Vise for my bench.

for christmas I recieved a heavy columbia vice for my bench.



when I say heavy I do mean heavy. More weight to add to my bench :)

teeny shaker knobs

made these on my lathe for my wifes jewelry cabinet. getting closer to being finished with this project hopefully.

article review

In the February 2011 issue of fine woodworking the article titled "Seven lessons for the aspiring furniture maker" written by Monica Raymond is a good primer for beginners. The author details her own personal experiences as a beginner. The same pitfalls and follies I experienced would have been served by this article. Even her last piece of advice was the best. Pick up this issue. This article might help beginners as well as experts in helping advise beginners.

Blog Review

Recently was pointed to a blog by a woodworker and author named Doug Stowe. His blog from the first time I read it inspired me and encouraged my creative spirit. His posts are little insights into his thoughts. they are little windows into his shop as well. He paints a wonderful picture on what it means to be a woodworker, creator, and thinker while he works. Its definitely a worthwhile read and he is quite prolific.

You can find his blog at
http://wisdomofhands.blogspot.com/

wikileaks yeash someone is talking about this again!

I am sure people are tired of hearing about wikileaks. I have been listening to the stories and reading the news articles about this fiasco as its unfolding now. Thought I would make a couple of comments not like any of this hasn't already been stated. I feel the change to how we conduct ourselves is important. Its important that we grow as human beings and as time goes on learn to cooperate with one another. This may not be profitable at times but is important for our survival on a whole.

First and foremost what bothers me about wikileaks is that none of its leaks seem to involve any other country other than the United States. This is disconcerting because of the amount of injustice and misery through out the world. Where are the leaks telling the world where the state of the nuclear ambitions of Iran. Where are the leaks of the human rights abuses in North Korea and China. I think its the duty of wikileaks to not focus in on one nation and realize that it has a duty to alert the world to every injustice. Anything less sets doubts on Julian Assange's motives as to why wikileaks was founded and exists today.

It seemed to me as well that the recent round of leaks placed out there were no more than attempt at embarrassing the United States. The goals it seemed in the beginning was to make sure government kept in line and didn't abuse the power given to them by their citizens. These latest round however didn't not amount to that end. Instead the leaks were a presence of vanity by Julian to say I can leak anything anytime. The recent round of leaks didn't further what I thought was the goal of the site. But instead cause anger outrage and contemptuous behavior from countries around the globe.

Secondly if some who find displeasure in wikileaks being attacked from the powers that be I feel hacking back is an irresponsible use of your talents. Its fine to be angered at the US response to secret documents being released. Its entirely another to show the same discourse in kind. I feel that it helps no one and only furthers the agendas of those wishing to hide facts. A lot of activists I respect practiced civil disobedience. Gandhi, Martin Luther King and others proved that through perseverance change can be achieved. Hacking against the establishment is no more productive than active violence.

If I have learned anything from the leaks from wikileaks its not that the United States has secrets, I already knew that. I learned more importantly that no matter how much change has come we still as a nation conduct international relations as we did over forty years ago. That as a people we haven't grown much in that time. Frankly we probably haven't grown much in the last four hundred years or even maybe longer. Julian is another in a long line of petty vane people showing their power once they have it instead of using it responsibly. Remember what Spiderman learned that with great power comes great responsibility. Nothing more positive to say about the petty vane activities of the people we elect with their own agendas. Both sides of this have let this get out of hand. I fear that when the dust settles we will not have grown or learned anything but derived more bias and contempt for one or the other side's point of view. Is it too simple minded to say Cant we all just get along? I guess for the next few days I can't use paypal or mastercard if this so enraged anyone!

more work on my work bench

got the legs glued up




cut the stretchers and made the tenons




cut the legs and made tenons on the ends, this is before i made the shoulders but cut the cheeks


started the mortises for the stretchers but that isnt going well. dont have a great way of making mortises. also this is the first time i have made mortises all the way through like this.


well till next time have fun folks.

new information to disseminate.

"And now I thought we might have a moment, however brief, for some sincerity, if that’s ok; I know there are boundaries for a comedian, pundit, talker guy, and I’m sure I’ll find out tomorrow how I have violated them.
I’m really happy you guys are here, even if none of us are really quite sure why we are here. Some of you may have seen today as a clarion call for action, or some of the hipper, more ironic cats as a clarion call for ‘action.’ Clearly, some of you just wanted to see the Air and Space Museum and got royally screwed. And I’m sure a lot of you are here to have a nice time, and I hope you did. I know that many of you made a great effort to be here today, and I want you to know that everyone involved with this project worked incredibly hard to make sure that we honor the effort that you put in and gave you the best show we could possibly do. We know your time is valuable, and we didn’t want to waste it. And we are all extremely honored to have had a chance to perform for you on this beautiful space, on The Mall in Washington, D.C.
So, uh, what exactly was this? I can’t control what people think this was, I can only tell you my intentions. This was not a rally to ridicule people of faith, or people of activism, or to look down our noses at the heartland, or passionate argument, or to suggest that times are not difficult and that we have nothing to fear. They are and we do. But we live now in hard times, not end times. And we can have animus and not be enemies. But, unfortunately, one of our main tools in delineating the two broke. The country’s 24-hour, politico, pundit, perpetual, panic conflictanator did not cause our problems, but its existence makes solving them that much harder. The press can hold its magnifying glass up to our problems, bringing them into focus, illuminating issues heretofore unseen. Or they can use that magnifying glass to light ants on fire, and then perhaps host a week of shows on the sudden, unexpected, dangerous flaming ant epidemic. If we amplify everything, we hear nothing.
There are terrorists and racists and Stalinists and theocrats, but those titles that must earned; you must have the resume. Not being able to be able to distinguish between real racists and Tea Partiers, or real bigots and Juan Williams or Rick Sanchez is an insult, not only to those people, but to the racists themselves, who have put in the exhausting effort it takes to hate. Just as the inability to distinguish terrorists from Muslims makes us less safe, not more. The press is our immune system. If it overreacts to everything, we actually get sicker, and perhaps eczema. And yet, with that being said, I feel good: strangely, calmly good. Because the image of Americans that is reflected back to us by our political and media process is false. It is us through a fun-house mirror, and not the good kind that makes you look slim in the waist and maybe taller, but the kind where you have a giant forehead and an ass shaped like a month-old pumpkin with one eyeball.
So why would we work together? Why would you reach across the aisle to a pumpkin-assed, forehead, eyeball monster? If the picture of us were true, of course our inabilities to solve problems would actually be quite sane and reasonable. Why would you work with Marxists actively subverting our Constitution, or racists and homophobes who see no one’s humanity but their own? We hear every damn day about how fragile our country is, on the brink of catastrophe torn by polarizing hate. And how it’s a shame that we can’t work together to get things done. But the truth is, we do. We work together to get things done every damn day. The only place we don’t is here or on cable TV. But Americans don’t live here or on cable TV. Where we live, our values and principles form the foundation that sustains us while we get things done, not the barriers that prevent us from getting things done.
Most Americans don’t live their lives solely as Democrats, Republicans, Liberals, or Conservatives. Americans live their lives more as people that are just a little bit late for something they have to do. Often, something they do not want to do, but they do it. Impossible things every day, that are only made possible through the little reasonable compromises we all make.
Look. Look on the screen. This is where we are; this is who we are: these cars. That’s a schoolteacher who probably thinks his taxes are too high. He’s going to work. There’s another car. A woman with two small kids, can’t really think about anything else right now. There’s another car, swaying, I don’t even know if you can see it. The lady’s in the NRA and loves Oprah. There’s another car. An investment banker: gay, also likes Oprah. Another car’s a Latino carpenter. Another car a fundamentalist vacuum salesman. Atheist obstetrician. Mormon Jay-Z fan. But this is us. Every one of the cars you see is filled with individuals of strong beliefs and principles they hold dear. Often, principles and beliefs in direct opposition to their fellow travelers. And yet these millions of cars must somehow find a way to squeeze one by one into a mile-long, thirty-foot wide tunnel carved underneath a mighty river. Carved by people who by the way I’m sure had their differences. And they do it. Concession by concession. You go, then I’ll go. You go, then I’ll go. You go, then I’ll go. Oh my God, is that an NRA sticker on your car? Is that an Obama sticker on your car? Ah, well that’s okay, you go, then I’ll go. And sure, at some point there will be a selfish jerk who zips up the shoulder and cuts in at the last minute. But that individual is rare, and he is scorned not hired as an analyst.
Because we know instinctively as a people that if we are to get through the darkness and back into the light, we have to work together. And the truth is, there will always be darkness. And sometimes, the light at the end of the tunnel isn’t the promised land. Sometimes, it’s just New Jersey. But we do it anyway, together. If you want to know why I’m here and what I want from you, I can only assure you this: you have already given it to me. Your presence was what I wanted. Sanity will always be and has always been in the eye of the beholder. And to see you here today and the kind of people that you are has restored mine. Thank you.”
Jon Stewart at The Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear, October 30, 2010

quick update

Bench;
Still working on my Roubo bench. Flattening the top every chance I get. I've glued up the legs but will start on the joinery next.

Turning
A coworker had a Austrian Pine die in his yard. He asked if I wished to collect any of it. Well I didnt have a way to get the log chopped or get it home at the time he needed it cut down. I asked though for him to cut a chunk off so I could maybe cut up a couple of bowl blanks from it for practice.



lightsaber
Friend of mine's son is going as Yoda this year for Halloween. I had been thinking of playing with more turnings and even adding lightsaber to my repertoire. Still needs paint but overall a fun toy project.





well thats all for now.

new ubuntu coming

im excited about this release. there is a new installation process that copies files while you are finishing update steps. anyone wishing to try something new and fresh away from windows here it is.

I can quit anytime

Time ticks by and with seconds left will I come out on top. I’m bleary eyed and tired from sitting in front of the computer screen. The auction ends and I am the proud new owner of a Millers Falls number 9 smooth plane. A few days later It arrives in a box. I bring the box inside the house to be opened and notice my wife rolling her eyes. Box is opened and inside is a cruddy rusty tool with potential. I’m like a little kid overjoyed with my new toy. This has been a regular occurrence in our house for the last year.

My first experience with a hand plane was one I bought from a big box store. It was an awful experience. At the time I wasn't aware of what made a good tool. The blade was abysmal and the plane body poorly cast. As a frugal hobbyist woodworker I could not afford to put money into the Lie Nielson and Veritas planes. I was utterly crushed, is there no way I could keep my hobby spending under control and get a good quality tool. One day someone suggested I rehabilitate an antique tool, that was the start of the slippery slope that is hand plane collecting. At first I was limited by only being able to buy from local antique stores. Even found an antique dealer who specializes in hand tools. Alas I found eBay where there are a plethora of antique hand planes. eBay has a category dedicated to hand planes I found under the collectibles section. My daily ritual was to filter through eBay for the planes I wished to own. My pride and joy is a Keen Kutter with a Bedrock frog.

I become fascinated with even the most trivial detail of something I find interesting and I am a history geek. I delved into any source I could find to know more about the history of these tools. I surfed through the Internet for sources of information on every aspect of the planes. By this time this has cascaded into a full blown addiction. Though I found solace in that I was not alone. In the past year I have found several online who just like me collect hand planes. I could finally stop boring my close friends on the finer points on the hand planes I was collecting. Their eyes tended to glaze over as I prattled on about antique planes anyhow. At last I had a support group, an entire community of people like myself. They may not have found a start in the same way but they understood. On Roy Underhill’s The Woodwright Shop I even have a show I feel is tailored to me. I’m giddy when St. Roy breaks out a hand tool to work on a project. There is a plane with a flexible bottom that finesses curves, who knew.

The first time I took a shaving with a tool made over 60 years ago was an exciting moment. I had come a long way from the chatter prone junk I first purchased some time ago. It was the defining point in my hand tool journey. This all started as a cost effective way to further my woodworking hobby. Along the way I picked up a new hobby a few friends and an appreciation for good quality tools. Now only if I can build up a nice collection of moulding planes.

bought some more planes

I bought three new planes recently another jack plane but a good one, a long jointer which will come in handy and a router plane. the router plane is the stanley 71 has two iron cutters with it. router planes are for cutting the bottom of dados. The jointer is a wooden jointer made by Sandusky Tool CO and is 26 inches long. I need to flatten the bottom and sharpen the iron. The jack plane is a neat find. It's a bedrock plane but its not a Stanley. Stanley made planes for Simmons hardware under the Keen kutter line of planes. they made both the bedrock planes and the Baily designed planes. Its all about the frog for anyone who doesn't know a bedrock plane is a bedrock frog the frog attaches to the sole of the plane on a solid bed instead of the couple of points where the Baily frogs attach. You will see this design now on the Lie Nielson line of planes. I can imagine its expensive to make is why its not as popular since the bed it sits on has so much material to flatten.

dunlapped a plane

Ok its a bad pun but I started fettling another iron smoother. Someone sent me a smoother and I started by removing the rust with a wire wheel. takes the rust off really well. I have tried rust removal using evaporust before and while I like it, I find myself unable to get by and get some more. the wire wheel was helpful since it removes the rust well. the iron has a knick and i will have to cut a new bevel. flattening the sole should be easy but its a lot of work reguardless. I am kicking myself again for not taking pictures.

An update

well I have been posting to Lumberjocks so I never keep up this blog. In November I started on a coffee table for a friend of mine. The table was maple from Cabinet shop Mis-Cuts. Coffee Table Project

Before that I made a Shaker inspired Bread Box for my wife in our kitchen. Project was made entirely out of Pallet wood. Breadbox Project

Made a mallet from the scrap bin I have for my dad and will make a second one for me. Also planning a marking guage. but here is the mallet.

Made a napkin holder from scraps I have after my wife said she liked this one we saw at an art festival. Napkin Holder Project

Made a wishing well for someones retirement this was actually sort of a commissioned piece. Wishing Well

Been buying old hand tools for usage. there is a whole series of posts I have made in the last 6 months of planes I have bought on ebay and local antique shows and stores. my collection so far consists of;

Millers Falls No 17 Block plane
Stanley No 75 Bullnose rabbet plane
Oak Leaf No E23 Transitional smoothing plane
stanley No 5 Jack plane
Millers Falls 814 economy Jack plane
Stanley No 6 Fore plane
Stanley No 51 Spokeshave
3/4 Round Moulding plane.

a few planes planes I wish to acquire in the future are;
Millers Falls N0 9 or Stanley equivalent
Jointer plane Stanley or Millers Falls
more moulding planes in usable shape.

New Tools ...well new to me.

I'm cross-posting this blog to Lumberjocks. Here is my latest post over there.

New Antique Hand Planes tool purchase

I have found some more information on the last plane called a transitional plane. they were planes with a wood base and iron top. Its a brand called Oak Leaf. Simmons Hardware Company sold a catalog of stuff like Sears. Keen Kutter was a store brand that they sold as well. the Oak leaf tool like was created by WM Enders a company executive which I cant find much more information on. At first the tool line was labeled with Simmons Hardware above the Oak Leaf name inside of a Oak Leaf emblem. then later the Simmons was replaced with WM Enders.