Christmas Projects

  It is great to have a work shop handy. On the weekend I was able to work on a simple project with my Grandson. He used both the band and jig saws to cut out a circular frame for his sister and Oma to make into a wreath for their door.  Once he gets totally comfortable with the jigsaw he can make all sorts of things on his own.

  

  Today I cut out rings for Eva and her sisters to make into Christmas wreaths to sell at a church sale this coming weekend.  I make the rings from door skin and since I have the tools I used them all.  I cut the rough outside shape with my variable speed jig saw, then I drilled a hole in the middle and cut it out.  The outside was cut more carefully on my band saw.  To smooth out the edges I used a sanding drum chucked into a corded drill. I have had the sanding drum kit for years and consider it a must for an hobby wood shop.

  So that was an easy job that didn't require all those tools, but, it sure is quicker and easier with the right tool.

 Next I made a small wooden stand for our latest decoration from 10,000 Villages, we love the local store and the entire organization.

 The metal silhouette of the Manger scene  needed a boost to be seen over the edge of the window frame.  The wood is left over skid. I glued two pieces together and cut them to size with my band and table saw. Having a shop  with tools  makes it so easy....doing these various little things is No Sweat.   Having a shop and tools also makes it easier to customize your project. For example this green piece of wood 18 1/2 in. long, 2  in. thick and 3 in. tall.  A 2 x 4 wouldn't have done the job, something needed to be customized in the shop to show the silhouette properly.

  The last thing I'm working on actually needs a bit of skill not just available tools.

  If you know your children's stories this is Pettsen and Findus and they are carved Christmas ornaments.  I drew the shapes from a story book and then copied the shapes onto basswood.  I cut the shapes out on my scroll saw and have carved low relief.  Next I sanded the pieces and gave them two coats of spray sealer so that they can be painted in their characteristic colours.  I'm hopeful my little Swedish Grandchildren will like Findus and Pettsen on their tree.

  

  If you are planning Christmas gifts from you shop, better get on it. Christmas Day is less than a month away. ( not that the grand kids are keeping track or anything.)

cheers, ianw

Proportion, Ratio and Measurement.

  Woodworkers can obsess over many things: hand tool vs. power tools; sharpening, how why and when and don't even raise the question of finishing.  Some plane, others scrape and I a mere carpenter, sands. One thing that we all have to do some of the time is take/make measurements, either metric or imperial.  That is how we get the custom book case to fit the room or the end table to fit the space.  Sometimes I feel we drag the ol' tape measure out when it isn't necessary. Much of wood working is about ratio and proportion, 'if it looks fair, it is fair'.*

  In this blog I want to talk about making my easel,  a video might be a better format, but I decided long ago to be a blogger and leave video for the professionals, so here I ago.

  I wanted an easel that would sit on my desk but was also tall enough that I could use it while standing as well as seated.  An easel is a pretty basic two piece hinged item.  First I looked on the internet for some ideas and then went my own way, as I usually do.  At no point during the building process did I use a measuring tape.

  Once I decided what I was going to do I picked out two 2 x 4's from my collection of reclaimed wood and began by ripping them in half, more or less, on the table saw.  After I had the pieces for the four legs I ran them through the planer reducing them to 5/8.  I cut the boards to a length that suited my needs by placing it on my desk to try out.

   Based on what size of water colour paper I use most often I chose the easel's width. There was pallet wood available to make support cross pieces. I rip cut and planed  a  couple more boards to make the cross pieces and a ledge to hold the papers.  The whole project went together with pocket holes and glue. In the previous video you can see the easel clamped to the table while I attached the hinges.

 When it came time to write the last blog was the first time an actual measurement with a ruler was made. The easel fit my needs and is a pleasing proportion. 

  I've made a couple of projects from my last batch of pallets.  The spruce in the last pallets is actually nice to work and sands smooth and clean. My next project is a bowl featuring 30 degree joints and I'm about about half done. I've got a jig to make before I can finish. 

*fair: The word is a cognate of Old Saxon fagar, meaning beautiful, pretty or peaceful. Since the days of the historian Bede, in the early 700s, it was used to mean good-looking. "Fair of body."

Chair, Inserts and Snowblower, Oh my.

 I know that you have heard about the kneeling chair for months. Anyway, to finish the project off and have it in place in use is worth the trouble.  On the knee and seat pads David put Velcro to attach cushions. 

                                 

          

       

And the final result in use.  David says that it is very comfortable.  I don't know if I want to make one for myself or not.  My old office chair is getting pretty broken down, it was second hand 35 years ago so......maybe it is time for a replacement.

  I have a video to share that popped up on my You tube feed.   I use carbide tipped saw blades and wood turning tools.  While the video deals with industrial carbide inserts the principle will be similar.  On a personal note when I visit Sweden we often drive by the Sandvik steel mill in Sandviken Sweden.  I had to have to steel mill pointed out me, it doesn't look like a factory, it looks like a university campus. It is on the shore of a local lake and doesn't really spoil the scene at all.

 

It is a far cry from steel mills in Hamilton.

p.s.- Yesterday it snowed about 10 cm. and my thirty year old Honda snow blower started on the third pull. yay!

                      

Table Top Easel

  Recently I have been painting and drawing as well as working in my shop.  I began taking classes in drawing to help express (explain) my own designs.  After years of making and carving things from patterns only I needed to branch out.  What I discovered is that I like painting, for itself, not just a means to an end. 

  On Monday I finally got around to making a fairly large table top easel.  I made this easel large so that I can put it on my desk and paint while standing up as well as seated.  

  The first step was wood preparation,  

2 x 4 approximately 

 I began with pallet wood again. This is a basic project that suited soft wood.

Once the wood was re-sawn and planed it was fine for this job.

  The frame is a natural for pocket holes.  At 5/8 inch thick the wood is sturdy enough but light and required 1 inch Kreg screws and glue to hold it together.  

 

Gluing the cross braces onto the back legs brought out my lead weights.  I use these weights when a clamp will not reach.

You can see here that I have clamped the easel frame to my bench during assembly. Usually I work alone in my shop and try to mobilize things as much as possible while I work.

Using things like Pocket Holes is also much, much easier if you use the clamps that were designed by KREG .  Once the easel was screwed and glued together I knocked the edges off with sand paper and smoothed the wood to 120 grit.  The wood is left raw, this is not a project that needs paint or varnish in my opinion. If I made one for some else I would go the extra stage.

work surface is 23 by 24 inches.

  The completed easel has reclaimed hinges and reclaimed light chain in the construction too. The only thing that I had to buy was the piece of white foam core. I buy foam core 6 sheets at a time and use it to make patterns and for Grand kids craft projects.  To use the easel I will tape the art paper to the foam core, and when it  gets ruined I'll replace it with thin plywood. If I have some laying around.

  

fall colours are here. !

November 9th 2018 Burned Box

  Recently I picked up at couple of skids from the side of the road (again).  I have made projects from skids in the past but this time I thought I would make an effort to create a slightly nicer project than in the past, and to try out a new technique. 

13 x 14 x 3 inch box

  The soft wood burned nicely and gave a strong contrast colour.  I used a propane torch to burn the wood.  Another time I will  try roasting the wood in an oven or bar-b-q. The spring return hinges were picked because, a: I had a pair in a drawer and b: it eliminates the need for a latch.  I did not prepare the wood as carefully as if I were making a real show piece, this as a knock around storage box for loose craft supplies and such not a real show piece.  The next time I will thickness all the pieces carefully so that assembly will be more neat and polished.  There are no nails or screws in the this box, just glue and 1/8 inch dowels, except for the hinges. 

the short focal length on a camera phone sure
distorts perspective, don't it!

  Since the skid wood is thin and soft I made certain that the inside and bottom of the box got a couple of coats of finish to help it remain as stable as possible.  You can see the result of not planing the wood to a standard thickness, the joint in the middle is fairly ugly. I guess I could line the bottom with cloth  or foam of something.?

  The next box I'm making from skid wood is ever more silly.

  This is box from left overs, all for sides of the box are slightly different thickness, and to make things interesting I am cutting splines to re-enforce and decorate the corners.  I have cut half of these slots by hand, the other half I am going to cut with my table saw jig.  The table saw is just so much more accurate and fast.

  This should be enough wood for the top and bottom of the small box.  I found that the wood was so thin that it originally had a bow in it when I clamped it.  I had to back off the pressure to get it to stay flat. Again it is going to be burned  but before assembly this time.

  Lately I've been working with harder wood and haven't worked with spruce and pine etc in a while. The wild grain and ease of work is nice, the lack of structural strength can be a trouble. Everything is a trade off.

  I have several pieces of this spruce left. What to make next?

cheers, ianw

Into November

  Finally, after several months and gallons of coffee David's chair completed. David opted for clear varnish and the oak looks good.  Finally after the pieces where varnished we glued and screwed the chair together.  Now the chair goes into David's office and we'll see how it works out.  Needless to say I have kept the plans.  If the chair works out well maybe I'll make myself one. I have some oak left over.

  The current project is this burned wood box. I haven't figured out what I am going to do with the latch system, the hinges will be shown off.  All the wood for the project is made from the scavenged pallet. 

  A project like this uses clamps, bar clamps to edge glue the pieces together and now spring clamps adding the base plates for the hinges. It is impossible to work in a wood shop without sharp tools and bag loads of clamps.

  

  For the first time in a week the sun is shining and so I need to do some work in the yard before the weather turns rotten again.

  cheers, ianw