Christmas Time is Here

  Our tree carefully and lovingly decorated by Eva.

Our Christmas Tree with the cool and thoughtful gifts from family and friends.

It is my sincere hope that your Christmas season is filled with love, happiness and all the good things for which you hoped.

MERRY CHRISTMAS 

from  my family to 

your family.

cheers, ianw

Quick Stocking Stuffer and Weird Discovery by a Cheap Wood Worker

There are only a couple of days left until Christmas and this year I haven't spent much time on home made things.  Actually I haven't spent much time on things at all, we've all got stuff coming out of our ears.  Having said that I have decided to make some wooden money clips as stocking stuffers.                                                                                                                                      

hanging to dry

                           


    This is a quick easy make.  I am using poplar for this one and have already given it one coat of shellac.  I made the end a little thicker than the last ones I made a year or so ago.  I am hoping that this clip will not split apart so readily. 

  I just whipped this one off this afternoon and will make a few more later.  The only thing I find tough will projects this small is holding on to them while sanding.  I roughed the shape on a power sander but finished the project of to 320 grit by hand.

  The weird discovery involves dry breakfast cereal.  You know the wax paper type bag that the cereal comes in?  It can be pulled apart into a good sized flat sheet of high quality paper for making gaskets on finish cans. Also I am planning to use it as a bench cover when doing glue ups and painting small parts. The paper in those bags seems to be higher quality than ordinary waxed paper... who knew?  I like the idea of using and re-using if I possibly can, 'cause I am cheap maybe.  

  This morning I ventured into the insanity that is Christmas shopping.  Is anyone buying anything or are they just driving around?

  cheers, ianw

Restoration Up date, and Two Videos.

  I have worked for several hours on the table.  Three of the legs came out, one of the leg's tenons was a mess.  I guess the full weight of the deer must have fallen on that leg.  It took a while to rebuild and reshape the tenon. I have yet to grind all the old glue and gunk out of the mortise holes.  Currently I've left off the legs so the tops sits firmly on my work bench as I sand and re-finish it.

  We've had some serious weather here this week so there was snow to shovel and a couple of winter preparation things to do. Today I cleared the bicycles and gardening stuff out of our garage and put my motorcycle to sleep for the winter.( always a sad day)  We clear the garage out enough that my wife's car can live inside for the winter which means bicycle are hung from the ceiling  the Honda Silverwing is put down for the winter.  I honour of those things I looked up one of my favourite motorcycle videos on You tube. It reminds me of a fantasy that I think all bikers have.

Ghost Rider -

Stockholm to Uppsala 

  This has nothing to do with wood working.  I certainly can't encourage anyone to ride like the Ghost Rider.  Watching this video is the current equivalent to reading "The Lone Ranger" when I was a kid.  It is never going to be me, but it is so cool.  Also I've been to Stockholm a couple of times and sent a few days in Uppsala two years ago.  If you want to go on a trip, I heartily recommend Sweden.

  Now, to return to something wood work related: 

Floating Waterfall table. 

   The video for making the table is very detailed and easy to follow. I think that this creates a live edge table that appears light, instead of heavy and rustic looking.  It is a good piece of work and the video is well worth watching.  

cheers, ianw

In the Work Shop - a restoration story.

  This is the object of my current attention. Three of these legs are very loose and wobbly.  One leg  is immobile. Part of the top and two of the legs are stained with deer blood.  The bark is loose on one side.  My mission.  To sand it down, glue it up and varnish it all around.

  This is one of those craftsmen jobs that people often don't respect.  I'm not going to do anything that is magic but I have at my finger tips all the tools that are necessary to do all those non-magical things. To night I worked on the legs. I spent a couple of hours sanding off the stains and the old varnish. To do that I have used four different grits of sand paper, and two different rasps. All those things are at hand in my shop, as well as two types of glue and one type of wood filler.

  Once all the glues and fillers are dry I will have to shape and repair the one leg's broken tenon then use another sort of glue to re-glue the three loose legs.  Next I'll turn the table over, strip the top and re-finish it will a combination of shellac and varnish.

  All this is easy because I have sand paper, rasps, glue, sanders, dust masks and various finishes, brushes, rags and I know how to use them.  ( and clamps )

  When I am done you will not be able to find the stains, the nicks or dents on the legs and the top will have a warm and welcoming glow. (I don't do high gloss).  It will be as good as new, or maybe better.  All of these things are easy, once you know how and have done it a dozen or so times.  

  Often we do not give crafts people credit.  I have too often heard people say "oh I could do that", yes but you didn't you, so ......give credit where credit is due.

  I maybe a bit cranky since I have spent so much time this evening sanding by hand that my hands are a bit crampy and sore.  The person for whom I am repairing and refinishing the table appreciates the effort and my semi-grumpiness is not aimed at her.

  I am watching the snow accumulate and blow around. Tomorrow I will shovel what is left. Tonight, a cool drink, Christmas lights and an audio book for company. (and out old cat).

cheers, ianw

Wooden Spoons and Spatulas

 My wife is a very talented cook and baker and it seems she has  passed her passion  onto our Grand daughter Clara.  Clara's brother Kieran likes to make stuff in the shop and last year he and I made a tool box together.  Over the last few years he has been getting tools for his tools box.

  This year it is Clara's turn to began acquiring tools for her work in the kitchen. 

   The last couple of evenings have been spent making smaller sized kitchen tools for Clara for Christmas.

  

  These are some of the tools I've made in my shop recently.  The spatula in the middle is full sized, the other ones are about half as long, but 2/3 as large.  The shorter handles will help small hands keep things under control more easily.

  There are many, many videos on You tube showing ways to make wooden spoons.  I looked at a bunch of them for method and inspiration.  

  First I traced the shapes on a clear grained piece of Poplar and cut it out on the band saw. 

For the spatulas the band saw was the last power tool I used.  A jig saw, a scroll saw or a coping saw could also do the job, and not much more slowly. So don't abandon making these things just because you don't have a band saw. 

  Once the pieces were cut out I shaped them with knives, small planes and mostly with sand paper.  You could equally use a spoke shave, I didn't because I have not become skilled with one or a draw knife. The draw knives I inherited are to large to use comfortably on small projects like this.

   The spoon, I shaped with somewhat greater modern savagery.  I wanted a rounded handle for the spoon and needed to shape the bowl and so roughed it into shape on my 36 inch belt sander.  A smaller power sander would also work or you could use my favourite rough carving tool, the Nicholson 4 in 1 rasp.  I bought my 4 in 1 rasp early, early on when I began gathering tools and have used it as much and more than many other tools. 

  Projects like these are labours of love and so I listen to music and work at a fairly causal pace while completing them.  As you can see from the bench I used lots of tools and didn't worry about efficiency.

  There is everything from knives and rasps to shreds of sand paper and coffee cups on that bench.  I used the tooth brush to clear fine wood dust out of 320- 500 grit sand paper. Since I did some serious whittling at the roughing stage I wore my carving gloves with their added leather finger tips.  You can also see two large needle files on the work surface as well as 60 grit, 120 grit, 220 grit, 320 grit and 500 grit sand paper.  Were I making these tools for money I doubt  I would sand much past 220 grit, but for family 500 grit seemed appropriate. And incidentally this piece of poplar sanded as smooth as glass.

  As an unromantic foot note  I used my Dremel tool and a ball shaped bit to rough out the inside of the spoon.  Yes, I have gouges and a hook knife, (somewhere) but my dewy eyed hand tool romanticism does have limits. I do like my variable speed Dremel tool with its flexible tool shaft. 

  This is another personal project that can be made with limited tools and at limited cost.  Every  time that spoon or spatula is used the maker will be remembered. Don't we all want to be remember?

cheers, ianw

Another Plane for You to Make

Make a Plane 

  As the holiday season progresses it might be nice to take an hour or two out and make yourself something useful for your shop.

  cheers, ianw

Crayon Holder

  Two of our  grand children are here this weekend and have been making and decorating Christmas ornaments. Also my Grand son wanted to work in my shop and so I directed him toward a crayon holder as a project.  He wanted to make a snake from wood that flexes, he thought that  slicing almost through the wood from two sides would allow flexing. His plan was possible but it wouldn't stand up to serious kid stresses.

  There were a couple of things that I didn't like about his plan, the main problem was that he couldn't do much of the work.  I try to keep the project simple and such that he can do as much of the work as possible.  And a toy that breaks easily is not a good idea either.

                                        

  This is one type of crayon holder that is sort of snake like.

  Our snake started out a straight piece of poplar.  Kieran rounded  the top edges with a block plane.  As a production item I would round the edges with my router but the block plane is a tool available to a kid. I did a bit of sanding on my 36 inch belt sander.  That is a tool that is too aggressive for small hands.  Even I get a finger tip polished when using the belt sander occasionally. 

 We drilled 20 holes in the board for crayons. I held the wood solid and he used the drill press to make the holes.  I ripped the snake in half on the band saw, a tool still to grown up for my grand son.  Then he used a mitre box and cut the snake into sections. 

  Once we had the snake cut into sections I cut a strip of leather to go through the middle of the snake. We glued the blocks onto the leather spine.  Gluing and clamping are activities that a kid can do.

  All we had to do was wait for the glue to set.

  This is a quick easy project that can be made with off cuts and limited tools. If you could arrange to make gifts with your kids  and or grand kids, that might be the best gift of all.

  I have compromised my mixing of kid work and shop work.  My plan is to have projects that provide for the minimum amount of watching Opa work time.  On the other hand a quick cut on the band saw means we can complete a project within the attention span of an average 7 year old.  My criteria for success requires a finished project during the current visit, so short visits mean small projects.

Corner Caddy

  In the corner of our living room sits my big chair.  For a long time my chair has been surrounded with books, magazines and miscellaneous electronic devises.  Like everyone else I have a phone, a tablet, a lap top computer and an e-reader plus books and magazines.  Often those things drift into the corner and settle in  small piles around my chair. The television remotes and all that stuff is up stairs in the family room.
  
  Yesterday I looked at the collected chaos, considered the coming month with all the traditional comings and goings and decided it was time to bring the 'stuff' * under control.

  Again this is when a workshop in the basement is wonderful.  I designed this caddy to hold my phone and tablet/e-reader a pen or reading glasses in the narrow front slot. The larger compartment is for books and magazines. The handle means it is easy to move around the room and can be easily stashed behind the chair when there is a crowd of folks hanging out.

   The first stage of this project was decided its over all size.  I opted for 6 1/4 by 13 by 5 in front 8 inches in back.  I made the box so it would fit on the window sill if I wanted it handy while sitting and reading. 

  I had some Baltic birch plywood in the bin down stairs but made the front panel from thinly planed pine.  I stained the bulk of the box but left the front unfinished as I plan a wood burned pattern for later.

  Making this type of project is interesting because when I am making for myself I often use nails to put things together.  Had I been making something like this for someone else I probably would have glued it together or made an effort to hide the fasteners, thereby taking twice as long.  I like my projects to get going and get finished in a hurry, I'm afraid. 

  Here is the box sitting on the arm of my chair.  I can throw all my corner stuff into the box and find it  quickly and easily.  

  A project like this is really an apartment workshop style project.  Sheet stock can be bought in bite sized pieces at building supply stores and the tools necessary to make a nice job of this project are limited.

  I used a saw, if you have only one get a jig saw. Hammer and a few nails. Wood glue. Then I sanded everything and stained it.  You can sand a small project like this by hand or spend a few dollars and get a reasonably priced random orbital sander  to make finishing easier.   In fact a project like this could be covered in wall paper or stickers or if that  suits your style and taste. 

  The reason  to make this is simple.  It is wood, it will last.  Some  cheap plastic thing from a $ store won't look as good, last as long or provide the satisfaction you get from making your own thing.  Also since it is wood it can be refinished to match evolving decor in a way that a plastic thing can't.

  Wood is Good.

cheers, ianw

* there are other names for stuff, but this is a family show.

A hippo's nose job !, I love wood working

  It has been an interesting wood working day.  I visited a potential client that needs repairs and refinishing done to their live edge table.  A deer crashed through their front window and smashed the furniture on the ground floor of their home.  Regular repair guys are fixing flooring and book cases but the table needs an irregular guy like me.

  What else did I do with my day?  I repaired yet another box for 10,000 Villages like this one:

  

  The boxes come from India and often the lids warp with the temperature and humidity changes.  The hinges are maddeningly attached with nails so all the work on the boxes has to be done fully assembled. I have developed a whole bag of tricks for clamping, planing, sanding and re-staining these boxes. 

  Today was  another first for me.  I was so carried away with this project I didn't take a before picture, only after pictures.

  The hippo began with a symmetric face but somewhere in his travels from Kenya to Canada his right nostril got broken completely off.

caution: hippo at work.

I have no idea what sort of wood this is. It didn't help that I was working on the end grain but  I learned from trial and error  that it was better to use files and rasps than to try and carve it with blades.

  With some patience and a bag load of tools I reshaped  the face then sanded and polished my work.  I know that it has been repaired but....it just looks hand carved and individual to the uninformed eye.

  Do you remember the scene in Toy Story 2 where the guy  repaints and restores Woody.  He has a super tool box with all the specialized tools he needs. 

carving tools on left
Dremel tool box on right
small box of needle files, sanding jigs
 and other tools spread all about. 

  When I do those small repairs I use every tools I can lay my hands on.  There is always filing, scraping, shaving and trimming in those jobs for 10,000 Villages.  I have carving knives, about a dozen, a whole bunch of needle files and rifflers as well as various bits for my Dremel tool. 

  

   As a by the way this tool box was made by my father as a shop project when he was in high school, a long time ago.  It would be great if one day it was a tool box for one of my Grand children. 

 cheers, ianw

   

Spool and Bobbin Holder

   Even though this looks like a medieval torture device for squirrels it is in fact a spool and bobbin holder for a family friend.  If you have a sewer (sewist, seamstress) in your midst a project like this might be welcome.

  I reused a 19 inch square of 1/2 plywood as the back. This plywood had very thin veneer and so sanding it wore through the veneer is spots. I used dark rub on stain to create the random finish and laid out the 81 holes.

  The holes are drilled on a 10 degree angle.  I decided on 10 degrees because it would hold the spools and still be easy to drill with the jig I made. 

After I drilled the holes I had to cut 1/4 dowel into 81 pieces 3 1/2 inches long. Again I set up a simple jig.  

  A jig can be something as simple as a mitre box with a stop block clamped in place. What ever makes the task easier and more automatic can be called a jig.  

  This sort of project is not difficult but it is time consuming. It took a hour to cut the dowel, taper both ends of the 1/4 dowel with a pencil sharpener, add glue and hammer each piece into place.  After I drove the dowels into their holes I had to wipe the plywood down with a damp cloth to clean up the squeezed out glue.  All of those things take time when done 81 times.  

  The whole project took about two hours  and cost about $10.00 for materials.  If you know some one that sews and would like to get organised this would be a good gift.

cheers, ianw

   

How Wooden Barrels are made.....

  There are many different wood working trades and although some of the trades' skills have fallen out of use there are still a specialised wood working skills that are interesting to me.

 For example, there are still a few highly skilled wooden boat builders left. Not everyone can afford or wants a steel boat.  There are many, many plans for small boats on the net and if you search you will find several evening's worth of entertainment watching boats built and repaired. But there are still some boat yards that will make a traditional wooden sailing boat, a boat like that must be amazing to sail upon

Wooden Boat Building

  
Another specialised wood working skill is bow making.

Making an English Bow

  I have used several different kinds of bows in my life. At one time I was a Boy Scout Competition Camp archery champion and I recognise the advantages of high tech bows, but do like the feel of a wooden long bow.  Feel and emotion are allowed to trump practicality since I don't hunt my own food.

  Another common wooden object for many hundreds of years were a wooden pulleys.

Make a block and tackle pulley

  Bellows are ornaments in most houses, if they exist at all. But once, a wood worker made bellows in all sizes for all uses, including huge bellows for forges. 

Make Your Own Bellows 

  In many cases a wood worker combined their skills with those of black smiths, rope makers, leather workers and a whole host of other skilled craftsmen to make our lives better.  

  In a world filled with mass produced, and plastic things we who are lucky enough to be wood workers should be Thankful for our work shops and our tools.

  And as almost an after thought the noble cooper.  This video is what started my mind to wander down the non-carpenter path.

Making wooden barrels 

  On a cold evening cruise around the internet to see and encourage your fellow woodworkers, young and old.

  What did I do in my shop yesterday?  I added some wood burned details to my small projects. Here is a video of a traditional style of traditional wood burning from Korea,.  I encourage you to check out the entire series of videos. I am not traditional or as artistic, but I love to play with wood.

cheers, ianw

Shop Shoes and What to do while Varnish is Drying

 My shop activity is a little restricted while I spray the coats of varnish onto the chess board from 10,000 Villages. The chess board is going to get 10-12 light coats of spray vanish. Between each coat I rub it down with steel wool and a tack cloth.  I am trying to keep the air in the shop dust free if possible.

 So this morning I used my time to put things away and to gather up little scraps of wood for my buddy's fireplace. A couple of times a year I need to dive into the chaos that is my shop space and throw away little bits of wood that I have saved for later use.  Experience has shown me later use, just doesn't happen.

  Since I have been having trouble with my back again I have not been able to spend long periods of time in the shop but something that I have found helps create a stable standing posture are shop shoes.  My father wore shop shoes and I thought he was a bit silly.  Shop shoes are warm on the cement floor and have characteristics of modern safety shoes, though they can be slippery on wooded stairs.

As unlikely as it seems, and as funny to look at, these wooden shoes protect my feet, keep my toes warn and seem to extend the time I can work in the shop before my back begins to bother me.  And the shoes are wood, how cool is that. One of these days I will sand off the yellow but otherwise, my Dad was right.

Making Wooden Shoes

  My shoes aren't hand made, sadly.  Isn't it amazing what a few tools, leverage and experience can do with wood.

  Since I couldn't make saw dust, and I did tire of the clean up process I did a bit of whittling.  As you know I am thrifty. (cheap maybe). I use my pencils until they are just about worn away.  To keep them long enough to be useful, I made a few pencil extenders.

  The extenders keep the pencil from sliding down in the pouch and getting lost and gave me something to do for a while in the peace and quiet of my shop.  I keep little pieces of basswood for just this type of time killer project.  Small carving projects like this are a good to help keep my hands strong and limber.  Older hands need extra exercise to keep working well.

  I carved the pencil extenders with various knives and sealed them.  I think I will have a grand child paint them for me one of these days.

 cheers, ianw

  

Coffee Maker in the Work Shop

  In my shop I have several coffee cups that are variations on this design. The moustache cups date from my waxed moustache days in the army reserves. The problem with a moustache cup is my single serve drip/filter coffee makers doesn't sit flat on it.

  The filter holder sits to one side and will tip off if I am not vigilant, and often in the shop I am distracted. So...there are coffee stains all over my shop.

  The solution is a simple shop project.  That I saw on the internet, but was not clever enough on my own to think of. I made this holder from my scrap bin since it is a prototype. I think I will make a couple of nicer versions and give them away as gifts this Christmas season. I need to go to a cheap clearance store and buy a couple of single filter holders first.

  I have most of my Christmas gifts planned, and of course they won't appear in the blog until after the holidays. I don't want to give away any surprises.

  Also today I embarked on a repair for 10,000 Villages.  

  This chess board had two pronounced scratches that I scraped out with a very thin cabinet scraper.  After the scratches were gone I cleaned the top with alcohol to remove any  wax and have started  the process of applying ten or so light coats of spray varnish to rebuild the depth of finish in the areas that had been scratched.  I think in certain light situations the variation in the finish will be visible, but the scratches were visible in all lighting situations.  Once the varnish coats are dry I will give the top a good buffing with polish and it will be as good as new.(in most lights).

cheers, ianw

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

On my way home from our church's Christmas Bazaar I saw, sitting on the side of the road an opportunity. 

   This chest of drawers is in rough(ish) shape, on the outside.  There are stains on the front and one side, the feet are broken off the chest and some of the paint has been chipped.

  

  The drawers have solid wood sides with plywood bottoms.  I expect that the wood underneath the paint is veneer on solid wood.

  What do I do now?  My first thought was to break this piece up and use the drawer sides for other projects but...I could repair the bottom and install new legs.  The staining can be washed off and the nicks in the paint can be filled and sanded.  I would never try to return this piece to bare wood but it could be made to look good if carefully painted.  I now have to decide what to do.  We certainly do not need another chest of drawers, I guess we'll have to find out if someone else could use one.

 I've included a small bench build video with today's blog.  It is similar to my bench top bench from last June.   I use the clamping capabilities of my small bench regularly. Especially when I am sawing and shaping smaller pieces of wood by hand. 

  cheers, ianw

p.s. I love fall colours.

Tips for Woodworking

Today I am posting a youtube video from the Woodworker's Journal on tips and tricks for measuring and layout.

Measuring and Layout Advice

 The video is worth watching, there are a couple of tricks you have not thought of I bet.

  Thetoolstore.ca has many quality Starrett products from which you can choose.  Your shop must have accurate squares and rulers.

cheers, ianw

Table Built

  You can never have too many clamps.  I glued up the remaining shelves for Mary's table yesterday.  I milled the two inch boards from a slab of poplar.  Poplar is an interesting wood, there are several species included under the name "poplar" and so the wood can be pure white, or slightly greenish, straight grained and very hard or softer with tinted coloured gain running though it.  These shelves are fairly soft which made milling them on basement equipment easier.  I started with a slab 44 inches long, 2 1/2 inches thick and 10 inches wide. I was able to flatten the board on the planner because it was so thick the rollers could not flatten the cupping.  First I planned off the top of the cup (hump) then turned it over to plane away the edges. The jointer provided a square edge and I used my table saw to slice off six two inch boards. 

  Once the boards were cut I did what all wood workers do next.  I went to my wall of clamps, got down a bunch and clamped the boards together.  Every time I do this I marvel at the advancements in adhesive technology. Now I almost never use dowels, or biscuits when edge clamping.

  This table is a custom size, and that is what you can do when you have a work shop.  In reality the table is a bit taller than typical which allows the middle shelf. The photo doesn't show but the legs are tapered  to lighten the presentation somewhat. 

   I will spent a bit of time sanding the whole thing again and then Mary can stain it, paint it or what ever her heart desires.

  I saw the band new Kreg  mobile work centre , I can't wait to check one out in person. In the  The video looks great.

cheers, ianw