So What Have I Been Doing- the workshop conundrum

  So what have I been doing, that's the conundrum.  It seems nothing, there is no new furniture,  barely a visible project, yet... Over the past couple of weeks I have spent some time working on something in my shop nearly everyday.  I have no photos to share and seemly nothing to show for my effort.  However, all the things where possible because I have a workshop full of tools and a separate place in which to work. 

  Summertime is bicycle riding time for us and this year I bought an e-bike, a Giant LaFree. It was the best money I've spent on a recreational luxury in ages. A new bike involves fiddling, fussing and adjusting, mirrors, racks, water bottles etc. etc.  All of those adjustment require hex keys of various shapes and sizes. 

   Since I live in Canada it means that I have to have full sets of hex keys in both metric and imperial.  I also have a set of specialised driver bits to work on security fasteners as well.  Since I have a shop and have collected those various tools over the years I was able to adapt a handle bar mirror, remount a bike computer and fit and adjust my grandson's bike too.  Were I cynical I would think that manufacturers want you buy something new rather than adjust/modify your existing products. There sure is a broad selection of fasteners out there for which I have the right tools.

  Summertime is also gardening time.  Each year I spend several hours sanding rusty garden tools and treating handles with tung oil.  I have sanders, grinders, wire brush attachments, all of which makes for easy care and maintenance of our  garden tools.  Not interesting, not blog worthy but, a use of time and shop space.  

  What else has been going on...sharpening. I have sharpened kitchen knives, garden tools, shop tools and pocket knives.  I know that blades should be constantly maintained, but...it turns out that a couple of times a year I spend a few hours cleaning up my work space, setting up my sharpening jigs and honing things to a fine edge.  At this time things are sharp.

  The last thing I've done in my shop lately is paint.  I hate painting.  I am not very good at it.  I am not neat enough or comfortably organised enough to be a good painter, nor patient enough. Having a shop space enables me to spread the tools out and contain the mess while doing the job, therefore making the job slightly less onerous.  

  Today's shop time was spent touching up the missed spots on the stairs, and making a new towel rack.  I didn't know we needed a new towel rack until it touched up the drying rack in our bathroom, you know how one job leads to another.

   

cheers, ianw

A Summary of Small Things in the Shop

  I got a wonderful photograph this week, it shows my grandson with some of the ships we've built.  There isn't an admiral of the fleet anywhere that is more proud of his ships. 

  The submarine support ship needs further work, helicopter pads and radio towers I think.

  A while ago my kids gave me a plastic bottle cutter.

  At the time I knew that it was a cool thing, but I really didn't have a clear notion of what I would do with the plastic string that it creates.  I also found that the string was tightly wound and fairly difficult to handle.

  There are a few things that I have learned about bottle string:

  a. the string has sharp hard edges.  If you want to soften the edges put the string into boiling water for a while.

  b. if you hang the string for a few months with a light weight on it the string will straighten out quite a bit.

  I  hung the strips in the back of my shop under the stairs after the Christmas holiday intending to use them in the garden this spring. I found that a 2 litre pop bottle made about 25 feet of string.

c.  Another thing that I learned from the internet is that the pop bottle string acts like "heat shrink wrap.

  I put a couple of wraps of the string around each end of these bundles of re-claimed wood and tucked the end in.  All it took was the briefest blast from my heat gun to fuse the knot together and shrink the string tight.  Bundles of wood are neater and easier to keep organised in my shop than loose boards.

  Yesterday was rainy and cold.  I'd been fairly busy during the week and my back had been punishing me.  Usually when I am working on a project I work until it hurts and then abandon the shop for my easy chair or laying on the floor.  Using this method there is no energy left to clean up the shop or to do all those little maintenance things that should be done at the end of a work sessions. Since it was not a good day for gardening or riding my motorcycle I used the time doing maintenance.

  After I wrapped up the wood and put it away I spent an hour taking planes apart and stropping their blades.  I've found that frequent use of a leather strop has reduced the amount of actual sharpening I'm doing by at least half.  After touching up the blades and waxing the soles of my regularly used planes I turned my attention to my chisels and shop knives. I believe that stropping away the tiny burrs that develop during use helps the edge last much longer.  

  

  It was a relaxing and productive afternoon as I did some of the those little jobs that make life in the shop go more smoothly.  I washed my various glue bottles and scraped some of the glue bumps off of my bench, two things that get over looked until I am in the midst of a project. I collected shop rags and put some to soak and some to the trash. I like to have clean rags handy.  Another  job was using steel wool and wire brushes to clean up putty and glue application knives.  A clean blade spread glue smooth and evenly and a clean handle is nicer to hold.

 Today is as cold and rainy.  This might be the day for a Zen like sweep and vacuum. 

cheers, ianw

Wednesday - sharpening and a shop tip.

  Many of the blogs have clever titles like; Wednesday Wonders, or What's Up Wednesday. I guess I could have called today wandering Wednesday, though technically my peregrinations were not aimless.  The day was a beautiful motorcycle riding day and so I zipped about  taking care of little businesses.

 I went to see my brother and he showed me two pocket knives that he had unearthed in an old suitcase/briefcase.  One of the knives was his Boy Scout knife, so you know it is old.  Both knives were dull, I suspect that they had seen hard service. Lucky for him I was there and said I would sharpen then for him.  I had a kitchen knife that needed work, but had not gotten around to it. His two knives motivated me to set aside some time to  do the job properly.

my basic knife sharpening set up

  You can see the three knives that needed attention.  All the blades were dulled to the point that a touch up with the strop or a steel wasn't enough.  I begin this rehabilitation process with a large 1000 grit water stone. This is an oil based sharpening system. 

 I don't take a position on water vs. oil when sharpening. I use water because that is the system with which I started, for no reason than a random purchase. I strongly support the position, pick a system and work with it until you get good at it. And, do not over look the contribution from a leather sharpening strop. 

  As well as taking some time to do some serious sharpening I added a detail to my music stand.

  I decided that I would make my music stand adjustable for height and so needed to drill come holes in black stained wood.  Needless to say an ordinary pencil is not going to mark worth a hoot.  Having encountered this situation before I had a solution on hand. I have a yellow water colour pencil crayon in my collection of markers and as you can see.....the marks really show up. 

  By the way, the wandering, my Mom's place, Costco, a $ Store, an office supply store, a bank, in three different cities. It was not efficient, or carefully planned but it was great morning's riding.

cheers, ianw

Pick a Date and Celebrate, by....changing batteries!

  Years ago I learned about changing batteries from  a friend who was a serious photographer.  Philip told me that he changed all the batteries in his cameras each year on his birthday, whether he had used that camera much during the year or not .   The fire department wants you to change the batteries in your smoke detector annually too, on your birthday. This way you have fresh working batteries all the time.

  I went to school forever, (or so it seemed), and then I taught school for years and so now September is the time I try to take care of those annual things. Each year in September I take my saw blades in to be sharpened. My table saw and sliding mitre saw have Freud blades.  I like Freud blades because I feel they are good value for money, especially since the blades can easily be sharpened 4 or 5 times. I figure that it works out to about $30.00 year per blade to have good sharp blades in my shop.  

  Another annual job is more of a mess and one that I hate.  I take my vacuum and dust collection systems totally apart and clean all the cracks and crevasses.  I use the fall clean up to clean all the filter bags and vacuum filters.  Once a year I take both dust collection bags off the machine and shake all the fine built up dust outside. Yes I know I should do that every time I change a bag but I don't, I am always in the midst of a project and don't want to  interrupt my work.  

  A September job is assessing consumable supplies.  We have a big wood show in our area in September and that is where I buy glue, drill bits,  sand paper and misc. nuts and bolts when I can.  It seems as though I need those consumables regardless of whether I have had a busy or slack year in the shop.

  This is also the time of the full-on cleaning blitz. I get down on the floor and sweep up the lost screws and bits of wood from underneath the work benches and dark corners.  As a  well known wood junkie this is also the time I gather all the little useless bits of wood and condemn then to the fire, (in two life times I couldn't use all the little bits I collect in a box by the mitre saw as wedges and cleats.)

  At some point in September I sharpen or check for sharp, all my knives and chisels  Generally I put them away sharp but....no one is perfect.

  Over the course of the year I gather empty containers and shop rags, always more than I need, and so those extras are recycled. 

  I have a large collection of wood working books and plans which I often peruse for ideas.   This is the time I put them back on book shelves and into folders to make way for new projects.

  Changing the furnace filter is another thing I do to get the season started.  Our furnace hasn't come on yet this year but......the time is coming soon. 
 
 Our summer's are humid and this is when I check tools and machines for the beginnings of rust and wipe them down with wax or surface treatment.

  If I were a more dedicated/disciplined person or not doing wood working as a hobby I might do most of these annual things regularly  and not let them add up over the year.  But...I'm not. 
I suspect many people are like I am and so I encourage you  pick a regular time to take care of this type of task, including changing the batteries in your smoke detector and camera.

cheers, ianw


  

Shop Sharpening Short Cut

  I honestly don't remember whether this quick tip is something that I picked up off the internet or from a fellow woodworker or if it is something that I figured out for my self.  It is so obvious that I am sure someone else has done it before.

  This blog begins with it being peach season and I love fresh raw peaches, I even eat them unpeeled.

  Yesterday I was cutting a peach into sections with my thin bladed fruit knife.
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  This knife has a very thin carbon steel blade that takes a very fine edge is excellent for slicing fruit. Care is needed because the blades will turn over easily if it hits anything harder than fruit flesh.  Cutting a peach or plume means you draw the blade along a pit sometimes. 

   Since I was sitting and enjoying my peach I didn't want to have to go to the kitchen (or shop) and get some thing to hone the blade I was using.  Ordinarily I would use a sharpening steel, ceramic stone or strop to re-hone the blade. I improvised and used the unglazed section on the bottom of my coffee cup.

  After a couple of firm but careful passes across the raw section of ceramic the knife blade was much improved and I was able to slice my peach into perfect thin sections.  This is not a substitution for formal sharpening tools, but a quick way to touch up a knife on a work site, and another reason to avoid paper coffee cups.

cheers, ianw

A New Year's Thing?

  January is often a time for resolutions and promises.  Many shop folks resolve to clean and organize their shops for the new year. I resolve to clean and organize my shop several times a year and occasionally desperation or frustration drives me to do it.  Our annual furnace service happened this morning and on Saturday an electrician is coming to do some wiring in the shop too.  I therefore had to clean up things a bit for these fellows to have working space. 

  The other thing that I do in January is gather up small repair jobs and knock them off.  A job that has been hanging around my Mother's kitchen is her mid-sized kitchen knife.

  You can see the broken section on the blade, I suspect my Mom tried to hack a frozen bone. Bone - 1, knife - 0.  I brought it home today and set about saving the knife.  I used a wet grinder to  reshape the blade and roughly grind its bevels.

   The wet stone grinder leaves things very rough, but it is quick and there is no chance of over heating the steel.  After the shape and basic bevel is formed one enters into the world of "sharpening". There are many methods to choose from when doing your final sharpening, and I am not wholly committed to any one of them. Chisels and plane blades I usually sharpen on my Work Sharp, but certainly Tormek is another excellent choice.  When the blades are too wide for my Work Sharp I have the jigs and sand paper to use the Scary Sharp method too.  I echo the calls of many experts when I say, find what works for you and stay with it until you get good at it. There are no real short cuts.
 
   I sharpen my knife blades free hand.  I learned from my Father before I had much hair on my arms to prove my work.  I have found that hand sharpening can be a bit hit and miss, there are days when I just can't get it right so I have to give up and try again another day.
  

  Today was an 'on'day. After a bit of time with a 1000 grit water stone, a 4000 grit ceramic stone and a leather strop the knife was able to cut paper thin slices of cherry tomato and shave my arm too. When I brought this knife home I left Mom a replacement  so she wouldn't be tool less.  She said if I could repair the old knife she would like to take it to the community kitchen where she volunteers but would be afraid the knife would get lost in the general chaos of their busy kitchen.  After I got the knife sharpened I used my engraver to grind her name into the blade. Now it should be easy for the knife to get home with its owner.

  I suggest that every tool person have an engraver, and not to leave home with out clearly marked tools.  Even if your work site is honest, marked tools make clearing up at the end of the day quicker for everyone.  

  Another repair is to the coffee machine stand I built a few years ago.   The stand needed to be repainted and I will be making new boxes for storage underneath.

  It will be nice to get this looking good in the kitchen again.  Wood is amazing but does need a bit of attention now and then. 

  The last bit of maintenance I did today was sharpen my pencil sharpening knife.

 This knife was made for me by my Father, 25 years ago, probably more. It will sharpen to a razor's edge with little effort.  A special tool like this is owed the effort.

cheers, ianw

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.

Fencing on the Mosel River

  As we cycled along the bike path from Koblenz going east beside the Mosel we saw lovely countryside, beautiful vineyards and in one of the small towns we saw this fence around their wee yard.

  I noticed that the properties were small by Canadian standards and usually sturdily fenced, no doubt for good reason.  This fence, while effective seems fun and friendly. Probably it takes tonnes of up keep to have it look this cheerful and bright all the time.

   When I am looking for fun colours I often turn to Milk paint because it lasts well, is easy to apply and I can mix up small amounts at a time rather than having a bunch of half full cans of used paint sitting around in the basement.

   I also suggest you look in on the Village Carpenter, her quick video about honing carving gouges may proof helpful.

Sharpening: The Tormek Way - by guest blogger, Carla

Whether you are a Gardener, Seasoned woodworker or a DIY handyman, sharp tools and instruments are important for every project.
The Tormek Ultimate Sharpening System, Tormek T-7 is a Swedish made product,  which combines both wet and dry grinding techniques when sharpening tools, such as blades, knives and chisels.
Unique building construction tasks, specialized woodworking, and even gardening around the house often introduce some challenging circumstances.
One of the things that helps to surmount nearly any work obstacle is highly sharpened tools. A dedicated craftsman can appreciate the type of assistance that high precision sharpening tools can supply. Now, although countless tool sharpening suppliers exist in the marketplace, Tormek Sharpening Systems have honed out a special place for themselves, and such a reputation actually works in YOUR favor.
How many of you have always wished for an extra pair of hands?, Systems like the Tormek T-7 Sharpening System with Hand tool Kit, with Tormek Gouge and Turning Cutter Jigs is almost literally like having an extra set of hands.
Tormek users throughout the world and especially here in the North America continuously supply kudos for various Tormek Sharpening Systems.
Although, The Tormek is a slightly more expensive tool, the Tormek gives the demanding user more precise, finely-tuned control over sharpening tasks.
You could pair a Tormek T-7 Sharpening System with the efficiency of a Tormek Hand Tool Kit. This allows you to save money plus provide the type of unique accuracy that woodworking especially requires.

If you appreciate enhanced accuracy in your workmanship, then you will be happy to know that Tormek sharpening systems provide well appreciated assistance.
For instance, The Tormek T7 Jig can square a blade to its grinding wheel, and the setting adjustments are amongst the most convenient you can find in the industry.
If are you looking for a way to make challenging work tasks as easy and convenient as possible,  Tormek Sharpening Systems will help you complete almost any building, carving, or construction assignment with impeccable precision, while extending the life of your sharpened tool edges.