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Senin, 23 Januari 2017

I Want a Welding Mask

My son has been after me for over a year to buy him a welding mask. Every time were in Lowes he asks.

Last weekend while we were driving to Lowes it finally occured to him that Im not buying him one because he doesnt need one. His 6 year old mind started to crunch the situation and just as the steam began to emerge from his ears, he declared that we needed a pretend torch (he knows hes not allowed to have a real one). Once he had a torch, he figured he would then need a welding mask. As Im alchoices one for toys, a pretend torch was an idea I could get behind (even if it wouldnt get him a mask).

Once we got to Lowes I spent a good half hour wondering around the plumbing section coming up with a pretend torch design. I finally settled on copying my personal soldering torch.

Heres how we made it:

I used a section of 3" PVC pipe as the tank. I glued a flat "temporary cap" to the bottom. The top is a standard PVC end cap.

Before gluing the top on, I drilled a hole in it, expanded the hole with a file and slid in the hose. A small length of dowel keeps the base of the hose rigid and two hose clamps above and below the PVC cap keep the hose in place.

For the torch head, I used some 1/2" copper pipe. I used relative dimensioning to size it against my real torch, and I actually got to use my real torch when soldering the pretend one together.

The 1/2" copper fits inside the end of the hose, and two more hose clamps keep it in place. Black electrical tape acts as a grip and keeps the hose clamps from scratching little hands.

Since I built it, the pretend torch has gotten lots of use from all three boys. For some reason though, it hasnt led to needing a mask yet.

Do you pretend in your shop?

P.s. - please excuse if this is formatted oddly. Its my first attempt blogging from the new Blogger application for Android.

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Diposting oleh mandha di 10.35 0 komentar
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Minggu, 09 Oktober 2016

I Left The Oven On Or Did I

The other day, while mid-conversation with my wife, I had a sudden, terrible thought. No, I knew the oven was off. My fear was much worse; Had I glued MDF panels into the frames Id fabricated to fit OSB?
If youve been reading along on the beginnings of my bench construction, youll know that I fabricated the rabbets in my bench panel frames of different depths to accommodate their respective panels (MDF & OSB). Though both sheet goods are 3/4" nominal thickness, they are just a hair different in actual thickness. Using scrap boards and relative dimensioning I made sure that each rabbet was exactly the right depth. I went as far as to mark each frame with their respective panel type with purple chalk.
The stove was off and the OSB was
in the OSB frames.
After many hours of worrying, I took a quick dive into the garage as soon as I got home. Luckily, the MDF panels I glued were set in their corresponding frames.
After that scary episode, I got to work and assembled the OSB panels in the OSB frames as intended. There concludes my bench construction for now.
"Why?" you may ask am I taking a break from the bench? Because its January! Time to build the Guild Winter Wall Cabinet.
The first draft of the bastard
wall cabinet.
As Ive said, I plan to bastardize the guild design and transform it into a tool cabinet. The image to the right is my first draft at the cross section of my design. I would go into detail about all the stubby little shelves and rear plenum, but suffice to say I drew it late Sunday night and after a good nights rest Im not particularly happy with it. Im working towards having the revised design ready for the pre-build chat on Wednesday at 10:00 pm Eastern. If I have time Ill throw the design up here first. Even if I cant, Ill see you at the chat. Don’t be late.
Have you ever rushed home to find the oven off?
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Selasa, 20 September 2016

almost thinking about spring

 ok, at least were starting to think about spring here ... the ducks came back to the pond on thursday, but after a cold but sunny friday, it snowed again last night, and its in the 20s again today.  the ducks are frozen out of the pond until it warms up again.  its pleasant today, but not like wednesday, when it hit almost 50 and the sky was that incredible blue.  springtime in vermont is something of a tease.  back and forth, forth and back, and on and on for a few weeks.  we should have crocuses in a week or two, but youd never know it today.  click the photos to enlarge them ...
 
weve had daffodils from the store on the counter for a couple weeks and they are alchoices welcome.
 but the back yard and the mountains are looking like winter still
 and then youve got the black and white days like this one last week, where the only color in the picture is the stop sign ...
no color at all here
 but the barred owls are calling ... nesting time for them soon , and even though the pheobes wont be back for a few weeks,we cleared their  nest off the cornice return this week ... 
 yeah, its as soft as it looks ... a work of natural art weaving for sure
theres wood to stack.  im outta here ...
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Minggu, 06 Maret 2016

This May Replace The Old Friend I Just Sold

As you may know I recently sold my much loved DeWalt 12" Dual Bevel Sliding Compound Miter Saw. Though it has alchoices been one of my favorite power tools, the depth required for those long rails was just too much for my current shop.
So heres a video of Boschs new Uber-Miter Saw. While I have to get my hands on one before I decide, the new Bosch Glide Saw is certainly on my short list. If youre not familiar with the saw, or if you just cant get enough of its cool Glide action, check it out.
How do you like your miter saw?
Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.2
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Minggu, 21 Februari 2016

The Village Carpenter Part I

Recently I has the good fortune to meet with Kari Hultman and take a tour of her Pennsylvania woodworking shop. For anyone who doesn’t know who Kari Hultman is (and if youre reading this I find that near impossible to believe), shes the woman behind The Village Carpenter, one of the absolute best woodworking bogs out there.
The Room
The Village Carpenter
Karis shop is a purpose Built room attached to her house. While site logistics may have determined its placement, I feel its coolest feature is its location. Karis shop is located right off her bedroom. Isnt that what we all dream of? Who wouldnt like to wake up and walk right into the shop? In Karis own words "I planned it that choice, so that I could work out there in my jammies in the middle of the night if I felt compelled to do so."
Karis shop is 17 1/2 by 36. It has windows along 3 sides (between the shop and bedroom, along the side wall and on the back wall). One of the windows even lines up with Karis band saw so that she can feed it extra long pieces. The shop is well lit with florescent lighting which is helped by white walls and ceiling. There is a detail light which lives in the dog holes of Karis main bench.
Karis shop, as viewed from the door to the bedroom.
When I visited in July the shop was comfortable due to a standard window mounted air conditioning unit. A standard entry door allows access to the back yard and its popularity is evidenced by the trail Karis dogs have worn in the floor leading up to the back door. A pair of French doors exit the side of the shop and allow easy transport of bulky items to the adjoining drivechoice and garage that serves as a lumber storage shed. There is also small lumber storage area in the back corner. The opposite corner houses a sink, which adds further functionality to the shop.
Coming next week, the tools and bench layout of the Village Carpenter. In the mean time, does your shop let you get there from bed?
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Kamis, 11 Februari 2016

The Sawdust Chronicles 2010 Build Challenge Part I

The finished book stand.
I begin with an apology. Im sorry for not having posted since October 22. I try to post at least weekly. A number of personal and work projects have conspired against me lately to prevent my posting. Chief among them was the Sawdust Chronicles 2010 Build Challenge.
As I was entered in the Build Challenge, Ive spent every free moment over the last few weeks working on the book stand which I submitted as my entry. When I lost my build time on the final Friday and Saturday of the challenge I feared it may have all been for naught if I failed to complete my project. Thankfully Rick was nice enough to extend the deadline for all and I successfully submitted my project almost 4 hours before the it was due!
Here for you, my dear readers, is part I of my submission description.
As my entry to the Sawdust Chronicles 2010 build challenge I have constructed a book stand. The book stand is constructed from walnut and glass tile, assembled using Domino joinery and finished with 6 coats of de-waxed shellac.
Design ProcessWhen I decided to enter the Sawdust Chronicles 2010 build challenge in late August I had already been asked by my mother (a second grade teacher) to make a book stand for the dictionary in her classroom. She had given me a print out of some book stand designs, a physical copy of the dictionary to be held on the stand and a request of a 60 degree display angle. On review of the Sawdust Chronicles 2010 build challenge rules and entry form I quickly abandoned the designs she had suggested and got to work on my own.
The Bell Forrest project pack &
the glass tile laid out on my
table saw.
My starting point was walnut. I had alchoices wanted to work it and when I saw Bell Forrest Products labor day sale I ordered a 10 board feet project pack and hoped that would be enough (it ended up being almost twice what I needed). Another point I wanted to incorporate from the beginning was a secondary material. My initial though was copper, as I have experience working with sheet metal at work, and copper is such a beautiful metal and so easy to work with. My idea was to use copper sheet metal to veneer a piece of MDF which would act as the arm portion of the stand. Unfortunately, the build challenge rules forbid the use of MDF, so I began to track down some plywood to veneer with the copper. During this early stage of the design I was walking through Home Depot and was inspired by the glass tile on display. I bought some there on the spot and decided that rather than use copper to veneer the arm portion of the stand, I would use the glass tile as an inlay for the center section of the top where the spine of the dictionary rests.
The tile laid in position during
a dry fit.
Incorporating the tile into the design was the inspiration for the top. I recessed the center tile section for the practical purposes of housing the tile and holding the dictionary spine and for the aesthetic purpose of allowing the side sections of the top to rise up and achoice from the center like wings. After some trial and error with the actual dictionary, I decided on 10 degrees as the appropriate angle for the wings. Once I had the top designed, I set to work constructing it. I had finished assembling the top before giving the base design any serious thought. Since I knew the top had to be held at a 60 degree angle, I started with that and cut the now walnut support arm at 60 degrees. I ripped it to width so that it matched the top. The base was the final component I designed. I made it slightly longer than the support arm to give it small lips in the front and rear. I determined the width of the base though a combination of what looked good to my eye and what was wide enough to support the top. In order to give the piece visual balance, I gave the bottom wings angled down at 10 degrees to mirror the angle of the upper wings.
More on the build in the next post. Until then check out my 2010 Build Challenge Photo Album.
What did you build this fall?
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