Time to be fair. Harbor Freight's turning chisels probably wouldn't have bent and broken as shown in the previous entry if I had the experience to know that:

• They were not sharpened properly- The tools had several angles ground into them creating a convex shape. Properly sharpened tools are straight or concave (slightly hollow). This allows proper use of the bevel when cutting.
• I was applying the tool incorrectly- I did not use the tools properly because from the beginning they were not ground properly (see above). So when I was attempting to sharpen them, I was not achieving anything other than to duplicate the way they arrived. This led to me failing to "ride the bevel". I was using all the tools as scrapers instead of cutting tools. That led to catches, shattering handles, bent tools, etc.
  

I really wish I had taken pics of the tool tips as they arrived. But these being my first set of tools, I had no idea they were anything other than acceptable.

Watching some video and reading some books led me to my first revelation: Sharpening. I was sharpening the tools very poorly, adding facets and a convex shape to the bevel. A very quick and dirty jig for my grinder changed that.

It's made from 3/4 MDF, glue and screws. The angle of the bed is easily adjustable by loosening a screw and moving the bed. A protractor of some kind is still needed to get any repeatability, but I find that setting the bed with the tool against the stone works as long as the bevel angle is trustworthy.

Light touches, and a cup of water nearby keep from blueing the carbon steel. I have in my budget to buy proper tools soon made from HSS and much more substantial than these flimsy little guys.

My second revelation came when I discovered cutting angles. Having the tool at right angles to the spinning workpiece is rarely the proper orientation. I found that cutting from side to side makes a world of difference. As does riding the bevel. The wood practically just falls off the workpiece when I find the sweet angle for that cut.

I'm still learning and making mistakes. That's cool. I'm having a blast anyway!

Here are a couple things that have come off my lathe:

The mug in the rear is made of laminated maple. That was done purely with my poor sharpening and tool control techniques. Good results, but took way longer than it should have.

The mug in the front is padauk and some kind of yellow wood veneer between the laminated layers. I started it with the poor technique, with it taking even longer than the maple one due to padauk's toughness. But the lessons learned were applied to it at the end, and even the padauk came slicing off with ease using properly sharpened tools and good technique.

The tool handle is cocobolo. Talk about a difficult wood to cut. I was at the grinder ever 2 minutes or so. The coco would dull the tools faster than anything I've cut so far. But it has an amazing grain and looks outstanding.

The play between the sapwood and heartwood is beautiful. The photos don't really do it justice, which is too bad. It is finished with just beeswax applied on the lathe. The ferrule is just a copper 3/4" plumbing coupler from Lowe's. 75c each. I ground it down a bit shorter than it was originally. I still need to polish it. The thing is just stuck on there for now to get a feel for how it will look completed. I added the little details at the front of the handle to give me a tactile warning when I'm choking up really high. Keeps me from having to look at my hands when turning, I know exactly where they are now.

I haven't decided which turning chisel to award this beauty to.

The practice knot I carved when I started this project has a rounded look, like rope, but I tried something different with the final cross. Instead of creating rounded edges, they're chamfered, and I think it looks a lot nicer. (It's also a faster and easier technique.)

I used a gouge to chamfer the inside curves and cleaned them up with a small round file. All straight edges and outside curves were chamfered with a straight chisel.

Just another option if you plan to try this type of carving.

It's time for Jig of the Month!  And this month we're building a simplified shooting board based on the one I saw in David Charlesworth's "Shooting Simplified" DVD from Lie-Nielsen.

Nothing fancy, just cabinet grade plywood for a base and some scrap hardwood from the bin.  Since I already had these all laying around anyways it cost me little to nothing to build and it only took an hour or two to complete.

The video of the construction will be released shortly, it's a big file so I'm breaking it into 2 or 3 parts for easier downloading.  Hope you enjoy and make one for yourself. 

Oh and by the way...congrats to our 3 winners this week of ZEM hearing in honor of our 300th episode!

Don't forget!! Hendrik is back in September so get your questions in for our open Q&A session.  

If you'd like to enter for free schwag or just have a comment, question or suggestion drop me a line at mattsbasementworkshop@gmail.com or  head over to my website at 231 354-2338.

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Recently, Gazebo can be applicated as :

• Decorating of the house yard
• Placed in the edge of the pools as a relaxing place
• Placed in the house yard or garden
• Placed in the backyard or terrace at the back house

この六角形のスツール、ものづくり研究会の２年生・横井敦史君がデザイン、制作し、JR岐阜駅内のカルチャースクールへ納めたものです。森林文化アカデミーでは、こうして実社会からの依頼を受けてクラフトや家具をデザインしたり、制作する実習があります。「プロジェクト」と呼んでいます。
カルチャースクール「TAKUMIアカデミー」から、スツールを新調したいとご相談をいただいたのは去年の暮れ。学生に呼びかけたところ横井君が名乗り出て、プロジェクトとして実施することになりました。写真は２種類の試作品を持参して、TAKUMIアカデミーのスタッフと打ち合わせをしているところです。
Atsushi Yokoi, a student at the Craft and Furniture Department designed and made those stools for an adult education centre in Gifu. We often take such 'real' commissions from public and private clients. We call it 'projects'.
The Takumi Academy , the adult education centre, contacted us last winter to discuss about their renewal of stools. Atsushi applied to the project and submitted a couple of new stool designs. The photo shows his presentation to Takumi Academy staffs with two prototypes of the stool.

デザインのコンセプトは、岐阜の山で採れた小径の間伐材を生かすこと。
幅の狭い部材を組み合わせているのはそのためです。材も５種類を使っています。
The concept of the stool is to make the most of small diameter logs in local forest.
The hexagonal seat is made of small pieces of five different species.

制作は、飛騨の家具会社であり教育機関でもある「森林たくみ塾」で行いました。横井君が自らたくみ塾へ行き、スタッフの指導を受けながら制作しました。
森林文化アカデミーでは、こうして民間の工房や会社での体験就業を実習として行っています。「インターンシップ」と呼んでいます。
Atsushi then went to the Shinrin-Takumijuku, a furniture workshop cum educational institution in Hida. We encourage students to go out of the college and have work experience as an intern.


１ヶ月かけて制作、納品したのは２５脚。さっそくTAKUMIアカデミーの教室で使われ、大好評でした。いままでの合板の椅子に比べ、無垢の座面はやわらかく、座り心地がいいのです。
いわば産学協同プロジェクト。これからもいいものを生み出して行こうと思います。
Atsushi spent a month in Hida and finished 25 stools. They were delivered to the Takumi Academy early this month. They were very well received among the staffs and students there. The solid wood seat is soft and comfortable compared to the former plywood stools.
We want to produce good crafts and furniture through such industry-university cooperation projects.

Not only is freehand chamfering easy as we described on Monday, but freehanding a roundover is quick and easy too.

The technique is quick and simple to learn, and with a little practice your roundovers can look as good or even better than those you can make with your router.

Comments, questions, feedback and schwag entries can be sent to mattsbasementworkshop@gmail.com .

It’s no secret around the office and among my family members that I have an affinity for old tools.  It could be old hand tools or “old iron” power tools.  I have a couple of antique scroll saws and a very old three-wheel Craftsman band saw in my shop.  I guess I inherited this habit from my dad.  He’s always bringing home a “bargain” from the latest garage sale or auction.

Last week, he called me and told me he just “acquired” an old Craftsman planer (model 103.1801 made by King-Seeley).  He wanted me to research it and find out what I could about it.  Naturally, the first place I look for old manuals and history of old tools is www.owwm.com.  They’ve become the online library for photos, tool manuals, and company history for old tools.  You can submit photos of your old tools and scanned manuals and parts lists for the rest of the world to share.

As I was trying to research the history of dad’s planer and find a manual for it, I discovered that the OWWM web site was down “due to technical difficulty.”  I was heartbroken and afraid that something terrible had happened.  I thought perhaps all the data that had been accumulated over the years would be lost.  So I emailed the webmaster to get the scoop.  Here was his reply as of 10:00pm CST on Thursday, the 13th of March 2008:

We had some issue with our former host and changes that they made to their server that “broke” the code that runs our site. To resolve this problem, we decided that the best course of action was to invest in a new server, which we will own and control. This has turned into a longer process than we first anticipated. We first had to raise around $2,500 for the hardware and software to run our site. We fortunately were able to get the majority of this donated through our many members. Next, we had to order a server, which took several weeks to get built and delivered. The new server arrived at our new host late last Friday and they have been working hard this week getting it set up to run. We are very close to launching the new site - maybe by the end of this week but in reality, probably the first of next week. No data was lost, it is just taking us longer than we like to get everything up and running on the new server.

Keith Rucker
Tifton, GA 

Hopefully, they’ll be back up and running soon. 

Do you want to know how OWWM got started?  Well, you’ll have to wait until the web site is back up and running, but when it is, visit this page for a complete history of what got Keith started down this road.  It’s an interesting read.

Oh…by the way, Keith puts a lot of time and effort (and dollars) into this web site.  If you use and enjoy the content of www.owwm.com, why don’t you donate a few bucks to help him out? You’ll find donation links on the web site.

Here's an excellent interview with a young furniture designer showing at the 2007 International Contemporary Furniture Fair.

Erich Lage has been a senior illustrator (and editor) for Workbench Magazine for 12 years now.

Before that he owned his own remodeling-design business. In 1977 he started his journey in residential construction as a concrete finisher and ultimately worked as a trim carpenter and service manager in the Home Building Industry in the Midwest. During this month’s Woodsmith Woodworking Seminar Podcast, Erich will provide you with suggestions on how to troubleshoot all your home repair questions. During the seminar he’ll talk about everything from basement window repair to installing box beams in a family room.

Once again, the seminar guide is available for sale at the Woodsmith Podcast Store.

In this entry I talked about the Craftsman 8" Drill Press model 315.11970 that I had purchased off eBay.

Since I've been doing some turnings, I've needed to use a drill press to make accurate holes in the workpieces.

Too bad I don't have a press capable of drilling accurate holes!

I mentioned that it was "unstable as hell". I recently took it apart to determine why it was so unstable. After all, who would sell a drill press that's unstable when new?

Craftsman would. That's who.

I found that the red plastic housing is the entire framework. There is no metal to metal connection between the drill motor and the post.

Note to engineers: Cheap plastic does NOT provide rigid connectivity in a power tool!

I made a slight improvement by wedging a piece of wood scrap into the tool between the post bearings and the plastic housing. It helped, but not much.

As far as I'm concerned, this thing is completely useless. I get more accurate holes using a hand drill.

If anybody wants to donate something that ISN'T a complete piece of crap, I'd be more than happy to accept!

A Guide to Sharpening Chisels and Plane Irons

User Review: Work Sharp 3000 Sharpening Machine

Hollow Grinding: Necessity or Relic?

Q & A: Not Ready for Prime Time?

Waterstone Sharpening: Care & Use of Japanese Waterstones

Guide to Sharpening and Using a Woodworker's Best Friend - The Scraper

Sharpening #80 Cabinet Scrapers

Sharpening Forstner Bits

User's Guide for the Makita 9820-2 Sharpener

Tormek vs. Jet and Standard Bench Grinders

Using Oil Stones

GATEWAY TO OUR ONLINE CATALOG OF SHARPENING TOOLS

Visit our huge archive of woodworking tips, articles, and Q&As

Visit the latest issue of Wood News, our monthly online magazine

ABOUT US

Okecrafts is a company specializing in making handicrafts made from natural materials such as bamboo, wood, stone, terracotta, stone, etc.

We are also production and export of Table Lamps, Wooden Photo Frames, Wooden Mirror Frames, Natural Stone, Candle Holder and decorative Bowls and modern-living pine wood furniture.

All products are purely handcrafted, making them unique and have artistic value. Since they are made of natural materials, they are environmentally friendly.

While I was browsing the AWFS show in Las Vegas last July, I spent quite a bit of time at the 3M booth. Most of the products they were showing off are geared toward the production shop, but they did have one item that I think will make it’s way into the home workshop.

3M is taking sanding to a whole new level with the introduction of its unique Clean Sanding Discs for woodworking. The new, innovative discs can deliver longer life than standard high-performance discs, thanks to their breakthrough surface configuration and abrasive technology.

Designed to be used with random orbital sanders, Clean Sanding Discs offer improved dust extraction when used with a vacuum system. Less dust contributes to improved cutting action when sanding. The unique, patented hole pattern on the discs’ surface helps to effectively remove dust from the work area, which prevents disc loading and provides a fast, consistent and efficient cut rate. I watched them in action during the show and was impressed with the fact that they didn’t load up like traditional discs. And the best thing is, they’ll work with any hole pattern and you don’t have to worry about aligning the holes.

Clean Sanding Discs are available in 5″ and 6″ diameters in grades P80 to P1000 and feature the secure Hookit attachment system from 3M.

You can find out more about them by clicking here.  As for availability, Clean Sanding Discs are sold through distributors for the industrial market. But 3M reps tell me that they expect them to be available from their online eStore sometime soon. Let’s hope they make their way into woodworking catalogs and home centers, too.

You can sharpen your woodworking skills with helpful tips and techniques from the editors of Woodsmith and ShopNotes magazines. Get a FREE tip sent to your email address each week! Go to WoodworkingTips.com and sign up today.

Here’s last week’s tip from ShopNotes online editor Phil Huber:

Measuring the width for a drawer bottom can be a challenge. I usually measure several times just to make sure I get it right.Then I made the simple drawer gauge shown in the photo below. Now, I don’t have to worry about the “numbers.” The gauge always shows me the exact distance.

It’s made from two pieces of aluminum angle joined together by a small wood block (see end view below right). The telescoping arms are two pieces of flat aluminum bar stock set side by side. A knurled knob, pressed-in threaded insert, and a penny sets and adjusts the arms.

It’s easy to use the gauge to set up your table saw for the cut. Just slide the arms until each one touches the bottom of the groove in the drawer sides. Then tighten the knob to secure the arms.

Next place the end of one arm against the blade and the other arm against your rip fence. Lock the fence in position and make the cut.
Good Woodworking,

Phil Huber
Online Editor, ShopNotes

Send for a preview issue of ShopNotes magazine

The next Woodturner's Group meeting is coming up on Tuesday. At our last meeting, one of the guys did a demonstration for us on how he constructed his segmented bowls. I'm working on a project that incorporates those methods and I'd like to be able to bring it with me on Tuesday.

I'm pretty sure I have all of the components I need, it's just the detail work in putting it all together. And yes, this is a big tease, as I'm not going to show you anything yet...

A European company called Miniot
is selling a nice wooden case for iPhones.
They offer a little bit of protection for your
phone and it looks cool. It’s carved from a
single piece of wood and available in oak,
paduak, cherry, mahogany, or walnut. The
price is around $80. If your cell phone is
dinged up half as much as mine is, this
might be a good investment!

Oh by the way, if you don’t have an
iPhone yet, they also make a case for iPods!

Some of you may be surprised or even a little disappointed to hear that, but it's true.

No matter how hard I try to keep even pressure on my plane, the edge I'm jointing becomes sloped to the left. Knowing this about myself, I take a conservative approach to jointing by frequently checking my progress with a square.

You might think the way to remedy the problem is to lean to the right. But that would only result in a peaked ridge down the middle of the board with slopes to the left and to the right.

Instead, seat your plane firmly on the right side of the edge of the board (photo 3), being sure to keep the plane perfectly flat. Don't get too radical—only take a pass or two. As you continue to plane, gradually migrate towards center until you produce a shaving that equals the entire width of the edge.





I'll continue to practice and someday I'll be able to take moderately level shavings right from the start.

That's because keeping centered is my primary focus.

Having turned only pens in the past, I was excited to turn the spindles that will pin the legs to the runners on the sawbuck table.

Owning few lathe tools and possessing a miniscule amount of knowledge about woodturning results in an inevitable learning experience.

I turned two spindles at a time on my mini-lathe. The first spindle took several hours to complete but the second one was turned in about 45 minutes. It did take a while to figure out how to use the tools... and how not to use them. Lesson one: lathe tools will let you know when you've mishandled them.

The first set of spindles were turned facing one another, with the skinny part of the pegs connected in the center. Lesson two: wood becomes springy if the expanse of a thin section is too great; the wood will deflect as you run a lathe tool along its length.

Therefore, the second set was turned with the handles (the fat part) positioned back to back.

The spindles on the orginal table are missing, so I mimicked the shape of the handles on a friend's antique turning saw. I did, however, know the location of the pegs from photos that I had taken at the Landis Valley Museum.

I used inside calipers to measure the size of the hole and outside calipers to check the size of the peg that would fit into the hole. Lesson three: don't regret having purchased an expensive set of calipers years ago, even though this was the first time you ever used them.

5 coats of blonde shellac were applied to the completed spindles while they were still secured, and spinning, on the lathe.

A learning experience it was, but this was perhaps the most important lesson of all: signing up for a woodturning class would probably be a very good idea.

We all know that at some point the thought of starting our own woodworking business has crossed our minds.  I for one have wasted many an hour, daydreaming of walking away from my day job and spending the rest of my life happily making beautiful projects for even happier clients.  But, to be honest I wouldn't know where to get started, or even how.  Luckily for us though our very own guest expert Hendrik Varju does and he's back to talk to us about it. 

If you'd like to learn more about starting your own successful woodworking business from Hendrik, then stop by his website to pick up a copy of his book "Starting and Running a Woodworking Business".

Also, coming up on June 14th, Hendrik is conducting a seminar by the same name at his Acton, Ontario Workshop.  If you'd like to attend or just get more information contact him at info@passionforwood.com.

REMEMBER!  If you have any comments, questions, suggestions or you want to enter for some free schwag you can always drop me a line at mattsbasementworkshop@gmail.com.  OR you can call me and leave a voice mail too!! 1-231-354-2338

If you have the time, please take the new listener survey.

Also, Hendrik is wrapping up his annual three part finishing seminars: 
Part 2 "Hand Finishing and Rubbing Out"    - May 24th.
Part 3"Antique Restoration Techniques"      - May 31st or June 7th.
So if you live in the Toronto area or feel like visiting it, and you want more information about Hendrik's finishing seminars, send an email to info@passionforwood.com

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This ring is made from Ancient Kauri which is the world's oldest wood at 50,000 years old.

When I work with a wood that is this old it puts things into perspective in a very real way. I think of life without our minds trappings. Not empty but more full of what life really is.
Imagine for a moment the what nature has done for us to have this natural miracle of our life from so long ago. This ring gives you a connection to an extraordinary time of pre-historic sunlight, rains and life from so long ago.
Click to see the ring Eco-friendly Pre-historic Wooden Ring

http://www.simplywoodrings.com

This was a small project I did a couple of years ago... A recent conversation I had reminded me of it, and I thought some might find it interesting so figured I would post the story here. It's one of my favorite stories to tell, and it was a fun little project...

I was reading a post in a woodworking forum asking a question about straightening a saw - a backsaw in particular. Seems a fellow had picked up an old backsaw on Ebay and was hoping to restore it to use for himself, but was having a bit of difficulty. It seems it was bent, and he just couldn't seem to get it straight. Several helpful suggestions were given - and followed - to no avail. A further description (I don't remember if the exact conversation, or the photos), the general consensus was that it wasn't worth fixing. That's when I stepped in... I was looking for a bit of a challenge, and this was right down that alley. I got the original owner to either give or sell me (I honestly don't remember if I paid for it) the old saw to see what I could do with it.

When it arrived I got a chance to take a good look at it:

Pretty rough, to say the least - it would take a lot of work..  But if I'm anything - its a champion of lost causes... 

read more

Halloween Challenge: LumberJocks | HomeRefurbers | GardenTenders

That’s right. You’ve been challenged!. You have until the end of the month to build a Halloween decoration for outdoors and enter it in our very first Halloween LumberJocks Challenge. What’s the size? That’s up to you. What’s it made of? Wood, of course (and, yes, you can add non-wood objects to it as needed). We have all seen those cemeteries and skeletons in people’s yards, well we are LumberJocks and we can’t be outdone! Get your tools out and start building. We will be looking for creativity and for something that fits with the season.

PRIZES

Lee Valley will provide 3 random winners with the following great prizes:

1. $50 gift card
2. Leather apron plane holster
3. Lee Valley cap

Get your Project in by Saturday November 1st and the winners will be announced on November 2nd. Are you up for the challenge?

HOW TO ENTER

1. SUBMIT your challenge entry as a project and tag it with challenge07 (of course you may add any additional tags too):
   
   Note that you don’t need to use ‘challenge07’ in the project title (use the meaningful title instead).
2. You can submit only one entry – give it your best shot.
3. Describe your entry and how it inspires you to enjoy the Halloween season
4. The entry deadline is November 1st.
5. Winners will be announced online at LumberJocks.com on November 2nd.

The Challenge is on. Let the games begin!

———————————————————————————————

We are also holding special Halloween challenges at HomeRefurbers.com and GardenTenders .com. This is the right time to use our new single access feature to join in all of our holiday fun ;)

Halloween Challenge: LumberJocks | HomeRefurbers | GardenTenders

You can sharpen your woodworking skills with helpful tips and techniques from the editors of Woodsmith and ShopNotes magazines. Get a FREE tips sent to your email address each week! Got to Woodworking Tips.com and sign up today.

Here’s last week’s tip from Woodsmith online editor Ted Raife:

My oscillating disc sander has built-in dust collection and it works great — but only when the holes in the sanding disc are aligned with the vacuum holes in the sander’s pad. And this simple requirement isn’t always as easy as it sounds. So rather than rely on a good aim when installing the discs, I put together a simple tool that makes hitting the mark a sure thing.

As you can see in Figure 1, the tool is nothing more than two dowels glued into a small block of wood. The diameter of the dowels and their spacing in the block matches that of the holes in the discs and sanding pad.

To use the tool, you simply place a disc over the dowels and then insert them into the holes in the pad (Figure 2). Slip the disc off of the dowels and onto the pad and you’re ready to go.

Good Woodworking,

Ted Raife
Online Editor, Woodsmith

Send for a preview issue of Woodsmith magazine

A short post - just to show some photos of a very recent plane.







A quick kiln update. It is currently running and water is being removed. It is a dehumidification process by way of a household dehumidifier. I will check the moisture content in a few days and report back. There are a few pieces of Ebony in the kiln right now and I am most curious to check the results. If it works - my shop will turn into a flurry of Ebony and stainless steel parts.

Last Saturday, during a trip to Downes & Reader in Stoughton, MA, I picked up some Freijo at $3/board foot. I selected 5 pieces of 4/4 stock that were roughly quarter sawn. They are 5" wide and about 3 feet long. I know nothing of the wood, but it is beautiful to look at. Wikipedia says it is also called Spannish Elm, Ecuador Laurel, or Salmwood, and as they say: it looks very much like teak. I'm looking forward to working this wood.

In about a week, I'm off to western Massachusetts to retreive some rough sawn oak and planksawn pine. I'm told there is about 150 or 200 board feet, and I'll need a place to put it. I should build a lumber rack soon. Fortunately, my brother-in-law was throwing out some perfectly good 2x6 lumber that he didn't mind me bringing home; so I have the supplies. I just need to build the rack.

A package from Mike Wenzloff arrived late in the day yesterday. I knew this one was coming, and it was all I could do to keep myself from tearing into it. But I waited - because there were two items for Riley as well, and I figured he would want to open it. Inside were two pairs of small saws - a rip and a crosscut. Riley's pair are quite small - but fit his small hands very well. At his request - his first project is going to be to learn to cut dovetails.



The other pair of saws were quite specifically designed. Some time ago, I asked Mike if he would be able to make a dovetail sized saw to be used specifically for cutting exotic woods. He was quite sure he could - so we moved on to the rest of the details. Ebony handles were decided on fairly early in the process, thanks to a good friend (thanks again Dan). Mike sent me several photos of different handle designs to choose from. We settled on a modified Patterson handle - and I have to say - I cannot imagine anything more comfortable. It feels as though I shaped it myself. The blade is 8" long and has 2" of usable depth.



Riley and I called Mike to let him know they arrived safe and sound and to thank him for doing such a wonderful job. He asked if I had tried them out yet and I explained that I hadn't - but the first use would be to cut the slot for an adjuster on an A2 jointer. The long silence was finally broken with “Oh geeze - now I am nervous!”



As I suspected - the rip saw worked perfectly and cut a beautiful clean kerf in the Brazilian Rosewood handle. So thanks again Mike for two wonderful pairs of purpose built saws.