Experiences

Here comes the stampede!

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So, what have I been up to?

I know you really hate when I start my posts with that, especially when it’s not followed by details on a trip to a hardwood store, a woodworking school or my shop. And, you are about to hate this one as well.

Again, my day job is trumping the woodworking thing. Because I work in the realm of emergency management, I have been hard at work on two major events.

First, the Republican National Convention is coming to town. OK, maybe not our town, but the town just a little bit down the road in Tampa. Just a short eighteen months ago, the Republican party awarded the big party to Tampa, and since then, we have been working hard on planning for the big event. Training classes. Meetings. Functional exercises. I have met people from all types of government organizations. And, I’m working long nights to help ensure that if anything happens, we’ll be ready to respond.

One of the things we were concerned about during the planning was the possibility of tropical weather. As if on cue, Tropical Storm Isaac has been threatening Florida and the Tampa Bay area. So, we shifted from the RNC planning to the important business of life safety, sitting in on conference calls with the National Weather Service and local emergency managers. Fortunately for us, it seems as if the storm has passed. Unfortunately for our friends in the northern Gulf of Mexico, it’s coming your way. Batten down the hatches.

Yeah, it’s been busy.

So, when things get stressful, what do I think about? My family, of course.

My bathroom project, which I did manage to finish grouting and caulking during my down time. Maybe I can get some work in on the walls while waiting for my next shift…

And my shop.

Yes, my little oasis of enjoyment, where, right now I have a pair of projects underway. One just needs to be finished, while the other one is in need of some joinery and the preparation of a few decorative panels. Pieces have been left as they were before I went of to instruct at the Emergency Management Institute, waiting for me to get back to them.

Since I am working nights, I may try to squeeze in a little time during the days. Heck, even if I just clean up the , that would be a step in the right direction! And, when I sit in long meetings about what’s happening, it doesn’t hurt to doodle out a few ideas… maybe for upcoming holiday gifts.

There is nothing like multitasking.

 

Quick Polls

Quick Poll

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Getting started in woodworking is a tricky business.  One typical route people enter woodworking is through home improvement… and many prospective woodworkers come to the table with your basic tools – a circular saw, a drill, screwdrivers – you know, those homeowner essentials.

From there, wisely adding to the tool collection is the best way to get your feet under you.

In many cases, budding woodworkers will turn to a more experienced woodworker for that advice, and the most commonly asked questions is, “What should I buy first?”

So, this week, what would you tell that new woodworker? What should be the first tool they set their shops up around?

Link of the week

Link of the week

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Bob and Dave’s Good, Fast and Cheap Bench

A workbench is an essential in a well-appointed shop. It makes both hand and power tool woodworking much easier. The only challenge? How do you build a substantial one with minimal investment in cash?

Simple. You want to check out Bob and Dave’s Good, Fast and Cheap bench. This PDF document was created a number of years ago, but features the simple steps to build a cheap yet functional workbench with simple, easily sourced materials. The building techniques couldn’t be easier, either. In fact, many of the tenons have their shoulders cut with a hand saw, with the waste split off with a mallet and chisel. Easy peasey lemon sqeezy.

Sure, it’s an older plan, and not a heavy-duty Roubo bench made out of choice hardwoods, but it will certainly give you a serviceable bench that can work in your shop for years.

 

Experiences

Another friend joins the party

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Wow.

I am just floored. When I put up my first post about my upcoming thousandth post, I had no idea about just how generous the woodworking community was going to be.

Yes, we have a new friend who has come on board to add to the cornucopia of gifts for the thousandth post entry. It’s a good thing we are at post #984 today… only 16 to go!

Legendary hand tool builder Scott Meek is offering up one of his hand-crafted plane adjustment mallets together with a $50 gift card for use on his site.

If you haven’t stopped by his site, you owe it to yourself to check out his work. I mean, wow, his wooden hand planes are pieces of art, and would be at home in any shop (yes, even someone who primarily uses power tools!).

 

Spotlight

Important People: Kari Hultman

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There have been a bunch of folks who have had a major influence on Tom’s Workbench over the past five years. I wanted to take the time to recognize a few of the folks with which the blog would have never happened.

Today, I send a shout-out to Kari Hultman of the Village Carpenter.

I first met Kari at the 2009 Woodworking in America conference in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. The funny thing is that I had met her virtually before the conference, since we had already became acquainted through Marc Spagnuolo’s Wood Whisperer site.

The one thing that stuck out about Kari when I first met her was her incredible – almost encyclopedic – knowledge of woodworking hand tools. She can pick up a hand saw and notice the smallest details about it. She gave me a primer on hand planes. She showed just about everyone up at the Hand Tool Olympics.

So, when the time came for me to buy a set of chisels, who do you think I turned to for advice? And what great advice she gave me as I went through a used set, then turned to a new and different choice. All of the time, she was there to answer questions – no matter how stupid they were (and did I ever give her a few humdingers!) She offered the same advice on my entry into carving, and has always been encouraging.

Kari shares her experience and expertise freely with the rest of the woodworking community, volunteering to teach classes at her local guild and at other locations.  She has even offered to give me a few lessons on letter carving… I hope that when we meet again in Cincinnati, I can take her up on her offer!

I can assure you that she will probably blush and will give me some grief for listing her today, but she definitely deserves all the kudos that come her way!

 

Tools

Just Try One

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If you have been a regular reader of Tom’s Workbench, you know of my legendary, epic failure in trying to assemble a square project. I mean, everything starts out straight and true. I have all kinds of clamping squares at my disposal. I know the whole make the diagonals measure up trick. Heck, I even carry my well-loved double square that I keep handy… just in case…

But, I still end up from during assemblies struggling to get things nice and square in the clamps. My problem?  I need a convenient way to measure square with one hand while adjusting clamps with the other. My combination square is great, but if you are too ‘enthusiastic’ in your handling of it, you could force the blade to unseat from the head, giving you a bad reading. Nope, I needed something fixed to a handle at a true 90 degrees.

It was then that I realized I had never – in my dozen plus years of woodworking – ever used a try square.

What a dope I am.

You see, the try square is one of those tools you can handle easily. It has a fixed blade with a handle that’s beefy enough to get a good grasp on. Slap that puppy in a corner, and you can easily see how true things are. And, if you have to mark a line across a board’s surface, heck, that’s easy as can be.

My friends over at Bora tools sent me a pair of beauties. Two of ’em.. one with a 12 inch blade, the other with an 8 inch.  The markings are etched on, making them easy to find and read. So, if you need that line to go out only four inches, bingo, you got it.  It is also etched with a number of angles on the face. Now, I have to admit that at first I was scratching my head. I mean, isn’t this just a square?

Then it hit me, the red handle on this square has a number of angles where the blade enters the body. By having one of these facets touching the board, you can get some common angle readings – 45, 22.5 and a few others. The handle also has a ledge on it, allowing you to rest the square’s handle on the face of the board, preventing it from rocking while you are trying to mark. Nifty.

While I haven’t had much woodworking time in the shop recently, I was able to use it when assembling my mom’s step stool, and, I have to admit I used it while tiling my bathroom. Nice, clearly marked lines were great to work with while on the tile saw, making my life a whole lot easier.

Oh, I’m sure I will still have my challenges while trying to make my assemblies square. After all, I’m me, right?  But, I’m hoping that by keeping the try square handy at the bench, my accuracy will improve.

 

Quick Polls

Quick Poll

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Power tools are awesome. They make so many tasks in the shop faster and easier.  From ripping boards to boring holes, there’s one to suit your needs.

However, they can cost quite a bit. There are off brands and cheaper models, but for high-end power tools, prepare to pry open your wallet to pay…

That is, of course, unless you buy a factory reconditioned tool.  These reconditioned tools are typically ones that are sold to a customer but returned because of some defect.  They are returned to the factory, rebuilt to specs and sold again.  You might be able to score a decent tool for a discount price.

However, there are some woodworkers who have had bad experiences with reconditioned tool.

This week, let us know if you have every bought a reconditioned tool and how it worked for you.

 

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