Blog Series

Hints and tips that some may not have heard of.

Part 37: Fe$tool Drill on the cheap

Boys and Girls,   I get a load of flack from all but the tree huggers (they’re the greenies who think Ryobi and Fe$tool are organic due to their co...

Part 38: Lathe Spindle thread

Boys and Girls,   I was recently asked by a friend of how I cut the thread in my sanding disc(s) that I use on my lathe [IMG_9333.png] [IMG_9334.pn...

Part 39: CA-Finish "layers counter" for Pen turners.

Boys and Girls, I don’t want to get into a pissing contest [Pissing Contest.png] about the pros and cons of using CA finish on pens… or even in...

Milling lumber

Part 1: Big Pine

I got a couple chunks of 4”+ thick pine, roughly 20” wide and 5’ and 4’ long from my trip to MN. [IMG_7202.jpeg] Milling that into pieces my tool...

Part 2: Milling juniper

I got some juniper a while back from Sycamoray. Been slowly working through it, milling it into flat boards, mostly between 1/2 and 1/4 inch thick ...

Screw it, by hand...

Part 1: Introduction

Boys and Girls,   If this topic gets your juices flowing, after watching this video, the title may be on your lips as the included link at Taylor...

Typical Stuff In The Shop

Part 11: Island Legs

Making a couple of Legs for an Island. The granite top will hang over for sitting.  I had to use water base paint...yuck.... The brass is from a s...

Part 12: Wood Handles for Glass Doors

My friend that owns a glass company is building an in home office that is going to have glass walls and doors. He asked me to make them handles for...

Part 13: Melamine boxes

Building the boxes that will become part of a wall unit and bar. [20230506_105312.jpg] Basically a hybrid Euro style. Some with a face frame and so...

Sawbench/Mini Workbench

Part 4: Wagon Vice

Make the wagon vice. Chunk of willow for the screw. [20230309_153403.jpg] Square it up and leave it overnight in case it wants to warp at all. [20...

Part 5: Finish

Glue up the sections of the top. [20230329_165730.jpg] Then just give it a final flatten. [20230329_170116.jpg] [20230329_171407.jpg] [20230329_...

Part 6: Box for the Rounding Plane

OK, so I needed to make a box for the rounding plane, as I seem to have run out of flat surfaces to dump stuff on. Nothing fancy, just a basic box....

Wegner-Inspired Deck Chair

Part 8: Arms

The arms have a long taper from full 5/4" thickness at the rear down to about 1/2" at the front.  I made a sled to hold the arm in place and elevat...

Part 9: Seat Frame Mounting

The rear edge of the seat frame has 4 loose tenons glued in place.  The protruding tenons dry fit into corresponding mortises in the rear stretcher...

Part 10: Finished!

Well, finished without finish, but structurally complete.  Here's the completed chair next to the deck skirting from whence it came. [20221016-1G6X...

Different techniques applied in making the woodtoy models

Part 1: Engine for the 2CV

In this series I want to show what different techniques I use to make my models. I appreciate comments, especially if you come up with another prop...

Part 2: Making a fender

In this series I want to show what different techniques I use to make my models. I appreciate comments, especially if you come up with another prop...

Part 3: A curved exhaust

In this series I want to show what different techniques I use to make my models. I appreciate comments, especially if you come up with another prop...

Folding workbench upgrades

Part 1: Folding braces questions

So I built this folding workbench a while back and the extra working space has been so good.  I can pack it away by my sheet-good storage to get an...

Part 2: Parts and assembly

Got my workbench upgrades done.  It didn't seem like much before I started but this did in fact take a little time. I made 20 brackets for hinge p...

DIY Clamps

Part 5: Cam/Plunger Clamp (rev. 2a)

Yesterday evening, I cut out the parts for the long version of the clamps and got one assembled. [20230324-IMG_7799.jpg] On the first test, the t...

Part 6: Custom T-bolts and knobs

One challenge of fastening to the aluminum channel is that it doesn't work well with regular t-track bolts, which can spin freely in the channel.  ...

Part 7: Wing knob refinement

The wing knobs and T-bolts from the last post were working well for the cam clamps, but one thing I thought would make them better is if I could in...

Gears

Part 1: Geared Up - 3 Types

Hey Guys, I had some questions regarding how I made gears and I thought I might as well give you the complete rundown.  Perhaps the best thing to ...