The weekly plan

Popular Mechanic’s Grill Cart

So, here in the United States, we’re getting ready to celebrate a long Independence Day weekend. Our friends in Canada will be celebrating Canada Day on July 1. And, everyone north of the equator is moving their food preparation to the great outdoors to enjoy some quality outdoor grilling time.

Popular Mechanics Grill Cart

Without the handy conveniences of kitchen countertops nearby, having a solid work surface to prep your food and hold your ingredients and tools is a must. That’s what makes today’s plan so darned cool. Offered by Popular Mechanics, the cart gives plenty of room to make your outdoor grilling experience a fun and convenient one.

Now, get out there and become the master of your grill.

 

 

Link of the week

Morgan Motor Company

At one time, just about every single car that was on the road had at least a wooden frame to handle the load of the car’s components. It was a holdover from the days when wooden carriage makers got into the new world of car building.

A wooden Morgan frame takes shape

Today, there is still a company that builds its cars with wooden frames. The Morgan Motor Company in the United Kingdom still sources ash for the frame components due to its strength and flexibility.

While most of us may never be able to afford a Morgan, the thought that these beautifully crafted cars are out there made in a very traditional way is enough to warm the heart of any woodworker.

Hey, it’s Leon!

No, it’s not former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta…

CIA Director Leon Panetta testifies in WashingtonNor is it famous Communist mover and shaker Leon Trotsky. Trotsky_PortraitIt’s not even former heavyweight boxing champion Leon Spinks…
spinksAlthough, wow, that giant toothless grin really speaks volumes…

No, today is June 25.  Yes, the 25th day of the sixth month of the year. What happens on the 25th day of the twelfth month? You got it. Noel – also known as Christmas. (Just where did the first half of 2014 get off to?) This, of course, also means that Hanukkah and Kwanzaa, along with every other winter holiday – is about six months away as well.

Which means – you guessed it – it’s time to start the process of thinking about building holiday gifts.

Now, I’m sure that most of us are probably thinking about summer vacations, but it’s my duty to remind you that – for many of us – our productive shop season is when the temperatures are warm and comfortable. When we have time to look at and evaluate dozens of potential plans. When we have the time to order not only the lumber for our gifts, but the appropriate hardware and tooling we are going to need to complete the job.

Maybe even it’s a good time to develop those necessary skills that we are going to need to call upon at the last possible minute to pull the holiday miracle out of our hats.

Well, my promise to you is that I will be holding the second annual Last Minute Elf week from December 7 through 13 this year, and I hope that this year’s event will be bigger than last year’s.

For now, however, why not take a look at the entries from last year’s Last Minute Elf entries to get some good ideas of projects and finishes you might want to try in your shop this year.

You know, to get ahead of the massive holiday rush, before it rolls up on you.

Until then, Happy Leon, everyone!

The weekly plan

Wood Magazine’s Planter Box and Trellis

Summer is here in the northern hemisphere, and now is the time for everything to be lush, green and in bloom. It’s the time for those of us who live in more northern climes to forget about the seemingly never ending blizzards and ice storms and focus on enjoying the great outdoors.

Ooooh!  Pretty planter

What better way to enjoy the great outdoors than to do a little gardening? Today’s plan is from Wood Magazine, and it’s great one for those with a green thumb in your lives.

The planter can be built as is, or you can also add the handsome trellis made of wood and common copper water pipe to snazz things up and provide a great surface for climbing plants to grab on to.

Best of all, the plan is free…

Link of the week

Erik Originals

Many of us have had challenges to overcome when we got into woodworking. For some, it’s a total lack of exposure to the craft when we were growing up. For others, it might be a financial or space restriction…

An intricate horse Erik cut out

Then there is Erik Warren. This guy picked up scroll sawing about 20 years ago, and is creating some incredibly intricate pieces of art in his shop. And, he’s doing all of this despite being diagnosed as autistic.

Erik’s site not only showcases the many religious, collegiate and natural pieces he has scrolled, but also offers links to information about this disorder – and a ton of articles written about him in the press.

Definitely a must-see site!

I’m such a luger…

Sure, the Winter Olympic games in Sochi, Russia ended four months ago, but that doesn’t mean I still don’t groove on the whole winter sports thing. In fact, a recent safety purchase I recently made has me thinking about one of the most death-defying sports of the entire spectacle – the luge.

A luge mask

You remember the luge, don’t you? The sport where male or female drivers sit on an unnervingly small sled and side down a twisting course at breakneck speeds while wearing spandex and just a tiny helmet? Oh, and on that tiny helmet, they have a very futuristic looking visor that helps improve their aerodynamics and keeps the wind off their faces.

It's the mask!

Well, this past Father’s Day, my wife and sons presented me with a Full Face Safety Visor from Infinity Cutting Tools, and I think I may finally be in love with my eye protection. This baby is something else. Traditionally, full face safety shields have been standard issue for turners for years, but they have normally been held on the head by means of a headband, making them a little uncomfortable to wear.

Not this. It’s a lightweight design that is held on through a pair of standard ear arms like you would find on a normal pair of glasses. Oh, did I mention glasses, as in I can wear my prescription glasses under the visor while in the shop? Or a dust mask as well?

Coated with an anti-fog layer, I have yet to get these babies to fog up. And, that’s with me panting in my hot Florida shop, which normally has my regular safety glasses totally hazed over.

I really like how they don’t affect my vision at all. I can look anywhere and there’s no distortion whatsoever. They also protect my entire face, so there’s less of a chance of me catching something in the chin or a cheek, causing a disfiguring accident. Hey, I don’t get paid at work for my good looks, so I need all the help I can get!

I’d be lying if I said I never saw these before. Just this past March, my son Steven wore a set of them while turning his first pen. So, he was definitely feeling the love back then. I was intrigued back at the Tampa Fairgrounds, and I’m glad I have my very own for woodworking.

Peeking out the microfiber bag

Another great thing about this visor is that it comes with a microfiber cloth bag to store it in. This helps keep the surface from getting scratched up, but also serves as a great cleaning cloth in case I get finger smudges on it.

Simple to use. Lightweight. Full face protection. I may look like a luger, but this visor makes me feel like a big time winner, baby!

I’m stumped

I’m not sure why, but for some strange reason, I’m sitting here, totally stumped, grabbing for a topic that could work for today’s post. That’s disturbing, because this rarely happens to me. Inspiration normally hits like a bolt of lightning and I start to write.

But, not today.

And, that’s fine. Because the bolt of lightning that hit me deals with a part of the tree we don’t normally think about. The stump.

a tree stumpI mean tree stumps get no respect. They are that umbilical stub the tree maintains to the ground. They stay behind, witness to the tree that once grew there.

A stump grinder in action

If we remove a tree from our yard, we might leave the stump there, or hire someone to grind the stump out of the ground.  We might pour a chemical on the stump to make it rot faster, or we can hook it to a truck and yank it out of the ground.

politician giving a stump speech

Sure, we talk a lot about stumps. Someone can be as dumb as one. Politicians deliver stump speeches. In the game of cricket, the stump is the set of stakes that form ‘home base’ that the batter defends.

We might not think that these things are important to woodworking, but you’d be wrong. In the world of veneers, prized logs are harvested and nothing is allowed to go to waste. That includes the wild grains found at the stumps of these trees.

A beautiful burl from a stump

Another thing I have seen done with stumps (or taller trunks that are still attached to the stumps) are some tremendous carvings. When a live oak tree in Largo Central Park in my fair city died, rather than tear the whole thing down and mulch it, the city allowed local wood carver Bob Marek the opportunity to re-imagine the tree, and turn it into a work of art. The sculpture still adorns the main park green, and is a highlight of any visit there.

The carved tree

Another thing that stumps are good for is a game of skill called Stumps. I could try to explain it to you, but you probably want to read the rules here.

Stump toss

So, the next time you see a lowly tree stump, show it a little respect. It did a lot of really hard work, and isn’t totally worthless…

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