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Short Course Dates 08 and Entertainment

00/00/0000, 00:00 | David's blog
Finally and regretfully, slightly later than advertised, short course dates for 2008 are now posted on my website.

They are available from late January, ...

A Good Cause

03/24/2008, 02:29 | Musings From My Shop

It?s no secret that I?m a fan of the work of Greene & Greene. A big fan. Anyone with cursory knowledge of the brothers has heard of the Ultimate Bungalows. These homes, designed by Charles and Henry at the height of their popularity and creative energy, are grand residences built with uncompromising attention to detail. Everyone agrees the the Gamble, Blacker, Pratt and Thorsen houses are in this category. Many include the Freeman Ford house as well. Were I the ultimate authority, the Robinson house would also join the list.

While the Gamble house remained in the Gamble family until it was donated to USC and the city of Pasadena, the other Ultimates have more colorful histories. Most endured some period of neglect or abuse. The rape of the Blacker house resulted in ordinances that protect historic homes in Pasadena. I think the Thorsen house trumps them all, however. Since 1942 the Thorsen house has been home to a fraternity.

I suspect that many of you have seen the movie ?Animal House.? It?s hilarious. It?s a classic. It?s completely unlike the California (Berkeley) chapter of Sigma Phi. The brothers of Sigma Phi take their stewardship of the Thorsen house, which the fraternity purchased from the Thorsen estate, very seriously. Every Saturday morning they work as a group on maintaining the house. They learn its history. They take pride in it.

But keeping up with the demands of a 100 year old mansion (and a work of art at that) is difficult. And expensive. About 9 million dollars. If you find yourself in Berkeley, stop by the house. The brothers will happily give you a tour and accept a donation to the fund. But don?t let an inability to visit stop you from contributing. Send a few dollars and help save an historic landmark, one of the Ultimates. It?s a lot easier to keep such houses around than to wait for another genius to come along and design more.

The Thorsen House Restoration Campaign
c/o Mr. Dan McNear
Route 1
Box 264-E
San Rafael, CA 94901

318 Review of "Revelations on Table Saw Set-up & Safety" DVD

00/00/0000, 00:00 | Matt's Basement Workshop Podcast

The latest DVD from our very own guest expert Hendrik Varju of Passion for Wood is out and I've had a chance to finally sit down and take it all in.

Actually it took a few nights to do that, as this DVD contains close to 10 hours of information.  It is literally like being right in Hendrik's shop and taking one of the most detailed classes on everything you every wanted to know about tablesaws.

For more information on ordering this DVD from Hendrik stop by his website at www.passionforwood.com.

Coming up in November Hendrik will be back and taking your questions on Tablesaws.  Whether it's regarding setting up, safety or cutting, get your questions in early.  Also, if you'd like to enter for free schwag, have a comment, question or suggestion drop me a line at mattsbasementworkshop@gmail.com, head over to the website where you can also leave your comments, or you can leave a voicemail at 231 354-2338.

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Freehand Roundovers with the Block Plane

00/00/0000, 00:00 | Matt's Basement Workshop Podcast

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 .

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Unusual Shop Supplies from Unlikely Sources

00/00/0000, 00:00 | WoodworkingONLINE.com

My first real, full-time job with benefits out of high school was working for a coatings (”paint”) manufacturer. I worked for about twelve years in the research and development lab. Years later, as part of an unrelated job, I helped set up quality assurance labs inside of manufacturing facilities. Needless to say, I’m pretty familiar with the supplies that are used on a day-to-day basis in the lab. So you should have seen the looks on everyone’s face in the office when I ordered in some “lab” supplies for an article I’m working on for an upcoming issue of ShopNotes magazine.

I ordered inexpensive beakers, disposable pipettes (”eye droppers”), aluminum weighing dishes, wash bottles, and all sorts of other “lab supplies.” Now if you don’t know what any of these things are, you’re not alone. But as a woodworker, I’ve realized that a lot of these items can be real handy in the shop. Beakers can be used for measuring and mixing stains and finishes. The pipettes are great for squeezing glue into tight areas for repairs. Disposable aluminum weighing dishes make great mixing containers for epoxy or for holding small amounts of glue during assembly. Wash bottles are a lot more convenient for storing and dispensing solvents like paint thinner than those square metal cans.

My two favorite sources for lab supplies are U. S. Plastic Corporation and Lab Safety Supply. Take a browse through their web site or order a catalog. You’ll be surprised at what you’ll find that’ll be handy to have in the shop.

264 - Safety Week - Eye Protection

00/00/0000, 00:00 | Matt's Basement Workshop Podcast

Safety Week is coming to a close and here's the last installment from Matt's Basement Workshop.  Eye protection is vital in the woodshop, with sawdust, chips, splinters, and even finishing chemicals flying around keeping our eyes safe is crucial.

We have plenty of options for all the various jobs we do in the woodshop, so it's just a matter of choosing the right one for ourselves.

Whichever one you choose, just wear them!!

A couple of good links to visit include OSHA's Woodworking eTool, Prevent Blindness America and also this 2002 report on eye related injuries from the Dept. of Labor.

Oh by the way...I'm giving you one more day to enter for the big Safety Week Schwag drawings.  Saturday I'll be drawing the names of the winners and posting a special video.  So check back to find out if your a winner of free stuff!!

If you have the time, please take the new listener survey.  And don't forget to drop me a line with your questions, comments and suggestions, especially since Hendrik is back in May and we're talking about starting a small woodworking business.  Just drop us a line at mattsbasementworkshop@gmail.com.

Also, Hendrik is starting his annual three part finishing seminars: 
Part 2 "Hand Finishing and Rubbing Out"    - May 10th or 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

Listen to today's show by clicking on the player below

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267 - What I Do With Scraps and Shavings

00/00/0000, 00:00 | Matt's Basement Workshop Podcast

WARNING!!  I FORGOT TO TURN UP THE VOLUME WHEN I WAS RECORDING SO TODAY'S EPISODE NEEDS TO BE TURNED UP WHEN YOU LISTEN.  SORRY?!?!

We all make scraps and shavings when we're building.  What we do with them is as varied as the projects we build.  I use to have stacks and stacks of these offcuts, since I couldn't bring myself to throw them away, but after just a few projects these add up and start taking up valuable space.

I've found a few things to do with mine, but I'm curious what you do with yours.

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.

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.

Also, coming up on June 14th, Hendrik is conducting a seminar based on his book "Starting and Running a Woodworking Business"at his Acton, Ontario Workshop.  If you'd like to attend or just get more information about these seminars contact Hendrik at info@passionforwood.com.

Listen to today's show by clicking on the player below

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ShopNotes Magazine Posts 3D Model of Workbench Online

00/00/0000, 00:00 | WoodworkingONLINE.com

ShopNotes magazine has finally given its readers a practical reason to download Google’s design and drawing software — A SketchUp rendering of the Cabinetmaker's Workbench from ShopNotes #102SketchUp. In Issue No. 102, the magazine features a great plan for a Cabinetmaker’s Workbench. And for the first time, they’re providing an Online Extra feature that I think is really cool — a SketchUp model of the workbench in 3-D.

If you’re familiar with the program, you know how powerful a tool it is. And if you’re new to it, Google has provided dozens of video tutorials, an extensive Help Center and even live training classes that make it easy to start modeling your own projects right away.

ShopNotes associate editor Randy Maxey came up with the idea to add the model to the magazines’ website. He thought it would be fun to provide readers with a professionally-designed project that they can actually take apart to really get a feel for the way it goes together before deciding to build it. And best of all, if you want to modify the workbench — make it taller, longer, or even change it to feature an edge-grain top — you can take the model and make any changes you want to reflect your particular needs

Other free downloads at the website include plans for the drawers, a short video animation of the workbench’s best features, and a fraction-to-decimal conversion chart.

295 It's A Monday!!

00/00/0000, 00:00 | Matt's Basement Workshop Podcast

It's a Monday and that means it's time for Magazine Monday!!!

Over the weekend I spent a lot of time at the computer and it got me to yearning for a project in the shop.

So in today's episode I'm sharing a few of those thoughts with you!!

Don't forget!! Hendrik is back in September so get your questions in for our open Q&A session.  If you're planning on being at the IWF in Atlanta, anyone wanting to have a chat with Hendrik can leave a message for him in the Press Lounge.  Or, better yet, he'll be attending The Wood Whisperer's after-show get together Friday evening, August 22nd.

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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A Peek at the Possibilities

00/00/0000, 00:00 | Woodworking Dungeon
Since I started working on the teacher's pen project, I have been thinking more about what else I can do to create more intricate designs for my pens. I also attended a local bowl turners group meeting earlier this week where one of the guys talked about how he makes his segmented bowls. That seemed to kick the old imagination into high gear.

Taking my first step into segementation with smaller pieces, I cut up some maple that I had already planed down to 1/8". I laminated these little pieces with an accent color and turned a sample.

This is what I've got:

This shows me that conceptually I'm on track. Now I need to work on putting together a full sized blank so I can complete a pen and see how it looks.

Each piece of maple is only 1/8" thick. To show the scale, I'm including this picture that has my sample next to a dime. The length of the sample if just over 1 inch. The diameter of the sample is just about 3/8". The final diameter of a slimline pen would be a little bit smaller than this.



Hopefully in the next couple of days I'll have some time to work on putting that full sized blank together.

Under wraps...

00/00/0000, 00:00 | The Refined Edge
These past four weeks I have been working on two new pieces of furniture. The first is intended for a gallery exhibition and the second to be entered in an upcoming local furniture exhibition. Unfortunately I will not be able to share the design and build of both these pieces for a while. The second piece intended for the exhibition, is essentially under wraps as all entries need to be in and judged by a certain date. I can say that I am really enjoying creating these two pieces as they are purely on built on speculation and I therefore have complete carte blanche on what I make.

Once I have completed these two pieces I will continue with the beech cabinet on stand which is currently on the back burner. I would estimate I can continue my work on the cabinet on stand in the first week of October. The two pieces I am working on are purposely not very large so I can instead focus on some extra detail I can hopefully incorporate into the design. Sometimes we need to take a leap forward and move into uncharted design territory to be able to add new skill sets and techniques to our furniture making repertoire. We need to regularly challenge ourselves. Wood selection has been a bit of a challenge lately as I have a difficult time locating wood with nice grain and good graphics. Most of what I find is suitable for cabinet work and not so much for fine furniture. Veneering becomes more of a viable option to circumvent this issue. Once I have boards with ideal grain pattern, graphics or figure in my hands I can simply slice veneers from it to use as components of furniture I am creating.

Kingwood Pencil

00/00/0000, 00:00 | Wood Destruction by a Woodscrub

The second and third pens I've turned. On the left is a "learning experience". It started out as ebony, but I had such trouble turning it I ended up with a huge blowout. I repaired it by cutting off the blown out part and gluing a block of padauk onto the barrel.

It worked OK but I had real issues with the CA glue finish. On the padauk it went wonderfully. On this ebony/padauk pen it bunched and blobbed and did things that didn't happen to me the first time.

Sigh.

For the kingwood pencil, however, I changed my finish. Instead of the CA glue, I used 10 coats of shellac. A 1 lb cut applied to the spinning blanks with an old cotton sock gave an amazing finish. No ridges, no bumps, no blobs, nothing but smooth shine.

The hardware kit is a click pencil in black enamel. I'm curious about the durability of the black finish. I love how it looks right now, so I'm hoping it wears well.

We'll see.

I just picked up some 1/4" (7mm nearly) brass tubes from Hobby Lobby. Two 12" tubes for $3.47. I also picked up some other goodies I'll talk about later.

The tubes are for me to make my own barrels for some existing mechanical pencils I have. Classic Pentel drafting pencils, and some inexpensive all plastic pencils. I'd also like to make replacements for the housings of some of my favorite gel pens. I haven't decided how to do that yet, so stay tuned!

273 Router Bit of the Month - Shaker Style Rail & Stile Set

00/00/0000, 00:00 | Matt's Basement Workshop Podcast

It's the first Friday of a new month and that can mean only one thing here at Matt's Basement Workshop...IT'S TIME FOR ROUTER BIT OF THE MONTH!!!!

Once again the great folks at Whiteside and Woodcraft sent us another router bit to tryout and giveaway.  So for all of June ,Woodcraft is featuring Whiteside's Shaker Style Rail and Stile set.  A great set of bits that makes quick work of helping you build beautiful Shaker Style doors for whatever project you have coming up.

Unlike other Rail and Stile sets.  Whiteside's set is designed to cut grooves that accept a 1/4" plywood panel without the rattling and loose fitting that others leave you with.  And considering that it's on sale at Woodcraft for 25% off all month long...it's a deal you shouldn't miss.

 

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

Hendrik is back this month and we're talking about "Why we woodwork".  We'd love your feedback on why it is that you woodwork also, so call or write in to the show.

Don't forget too that Hendrik is wrapping up his annual finishing seminar:  Part 3"Antique Restoration Techniques" - June 7th.  Also, coming up on June 14th, Hendrik is conducting a seminar based on his book "Starting and Running a Woodworking Business"at his Acton, Ontario Workshop.  If you'd like to attend or just get more information about these seminars contact Hendrik at info@passionforwood.com.

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

Listen to today's show by clicking on the player below

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からくり名人、来たる/ The Karakuri Master

00/00/0000, 00:00 | Masashi's woodworking diary
ものづくり研究会では毎年3月初旬に楽しい実習があります。
学生達が学びたいことをリクエストし、それに合わせて外部の先生をお招きするのです。
今回は、からくり人形を作りたいという学生のリクエストにより、名古屋のからくり人形師、玉屋庄兵衛さんにお越し頂きました。
We have a series of interesting lessons at this time of the year.
Students request what they want to learn in addition to what we provide here in the Forest Academy. We invite professional craftspeople as lecturers for the special lesson. This year one of our students wants to learn how to make Karakuri Ningyo, the Japanese automata. We invited Mr. Shobei Tamaya, the Karakuri Ningyo maker and performer in Nagoya.

玉屋さんは九代目。マサチューセッツ工科大学や大英博物館など世界中で公演の実績もある、日本を代表するからくり人形師です。
まずは実演していただいたのですが、これがすごい。
弓曵童子という、江戸時代のからくり人形を復刻したものです。
Tamada is one of the most known Karakuri Ningyo makers in Japan. He is the ninth Shobei Tamada. He has performed and lectured worldwide, including British Museum and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
He first showed us one of his works. Yumihiki-Doji or the Arrow Shooting Boy was originally made during Edo era and Tamada reproduced it.



すべてぜんまい仕掛けで、人形が矢を取り、狙いをすまし、矢を放ち、次の矢を取ります。
The doll picks up an arrow, aims at a target, shoot the arrow, and picks up the next, all driven by a spring.




からくり人形師は内部のメカニズムから、着衣、頭(かしら)まで、すべて自分で作るのだそうです。
今回の授業では、からくり人形の頭の彫り方を教えていただきました。
頭は目の詰んだヒノキを使います。
視線を上げると嬉しそうな、うつむくと悲しそうな表情をみせる頭は、能面の技法が用いられています。
The Japanese automata makers make all the pieces by themselves, from the internal mechanism to the face carving, even doll's clothes.
Students learned how to carve the face. Fine grained Japanese cypress is the material. It uses the same technique as the Japanese Noh play mask making, so that it shows delightful face when looking up, and sad face when looking down.

右が先生のお手本。左が学生のもの。

2日間で、玉屋さんの手もずいぶん借りながら、頭ができました。
学生の感想はこちらから。
It took two days for the studens to roughly carve the face, with a lot of help from Mr. Tamaya.

箱づくり/ box making

00/00/0000, 00:00 | Masashi's woodworking diary

額縁に続く1年生の課題は、小箱でした。
この課題で学んでほしいことは2つ。
板を45度で切って組み合わせる「留加工(とめかこう)」。
そして繊維の方向の違う板を組み合わせることによって将来生じる収縮、ねじれ、狂いなどを予測し、それを最小限にとどめる手法を知ることです。

The next project after the picture frame is a box making.
There are two purposes for this project.
Mitre joint; to cut the boards at 45 degree to assemble.
To predict how the material moves and to know how to minimize the trouble caused by the movement.

そのために自宅からたくさんの箱を持参して、見てもらいました。
中には大きくねじれてしまった重箱もあります。
箱を木でつくるのは、意外と難しいのです。
So I brought lots of boxes from home.
Some tiered lunch boxes are badly warped.
It is more difficult than you expect to make a box from wood.




ひととおりの講義のあと、さっそく実習。
夏休みをはさんで2週間ほどで、みんな箱を完成させました。
ふたと身をぴったり合わせるところなど、難しい部分もあったのですが、きれいに仕上がっていたようです。
5ヶ月前まではまったく木工の経験がなかったのに、箱がつくれるようになった。
できあがった作品を前にすると、進歩を実感するでしょうね。
Everyone started making after the lecture. It took two weeks for them to finish.
The most difficult part was to fit the lid perfectly to the body, but they did well.
After five months of practise at the college you can make a box.
It is quite a progress.

New Bamboo Ring

00/00/0000, 00:00 | Wood Rings by Simply Wood Rings
Link This ring was very hard to make because Mother Nature has designed Bamboo to break at its cell end. This allows for the regeneration of new cells to continue the its growth. With a properly controlled double steaming, I was able to bend this Bamboo into the shape you see here.

Order yours at:
http://www.simplywoodrings.com

Dowel Drilling Jig

00/00/0000, 00:00 | WoodworkingONLINE.com

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:

Drilling a centered hole in a dowel can be a challenge. It’s hard to get the drill bit centered and keep the dowel from turning as the hole is drilled. To make it easier, I built the jig shown below.

20080327sn.jpg
Build the jig by first drilling a hole the diameter of the dowel in a piece of hardwood. Then just cut a saw kerf through the hole from the end to make a clamp.

Using the jig is simple. Begin by centering the dowel under the bit. To do this, clamp a piece of scrap wood to the table and drill a hole to fit the dowel. Then change out the bit to the size needed.

Next, slip the dowel into the hole in the scrap wood. Then slip the clamping jig over the dowel and squeeze the kerf together with a small clamp. Now you can clamp the jig in place and drill the hole in the center of the dowel.

To learn more essential woodworking tips and techniques, just go to: http://www.plansnow.com/basics.html.

Good Woodworking,

Phil Huber
Online Editor, ShopNotes

Episode 147 - Bedroom Set: Drawer Facings

10/23/2008, 09:00 | T Chisel - The Rough Cut Show!
Tommy reviews the work so far on the dresser, including the dividers and the drawers. He then shows how he worked the drawer facing.

Pine Adirondack - Natural

00/00/0000, 00:00 | Woodworking Dungeon
I finished the latest project by the requested due date.

It was a nice reminder of why I hate due dates! As I rolled into bed at 3:00am needing to be up at 7:30am to head out to the real job, I was wondering what I was thinking of by doing this!

I am glad that the new owner didn't want me to paint this set of chairs. I would have had to tell her no. There was no way I'd get those done in the short amount of time she was looking for.

but staying positive... I've got a little more cash that I can set aside for Christmas time!

Here's a shot of one of the new chairs:


I am really happy with how they came out. I've discovered a couple of ways to make cleaner and more repeatable cuts on a couple of the angled pieces. Time to get back to work...

Do You Flatten the Backs of Your Chisels?

00/00/0000, 00:00 | WoodworkingONLINE.com

One of the fundamental definitions of a sharp edge is the intersection of two flat surfaces that meet at some angle. Whether it’s a chisel or plane iron, if one of the surfaces isn’t flat, you can’t expect to get a sharp edge.

There’s a running discussion over on WoodNet about if, when, and how you flatten the backs of your chisels. Then there’s the question of what “flat” really means.

Personally, when I buy a new chisel, I’ll use wet/dry sandpaper on a granite tile and work through the grits until the back is polished. Then I’ll work on the bevel to get a sharp edge. After that, the only time I work on the back is to remove any burr after I’ve honed the edge. I’ve had good success with that method and my chisels seem to be plenty sharp. The same holds true with my plane irons.

With western chisels, I only worry about polishing the last ½” or so of the back. Japanese chisels are hollowed out on the back side, making them easier to flatten.

Head over to WoodNet and leave your 2¢ worth.

276 Why Do We Woodwork? Pt.1

00/00/0000, 00:00 | Matt's Basement Workshop Podcast

Our very own guest expert Hendrik Varju has returned for another visit here at Matt's Basement Workshop, and this month we're mixing things up a little bit.  Rather than our usual question and answer show, we're talking a little more philosophical and asking the question "Why do we woodwork?"

Today's episode is part 1, and after you listen to it I'm willing to bet that many of you feel the same way about why it is we woodwork as we did. 

You're welcome to send in your own comments to the discussion or even pose a few more questions too.  Just contact us either by email at mattsbasementworkshop@gmail.com, leave a comment at the website, or call and leave a voicemail at 231 354-2338.

AND DON'T FORGET!! on June 14th, Hendrik is conducting a seminar based on his book "Starting and Running a Woodworking Business"at his Acton, Ontario Workshop.  If you'd like to attend or just get more information about these seminars contact Hendrik at info@passionforwood.com.

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

Listen to today's show by clicking on the player below

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Attack them with spoons

00/00/0000, 00:00 | Musings from the Workbench

Is Your Saw Blade Really Dull or just Dirty?

00/00/0000, 00:00 | WoodworkingONLINE.com

A sure sign that your table saw blade needs attention is when it becomes difficult to push the workpiece through the cut. Or when the shop fills full of smoke as you try to cut that piece of maple.  That’s what happened to me in my continuing saga of saw blades.  I mentioned in this post that I had a couple of blades that needed sharpened. Now I’m not so sure.  I spent some time the other evening working on them with an old tooth brush and Boeshield Blade and Bit Resin, Pitch, and Gum Remover.

In ShopNotes No. 96, we had an article about Choosing and Using Bit and Blade Cleaners, including home-made cleaners.  A number of folks wrote in to tell us that some of our ideas were crazy or that their solution worked better.  We’ve had suggestions from oven cleaner to Formula 409. I say, use whatever works for you.  For me, I tend toward the commercial cleaners.  Our guys here in the shop seem to like CMT’s Formula 2050 Blade and Bit Cleaner.

Whatever chemical you use, chance are you’re going to need to use a little elbow grease, too.  As a matter of fact, it took a couple of applications of cleaner while I was busy scrubbing the residue off of the teeth.  I had the blade on several thicknesses of old newspaper and sprayed on the cleaner.  After scrubbing one side clean, I flipped the blade over and worked on it.  That left all the crud in between the teeth and on the face of each tooth.  Here, I stood the blade up, sprayed on some more cleaner, and worked my way around the blade with the toothbrush.  A little wiping with a rag removed the last of the residue and cleaner.

You’ll be amazed at how your blades look after a good cleaning. I inspected mine closely and couldn’t find any chipped or dull teeth. But it’s hard to make that judgement on looks alone.  I’m anxious to make a few test cuts and see if I need to take the next step and actually have them sharpened.

Herringbone Pen in Maple and Padauk

00/00/0000, 00:00 | Wood Destruction by a Woodscrub
NO PEEKING DAVE!!!

(Inside joke. Please ignore if your name isn't DAVE and you're not home playing hooky.)





I didn't take any pics of the process (I'm a dummy) but here's the final result. I think the padauk and maple is too gaudy. But it was a good test of the concept!

Welcome to the Wood Shop

02/01/2007, 19:44 | The Wood Shop
 

 

Welcome to The Wood Shop?

This entry was posted on 9/21/2006 3:11 PM and is filed under Welcome.




Picture Saloondoors2 Courtesy of Warsaw WoodWorks



Welcome to The Wood Shop !  Let me first start by Introducing myself to you and let you know what we're all about . My name is Dan Rose . I am the head broom and dust-pan guy around here , so let's help keep it clean. I'd like to discuss Mesquite HardWood and other things wood as well. 

Some basic rules : Feel free to post here and visit often. A reminder this is a public forum , your postings here are NOT a private matter. Please no foul language , no links to pornography ,  no extreme political , race , or religious views need to be posted here. Difference of opinion or approaches to a problem are OK , but personal attacks and name calling will not be tollerated. Please let this be a retreat from those things and a place to come and discuss the beauty and warmth that is offered by our common passion , wood.

I'll be writing some articles that cover basic properties of Mesquite , Industry News and specific things we are doing here at Arizona Desert Mesquite to improve our service and support of the Mesquite HardWood market in the USA. We'll showcase some of our dealers and end use customers and their pictures and experiences they have had with Mesquite.

Most of all I hope this can become a place to learn new things , to share information and knowledge . Everyone that will be featured here can teach us all with something new and exciting to be shared with others . Again as a reminder , this is a public forum. ADM does not take responsibility for content here posted by others. As time permits , I WILL edit any comments that in MY opinion do not meet our standards.

So pull up a Log and Set a spell. The Root Beer is cold and there's a gentle breeze a blowin' from the SouthWest.

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2/2/'07 - Check out the New photos Submitted by Murdock Floors on the HardWood Flooring Page ... Awesome !


Reminder : to see full page content click on  the    MORE>> marker wayyyy over to the right under the opening page.










 

 

Halloween Challenge with Lee Valley #3: And The Winners Are...

00/00/0000, 00:00 | LumberJocks.com :: woodworking showcase

Halloween Challenge: LumberJocks | HomeRefurbers | GardenTenders

13 projects have been entered into our Halloween Challenge and I’m very pleased to announce the winners of the prize draw:

  1. $50 gift cardSteelmum
  2. Leather apron plane holstermjon
  3. Lee Valley capjeffthewoodwacker

Congratulations!


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Halloween Challenge: LumberJocks | HomeRefurbers | GardenTenders

Western Earth Knives

11/30/2006, 16:04 | The Wood Shop

 

WESTERN EARTH KNIVES


Unique handcrafted hunting knives custom tailored for you at WEK.

Photos Courtesy of Western Earth Knives                                            "The dagger"

Custom Handmade knives and sheaths, made to order, using materials of the earth: bone, antler, horn, brass, leather, exotic woods of the West, and only high quality high-carbon steel blades. Western Earth Knives are made using designs derived from the qualities of the earth and her creatures by Douglas Gilbert.

 

Douglas has been a painter and sculptor for 40 years. It is only recently in his life that he has come to specialize in knife making, continuing to exercise his love for the powerful qualities and images of the earth. He spent much of his youth in the woods, and whittling wood was one of his early interests. A temporary illness brought him to abandon the 9-to-5 work-world and to devote himself full time to his craft. He has two grown children, a loving psychologist wife, and lives in southwestern Washington state. For additional information or to talk directly with Douglas ...

 

Contact:

                           Douglas Gilbert, MFA, Artist/Knife maker

                            earthknives@hotmail.com
                            
360-501-6939

Building a Roman Catapult

10/16/2008, 01:22 | A Woodworking Odyssey
Now this is a woodworking project. Building a full-sized Roman catapult replica is so cool on so many levels.

Ep 12 Carlo Mollino Design 03

00/00/0000, 00:00 | Furnitology Productions

In this the third installment on a furniture design inspired by Carlo Mollino, we prep our bending ply, build our bending form, and construct a fixture for a machine operation, specific to the router.

This woodworking podcast presents alot of woodworking material, you'll witness how traditional woodworking meets contemporary materials.

The episode expressed an opinion on how a furniture design is mentally pushed forward by always having a prepared solution.

This Carlo Mollino video continues to encourage and push the Basement Garage woodworker to explore furniture design.

ENJOY!!!!

Formats available: Quicktime (.mov)

Sanding Tip

00/00/0000, 00:00 | Philsville

HI Folks
Been all go in the Philly Workshop these last few weeks. Another Woodworking show (Yandles), catching up with orders and making two Oak Bookcases. And a few other things besides.....

First up - a tip. If you use power sanders of any type you really need to get yourself a "belt cleaner". I use a 12 inch disc sander for roughing out and they clog fast - as soon as they clog they burn out and become useless. A cleaner removes any clogging in seconds and prolongs the life of the abrasive by ten times, easily. They cost little (I bought the small one form Axminster and it has lasted 18 months) and work well. You can see the remains of the old one on top of the new one - I certainly had my use from it ;)

Next up - the oak bookcases. These were a project for my friend Steve. They were pretty big (2.2m high, 1.5m wide and 400mm deep) and I managed to use pretty much every clamp in the workshop. But the customer was very happy and it was good to do some furniture making.

Cupcake the 'shop cat is getting bigger by the minute. She is also quite comfortable in the workshop now and looks forward to having a nap in there (when she's not rooting out sawdust). Here's a photo of her hard at work ;)Yandles show was a lot of fun (except for the rain!!!!). It was great to meet so many of you in person and fun to see Folks making shavings with my planes. I have some new models in the pipeline so keep your eyes peeled (as well as a new-look website!)

Cheers
Philly