Saturday, and it is hot....

  Today we are having one of the hottest days of the year so far.  We waited for it and it finally came. So, today my wife and I rode our bicycles across the city to get ice cream cones. Twenty three kilometres round trip. The ice cream was good but I melted a bit on the return leg of the trip.

  I have been doing a bit of fussing with the format of the blog, nothing obvious on the screen other than a change in font, and size.  This is an ongoing process so expect to see further changes as I try to accommodate a request for an easier to read blog.

  The wood working part of the blog has bogged down a bit.  I recently got several pieces of cherry that I plan to turn on the lathe.  I also have a couple of things slowly simmering in the back of my mind.  In this sort of weather our yard takes attention from the shop as do two wheeled pursuits, motorcycle and bicycle.  We are also looking forward to day trips and family visits. Nearly all of those things take time from the shop and put strain on my back.

  In an effort of maintain balance (or at least seek balance) in my  life the time spent bent over the work bench has been reduced.  However, I will keep you in the loop when the projects are happening.  

  This afternoon while laying on the floor recovering from a hot bike ride I did found a couple of videos I want to share.  I wrote a blog called 'Plyers or Pliers' a year ago March. And here is how pliers are made.

How its Made - Pliers

  Recently we were in Austria, and drank some wine, and a few beer too. I think many things are now made in stainless steel barrels, but time is spent in oak barrels for favouring still.

How its Made - Oak Barrels 

  Enjoy the nice weather, I hope you enjoy the videos and stay tuned for a shop stool and a jewellery box.

 cheers, ianw

All the Tools You Need ?!?

  My friend David asked me to repair a sieve that he used to sift earth he uses in his garden. He told me that it needed some serious work, I said " no sweat" .

  Truly the wood frame on the sieve was whipped, still no sweat.  I took the screening off the few bits of rotten wood and set about making a useful tool with the screen.

  All of the wood I used was laying around in my shop, old chunks of barn board mostly. What I decided was to make solid corners by adding bracing to the butt joints. Probably the screwed and glued butt joints would have been enough but while I had the project there I added the corner braces.

  Then I stapled the mesh back on and decided that I didn't like the exposed mesh on the out side of the frame.

notice the fold ruler,
old school still works

 I added an outside frame to cover the wire mesh's sharp bits.

 The photo is the hand tools that I used in this little project. I also used a joiner, a planer, a table saw and an sliding mitre saw. 

 Did I need all those tools to do this job? No. but having them at hand meant that it was a quick, easy job with good results. Since I had the tools it was easy to add the outside frame which makes the sieve a stronger and nicer tool to use.

 Since I had the tools handy I planed the wood nice and smooth, not necessary but nice none the less.

 Having clamps means that one person can work much more comfortably. It is great to have Kieran to hold things while I work but he's not always here, clamps are.

 Pliers are another of those tools I love to have easily at hand. Pulling out the old staples and trimming the wire mesh is just easier with the correct tool. 

  We know air tools are good but a quality hammer is still well worth the money. I got my Estwing hammer from an estate sale and though I have several other hammers, it is the one that I reach for first.

  I have begun using nails more and more lately for projects in soft wood or for outside. Ardox nails have good holding power and are easy to install.

  I love to be able to make things that fill a need.

cheers, ianw

Travelling Tool Kit

  In spite of the date stamp in the corner, this is a travelling tool kit I put together on Friday and used last the weekend at my kid's place.  My shop is focused on woodworking, in fact I hate nuts,bolts,screws and all types of auto mechanic sort of stuff. Surprisingly then, there are many auto mechanic type tools close at hand in my shop. This weekend passed my son-in-law and grandchildren needed an assortment of little adjustments to their bicycles, mostly aligning and tightening sorts of tasks. Somewhere in their basement are all the tools to do the job, somewhere.  It is just easier to do a job if take the tools with me I think I will need.

 Some of the tools in the bag are clearly wood shop tools, you can see on the left a pencil, folding ruler and Warrington hammer. The 3 in 1 oil fights rust on woodworking tools as well as machines. I have a spray can of a silicon cleaner lubricant and it gets used to clean woodworking machines as well as bicycles.

 Various Pliers and vise grip style pliers are used in my shop for nail pulling and basic metal forming. Linesmen's pliers are usually the first pliers I reach for, sometimes they are overkill but usually the are just what the doctor ordered.  

  In most cases I do not like multi-tools, like most compromises they don't really satisfy anyone, but...I took a Picquic screw driver. The multi bit screw driver is like the multi bit hex keys, adequate for a quick little job but would drive me crazy if I had to work with them for any length of time.

  Adjustable wrenches are like multi-tools but carrying a set of wrenches, (in Canada metric and imperial) can be literally back breaking so I opt for a "one size fits all, mostly" pair of adjustable wrenches. Since it was bicycle repair I took small wrenches.

  Rags, a tooth brush and black tape round out the kit. On something like this I know that the kids have paper towels and old tooth brushes, it is just easier to have it at hand.  I took the black tape because sometimes bicycle cables have frayed, scratchy ends and I wanted the tape available to wrap up the nasty bits so that the little guys wouldn't get poked.

  I took a shop apron with me just in case the job was going to be really greasy. Over the years I have ruined many, many shirts do "a little" job. And will probably ruin one or two more over time.

 The little, cheap canvas tool bag, that I acquired years ago and has travelled thousands of miles was money well and wisely spent. When not in use it folds flat and is stuffed into a corner in my shop.  I have a large wooden tool tote and have made a couple of smaller totes to serve particular purposes but they do take up space.

Kieran's tool box.
The copper pipe makes for a strong but small hands.

  The other thing I like about this canvas bag is that it zips firmly shut so it can be  strapped it to the back of my motorcycle seat and I needn't worry that I am losing more than my mind as I travel.

  I know that I am preaching to the choir but...how can you live a full and fulfilled life without a workshop?

 cheers, ianw