March Break in Ontario

  Last week was March Break for our school age grandchildren. After nearly two years of off and on visiting we were able to have a proper multi day visit.  When an eleven year old and a thirteen year old visit it changes the routine of the house, dramatically. In a good, though tiring way.

  Our Grandson arrived with a plan in his mind to make a Venator Class B Star Destroyer. There were pictures on the internet and that was all we had to work with.

the red cargo doors slide apart to reveal an actual 

cargo space designed as a pencil case.

Yes, this is actually a pencil case. And on the rear end

there is a small drawer for erasers and a sharpener.

  Kieran has plenty of experience making models from kits. This was the first time that a model was designed and constructed from scratch.

  We first drew up a plan.  That was a fairly involved task since the Star Destroyer was not just a skin but a three dimensional creation with usable  inner space.  

  After the drawing stage we had to decide what was made from wood, for strength and what was foam core, for lightness.

  Then, four hours of drawing, cutting and forming the pieces.  To put this together we used 5 sticks of glue in the hot glue gun, and two sheets of foam core. K did nearly all of the marking and cutting with very little help from me.  I showed him how to best use his work space, and how to cut safely with a utility knife but was mostly just there for moral support.

  Once the shell was finished the whole thing was covered in papier-mache. A day to dry and then paint, both spray paint, (his first time) and lots of poster paint details.

  My Grand daughter spend several hours making doll house furniture with Eva. They make bed and tables and lamps, the sort of thing a doll house that will be home to a family of dinosaurs

 needs.   

  Altogether a really good week's workshop time.

  My work shop is a power tool/hand tool shop. I pick the method or mix and match according to the situation. Carving spoons is a prime example of that. In my garage yesterday I found a piece of poplar under the stairs. The wood was badly cracked so only useful for firewood or...a spoon.  In this case, I split the log with a axe and mallet, then used my jointer to flatten the face, rather then doing it with a hatchet and planes. Also, I used my band  saw to cut out the rough shape of the spoon.  That is brute work with an axe so I often choose the power solution. The initial stages work well with power tools, it gets the heavy work done quickly leaving quiet hand tools to finish the spoon.

  The next stage is all hand tools. The draw knife is perfect for shaping the handle and the hooked knives hollow out the bowl.  My rasps further refine the outside outside shape. Over the course of the project I use various other shop knives but the hook knives are only used to carve spoons.

  With just a couple of hours of causal work the stout spoon is ready to be sanded. I am leaning toward stout porridge stirring spoons lately.

 

You can see that the spoon has a crack right through. A couple of treatments with CA glue and once sanded it will look fine. 

 I have had a request for salad spoon and forks. I take requests.

cheers ianw  

spring is just around the corner. sigh.

Carved Forks and Finished Spoon

 I finished a couple  for salad forks and my fancy spoon while waiting for glue to dry and dust to settle.  Also I seem to have been busy with other stuff and out of the shop for a few days.

  

  Again I used poplar for the forks. This particular piece of wood has the green and white two tone grain colour that makes poplar unpopular with furniture makers but poplar with me.  The wood has good strength and straight grain but.....the  colour is not neutral,( it even stains strangely)

  I included these forks to encourage beginners. Below are the tools that I used after the basic shape was cut out on the band saw, a coping saw would work as well, only slower.  The fancy spoon is now finish sanded and ready to be sealed. I may stain it first since it isn't really meant to  be a cooking tool just an ornament.      

 

  

The straight bladed draw knife, or push knife is another tool for quickly removing wood.  A good basic carving knife like the one in the middle would do the job too. I used two palm chisels, a straight chisel and a shallow gouge. As you can see I saved money on the knife and the gouge by buying them without handles. There is a point where the beauty of the handle is more ascetic than helpful.  The tiny palm plane is also nice to have but....not necessary, an ordinary block plane would do the work fine.   

These are my two most used hand sanding finishing tools.  Once I am done carving I do plenty of sanding.  I use 80 grit to refine shapes and work my way through to 600 grit for a touch that is silky smooth.  I used dozens of bits of sand paper about the size of a business card. The wine cork makes a good backer for sanding curves.  The other thing is a home made flap wheel using nut and bolt.  I load the bolt with pieces of sand paper and drive it with my cordless drill. 

  I haven't decided what legs to put on the plant stand.  I have a dresser that needs attention and that has taken some attention in the shop.  I've been puzzling on a sander that keeps letting the sand paper slip loose,  I've been designing and painting Easter cards for my grand kids, and so I have filled up my time, outside the shop too.  It is great to have the free time and resources to putter around with many different things.

  cheers ianw

Feb. 8th 2012 - Spoons and Spoon Hold Down

  I took a week off.  I spent part of it away from home. And then I spent a couple of days not working my my shop.  My back likes to have a few days now and then to just relax and read a book.  

  When I returned home I saw a post about a foot operated hold down for spoon carving. I had recently been fiddling with a small spoon and thought a hold down was just what I needed.

Then I remembered I had a foot operated hold down hanging on the wall.  My hold down uses rope instead of a wooden lever but it works fine and stores away in almost no space at all when not in use. Stores so well that it can be forgotten.  I need to paint it red and hang it with my other shop jigs.

 Once I  I got the spoon clamp back into action I completed the centre(walnut) spoon and the right (pine) spoon quickly.  I used my hooked knife to clean out the bowls and then basic tools and sand paper to finish the spoons.  I put hemp oil onto my finished spoons, two treatments seem good enough. These spoons are used to scoop stuff like coffee beans or oatmeal, stuff that is dry.

 The fancy spoon (bass wood)  on the left just needs finishing  work.  It was started before the Covid-19 thing when I was going to a carving club at the Ancaster Seniors Achievement Centre.  I found it, in a drawer awaiting completion. For the spoon to be useful it needs some more shaping and final sanding.  I am eagerly awaiting the reopening of clubs and social centres, and when they reopen I will start some new things.

  The other thing I am working on is an 18 inch hex topped plant stand. I opted to make the top from two pieces of Baltic birch plywood rather than solid wood. Now I am end gluing real wood all around and will then decide what to do about the top. Dark stain seems the most likely possibility.  A plant stand needs to be sturdy and low key. 

 I started carving the spoons while the glue dried on the edges.  There are quicker ways to edge this project, I am just not in a hurry right now.  I nearly always have a couple of things percolating in my shop at any one time.  That way I can distract myself enough to let the glue dry properly.

  Anyway, I am back and covered with saw dust.

 cheers, ianw

spring is coming, it was 12 Degrees on the back deck this afternoon.