake is maple flavour and the icing is vegan butter cream and fondant. There is more time involved in decorating the cake than in baking it, including the time in the oven. Pretty much like a shop project.  Building something is much quicker than sanding and finishing it.

  In the shop: 

  The board games are done for the wedding party.  Miranda and William games, with folding legs. 

  What else did I do in the shop in the last couple  of days.  As my back has been giving me trouble the last couple of weeks my shop time is limited to several short stays per day.  One day this week I spent the time sharpening tools.  I have a Work Sharp  system for chisels and narrow plane irons. For knives and gouges I use ceramic stones and the 'scary sharp' system.  I have found that honing with a strop will keep a blade going for a very long time, if you don't let it get too bad.

  I spend a couple of hours this week on house cleaning as well.  I have two tool cupboards that are open.  Without doors the cupboards gradually fill with dust, and all the containers on the shelves fill too.  I took the container boxes and jars down and emptied them out.  While doing this I threw out bunches of short pencils, bits of chalk, string, wire etc. etc. I find that while I am working on a project I do not stop to evaluate weather the small somethings are worth keeping or should be tossed out.   I put the thing back were it came from and leave the deciding to later, sometime later is much later, much much later and the deciding doesn't get done at all. Well, this week I did some deciding.

  What follows are graphic photographs of places and spaces in my shop that still require attention. If you are a sensitive soul, avert your eyes.  I am struggling to over come my wood addiction. ( supplemented and augmented by my disorganized nature ).

my small bench has become a dumping ground, again.
 the planes and chisels need a better storage space.

off cuts of plywood, such a mess.

another pile of 'stuff' and a box of
sand paper bits. 

more wood, scraps and off cuts.

In the back ground is the dowel rack in the window, a beginning.
One tool cabinet in on the wall,  I should rebuild it.

  I am working toward making this a better work space.  I now have less time in the shop and so hate to waste that limited time.  Before I could putter around in a mess and not care about lost time, I really hate lost time now.  I guess there is a bright side to back trouble??

  School starts next week.  The kids return home.  Things return to normal, whatever that is.

  Enjoy the final summer weekend folks.

  

cheers, ianw

  

An Inspired Portable Sharpening System

  As I have said many times many ways, Merry Christmas to you, no no, that is not what I said, that is what the radio just said in the back ground. 

   It is after supper, I have spent the day in the shop, mostly making small repairs to kids toys and working on a big Christmas gift.  Now it is time to relax, do a blog or two and have a cool beverage.  My policy is absolutely no sharp tools, or motorcycles mixed with cool beverage time. It is safer to blog and beverage, I can edit out the errors and the keyboard almost never cuts my fingers.

Portable Sharpening System

   Dan's Shop is a blog that I follow regularly because it has shown me good ideas and I like and respect what he has to say.  His most recent blog entry relates to sharpening.  Dan uses the Scary Sharp System, a system that I have used in the past and found very effective. I also use my Worksharp and have found it great for chisels.

   Regardless of what system you use, sharp tools are vital to success and having sharp tools on a work site can be a challenge so a portable system like Dan's Scary Sharp is a good idea.

  The availabily of  Quality fine grit sandpaper  makes a portable Scary Sharp system a very good idea.

Tool Sharpening

   It is recognized absolutely that sharp tools are necessary for quality work and safety.  That is where the agreement ends.  There are nearly as many sharpening method, machines and philosophies as there are trades and workers.

  SHARPENING PRODUCT PAGE AT THETOOLSTORE.CA

  I have observed that all of the methods can work well.  There is no silver bullet and what ever method you employ there is a learning curve and skill set that has to be developed and sharpened with practice. (pardon the pun).

  I use a combination of the Scary Sharp  system and s machine made by Worksharp.  

   The Worksharp does a great job on my chisels and narrow plane blades.  Scary sharp does a very fine job on my wider plane blades. My carving tools are mostly sharpened by hand on a water stone and then finished on a leather strop.

 top:a stop I recently made to carry with me to carving club,
bottom : a commercial strop that I got years ago as part of a sharpening kit.

   The strop adds the final touch that will make your tools truly razor sharp.  I think it is impossible to get your wood carving tools sharp enough without honing the edges on a strop.  Also, I have found that careful and regular honing deduces the amount of sharpening that is necessary, dramatically . 

   Glue an old piece of belt to a flat board, sent a few dollars on some polishing compound and give it a try.