Wood Idea

Paul Balm from The Netherlands is studying furniture making in Amsterdam. (Plus, hes a homebrewer. Two pluses!)

Think youve got a small wood shop? Check out Pauls. Its in his bedroom! Thats woodworking dedication.

As I mentioned before, Vikings are crazy about their woodworking. And crazy good at it.

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Ryan_Doss]Ryan Doss
Do you sometimes wish you can create an artistic piece out of timber? Do you see yourself completing wooden item repairs with a little help? Have you often considered using machines to help you with these future tasks? If you answered "yes" to all, you should consider getting woodworking routers and bits soon.
What is a woodworking router?
It is a power tool used to create different forms and shapes in wood. Oftentimes, the machine is used to form shapes at the edge of wooden boards or is used to hollow out its centre.
The tool we see today is but a memory of what it used to be. Before electrical-powered machines became available, the router was but a simple hand tool made up of a wide-based wooden hand plane with a slim blade protruding from its base plate. This peculiar look earned it its sobriquet "Old Womans Tooth" among workers and capitalists involved in the woodworking industry.
Patternmakers and staircase workers employed woodworking routers during these times. These were very useful since it can create basic to complex designs. The cabinet-making industry also preferred to work with these devices as it proved handy in the trade. Designs it executed showed careful artistry and in turn attracted many buyers to purchase cabinets and cupboards with intricate layouts.
This manual device continued to be popular even when electric powered equipment were already present on the market. Many workers and manufacturers alluded to its usefulness and continued to work with it until demands for more production came to place. This move eventually gave way to electric tool usage in the USA and other industrial countries.
What are the different types?
The tools available today come in two forms: (1) handheld and (2) table routers. Handheld ones have switch buttons often placed on the motors body or at one of the handles. This device usually has two handles on each side and a working motor placed at the middle. This feature aids users when manipulating the machine. A person using it can easily glide and control the motions as it cuts or shapes wood.
Table routers are machines mounted on worktables. These are often useful for creating smaller pieces that need more design details. Various wood artists and aficionados often cite its usefulness in this aspect as it offers precision cutting. Novices can also enjoy working with it as the wood used is secured in place.
What are router bits?
Router bits are implements used when working with routers. These come in different shapes and sizes with specific functions. For instance, a straight bit is useful for making straight or vertical cuts. Its also useful for hollowing out wood. Several workers also state its efficiency in removing materials in increments when it is attached to a specialized router.
Why should I have these tools?
Purchasing is practical if you want to execute DIY wood projects. With the right materials and practice, you can also repair and restore wooden furniture, cabinets, and much more.
Buying woodworking routers and bits through the Internet is easy. Make sure to read customer and business reviews on which online suppliers offer quality equipment at reasonable prices.
Ryan Doss is a DIY enthusiast who bought [http://www.timbecon.com.au/]woodworking router and [http://www.timbecon.com.au/products/torquata-router-bit-sets-345_0.aspx]router bits recently to begin a cabinet-making job.
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Woodworking-Routers-and-Router-Bits---The-Right-Tools-for-Modern-Homeowners&id=6647985] Woodworking Routers and Router Bits - The Right Tools for Modern Homeowners

Hi Everyone,

Well, its been raining and its gotten colder today-Im hoping tomorrow wont be cold or rainy or at least just dry.

I made the new work table and it came out just fine:


I used Simpson Strongtie construction brackets to make it and it only takes a couple of hours to cut all the lumber and assemble it. You can see the plans for this on their website at:  http://www.strongtie.com/DIY/projects.html.  I really needed the table space and Im glad I made this.

I got up early this morning and I ran over to Home Depot to get a 2x4 and the second I walked in the store I could hear lots of children laughing and talking and lots of little hammers hammering away. I walked over to see what was going on and the store was hosting a wood working class for youngsters and their parents.

It was wonderful to see this. Im always glad to see kids working with wood, learning to use tools, and using both their heads and their hands to understand a problem and to work out a solution. Bravo to Home Depot for doing this.

Next week we begin the coffee table for my son so stay tuned as the process photos for that will appear on my other blog site, www.piperooo.blogspot.com.

Well, Im cold and wet and so Im going to finish up in the wood shop and go bake an apple pie for Easter dinner tomorrow. I hope you all have a good rest of the weekend.

VW

I have been building my oldest daughter a version of the School Box from the book "The Joiner and Cabinet Maker" If you want to catch up on all the posts they are collected together HERE, in reverse chronological order so if you want to see what came before this post, you have to keep scrolling down.

Ive been making lots of boxes lately, most of them carved, bible box style boxes. But I havent fit a till in one for a while. I had to look back to find the last one I built, it was for the Medieval Style Hutch Chest I built a little over two years ago.


That one had a lid, fixed with pin hinges. This time I was forgoing the lid. But I still had to make the stopped dados for the till.

Like everything, it starts with the layout.


First I measured and penciled in for the 1/2" dados. There is no secret or magic to the layout, I played with a couple 1/2" wide pieces of scrap until the spacing felt right.


I have been getting to like laying things out with a marking knife more and more. I started using them because I had read many woodworkers I respect write about how wonderful and accurate they were, but it was a tougher sell for me. I would start using the knife and before too long in a project, I would switch back to my trusty mechanical pencil.

I am up to about 60% knife and maybe 40% pencil. I still like to scribble in my waste area so the pencil is always near anyway.






Everything ripped and fit to size.

A while back I started writing on my work, but not like you think. I started writing in places that no one can see. I write on the inside faces of joinery, behind moldings, and in other odd places. Thos. Moser got me started after I read a passage in his book about him doing the same thing. I wrote about the idea HERE. Its putting just a little more of myself into the work. This piece, being for my daughter was no exception. I took the chance to write a whole letter on the bottom of the till, on the underside.  I also wrote in the rabbet.


Once the dovetails are glued up with the till wall and bottom sandwiched in place . . .


. . . and the bottom is nailed on. No one will see those words until the piece falls apart. That should be a long time from now. But Chloe knows its there, in fact she asked me about it. "Did you write something inside this one Dad?"

You bet I did.


With the pine bottom nailed in place it was just a matter of planing it and the proud parts of the dovetails down flush with the sides.

Ratione et Passionis
Oldwolf

If you plan to raise chickens, you will need to build a chicken coop to house and protect them from inclement weather in addition to natural predators. Hens tend to produce fewer eggs when they are uncomfortable from extreme heat, cold, wind or rainy weather. Therefore, providing all your chickens with a protective, comfortable place to roost will be beneficial to egg production and the future of new chicks. In addition, a chicken coop will protect your feathered friends from predators like snakes, rats, and hawks as well as any diseases these predators may carry.

Learning how to build a chicken coop starts with knowing how many chickens you plan to house and raise. The standard rule of thumb for most coops is allotting four to five square feet of space per bird. That means the chicken coop dimensions would be 4 x 4 to 5 x 5 if you had four or five chickens. You should also take into account height clearance for yourself so that you have enough space to stand upright when you are in the coop, whether it is for egg collecting or maintenance.

Your chicken coop should have good ventilation so if you plan to build a solid enclosed structure (perhaps similar to a small storage shed), make sure you incorporate screened windows along with a door that opens inward. There should also be nesting boxes (one per every two or three chickens) in addition to roosts for the birds. Consider some type of light or electrical outlet to plug in lights or heat lamps. Your climate may necessitate heat lamps during cold winter months. Lights can also trick a chicken into laying eggs year round rather than seasonally, a great investment should you want to have a supply of eggs all year.

Typical materials needed to build a chicken coop include:

-- 2" x 4" lumber for framing

-- 4" x 4" posts for wall support

-- Plywood sheets for walls, flooring and roof

-- 1" x 4" and 1" x 12" boards for nesting boxes

-- 2" x 3" boards or 1?" round wood dowel rods for perches

-- Chicken wire or some other wire with small holes to prevent chicken escape or predator entry

-- Cement to secure 4" x 4" posts in the ground and possibly for the coop foundation if preferred over plywood

-- Screen windows for ventilation

-- Screen door for entryway

In addition to the materials you need to build your chicken coop, a variety of tools, hardware and accessories are needed. You can expect to purchase different size nails, staples, metal joists for the roof and floor, electrical wire and outlets, window and door latches and hinges. Tool-wise you will likely use a saw, hammer, staple gun, shovel, saw horses, a measuring tape, post-hole digger and metal snips for cutting the wire.

Choose a chicken coop design plan that best fits your needs in regards to size and configuration. You can expect a pressure treated pine 2" x 4" piece of lumber to be around $4 to $5 for 8 in length while the 4" x 4" posts are approximately $13 to $18 each for 8, depending on the wood quality. Pine 1" x 4" boards cost about $10 for 5 while 1" x 12" boards are about $20 to $25 each for 8. Pine plywood sheeting costs about $10 to $15 for a 2 x 4 sheet with ?" thickness. If you are not handy with a hammer or home improvement projects, learning how to build a chicken coop will take some time - possibly several weekends. However, if power tools and lumber are your thing, you likely will need just a weekend to construct a basic coop for your chickens.

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 Process
When 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 always 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 away 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?

The blog is a hungry beast, devouring two posts every week. Alas, Im running a bit behind this year. Ive installed a bathroom fan and gotten bit by a stomach bug. Neither is woodworking, but both more time consuming that Id imagined.

Careful marking for the weight holes.

Tonight I did finally get some basic woodworking in. It really only consisted of drilling, but it was with my boys, so it was still quite worth it. With everyone finally feeling better, we got to work on our Pinewood Derby cars. The race is this Saturday, so were cutting it close.

I do have a few good posts in my head and will get back to proper woodworking in the next post or so.

For some proper woodworking right away, check out my buddy, Tom. Hes been busy in the shop and always seems to find the time to write about it.

Night, night, Tom.

Dont forget about the +Modern Woodworkers Association Podcast. We talk woodworking with Guests from around the world of woodworking every other week. Subscribe to the RSS feed or iTunes today.

Kari Hultman, The Village Carpenter.

Im wrapping up my three (3) parts series on The Village Carpenters Woodshop with the brief interview I conducted with Kari.

Even though I was once a college journalism major oh so many years ago, my interview skills, specifically my interview recording skills, were severely lacking when we spoke. The following is therefore my questions followed by my recalling of Karis answer, based on the cryptic notes I took. I think it still gets the points across, but Im very sorry, Kari, if I misrepresent any of your answers. I shall do better next time to accurately record the interview.

Q&A

Did you plan our your shop layout, or did it just evolve in an ad-hoc fashion?

The Village Carpenters Shop Overview

Karis shop has a planned layout. It was determined by the size of the shop, which was restricted by code and budget when it was purpose built. Rather than a drawing, Kari designed her layout using a plywood model.

As with any modest woodworker, Kari was quick to point our her mistakes (most of which no observer would qualify as a mistake). In shop layout, the two (2) mistakes which she regrets are not putting a 110v outlet in the floor next to the 220v outlet for her table saw, and not running water lines through here shop. The first mistake forces Kari to run an extension cord across the floor in order to power the dust collector which is connected to her table saw. The second means that there is no exterior water bib behind the shop, making the task of running a hose in the back yard much more difficult than it should be.

What is your favorite area in the shop? Least favorite?

The Dreaded Lathe.

Karis favorite area is at the workbench. She love detail work and working with hand tools, both of which happen at the bench. Her least favorite area is at the lathe. Though this may run counter to most lathe owners attitudes of that much loved tool, I for one share her opinion (though I do not own one (1) lathe, let alone the two (2) that Kari does). I think the common opinion and different ownership is explained by my indifference towards the tool and Karis desire to like it, regardless of her experience using it.

Shop Furniture, Build or Buy?

The Shop Made Sharpening Station.

Most of Karis furniture is built. In looking around the shop I think it actually surprised her to find that the only factory made shop furniture in site is her work bench. Besides the sheer enjoyment of making shop furniture, Kari explained that one of the main reasons its all custom built is that shes usually in no rush and can wait until a piece is ready.



Workbench, Build or Buy? What Style? Would you change anything about it?

Karis Factory Made Bench.

While discussing Karis bench, we both stated that we would like to build our own (barring the tool cabinet beneath her bench, Kari and I have almost the same factory made unit). While I plan to build a version of Bob Langs 21st Century Workbench as soon as I can, Kari was in no rush to build hers, and didnt know what type she wanted to build (though I have subsequently heard her say that she would like to build one soon and it may be the Roubo).

Favorite Activity in the Shop?

A selection of Karis Wooden Plan Selection. Some, Made by The Woman Herself.

Karis stated favorite shop activity is cutting wood with a honed (rather than sharpened or filed) blade. She loves to use her chisels, knives, axes and hand planes. She likes her axes so much in fact, Id dare not get between this woodworker and her bench for fear being introduced to the business end of one.





What Tool Do You own the Most of?

Karis Shop Made Hand Tool Rack & Plane Shelves.

Antique molding planes, by a long shot. And theyre all users. Not a display model among them.














The complete collection of photos from my visit with The Village Carpenter are available in my Village Carpenter Picasa folder.



Finally, after taking three posts to describe Karis shop, here is her own shop tour video. Clearly it does a better job and describing her shop than I do, and in much less time.


My Workshop from Kari Hultman on Vimeo.


Now, please stop reading and get out to your own shop. Its time for some sawdust.

The Village Carpenter, Part I
The Village Carpenter, Part II