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Link of the week

Link of the week

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Wooden Boat Publications

So, maybe you are stuck in home port, preparing to ride out winter, dreaming about the warmer months.  Or, you are in the Southern Hemisphere or a more tropical clime longing to get out on the water. Perhaps in a wooden craft.

If that’s the case, you could do a whole lot worse than checking out Wooden Boat Publications.  This magazine and Internet site features wooden craft of all kinds – from handsome powered craft to breathtaking sailing boats.  There are articles on how to build, maintain and use these impressive craft, with an emphasis on material selection and building technique.

Even if you don’t like the water, this is a pretty cool site to spend some time on… and dream about the warmer days to come!

Projects

Signs, signs, everywhere there’s signs…

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How many times during the day do we rely on signs? Street signs. Store signs. Directional signs. And, is there anything more welcome than a sign pointing to the restroom when nature is calling.

Like it or not, signs are a big part of our lives. From the mundane to the fancy, the help keep us on track… even at home.

“Everyone has a street sign in front of their place,” said Tim Walter of Eagle America. “As a woodworker, you can help make something basic such as that a whole lot more interesting for your home – or for a gift recipient…” From the basic block letter sign carved into some pressure treated southern yellow pine to something fancier in a weather resistant board like teak, putting your home numbers into wood will help bring a little extra life to the front of your house and even serve as something that helps your home stand out when someone is looking for your address.

If you are only thinking about house numbers outside, you aren’t exploring all of the possibilities. “Of course, kids love personalized signs for their rooms. Think also about people who may be wine collectors, photographers, gardeners, cooks or others who would be surprised to get a sign helping them celebrate their hobby. I also hear that woodworkers sometimes enjoy signs that identify where their shops are…”

When it comes to methods for sign making, you have some choices. “If you are a power tool kinda person, you might want to take a look at the Milescraft Signmaking kit. It comes with everything you need to make beautifully lettered or numbered signs with perfect spacing. Simply rout the pattern and bingo, you are there.”

If you want a little more free form approach, you can change the router bits to give a different look , or you can pick up a copy of the book Making Wood Signs or the DVD Freehand Routed Wood Signs Made Simple to really help your imagination get running. “Vee cutting plunge bits make sharply relieved bottoms in the numbers and letters, while undercutting bits allow you to recess under the face of the characters, making them appear to be floating over the background.”

Another great way to make a sign would be to stack laminate two contrasting boards. “Say you were to cut the numbers from a lighter board with a scroll saw, then glue it to a darker board underneath… You’d have the depth and contrast that would make your sign draw a lot of attention.”

For those who are more hand tool oriented, there is the Flexcut line of carving tools. “When you are looking to carve the numbers and letters on your signs, knives, mallet tools and palm tools can help turn your design into reality.”

A sign featuring just numbers or letters could look kind of blah without something else to catch your eye. Tim told me about a number of corner rounding templates which can help you enliven a rectangular or square signs. “For ellipses or circles, we offer a our Curv Pro Circle and Oval cutting system, which easily allows you to cut those smooth curves accurately.” Designs carved into the face – whether modern and interpretive or classic – can drastically change the overall appearance of the sign.

Of course, sign edges need special treatment, and there is no limit to the options you can make with a single bit or with combination of others. Flutes, coves, beads, chamfers…. they can be combined in nearly limitless ways to personalize your creation.

And, when you proudly display your creation – or the recipient sees it for the first time – it will be easy to identify just how unique and meaningful it will be.

Tools

Meet daddy’s nemesis …

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As a fan of the James Bond series of movies (Goldfinger was my favorite movie in the franchise), I was thoroughly amused by Austin Powers, the Mike Myers spoof of the classic spy films.

One of the most memorable scenes happened after the hero Austin Powers and his partner Vanessa Kensington were captured by Dr. Evil’s minions and brought to an elaborate dinner party in Dr. Evil’s lair. In a nod to the the first movie in the Bond series, 1962’s Dr. No, Austin and Vanessa, clad in their quasi-futuristic costumes, are sat between Dr. Evil’s henchmen while Dr. Evil explains in great detail his fiendish plot to destroy the world if his demands are not met.

That’s when Dr. Evil’s son Scott enters the room from his bedroom. Dr. Evil, in a grand gesture, introduces Scott to Austin by saying, “Scott, meet daddy’s nemesis, Austin Powers.”  Scott, incredulously, asked, “And you’re feeding him?”

In my shop, there are few tools I have yet to at least have a working relationship with. Sometimes, the tracking on my band saw gets a little ‘drifty’.  Sometimes, a few of my hand planes can be finicky. But, with a little bit of time and effort, I can get them to do what I need them to do.

Then there is this.  My lock miter bit. This little router bit called to me at a woodworking show a few years back.  The slick talking exhibitor showed how useful the joint is.  How quick to cut. How easily the joint goes together.  He cut joint after joint, winking to viewers as his smooth voice lured others over.

I had to answer the siren’s call.  I dropped my money and took this miracle bit home with me anxious to make things happen.

Boy, did stuff happen.  Some head scratching.  Some grunts of frustration.  Some cursing.  And lots of wasted test boards. And, worst of all – a lot of wasted precious shop time.

I’ve used the so simple a child could do it  ‘adjust the height until the boards match up’ method, with no success.  This time, armed with the Groove Center made by Prazi, I was bound and determined to make things work out.

I followed the instructions to the letter, but still found myself scratching my head with yet another bad result.  Now, I’m sure the problem with this bit is that there’s an id10t error going on somewhere in my setup.  Maybe it’s because I’m not getting the accuracy I need in my router setup.  Maybe it’s because I’m not using the tools properly.  I’ve seen both the bit and the Groove Center work flawlessly in demos.  I just can’t make it work in my shop.

I’m sure I could continue to fiddle with this bit again and again, and maybe after a few more hours of shop time, I might be able to make one of these joints work.

But, ya know what? The heck with it. I’ve given too much to this time vampire.  For the love of Pete, I could just cut a basic miter joint and break out my biscuit jointer if I needed to reinforce it.  Or, maybe set up for a Kehoe dovetail spline or just a basic spline reinforcement if I wanted – either through the joint or hidden within.

One thing is for certain.. using this bit has been one of the most frustrating experiences I have ever had in the workshop.  I just might put this baby back into its case and set it somewhere in the back of my tool storage cabinet and keep it there for a very long time… I don’t think I’ll be feeding this one any more of my shop time.

Quick Polls

Quick Poll

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Cruddy weather today in the United States and Canada. Snow and record cold in western Europe. Yup, winter’s coming FAST in the northern hemisphere.  And, even if you are entering the Austral summer south of the Equator, you still had some chilly weather to deal with.

This week, tell us how you heat your shop.  Do you rely on using your wood scraps, a portable space heater or a whole shop setup?

[poll id=”150″]

Link of the week

Link of the week

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Wood Magazine’s holiday yard decoration plans

So, you want to make your front yard a little more festive for the holidays?  Sure, you could go and buy some of those fancy 3-D looking lighted decorations, but why not do the job yourself?

At this site, you can find the collection of holiday yard plans designed by the folks over at Wood magazine. From leaping reindeer to delicate snowflakes, each of these plans comes with a .pdf of the full size design, so all you’ll have to do is print out the design, lay it on a sheet of plywood or, for the smaller designs, some project wood, and get to cutting.

What a great way to show off your woodworking skills and bring some festive spirit to your neighborhood.

Shop Talk

“That is one awesome axe…”

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One of the things I enjoy most about woodworking is the wide variety of specialties you can drill into.

Do you like carving? You can do chip carving, power carving, relief carving, carving in the round…

Cabinetmaking? Build a set of kitchen cabinets, a freestanding pantry, an elegant home library…

And, then you could become an instrument maker. While brass and woodwind instruments require metalworking know-how, luthiers can build some incredible pieces from wood.

No, luthier doesn’t mean that you are more luthy than someone else… A luthier is someone who builds stringed instruments. Guitars, ukuleles, violins… the works.

“We get lots of requests from luthiers of all levels of experience,” said Eric Poirier of Bell Forest Products. “You’ll see people just starting out who want to build a solid body electric guitar to those who craft playable works of art.”

While cellos, dulcimers and harps are interesting projects, nothing can compete with guitars for popularity. “Electric, acoustic, bass… so many woodworkers who are musicians – or know someone who is – want to build one of these iconic instruments.”

When it comes to building an instrument – especially a stringed instrument – many design and structural elements need to be taken into consideration. “A properly tuned guitar or bass guitar puts tremendous strain on the neck and the body of the instrument. When planning on building one, you need clear stock of significant strength to prevent warping and possible cracks down the road.” That’s why Bell offers guitar neck blanks of maple, mahogany or Indian rosewood. Equal parts beauty and strength, these neck blanks can make an awesome through-neck or bolt-on neck guitar.

On the face of the neck, luthiers frequently apply a fretboard to the instrument.  “The fretboard is another critical part of the instrument.  It has to hold the fret wire – if you are building a fretted instrument – and resist abrasion from the strings as they are held down to make notes.”  The fretboard offerings by bell come in a selection of beautifully sawn exotic and domestic species, ready to make a statement on the instrument.

And, when it comes to guitar body materials, just about anything goes. “Luthiers making solid body electric guitars and basses can let their imaginations run wild for the body.  For those making hollow body models, a strong, light wood that can be readily resawn into thinner strips for bending is the way to go.”

Ultimately, the skill of the luthier is what’s on show when an instrument is played. “Your first guitar will take you a whole lot longer than you realized because the work is exacting.  But, once you get the hang if it, you’ll get into the flow of things.” Eric added, “Besides, when you are learning how to play, everyone will forgive your fumble fingers and stare in amazement at your beautiful axe!”

Tools

Happy Birthday to me!

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This past Friday, I celebrated my birthday.  Which one?  Let’s just say I know the answer to the question of life, the universe and everything. I spent a very enjoyable day at work, where I was feted with bagels, donuts and other morning goodies by my coworkers, and then I came home to get ready for a special dinner out with my family.

While the time with my family was certainly the main thing to celebrate on my special day, I was especially eager to open my birthday presents…

My wife and sons gave me this sweet set of Narex  mortise chisels.  This things are very substantially built with heavy duty handles and some beefy blades with very thick irons.  This is – of course – is because these babies are never babied like you might do with a set of bench chisels or certainly would do with a set of paring chisels.  They are meant to be driven with a wooden mallet to excavate deep mortises.  I have got to get out the sharpening equipment and hone them all to a very fine edge, and that will certainly be happening this week.  I just have to ensure I get a night or two of shop time.

This is a universal router bushing set from Ridgid for my Freud FT 1700 combo base router. While my DeWalt setup has a standard Porter-Cable baseplate, the Freud has a more unique proprietary set up which, of course, I can’t find. This kit, however, allows me to drill a new baseplate  to accept these standard model bushings.  It’s funny, but these bushings can make help me make an easy mortising jig that works on my plunge router… I wonder if I’ll be needing to do that as much with my new mortising chisel?

There was also my cake… my absolute favorite kind of cake of all times. Trust me.. if you haven’t tasted one, you owe it to yourself if you get the opportunity.

I also got a few birthday checks from relatives… and I’m starting to wonder what I can use the funds to purchase.  I think I will hold off until after Christmas… I’m not 100% sure what Santa’s going to bring, but I’ve been a very VERY good boy this year!