If you got them, Use them-tools that is....

  Two weeks ago my wife slipped on a rock, fell and broke her right wrist. NOT a good day.  After all the fussing was over she has a cast on her arm that limits the use of her right hand. Can you tie a show lace one handed? Can you tie a shoe lace one handed with you non-dominate hand? Nay, me neither.  

   There is one of two sets of lace toggles that I made for Eva today. All she has to do is slide the laces tight and push the toggle down. No fancy finger work needed.  Toggle making can be high art, think Netsuke from Japan, mine aren't. But it might be fun to carve a version of Netsuke.

  Anyway I nipped down to my work shop to make toggles for Eva, I had done this before. When I have available tools, I avail myself of them.....all.

 To make four little wooden toggles I first found a bit of dowel in a box where I keep these little bits of wood.  Then I drilled the holes on my massive drill press. Holding the dowel in a drill press vise.( a worthwhile investment)  After the holes were drilled I used my cordless drill and a counter sink  bit to clean up the hole and make feeding the shoe lace easier.  Lastly I sanded the toggles after cutting them loose with a Japanese style handsaw.  Had I had a hand drill and a pocket knife I could have made the toggles just as effectively, but not as quickly. I do love having a work shop with all the tools. 

  Another drill press job was finishing the Quarto men. 

  Two sets, travel size.

  The day wasn't a work shop day really, it was a clean up the garage and put the motorcycle to sleep for the winter day. With all the bicycles hanging from the ceiling, and the motorcycle stowed into the corner there is room for my wife's car to get in out the the snow and ice. (maybe there won't be any snow and ice this year.)

  Here is a link to my Pinterest page showing a whole bunch of stuff to make for kids. 

                                        Kid's Stuff    

 Maybe there is an idea you can use.

 cheers, ianw

P.S. "The Hare with the Amber Eyes" by Edmund De Waal, is a book of history connected with a collection of Netsuke.  I really enjoyed reading it. 

Shoelace Stoppers

  Since I got home from the trip south I have been battling a sore throat and cough.  I am feeling sort of OK but....not 100%.  My suspicion is that it is my standard spring flu/cold, finally the weather has got good and I have been out for a couple of bike rides as well as worked a bit in the garden, so it must be spring.

I love my bike.

    Having got out for a couple of bike rides helps clear my head, but having post nasal drip and a cough has put me on pills to control the ooze.  I treat those pills the same way that I treat booze, so I have not been doing big stuff in my shop. When my mind is a bit clouded I stick to small goofy projects that I can make with hand tools.  

  Today's project is one that I had been thinking about for a while.  Like most people I have an assortment of shoes for bumbling about hearth and home and a different assortment for bumbling about in the yard.  I try to be a good guy and not mix indoor and outdoor shoes. Mostly I  remember to change shoes as I come and go.  As I hurt my back last spring sometimes getting up and down to tie and untie shoes is  a "pain", it also doesn't help that I am not a svelte 200 pounder any more.  What happens is I find myself wondering around the house in untied shoes.   Flapping shoe laces are a tripping hazard, plain and simple.

  

   My solution, required a 5/32 drill bit, a whittling knife and some pieces of 3/4 square hard wood. (in this case elm).

  

  I made two sets of lace stoppers for my in door shoes so that I don't have to hunch over and tie my shoes.    These are not replacement for a property tied shoe by any means, I expect that the shoe will loosen up as I walk but it does eliminate flapping laces and the tripping hazard they present.

  I can hear some of the serious wood workers out there sighing deeply as they head to their shops to hand cut dovetails, with one hand tied behind their back.  When I started doing wood work in my home shop I referred to myself as a wood butcher, now I feel my skills have advanced to where I am a competent  DIY wood worker.  As a DIY guy I have done a few very nice projects but mostly I work in my shop for personal satisfaction and private amusement, thus lace stoppers are a totally acceptable little project. 

   Remember any time you spend in your shop is time better spent than watching television.