Woodcarving Safety Idea

  Yesterday my wife and I were in a 'big box store' looking for a replacement florescent lighting tube.  We didn't get one, it would seem the size and type we need are back ordered. (deep sigh). However I was able to buy two pairs of workshop gloves for $1.00 each. 

 Gloves like these are usually for painting, staining and mucking about in the garden. Why did I buy them, because I modify gloves like this as safety equipment when wood carving.

 You can see my left, or holding glove has leather guards on the thumb and fore finger, while the right thumb is protected.  The leather finger tips are something I picked up a few years ago but didn't like them initially. The guards seemed to be made for someone with cartoonishly  large hands.  After a while I thought of this solution.  I glue the guards onto gloves like this with rubber cement and it lasts for hours and hours of carving.

 The gloves this pair are replacing were worn out, the elastic in the cuffs was done and I had duct tape re-enforcing holes where knuckles were peaking out.  I also use these gloves when I have small pieces to form on the belt or disk sander and occasionally... oops, you know the drill if you use a bench top sander.  

  I find that this a a super cost effective way to make my workshop experience safer and less stressful.

cheers ianw

a pretty winter picture

 

New Year, old projects.

   Often I start small projects either as a simple distraction or a prototype.  Sitting on the edge of my work space were two such projects.

 This box was built ages ago and has sat around, for a while filled with cough drops. I finally finished it.  It now has an incised and painted top. It will not hold cough candies and better than before, but now it looks to be a finished project.  I have a small set of basic palm style carving chisels that were used to shape the pansy. I've used these chisels from early in my wood working days to add a little something... I used shallow gauges because they are easier to sharpen and palm chisels I find them easier to control.

  Another little project that sat staring at me for months and months was a sea serpent.

  Head, tail and one hump were finished months ago.  Yesterday I polished off the other hump, then waxed and polished the whole thing.  This guy was inspired by a neighbour's lawn ornament. I have no idea what kind of wood this is, it is fairly hard and close grained. 

  One of the first tools I bought for my original shop was a scroll saw.

This is the photo showing the pattern, the one I made got sent away before I took a photo.

  This went to a young member of the extended family.  I made lots of these easy puzzles 9-10 years ago for Grand kids.  I enjoy scroll saw work though I never became truly expert.  Check out some of these projects. I am always impressed by the results some people can get with talent and practise.

  And, while I was waiting for glue to dry:

another spoon, for loose tea.  I think is is cedar, it was very, very dry and so not really  good wood for carving, but it was truly just a thing to do while I was listening to a pod cast. 

  It is nice to clear away things that have drifted to the margins.  I have some more cleaning and organizing to do, no doubt I will be reminded of others things to finish.

  Stay Warm,

cheers ianw

 

Scarf Rack, experimental stained oak project

 

Hidden in the back of our downstairs closet is a rack/holder just I made for my winter scarves. The project is incidental I wanted to try a new finish.

I laid out a small rack I planed to attach in the closet with screws,

  To make cutting the openings easier I drilled holes before cutting the material away with my band saw.  The top photo shows the colour of the re-claimed wood.

  This is the oak once it was sanded and assembled. The wood was oak trim from an old house, the best guess was the trim was put in the house in the 1930's. The latest home owner was renewing the place totally and was giving away the trim.

  This is actually why the project was done. I wanted to see how easy to apply and what results wood come from using water based stain.

  I am very please with the resulting colour.  I mixed the staining powder in water, slopped it on vigorously.  It spread evenly and dried quickly.  After two costs of shellac with  a light sanding in between coats the result is good. A further bonus is Homestead House is a local company, I've used their Hemp Oil finish for a long time on my cutting boards.

  I look forward to using this stain again and trying other colours in the future. 

cheers, ianw

 

Hole Saws and a Knife.

   First things first. Happy New Year.  I hope that everyone will have a healthy and happy year. It appears that 2022 will be a challenge, but...we hope not as big a challenge as 2021 was.

  So, I made this adjustable desk light awhile ago ( April 2016) and it has sat on my desk since then, with out the shade.  My ire is slow to rise but...even I get tired of having the glare of a bare bulb in my eyes, it just takes some time.  Once I decided something needed to be done it was a case of taking the lamp to the shop and getting on with it.  Also the pill bottle came available at the right moment too. The neck of the bottle was too large to fit tightly on the light socket, so I needed a collar to fit the light and large enough to fit the bottle. 

  I have a hole saw set  

by Bosch that I have turned to many times in the shop. This time I cut the small hole and then cut the larger hole out around the smaller hole giving me a wooden collar that fit the lamp and the shade.  This was one of those jobs that having the right tool took minutes, and now the glare from my desk lamp is gone, it only took 5 1/2 years.

  The other job was mostly  a nostalgia thing.  In my Grandfather's workshop was a very very sharp light duty shop knife.  I can still see it above the bench and it was only used for cutting string, paper wrapping, canvas etc.  Grampa told me that it was a straight razor blade that he had put a handle on.  There were other shop knives for other things but the Razor Knife was always present when a very sharp blade was needed.

  Recently a niece and nephew, learning of my thing for blades gave me a very old straight razor he had bought from a bin at a outdoor gear show. Liked this one: 

  The handle was yellow plastic and cracked but the blade was still 'razor' sharp.  I made the handle from three slices of wood and cut the shape of the blade out of the middle slice before using epoxy to glue the slices together.

  I did line up the one hole in the blade when gluing the sides on, but with the epoxy and the tight fit it wasn't really necessary.

  I have no idea what the dark wood is, I scrounged it from a packing case from Chile years ago when I sold tools. It was really nice to work with, and I have one knife's worth of wood left. 

   Once I got the handle on the knife I set about re-discovering the uses of a razor knife.  It is sharp, holly cow is it sharp!  The blade is also pretty soft and prone to curl over after very little use.  It is great for cutting leather, string, paper patterns etc. just like Grampa's knife. I have a leather strop and it straightens out the blade and makes it really sharp again. If you are old enough you remember barbers using a lather strop to sharpen their razors, they got about one use from the razor before it needed a quick touch up on the strop.  As long as I don't abuse this razor knife I expect it to stay sharp and useful for life.

  I'm  including a link to a video of a fellow stropping his knife, in case you are not aware of stropping your blades, it is a cheap and easy way to keep your blades sharp.

 cheers ianw