Tea Box- Mitre Glueing

  I was puttering around in my shop the other day.  The weather has been unpredictable and there isn't really a big project on the horizon, until March or April.  So what did I do?  I did what I have done thousands of times before.  I made a box. Making boxes is a foundational skill in wood working, and that skill does not develop without practise. 

 I didn't have a  specific need in mind but there is always a use for a  tea box. It could also store coffee, cookies, or candy.

   I have collected bits of skid wood over the last couple of years and  I selected a non-descript board for this project.  Since the box was to have mitred corners I trimmed both edges of the board on the table saw with the blade tilted to 45 degrees.  My table saw is a contractor's saw, it has served me well for over 20 years and with care it will still cut accurate angles. 

  

  Once I had all the wood prepped for the sides, I used the tape and glue method for putting the box together.  I cut a bottom piece and glued it in to close the one end, then tried to figure out a lid. This works but doesn't look good, it is  top heavy and awkward.  I have since had another idea  and I will try it one of these days.

  

  For the time being I just trimmed the lid and rounded its corners.  The interesting bit of the project is the finishing.  I traced the letters onto the wood after sanding it very smooth.  When wood burning, the wood needs to be very, very smooth. 400 grit or better.  After burning the letters in I lightly tinted them with red dye. 

  After the dye was totally dry, I lightly stained the box and gave it two coats of spray varnish to protect it from finger marks.

  It is nice to have a shop in which to putter.

cheers ianw

  

Finished - Street Find

 After some gluing and sanding I drew patterns on the ends of the tote. Since is  a garden tote, one end is spring and the other fall.  I used my wood burning pens to outline the patterns, then painted them with water colour.  The  whole thing will get several coats of varnish to make it mud repellent for  work in a garden. 

  This is one of those projects that happened without purpose. it will go onto a shelf and wait to find a use someday.

Project #3 - Small Box - Making Pretty

  After making the bit bit holder I set about putting tools away and clearing off my bench.  A while ago I made a little holder for my bench in which my marking tools are stored between jobs. As you can see my pencils are in a flattened tin can. Such an ugly shame on a wood workers bench.

  The slightly improved version is a small wooden box made from scraps to hold my pencils.

  The nicer version is a small wooden box wood burned, tinted with pencil crayon and finished with spray varnish.

  A small box like this can be made from scraps laying around the shop.  I cut out the various pieces, then glued and clamped them together.  The quality of wood glue is so good now that if you have time to wait there is almost no need for pins or finishing nails.  The smoother the wood is sanded the better result achieved in wood burning so I sanded to 320 grit before drawing on my design and then burning it.

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NEWS NEWS, bad NEWs

  Yesterday when I set to work my table saw died.  I have been busy with other things today so I've not dug out the shop manual to see if there is an inline fuse or something of that sort that could have stopped my saw's motor but can be saved/reset.  If....the saw is dead.....what do I do?  What do I do? 

  I don't use my table saw very often anymore,  could I get by with a home made track saw and my band saw? I have a good circular saw with good blades and two band decent band saws.  But I have always had a table saw....is it necessary in a small hobby shop like mine?  I am filled with questions and considerations, I'll keep you posted on what I decide.

cheers, ianw

How Wooden Barrels are made.....

  There are many different wood working trades and although some of the trades' skills have fallen out of use there are still a specialised wood working skills that are interesting to me.

 For example, there are still a few highly skilled wooden boat builders left. Not everyone can afford or wants a steel boat.  There are many, many plans for small boats on the net and if you search you will find several evening's worth of entertainment watching boats built and repaired. But there are still some boat yards that will make a traditional wooden sailing boat, a boat like that must be amazing to sail upon

Wooden Boat Building

  
Another specialised wood working skill is bow making.

Making an English Bow

  I have used several different kinds of bows in my life. At one time I was a Boy Scout Competition Camp archery champion and I recognise the advantages of high tech bows, but do like the feel of a wooden long bow.  Feel and emotion are allowed to trump practicality since I don't hunt my own food.

  Another common wooden object for many hundreds of years were a wooden pulleys.

Make a block and tackle pulley

  Bellows are ornaments in most houses, if they exist at all. But once, a wood worker made bellows in all sizes for all uses, including huge bellows for forges. 

Make Your Own Bellows 

  In many cases a wood worker combined their skills with those of black smiths, rope makers, leather workers and a whole host of other skilled craftsmen to make our lives better.  

  In a world filled with mass produced, and plastic things we who are lucky enough to be wood workers should be Thankful for our work shops and our tools.

  And as almost an after thought the noble cooper.  This video is what started my mind to wander down the non-carpenter path.

Making wooden barrels 

  On a cold evening cruise around the internet to see and encourage your fellow woodworkers, young and old.

  What did I do in my shop yesterday?  I added some wood burned details to my small projects. Here is a video of a traditional style of traditional wood burning from Korea,.  I encourage you to check out the entire series of videos. I am not traditional or as artistic, but I love to play with wood.

cheers, ianw

Pocket Hole Plug Maker

  I made a step stool using Kreg pocket hole jig and wood plugs a few years ago.  Over the course of my time as a sales representative I made dozens of step stools following this pattern.

  This is the stool that lives in our kitchen and is used to reach to the back of the highest cupboards and is made from poplar with walnut wood plugs.  Kreg Company sells wood plugs in a variety of woods.  But if you are working on a project and want plugs from a type of wood not supplied you can make your own pocket hole wood plugs by following this excellent instructional video:

Pocket hole plug maker 

  As a seasonal side line I am going to take a couple of paragraphs and talk about the Rockton World's Fair.  A local fall fair in which my wife and I have entered many competitions and for which we also volunteer each year. 

  This is Eva's haul from the fair this year.  She won most points in food, as well as winning ribbons for roses and stained glass crafts.

  My winnings were more modest, but two of my wood working projects got ribbons.

  Another aspect of the fair is sponsoring events.  I sponsor five of the cookie categories and as the sponsor I get to keep the winning entries.

 So for $10.00 I get 25 first place cookies.  More cookies than will fit into my workshop cookie jar as you can see by the overflow on the plate. I encourage everyone to get connected with their local fair.  Enter, there are several hundred categories for arts and crafts, food and preserves...or sponsor an event it adds to the fun and deepens your connection to the fair.

cheers ianw

   

   

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone.

  

Its Nice to Have a Workshop.

  It is Canadian Thanksgiving this weekend and so Rockton World's Fair Weekend.  My wife and I have been entering things in fair competition for many years as well as volunteering in one way or another. My wife is a super cook/baker that wins big most years.  My efforts are much more modest.

  This year I entered a couple of drawings, some bread and a some crafts work.  I always know the fair is coming, always know what I am  planning to enter and always it is a scramble on the last couple of days to get things ready. This year we had to cannibalise some of our photograph frames to frame some grandchild art and I discovered a couple of my pieces were not standard sizes.  I had to rush down stairs and frame a painting and a wood burning project at the last minute.  I was surprised at the painting since I bought a ready stretched  canvas.  I assumed it would be a standard size with cheap framing readily available  The wood burning was a one off and so it being an odd size wasn't really a surprise. 

  But...why does this always have to be dealt with at the last minute?  Haven't I learned anything from years of going to school?  Actually I was better organised as a student.  In five years of post secondary education I never handed in an assignment late, nor had to ask for an extension. 
  

   The wood burning is on 1/4 inch Baltic birch sanded to 400 grit and then buffed clean and smooth.  The smoother the wood, the easier it is to wood burn.   I glued the picture to another larger piece of plywood and glued the oak frame onto the backing piece.

  Once I got the frame glued together I sanded the oak and then spayed two coats of varnish on the piece to protect it from smudges and finger marks.

  Included in this blog: an inspirational video.  I actually have a couple of projects on the go but one is at a boring stage and the other is a gift (secret), so my sharing is limited.

At Home in the Shop

  Get out and enjoy the weekend, come to the fair. I'm helping manage one of the car parks for a while tomorrow.

cheers, ianw