Noah's Ark

I finally completed the Noah's Ark Maypole.  I liked the Nativity one so much I bought this plan also.  I am not as excited about this design.  It is flawed in many ways.  Here are the problems with the design:

• The sides I would thin up.  This would allow the base to be lower to the bottom.  Right now it sits about 3/4" above the base so the noses of the animals don't hit the ark.
• The top of the ark does not allow the base to to spin very much.  
• The animal legs are so thing they are attached with 1/8" dowel.  So the animals are glued into place instead of being removable.  
• The strings tend to catch on the top stopping it from turning.
• I would probably use a lazy susan base if I did it again.

It works and look nice but the finished product really did not excite me.

A couple of weeks ago my company sponsored us in a color run.  I took my younger son and we had fun.  I turned out looking and feeling like a Cheetos.  On the same day in the area was the Wood Working Show.  I wasn't really impressed again with this show.  It has become extremely small.  The majority of the show space was Peechtree and Wood line vendors.  The only tool vendors that showed were Jet and Bosch.  There was no good deals.  I was talking to some of the clubs to see if there were any in my neck of the woods.  Supposedly there is but I cannot find them.  I will have to email the contacts I made to see if they have phone numbers.My son loved the show.  I think it was the first time he saw some of the tools being used.  I was disappointed that we were not able to see the lumber mill band saw demonstration.

On a more upbeat note I did learn a new trick from the scroll saw group.  It was probably in the instruction manual but I didn't get that far.  When doing inside cuts I always loosened the top arm and blindly put the blade through the starting hole on the back side of the part.  If I loosened the bottom arm the top arm has enough movement to pull the blade all the way out.  I can now see the end of the blade and the hole, making it much easier to thread the blade through the small starter holes. 

Finally After the Third Bed

I finally finished the bed for my son.  He had about six more inches before he grew out of the converted the crib.  We also needed the crib for the next one.  So the changes from the last bed:

• I used beech not pine.
• Already had a mattress so I had the actual dimension instead of going off the internet.
• The sides are the same rather than having one a complete slab.  
• Added more mattress supports.
• It is finished in shellac instead of polyurethane.
• Tried a new profile for the drawers.
• Reduced the height of the drawer box .
• Used handles not knobs for pulls

So why beech, because the company I am working for is starting to use it.  Since I am asked a lot about the characteristics of wood I thought I would try it out.  It is interesting because it is harder than maple.  It has ticking like oak and is a reddish in tone but is closed grain.  It is a substitute for maple in a dark finish; the ticking is still visible in lighter finishes. I found it to show tooling marks more.  These were easily removed with a light sanding.  Granted my tools may not be the sharpest in the world.  It was a good wood to try, but I think I like maple better.  Maple is whiter and looks better with a clear coat.  Just some random information about the wood and why beech is becoming more prominent. It is actually German beech and they have a better sustainable forest system than we do in the States.  Beech has constant buys for all the grades of lumber so not a lot of the tree is firewood or press board.  Maple is going up in cost by a lot.  The demand is high while the supply is shrinking.  Maple is also not as clean as beech for the same grade of material.  This gives a better yield and less scrap.

Mattress supports are more important than I originally thought.  I put about eight slats on the last bed.  The problem is that they have a tendency to move so occasionally I will sit where there is no slats and sink further than I would like.

The profile change was because I wanted to try putting a bead inside the slab.  It was alright.  I burned in the corners.  The setup was not as bad as I thought it would be.  I clamped some scrap boards and used a bushing and a router bit to rout the inside profile.  It made it a little nicer.

The first set of drawer boxes we about a 1/4" from the top of the frame.  It makes it a deeper drawer box which is better right? Wrong! We tend to pack drawers full of clothes and clothes are not very consistent.  If the stuff in the drawer was above the drawer box by more than a 1/4" the drawer would not shut.  So by lowering the drawer I have psychologically proven to myself that the drawer will not get stuck as much. The other thing it did was create a perfect yield on a 5x5 foot birch plywood sheet.  I think I wasted a half a square foot total.

Why handles, because kids cannot unscrew them!!!

I still had my issues.  For some reason I could not drill my glide supports straight.  Then there was the small mistakes and underestimating the lumber that I needed.  Overall the bed came out well.  The beech will make it last longer and does not scuff as easy.  I am glad I had a respirator.  The fumes on shellac are strong even with an open garage.

For the record, my kids did help me put this together.  They picked out the large screws for the bed and the small screws for the drawers.  They also screwed in the screws if they could or gave me parts.

Here are the things I love about the bed; I can fully disassemble and reassemble  for moving and everything should be interchangeable but that is still to be discovered.  It is a solid bed and can be jumped on and abused.  The style will last and looks a whole lot better then the metal frame and it will not be out grown as my kids grow up.  It has full extension glides with deep drawers (drawers only pull out 3/4 extension).  My kids have jumped in the drawers and they work fine and hold up.

Plan, Think, then Measure Twice and Cut Once

So most people have heard of the old phase measure twice and cut once.  There is nothing more frustrating than cutting a board and only to realize the board is an inch too short.  There really no way to fix that mistake.  I have added two more steps before that phase.
Plan - There are many times where I think it is just like another project that I have made in the past only to realize that parts have had to go together in a certain way.  The other thing that happens a lot more than I would like to admit setups.  There are times that I have a machine setup and cut the pieces I needed only to realize that I could have used the same setup on other parts.  For example: I am working on a bed for may younger son.  There are three drawers underneath.  So I cut the grooves in the drawer sides and ends for the bottom panel.  I then tear it down and cut the bottom panel.  Then I have to cut the grooves in the drawer sides for the drawer ends.  When all it really should have been is adding a couple of blades to the stacked dado.  Plan your similar cuts and operations to maximize efficiency and reduce setup time.
Think - Never think that there is such a rush not to think through the process and what the desired result should be.  I am understanding there are several ways to reduce the blowout and plan defects where they will not be seen.  However I need to start thinking through the operation first.  Couple of examples; first if I rip after cross cutting, I can cut out the blowout that always happens.  I am also working on some monster trucks.  If I thought through where the blowout was going to be I would have realized all my marks where on the wrong side.  I can fix it but it is going to be a lot of sanding.

Now onto my little venting session.  If you do not want to read further I don't blame you.  I was on Facebook the other day and this add popped up:

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I have learned to accept Saw Stop and the technology that it contains.  Obviously it works and saves people from severe injury.  I cannot pay over $1700 for a base model for the saw stop.  You can argue the "if you lose your hand, would it not have been worth it?" card.  If I didn't want to get in a car accident I could stay home all day too.  It is extremely frustrating that a group of lawyers is trying to profit off these injuries because one one table saw has this technology and the other manufacturers understand safety but the technology prices them out of the general market.  This technology is great but it is not in the price range of the average consumer.  This all stems from a law suit where an individual was awarded $1.5 million for making a free hand taper cut on a table saw.  If he did not have the correct tools to make this cut it is another story, but he wanted to save time.  This just makes things more expensive for the end consumer.

In short: Know your equipment and know how to use them, then think.  That is the best safety advise I can give you.

Random Thoughts and Projects

Here are a couple of weekend projects I finished some time ago.  The first is a step stool. It does not look like much but it was designed by my grandfather.  We found the pieces and the pattern while cleaning out the garage after my grandmother passed away.  It is the only pattern that I have heard was found.  I have copied a couple of other projects of his but no plans have ever surfaced.

 It works great and is very sturdy.  The nice thing and bad thing is, the kids can carry it.  So overnight they grew 18".

The second is called a safety cupboard.  This is where all the safety equipment is supposed to go.  I cleaned it to take the picture.  I still need to put the hooks in to hold everything on the peg board but it still functions to keep the dust off of the safety equipment when not being used.  The main piece is the respirator.  It is not fun to have dust accumulate in the mask and then put it on.

 

The cabinet is made completely out of scrap.  One thing that I did on purpose is to put a melamine door on the front.  The reason for this is the door can now be used as a sketch pad.  Pencil will wipe off with a damp rag.

So the one thing that I do not have in it that I should is a first aid kit.  I have them inside the house and in the car but not one at my disposal in the garage.  I am going to go into a little bit of specifics on the first aid kit that I want in the garage.

• Random selection of band-aids.  This is pretty self explanatory.
• Good set of tweezers.  Splinters need to be dealt with quickly or they get forgotten about and infected.
• X-acto knife or hobby knife.  This has a sharper point than a utility knife and can cut skin.  My mother dug out splinters with a pin or needle.  This is effective but when digging it tears skin instead of cuts it.
• Gauze bandages, large. If it is not a small cut it is a large one.  
• Gauze wrap.  I hate the tape on skin and hair.
• Medical tape.  Something has to hold the gauze wrap in place.
• Anti-bacterial ointment.  Another thing that is self explanatory.
• A trauma pad.  I hope to never have to use this.  It is a pad for lots of blood. From what I understand a super absorbent maxi pad is the best, but I know nothing about feminine products.

I have been lucky.  I have had my fair share of splinters and minor cuts, but nothing too serious.  I have had sawdust lodge itself in my eye, I was wearing safety glasses.  And I nicked my finger with a router bit.  It did more damage to the nail than the finger and this was completely my ignorance and poor setup.  I am in no way putting off respecting the safety and rules of the equipment.  This is why my injuries have been minimal.  I make toys and they have a lot of small parts.  I will sacrifice clamps and scrap wood before I risk a body part.

I do not really complain about the weather in California.  Let's face it, in the middle of winter we have the Rose Parade and it is gorgeous outside while most of the US is is covered in snow. This past weekend was extremely humid and hot.  I made it a point to stay hydrated.  It is really easy to get to  really focused on what you are doing and forget to hydrate - water is the best and soda does nothing.  Heat stroke and dehydration are not fun and the affect can last for days.  Please know your body's limits and not to push too hard.

Circle Sander

So I have been making several wheels from a hole saw on a drill press.  This leaves a ragged edge that has to be sanded. The technique that I usually use is a bolt chucked into the drill press with the wheel on it.  This makes the drill press like a lathe in some aspects.  There is still some play between the bolt and the axle hole which does not allow for an consistent sanding.  I have been wanting to make a circle cutter for my band saw.  So this became the prototype.  It works well and is not that hard to make.  It took me about 4 hours.

Back end view of the sanding jig

Side view

Peg acts as stop so the there are no flat spots on the wheel

The adjustment on the glide allows for the wheel to just touch the paper so I only sand about a 1/16" and the base to be close to the belt for support.

The Body
I took a 3/4" piece of scrap plywood and grooved it in the center about 3/8" deep.  The depth of the groove is the thickness of the glide minus the thickness of the top piece.  The width of the groove depends on the width of the glide.  I then took the glide and put a rabit on either side so the bottom of the rabit sat just below the surface.  I then took a 1/4" piece of plywood and nailed it to the top of the piece of 3/4" plywood.  I then cut a groove through the 1/4" piece of plywood for the glide to fit in.  I made sure it was a tight fit.  I then sanded the glide so it was a smooth tight fit.

The Glide
To finish off the glide I drilled a 1/4" hole at one end.  Most hole saws have a 1/4" starter bit.  After that I marked on the bottom of the glide two lines.  I then marked a 1/2" scale starting at the hole all the way to the end.  I marked on the other line a 1/2" scale starting 1/4" from the hole.  At each of these marks I drilled a 7/32 hole.  This fits an axle peg.  This is used as a positive stop.  I now have a positive stop every 1/4".

Things to Note
The table for a belt sander is not always centered on the belt.  This is usually the case when there is a disk sander that is all with the machine.  This is not a huge problem because any part of the belt will work.  It is probably better to be on one side anyway.  Sanding circles does wear a groove in the belt about 3/8" wide.  I would not change the the fact the groove was centered.  Right now the jig is clamped to the table.  I will put a stop on the jig that will square it up with the table and make sure that it is not touching the belt during setup.  It will also allow me to attach it from the bottom so the table is completely free.

Wheels with a Hole Saw
If you are wondering how to cut wheels on a hole saw here are a few tips.  Buy a hole saw 1/4" larger than the wheel is needed.  Hole saws are measured by the outer diameter and the wheel will be the inside of the diameter of the hole saw.  When cutting the wheel out there are two things to consider. First, the hole saw makes a lot of dust.  You can get a much cleaner cut if there is a hole or edge that is open to expel the dust.  Just make sure the hole or edge does not create a flat spot on the wheel.  Second is that this is a two step process.  Cut about 90% through the board then flip it and cut the rest of the way.  This also makes it easier to pull the wheel out of the hole saw.

Construction Equipment

I am now caught up on all the construction equipment from the Wood Magazine series.  I just found out in the next edition of Wood Magazine there is a new front end loader coming out.  I have to say this is my favorite series.  It looks good, the parts move well, the toys look professional and best of all my kids love them.  Here they are in no particular order:

The Skip Loader:

The hands down favorite of my wife and two kids.  So popular it has been broken once already.  It is the smallest of the construction series.  The hardest part was drilling the holes through the chassis and the counter weight.

The Dump Truck:

Much more solid construction than the other two that I have built.  I like the threaded rod construction of these.  It does make the set an older kids set unless the kids are being closely watched. The tail gate does not swing open easily but that is because it does not have the wear and tear as the other toys do.  One thing that I did realize is the skip loader fits exactly into the dump truck.  I don't know if this was planned or not.

The Scraper:

It looks really neat and does what it is supposed to do.  I thought it looked really flimsy and then I saw one and it functions about the same as the toy.  The actual ones have a lot more hydraulics to them which make them a little sturdier.  This is the only toy that is not intuitive to work.  The kids still love it and it does it's job on the construction sight: scraping the ground so that it is level and then using that dirt to fill in the low spots.

These sets used a lot of 1/4" material so I was grateful to have a band saw and planer.  It saved a lot on wood.  The scraper had a fair amount of angles in it which took a little more set up time than I was used to.  All of these are made out of walnut and maple and stained in shellac. 

I also finished several tugboats (I was out) and a tone drum.  There were a lot of things that I had been working one and it feels good to have some of them finished.

On with the discovery of the sandpaper.  Uneeda gave me a couple of their sampler pads.  I am pretty sure that they were 220 grit but they were not identified.  The abrasive was white because when the abrasive wears it does not leave a colored dust on the project.  There were several things that I noticed that were different with this abrasive pad.

• It was a softer pad than the store bought ones. This made it easier to form around curves and get a consistent sanding in small places.
• It dusted the sealer and top coat instead of making worms (I don't know what else to call them).  I always thought the finish was suppose to clog the sand paper and form these threads of finish.  This pad actually created a fine dust.  It also did not clog.
• The pad lasted longer.  The pad lasted though two coats of top coat for all the construction equipment, eight tug boats and a tone drum.  The pad still feels like it did before I used it.
• I have never put on a smoother finish on pine before.

I am very pleased with how these turned out and the things I have learned.  A big thinks to Uneeda for showing me that all abrasives are not the same.

AWFS and Other Things

It has been a long time since I have posted. It is not because I have not been doing wood work, although that is part of the reason.  The main reason is that I have been busy.  Work has kept me pretty busy and I have moved.  I finally have a garage to put most of my tools.  Yes, there are some still at my parents but the majority are now in my possession. I am not going to lie, it is nice to walk out in the garage and see my tools ready to be used.  I did just finish several things.  The last three pieces of the construction set are now complete.  I will post about them later after I take pictures of them.  My kids were so excited about one they all ready broke it.  However, it is now fixed.
Last year around this time I wrote about going to IWF in Atalanta. This is the west coast version.  I usually go to the Woodworking Show put on by Wood magazine.  It is a show that is becoming smaller in southern California.  I believe the main reason is the internet and online purchases.  It is a hobbyist and small business show.  Lots of retail and gimmicky items to put a neat touch on your work.  If this show took steroids it becomes AWFS. This is for the larger businesses and people who make their living in the woodworking industry.  There are hardware vendors and larger machinery vendors.  The paper and vinyl vendors are there along with the lumber mills.  The power tool companies and retail venders are not there.  Rockler only had a small booth.  This was a time to meet with vendors, talk about new ideas and see how the industry is changing.  Here are some things I noticed walking around the show.

• Super glue is becoming more popular.  I am not sold on it yet.  I use it for repairs but that is it.  It is not water based so there is no grain raise and faster drying.  I can still buy a gallon of wood glue for the same cost of 12 oz of super glue.
• Printing and engraving capabilities are on the rise.  I saw a fair amount of laser cutters and etching machines.  These are fasinating to watch.  They had a couple that could handle an eight foot wide board.  Printing has come a long way.  It has also come a long way on paper and vinyl laminates.  There are some really nice looking papers that look just like wood.
• CNC machining.  There are a lot more vendors and the price is coming down on these machines.  They do nice work and allow for personal touches to make pieces stand out.  It is always fun to see what new design these companies come up with to showcase their product.  Last year I fell in love with a knock down rocking chair.  It was back and no, they still would not let me have the pattern.  This year there was a kids picnic table. These machines have come a long way and I hope to learn how to use them. It will be through work; they are still out of my price range.

It is always fun to pick our vendors brains about their expertise.  They are experts in the field and know more than I will ever know about their industry.  It was getting to the close of the show and I started talking to our sandpaper vendor.  The company is called Uneeda Enterprises.  I have sandpaper that was passed down to me from my grandfather.  It is called garnet paper and I wanted to know what was a good abrasive.  I knew aluminum oxide was good from a class I took in college but I was wondering what I should use for woodworking and finishing.  It was interesting to hear some of the science that goes into the abrasives.  Aluminum oxide is still a very good abrasive but they are not all the same.  An abrasive should break and remain sharp instead of wear down.  I will talk more about this on my next post.  I used the samples they gave me for finishing today.  I am just going to say that I was more than impressed.
I am going to end on this tidbit of understanding I learned from the show.  There are two groups of people that come to these shows.  The business people and the wood chuckers.  I get to play in both groups.  The business people are not looking to see how many pens, tape measures, candy, and weird and unusual things they can collect at the show.  The wood chuckers are trying to get all their supplies for free.  The vendors really do not want to take anything home with them.  It costs shipping and it is a pain.  The last day of the show is for all the wood chuckers.  I was not there for the last day of the show, however I was looking for deals.  Some of the tools were interesting but nothing that I wanted to buy.  I did get some weird silly putty stuff and a picnic paper goods holder.  It was a good show and I'm glad I work for a company that also does woodworking.