Charcuterie board

  My most recent project did not require much skill, just much patience. My wife asked me to make a live edge charcuterie board.  I dug around in shop and found a slice of dry rough sawn ash.

  The first stage was to attack the slab with my hand power planner and my old 3 x 21 belt sander.  Both those tools remove plenty of material and make a mind boggling amount of dust.  The air in the shop was filled with dust.  Both my sander and planner are old models without any type of integrated dust collection.  I will replace them, if they ever break down.

  Once the rough shaping was done it became a job for random orbital sanders.  First I worked with 80, then 120 then 180 grit using up several disks.  Getting the board smooth with the sander was a multi hour production.  Once I got the surface smooth (ish) I filled the smaller cracks and let it sit over night.  The next day was more sanding with 220 grit and then another hour of hand sanding with 400 and 600 grit making the surface as smooth as glass.

  To finish the edges I soaked the bark in several applications of water based sealer and then the top got three coats of hemp oil.  Each time I flooded the surface and let the oil soak in before clearing it off and rubbing it in.

  Though it is not a project that required special skills I am really happy with the results.  If I can find another slab like this I think I will do it again.

  cheers ianw.

Small Project Makes A Big Job Happen

  It has been a busy week and I've not really been very focused in my wood shop.  I got my Maxi Scooter on the road for a ride and have been spending time with family and friends.  My wife and I took a really nice day trip to St. Jacobs on the weekend and on the Holiday Monday had friends for an extended lunch. 

  I did get  serious on a project for my grand daughter, she wanted a wood unicorn puzzle. 

  She traced the unicorn and coloured it the last time she visited and I promised to cut it from wood for her next visit.  I turned out to be a bit of a who-haw.  Typically one glues a paper pattern to the wood and cuts according to the pattern.  Once the pieces are cut the paper is sanded off and the wood finished in some way.  In this case I was supposed to keep the coloured section attached to the wood.  I glued the pattern down, then glued it some more to get the loose edges, then I varnished the whole thing to support the paper while cutting.  I was mostly successful, not totally and so most of the puzzle pieces are paper covered with Clara's colouring intact.  I think we may have to scrap the paper off and paint the puzzle pieces next time around.

   Well.... I went to the back of my shop where special tools live.  My lathe is there, on wheels, as well as my second band saw on wheels, Work Sharp setup, various routers and my scroll saw.  Also, sadly the back section of the shop is were ideas are put on the shelf for later, and the shelves gets covered with saw dust.  I found the scroll saw without a problem and got the puzzle almost completely cut out, almost.  Then the blade broke and I could not find my replacement blades, I knew what I was looking for but....could not find what I needed.  I was able to finish the puzzle off with a coping saw and then I decided it was time. 

  This Friday morning I spent several hours taking everything off the shelves, vacuuming  and sorting, not only are the shelves filled with ideas, they are filled with stuff. Over the last decade I have gathered up a vast variety of mixed bits and pieces.  I have a large plastic bin filled with wooden wheels, balls, cubes and the like for making crafts projects.  I have a large plastic bin filled with vacuum bags, hoses, clamps and accessories.  There is metal locker with two shelves of screws, hinges and miscellaneous fittings.  I have a shelf, ( now ) of various bits of metal, steel, aluminium etc.  I use that sort of thing to make jigs and fixtures.

I also have dowelling jigs in boxes, tenon jigs in boxes

  The back section of the shop was appalling and the clean up was back breaking.  I found stuff that I had picked up cheap or free with no plan for its use.  Then I started on my lumber rack.  I cut up a bunch of wood for my friends fire place.  I hate to reject a piece of maple, regardless of how small but....

  And to add to the general frustration and deep sighs of the week I spend an evening taking my lathe apart so that I can replace the drive belt. I have no complaint with  the lathe, belts stretch after nearly a decade of being used and ignored in equal measure.  The supplier was prompt and ordered a belt for me the same day, the cost of the drive belt is quite reasonable all I need is to wait 'til next week. Some of those little bits of maple will get fed into the lathe and made into saw dust.

  Were you to come into my shop you could not tell what I had done.  Mostly because you could not imagine the clutter and chaos that had to be dealt with to get it is shape.  I however am please as punch with my efforts, even though it doesn't make for a sexy blog post.

  Oh, and by the way.  I found did find my scroll saw blades.

 cheers, ianw

Loom and Tool Rest

  Eva wants to weave a table runner and maybe a tapestry or two. To do that she needs a loom.  Weaving technology is ancient and practiced by most cultures around the world.   The piece of wood holding the strings up is called a heddle bar and makes passing the other thread through the warp easier. 

  I had never made a loom, and never heard of a heddle bar until I did my research.  To try this whole thing out I made a model.  This loom is six by six inches and does everything a larger loom will need to do.  I followed the instructions and got the heddle bar to work too. 

  The other small piece that I made recently is a small tool rest for my wood lathe. 

  This short tool rest allows me to work on short spindles, like two inch long spindles. I used a piece of hardwood and a short length of 1/2 inch steel tubing to make it.

  I've already used to tool rest to turn that small spindle, it will be a bottle topper once it is finished. Being able to comfortably get close to the work makes it safer and easier.

I expect that I will now make a larger loom for Eva.  Cutting and sanding all the slots on the heddle is slow work but like so many things time spend carefully preparing makes for ease of use later.

  Today it appears that the weather is going to be warm and dry so much of today's energy will be spent outside.

cheers, ianw

Four Small Turnings

These four small turning projects represent a large amount of knowledge, both new and acquired. 

  In Grade Eight Wood shop class I learned the basics of lathe turning from Mr. Petit. I think my mother still has the bowl that I turned from cedar those many long years ago.(early 1970's). The following summer I spent a month living with my Grand parents while my parents and little brother went on an epic road trip to Canada's east coast. (I just couldn't face hour after hour in our non-air-conditioned car, even then I wasn't a keen traveler).

  My Grandfather was a carpenter and he had a wood turning lathe in his garage. (that he hadn't used in some time). Grampa's lathe was used to turn ladder rungs and cant hook handles.  That summer I made several spindle projects, candle holders mostly: I think various households still have some of those projects.

  I bought my mini lathe a few years ago and have played with it on and off. I've been looking for small projects lately and having found the book recently in the library dragging the lathe back onto center stage seemed natural.

  In the last week I have made three honey dippers, two small tea light holders and a mushroom shaped weed vase.  Not to mention about five gallons of shavings. And learned several things that will make my shop time much more enjoyable.

  For example I learned how best to hold my shop vacuum in take to catch fine dust.  A solution so simple and obvious it escaped me for all these years. 

 I also learned how to sharpen my roughing gouges without any new or extra tools.  I had a cheap little low speed sharpening grinder that I bought at a wood show years ago stuck in a drawer.  The wheel is pretty course but it does run through a water bath and it runs really slowly and slowly is the critical thing.  I took my gouges, all three, all dull and coloured the bevel with marker so I could see what was being ground off while I hand held the gouge on the stone.  I guess 'real' wood turners cringe at the thought of a hand held bevel from a low grade stone, but...the chisels are now sharp and cutting smoothly. 

  

  I re-learned what I always knew but hated to admit.  Sand twice as long as planned  and give your project's finish the proper time to dry, the result will be twice as good as something rushed.

nice grain can be found in fire wood.

  You really need to take the time to change the belt ratios and speed up the spindle when polishing bee's wax.  It takes a fairly high r.p.m. to heat up pure bee's wax enough to get a nice soft sheen on the project.

I have collected bits of wood for several years and so have a source of raw materials, dry raw materials.  In May 2014 I wrote a blog about turning green wood. I am now looking to use the wood from 2014.  That there are bits of wood from that long ago hints at how cluttered my shop space can be.

  Now it is time to go back to the shop, sweep and consider how to improve the work station connected with my lathe.  There is always something.

 

  

30-Minute Woodturning-book

  Last week I picked up a book at our local library. This is an excellent little book with fine photographs and clear instructions.  While it didn't really tell me much that was new it reminded me of a number of quick, easy and satisfying small projects. 

  

  This morning I dug out a piece of maple stair tread that has been kicking around my shop and made two honey dippers.

  DIppers are left unfinished since they are left in the honey for extended periods and any finish would soak off.  This close grained maple should work well for this.

  My lathe set up is on a rolling cabinet where all the chisels and accessories are stored under neath when not needed.  After working on my lathe for a couple of years I have finally got a set up that controls the fine dust. I'd not got around to dust control because I thought it had to be an involved and complex build. silly me. Keep it Simple, Ian.

  It is amazing how often there is a simple solution when we put our minds to it.  I found the vacuum attachment in a drawer and used my biggest Jorgensen  style hand screw clamp to hold it in place.  There wasn't enough vacuum power to collect the larger chips but it sucked up the fine dust from sanding perfectly.

view from the other side.

  Yesterday to make repairs to the grand daughter clock I bought for $15.00 from the Second Hand store last year.  I needed to repair door latches and close in the back of the clock, re fit the face, adjust the feet and re-attach the hands, all small fussy jobs.  I suspect that it was a kit that someone got most of the way through and then ran out of steam, or patience.

  I need to get a battery for the works and fiddle around to get the hands and the chimes working together.  My first attempt couldn't get the chimes and the hands to agree, but I didn't give it much attention because I knew that the case work needed repair and completion and the works would be stopped while that was done.

  For my friends that commented last week.  My Mom is getting better thanks.  Last week was tense, this week less so. Thanks for caring.

cheers ianw

spring has sprung, finally.

  

In our family home.

  I haven't lived in our family home since the early 1980's but it is the place where I did much of my early wood working.  My younger brother has lived here all his life and knows no other home. I learned basic skills from my Grandfather in Bracebridge Ontario and practised and developed at home. At one point with the help from friends I built a wood shop (actually a large shed) in the back yard.  We did it all, from digging the holes for the concrete pillars to putting the shingles on the roof.  My uncle who is a licensed electrician ran one circuit from the house fuse box out to the shop. I didn't have enough juice for serious power tools, nor enough money to buy any anyway. In that shop I made many things from reclaimed wood little knowing I was years ahead of fashion, I was just too cheap and poor to waste free wood. In that shop I also cut my left index finger on a table saw, for the first time of several times.  It is amazing that I still have enough finger to play guitar.  In that shop my friends and I made home made hard cider, it was drinkable if you were a bold and tough young man. I suspect you couldn't have sold it in prison.  I also made several small clocks in the shop that when out in the world as gifts, so not all my work in those days was slap dash.

  Currently I am spending extra time around home helping out my Mother who is recovering from a broken hip.  I think this week has been the first time my brother and I have slept over in the house in thirty years.  Anyway while I am hanging out making tea and lunches for Mom I noticed two woodworking projects that I did a long time ago.

  This book case was made in the driveway one Saturday while I was a high school student. I bought the shelves pre-cut and a 2 x 6 for the vertical pieces. I knew even then that pre-formed chip board was weak and so made the design to support the shelves in the middle.   I think I has been repainted to darker colours, I suspect it was much brighter in the 70's, it was a time of vibrant colours. I know the basement has flooded at least once and the modern chip board flat pack book cases in it  suffered terribly. On the other hand this shelf sits on 2 x 6 by 4 inch legs and came through the flooding fine. This is why making things from wood is a good idea, here is a basement rec-room bookshelf that is over forty years old. (old enough that it has been through the 'flood')

  At some point the lid of our laundry hamper fell off or was knocked off by a clumsy teenage boy.  Anyway the stop gap solution was to cut out a lid from plywood, edge band the piece and stain it. 

previous related blog post.

  This was probably my first jig saw project and certainly the first time I put edge banding on anything. Again, a project from the early 1980's.  I did not expect this repair to last all these years.  It is a testimony to practical thinking on my Mother's part as well as our families love of wood grain, even plywood wood grain.

  For a while I expect my life to involve more time in our family home, more tea making and probably less time in my home shop.  Once the weather gets better maybe I will return to making things in the drive way while I am here, the shop/shed is still stands but is filled hopelessly to the rafters will years of collected stuff so working in it is not likely.

  cheers, ianw