Merry Christmas 2020

   For only the second time in my long life I have not shared a meal with my Mother and Brother on Christmas Day.  The only other time Eva and I were in New Zealand on holiday. Fresh local strawberries are traditional on Christmas day there.  This year it is Eva and I. No extended family, I am lucky to have Eva with which to share the day.

  This year we are in lock-down because of Covid-19, however, everyone in our extended family has remained healthy and almost fully employed so in the grand scheme of things we are Okay.  I truly hope that you are too.

  I have been working on some small seasonal things over the last week or two.  This is a candle holder idea.  The bottle is used as a chimney to protect the tea light flame.  As a prototype it is clear that the wooden backing needs to be reduced in size. 

  

  In the back of the photograph you can see last year's nut cracker and a carved bowl.  It is pretty tough to find a view in our house with no shop projects in the frame.

about 2 x 4 inches

  Two small scroll saw/carving projects, awaiting varnish.

If you are hot chocolate drinker, a serious, old school hot chocolate drinker you know what this is.  I turned this hand mixer from hard maple and burned a few lines into the handle just for fun.  Used correctly, with the right rich creamy ingredients your hot chocolate tastes like a holiday in Barcelona. ( note: hot chocolate, not cocoa.)

  Two bowls, the tall narrow one is from wormy wood. It was fun to turn on a face plate but tough to finish since it has voids. 

  This bowl is still on the lathe, I am trying to fill all the voids on this one before final sanding.  It is taking time,

  It has been a busy December what with shop things, binding books, painting Christmas cards and searching for the perfect surprise gift.  

  We all look forward to the New Year with bated breath.  Please be wise, be safe and be kind.

Merry Christmas from Eva and I.

cheers ianw 

wheel barrow - done

 This was a workshop repair in which I defaulted to Plan "B" as the full details emerged. My original plan had been to take the whole thing apart and replace all the wooden parts.  Our storage situation means that this wheel barrow has lived outside, more or less unprotected for the last 10 years.  We were also neglectful of the wood.  If we had scraped and painted the wooden parts occasionally replacement would not have had to be considered.

  Plan B emerged after I had glued up and shaped the wooded replacement parts. ( I now have two 5 foot 2 x 2 s , I will find a use for them eventually.)  Closer examination made it obvious that all the hardware would have to be cut off and then it  looked as though reattaching the tub would become too difficult to be practical. It looked as though welding might become necessary. Next I considered replacing the metal tub with an open wooden body like you see in old farm photos. Basically building  a new old style wheel barrow around the wheel.

 

  But barrows like that are top heavy and would need more paint not less to keep it looking good. It also looked like there would be more work than the result was worth.

  So I opted to make basic repairs instead of major rebuilding.  The problem that set this project in motion was the rotting of the wood at the front end of the wheel barrow.  Both sides rotted and the bolts came free.  The black bracket at the front of the barrow keeps the frame from separating and the axle coming loose.  Since I cut the rotten ends off and re-drilled for the bracket I had to also cut out some of the bracket to leave space for the wheel to freely turn.  I seem to need my angle grinder more and more often. 

 I soaked the wooden handles in a couple of coats of left over oil based stain to try and cheaply seal the wood and then painted it with outdoor trim paint. 

I will paint the inside of the tub in the spring when I can wash it out, outside with the garden hose.

You can see that I added from re-enforcement wood under the tub, on both sides. There are boards there to keep the tub level and aligned between the handles. That wood was also in rough shape.  The tub is bolted through the handle and the additional wood providing alignment, cutting the bolts was going to be easy, getting it all connected together again didn't look as though it was going to be so easy.

  Option "B" was not a coward's way out.  I rather think of it as choosing which fights I want/need to fight and to which avoid.  Now I can get that big thing off my bench and return to Christmas sized projects. 

cheers, ianw

Christmas Gifts

 

 This is some of the typical seasonal stuff that I make in my shop.  Many people I know like wood grain and slightly rustic decor items.  The only special tool that you need for this sort of thing is a Forstner bit of the correct size.  It is nice to have a drill press too when drilling those big holes.  I buy my candles at the $ Store and drill the holes to fit.

  

  A quick project for our basement bathroom.  I used scraps and left overs to make the bathroom tissue holder. I doubt that there are many bathrooms with elm paper holders. Glue and dowels,  so when the floor is flooded by a grand kid nothing will rust.

  The joy of doing a project like the paper holder was working the wood with my planes.  I have a scrub plane, a plane I recommend for all shops and two smoothing planes.  The plane at the bottom of the picture is a A 33 Stanley,  copy by Anant from India.  I have been happy with my Anant planes for the price, very happy. The top plane in the photo is my low angle smoother from Veritas.  It was a Christmas gift a couple of years ago.  Properly set up and sharpened those planes are wonderful to use.

  I am still working on the wheel barrow.  Once I got the handles glued and shaped I discovered I was not going to be able to undue most of the nuts and bolts without serious violence.  Also I was pretty sure that I would need to do more metal work than I like or have the proper tools for.  It is always good to have a plan "B".

  Tomorrow sees more of plan"B" in action.

  IMO this is a great year for personal, homemade gifts.  We all need some extra encouragement this year.

cheers, ianw

  

Shop Knives -Pt. One- Apron and Utility Knives

   I could easily do a 12 knives of Christmas series of blogs.  May 2017 featured a photo of my pocket knife collection (http://blogthetoolstore.blogspot.com/2017/05/folding-andor-pocket-knives.html)  At times I have also talked about various shop knives, which are also many.  Shop knives often serve for me the purpose other woodworkers assign to chisels.  Even when I am wood carving, I am much more likely to reach for a knife than a chisel.

   These are my apron knives.  You can see a lanyard attached to each knife that is tied to a shop apron, usually. Often I have a folding knife in my pocket but these two knives are not only very sharp, the blades are extra robust so can stand up to prying and twisting that a typical pocket knife may not survive.  I do not abuse my tools, but they are worked hard.  Both of these knives have blades that can be resharpened without to much trouble and so far neither is chipped from hard use. 

  

  The top knife is a Japanese style knife which I find quite versatile for marking as well as making fine adjustments when working small projects. 

  The bottom knife is ???? but really heavy duty.  I think it's proper use is as an electrician's wire stripper knife, I don't do that but It is also good for splitting off bits when getting ready to turn something on the lathe.  The spine of these knives will withstand being struck with a mallet.

 I have a 600 grit ceramic stone and a strop close at hand and so regularly touch up these blades. Commonly when I  stop to rest, drink coffee or make a plan I will pick up  a sharpening stone or strop and give an edge tool some attention.  For me dealing with edge tools a little bit at a time is less tiresome than spending all afternoon sharpening everything.  Also it means almost never reaching for an edge tool: plane, knife or chisel that is not ready for use.

  

  These are the knives that take the most abuse.  I use these to cut plastic, dry wall, foam core, card board, insulation and all the other stuff that is just brutal on a real knife. These are also the blade that digs out dried paint and muck from screw heads.  I like the heavier handles of these knives vs. the sliding blade type of knife.  The replaceable  blades can also be touched up a bit on the ceramic stone though it usually isn't worth the effort.  I have two because, if I only had one I would spend too much time looking for it.  These knives have a place in my tool cabinet but seem to prefer laying out on the bench.   

  The lost couple of project have been knocking Christmas decorations into shape so they can be put out for the season.  After  hours of fun I think we have the light situation in hand and today we had to shovel snow for the first time.  The winter season has arrived. sigh.

cheers, ianw