Last Project of 2022

 I hope you had a good holiday. Our's was busy, filled with music, feasting and family. I did have time for a couple of small shop things and one large project.

  For Christmas we rented a cello for our grand daughter so she won't have to carry her school cello home to practice.  She is in grade six and so only slightly bigger than the cello anyway.

  A musical instrument requires regular practice for the player to make any improvement. As a teacher I encouraged 15 minutes everyday. (knowing that once the instrument was out of the case and the student was playing 15 minutes often stretched to 30 or more) If the student didn't even want to play 15/day it meant that their interest was pretty limited. 

  To make cello practice easier I made a stand for the cello so that it could be easily at hand and enticing.

  There was no time to create an elegant stand with swooping curves and hidden joinery, this one is functional. It would look better with fine sanding and paint but....no time.  If she stays at it I will take the time to make something nicer to compliment the graceful lines of the cello.

  Oma whipped up a bow bag to hang on the stand too.  Now if our Grand daughter has a few minutes she can dash off a song since her cello is easily at hand.

  2022 has been a funny sort of year however things are improving little by little as life returns to normal (whatever that is).  I look forward to 2023 and hope you do to.

Happy Christmas and a Merry New Year.

cheers Ianw

   

  

Crossing the Rubicon - measure, shape, smooth & assemble

   We have smoothed a pre-assembled wooded box. And have decided that is not enough, now we wish to begin with a couple of boards and make out own thing. There may well be saw dust in  your blood after all.

  When you decide to make your simple project, costly and over blown measuring technology is not necessary. A ruler, metre stick or length of string will do the job for a while. I sharp pencil is useful. If you must buy something, I like a folding wooden ruler as a starting place. They are solid, low cost and no tech.

  The next step can be intimidating and/or confusing. Shaping wood can be done with dozens of different tools, similar tasks can be completed with many different tools that require different skill sets. You know the old saying 'there is more than one way to saw a board'. At this point, the beginner in a small space with a limited budget needs to basically drill holes and cut the boards to size. Nearly all wood working can be done with very basic hand tools. If you search the internet you can see excellent wood working done by people is distant countries.  However, you need to be aware they often have skills that they've developed over many years, and they are spending hours on each aspect of the task.

  I know local wood workers that do lovely work, all by hand and for them the process is where the satisfaction lay, so they're happy to spend all winter making a jewelry box. I use a mixed shop because I enjoy the process but also enjoy sharing the finished project. If you read my blog you will also see that I try to match the quality and refinement of the project to its intended use. Out door flower boxes are not a carefully crafted as jewelry boxes. Storage boxes in the basement are less refined than things featured in our living room. 

  So, this is an easy 'made from scratch' project:

 Practically speaking you buy a length of dowel or use bamboo skewers  from a craft store or a big box supplier. The square wood my be free pallet wood from behind a neighbourhood store. (with enough time and tools you can make your own dowels, if you are a purest, I guess)

  To begin your wood working journey you need to drill 8 holes and make a few cuts followed by sanding and finishing.  This stand was the prototype and so it sits on my desk, roughly sanded and unfinished. Don't fear painting wood. Not all wood grain is worth showing off.

  To drill.  A couple of generations ago you could buy a reasonably priced egg beater type hand drill

egg beater drill

  Now, this type of drill when cheap is not worth buying. There are quality drills available but...they are for serious hand tool workers, are a life time tool and cost lots of money.

  The alternative is a corded electric drill. I suggest buying one from a name brand company and a 3/8 variable speed/reversing corded drill will do most of what you want and need for a long time.  Buying a drill with a cord also means that you do not need to decide what battery system to join. I'm on my fourth battery system since beginning wood working seriously 25 year ago. A beginner, small time DIY person will do fine with a corded drill, which will last their whole life and can be had for reasonable money. Also it will be  cheaper than any brand name cordless drill.

  Once you get your drill you find that there are tonnes of specialized accessories for grinding, sanding, pumping what ever.  I used my drill with a disk sander accessory for ages before buying a dedicated sander. Again, on the internet there are many how-to videos showing tips and tricks for using your hand drill. 

Now, we've bought our drill and a small set of drill bits. The square wood needs to be cut to size, how to do that best.  For straight cuts a back saw with a mitre box is not a bad place to start.

  There are plenty of good basic hand saws for less than $50.00. These saws only cut straight lines. ( and are worth owning if you  are going to continue to play with wood) This project has no curves but the next one may be more stylish and cry out for flowing curves. I think a corded jig saw is a good place to start. A jig saw can make adequate straight cuts with care and especially can make curves and shapes. Also jig saws have many different types of blades available  designed to cut wood, metal and plastic.  While not being the very best saw for all jobs it is easily the most versatile.

  Again a jig saw with a cord will not become obsolete and will last many years and projects.

  Once everything is cut, drilled and sanded it is assembled with white glue.  Most projects do not require high tech water proof rapid setting costly glue.

  At this point  you have around $200.00 including taxes invested in your new hobby and gifts for everyone one you shopping list.   Little kids like cut out toys, (lots of curves). 

You are on your way to a rewarding and cost effective hobby. 

  What tools you need next has everything to do with what direction you want to go with your wood working projects.

 cheers ianw 

  

 

First Time Wood Working - Sanding project and tools

   Honestly many of the first wood wooding projects for my generation (60+ years old) no longer exist.  We don't need to make book ends, bird houses, storage boxes etc. they are all now readily available for reasonable prices from all sorts of retail outlets. So a person doesn't automatically end up making things from wood any longer.

  However if you like making things and aren't that keen on glue/saw dust board or plastic you may still want to make some basic things for your home space.

  Last blog I talked about how to start wood working  by beginning at the finish. (end)

  Imagine I had no tools, but liked wood more than plastic and wanted to have a slightly individual project when I was done.

   I spent $2.00 on this plywood box. To end up with a nice finished project I have to take a couple real wood working steps.

 1st- I sanded this box with 100 grit sand paper.  I sanded all the edges and corners to make the box nice to touch and reduce the chance of splinters. 

 2nd- I sanded all the edges and surfaces with 180 grit sand paper. You might not believe it but that makes the box smoother (softer) to touch.

 3rd- I sealed the wood with shellac. Any of the many sealing products could be used. I like shellac because it is quick drying, fool proof to apply and compatible when dry with just about any other type of paint, stain or varnish you may then use.

all the tools needed for this project.

  Then I used the 180 grit to lightly sand the shellac, once dry.  Our house has forced air heating...there is always fine grit in the air that settles into the finish. Next I used some water based craft to paint to colour in the box top.

  Since the box had been sealed the water paint did not blot into the wood and only one coat was necessary to get good coverage.

  Once the paint dried I but another seal coat on top just to make it more difficult for fingers to leave smudge marks.

  Doing this project will help you or your child to decide if you like the feel and smell of wood and wood dust. Rounding over edges and making the wood box gentle on your hands is a great feeling.

  This was a  'one time', project requiring two sheets of sand paper, sealer and some craft paint.  

  There are many pre assembled  wooden projects out there just waiting for you to finish them. When I was an apartment dweller I finished a couple of big items, including a television stand on a drop sheet in the living room.  Larger projects can be sanded by hand but......

A random orbital sander can make a large job, quicker and easier.  As a rule, the most expensive sanders have better dust collect, make less noise and run more smoothly.    If you find you enjoy staining, painting or other wise finishing wood projects sanders are big help with a shallow learning curve.

  A finishing sander works more slowly than a random orbital, but runs with the grain and so will not leave tiny swirls in the wood grain like a random orbital can, if you aren't careful.

  The monster of the sanding family is the BELT SANDER.  

  The belt sander can be used to remove a great deal of wood in a short time. I bought one early in my career before I had hand plane skills and flattened many board. In fact I still have that sander and occasionally still use it, though it doesn't have any dust collection  capability.  It is pretty much and out door tool now.

  I used to make cutting boards and so had a bank of sanders with ever finer grits of sand paper mounted so that I could proceed from 60 to 600 grit by switching sanders.  

  There is a fascinating world of specialty hand held sanders  as well as machines out there for all types of unusual tasks. check it out.

cheers ianw