Garage Shop

With the addition of a second Woodworking in America conference by Popular Woodworking, and the announcement of the new Fine Woodworking Live event the choices for attending a great woodworking conference are many.  Maybe too many!

One of the great things about WIA in 2010 and 2011 was the chance to connect with woodworkers you already knew, but hadn't met before.  Here is a picture of the guys from 2011.  We all showed up in the same shirt - how embarrassing.

Want to let your buddies know where they will see you?  Want to avoid the embarrassment and potential drunken debauchery of attending the same event?  Let's compare notes.

The 2012 Woodworking Conference Buddy Tracker is now online! Click on over there!
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Tonight I had some time in the shop and tried a little letter carving.  You be the judge.  Fantastic or not?

One down, several more to go.  Just takes a steady hand and some sharp chisels.

Thanks to Kari Hultman for the inspiration and some great tips on the letter carving technique.

Well, what do you think?  Let it all hang out.  We're in the trust tree.

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This is what happpens when a woodworker is stuck on a boring conference call.  I've had leg vises on my mind lately.
Exploded leg vise

In case you were wondering, SketchUp is just an enabler for my natural tendencies.

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It's "Get Woodworking Week", the brainchild of Tom Iovino over at Tom's Workbench which is one of the most consistently updated woodworking blogs on the internet.  Tom came up with the idea at the Woodworking in America conference in 2011, and bloggers from around the country have responded to the challenge of getting folks interested in woodworking.  Tom is herding the cats and providing links over on his site, so be sure to check out all the great content being posted this week.

Once again I've been away from this blog and the workshop for too long.  With a new baby in the house, shop time has been very scarce.  I was able to get into the shop a few weeks ago and it was such a big deal that I took a picture of my newest project.  Behold, a stick that I made.  Out of walnut, of course.

Only took me an hour to make that stick.  Felt good!Even this very quick session got me excited again, and I've been trying to get into the shop every day even if it's just for a few minutes.  During my day job, I don’t get any opportunity to get “hands on”.  Like many other woodworkers, I spend my day clicking and typing at my PC.  I find that some time in the shop is very therapeutic and gives me something to look forward to.  Frankly, I like to use my hands and I just get a little antsy if it’s been too long since I picked up a tool.  You can bet that I'll keep it up now that I'm back in the shop.

I could get all philosophical about the value of work and the connection between physical labor and societal value in the modern world, but I am never able to find the words and others do it much better than me.  If you are interested in this sort of thing, try reading Matthew Crawford’s book Shop Class as Soulcraft or Christopher Schwarz’s recent instant classic The Anarchist’s Tool Chest.

Back to woodworking, you might be thinking to yourself “I don’t know how.” Hey, me either.  Nobody taught me this stuff when I was a kid, and quite frankly I’m still not a very experienced woodworker.  As far as I’m concerned, I’m still a beginner.  I’ve cut dovetails exactly once, and I had someone talking me through it the whole time.  But woodworking isn’t some mysterious black art that can only be learned in secret back rooms under hardware stores.  All you need is some curiosity and the willingness to make a few mistakes along the way.

You won't be alone, trust me. Somehow you found this blog post, so you’ve already discovered that there is a very active online woodworking community.  I’ve had the good fortune to meet many woodworkers online and in person over the past few years.  It may sound corny, but I know that every single one of them would be willing to answer a question from a new woodworker.  Many would even show up in person and help out if they were close enough.  If you don’t have a woodworking mentor in your offline life, try visiting a forum or comment on a few blogs and test the waters.  My “home” forum is www.woodtalkonline.com and I’ve found it to be very welcoming to newcomers, and all ranges of experience.  Another new resource is the Modern Woodworkers Association which has local chapters springing up across the country.  The Atlanta chapter meets once a month, so come and say howdy.

You don't need a bunch of fancy tools to get started either.  A pretty simple kit will get you a long way down the road to woodworking.  In fact, I'd recommend that you should wait to buy tools only as you need them.  Many of the "must have" tools that I bought early on are now collecting dust in the shop...Um, but not in the way that a dust collector would collect dust, you know?  Because it's a dust collector?  Anyway, I now buy tools only as I need them.  Except for that chisel Chris Adkins talked me into in November.

So if you've ever thought about giving woodworking a try, this is the week for you.  Get Woodworking!
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Woot!  I'm famous, or at least my bench is.  I was pleased as punch to be featured over on The Wood Whisperer Guild site.  Marc and the Guild are gearing up to build a Split-Top Roubo workbench, and he is doing some interviews with some Guildees about their current benches.


If you have come looking for more details on the "Heavy-Duty Hideaway Bench" just look for posts tagged "workbench" or click this link.

Thanks for stopping by!  Glad you're here!

If you have any questions about the bench like "What the heck were you thinking?!?! then just post a comment.  I'd be happy to reply.https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/11055508-1995052612054455369?l=garageshop.blogspot.com

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Workbenches and vises have been very popular topics for magazines, bloggers, and manufacturers for the past few years. Thanks to Chris Schwarz and others, we have all been able to dive deeply into workholding theory for the shop. Building a capable workbench is becoming a rite of passage for modern woodworkers.

It doesn't look like this resurgence will slow any time soon. In fact, there are a couple great workbench builds going on right now across the web. For instance, check out Kari Hultman's blog, The Village Carpenter as she begins construction of a Roubo style bench. In addition, Marc Spagnuolo has announced that the winter build for The Wood Whisperer Guild will be a Benchcrafted Split-Top Roubo Workbench.

One design that has gotten a lot of recent attention is the Moxon Vise, which is a handy clamping accessory for working on the ends of boards. It excels at holding boards for dovetailing or tenoning with a hand saw. Based on a 17th century manuscript by Moxon, the common design spreading through the woodworking world comes from a recent article in Popular Woodworking Magazine by Schwarz. That guy is everywhere! The Moxon is a twin-screw vise that clamps on top of your workbench, so it raises the work up to a better height for sawing.

Schwarz's version of the Moxon viseOne downside to the Schwarz design is that it uses shop-made wooden screws, so you will need a threading and tapping kit.  This is about a $50 pain in the butt, and I've heard that the tapping kits are very finicky and tough to get working correctly.  On top of that, wooden screws will expand and contract with seasonal humidity changes so they may not always work smoothly.

After a little googling, I was able to find a cheap source for some 1" metal rod with Acme threads.  Using metal screws avoids the problem of working with a threading kit, and another bonus is that the metal screws are 4 tpi (threads per inch).  The wooden threading kits I found were 6 tpi, so the metal screws should screw in and out 33% faster!

I got the stuff from surpluscenter.com and the part numbers you need are 1-2983-100-3 for the threaded rod and 1-2984-100N for the nuts. I tried to find some surplus Acme rockets like Wile E. Coyote used, but no luck there.  Total cost for 3ft of threaded rod and four nuts was about $60 plus shipping.  This is enough for two Moxon vises, so the cost is about the same as a threading kit.

This is all the hardware you'll need for a couple Moxon vises
The first task was to cut up the threaded rod into smaller pieces.  I needed 7" lengths of thread for my design, which yields a 2 1/2" capacity in the vise.  If you want to hold thicker boards, you may need longer screws.

I rigged up these little stands to make cutting the threaded rod easier
I wanted to cut 7" sections of the rod for my purposes
You could go crazy with a hacksaw, but I used a sawzall to make the cuts.
Slip the blade into the slot in the stand to keep the cuts as straight as possible.
Flip the stand on its side and use a metal vise to clean up the cut.
Get it close to 90 degrees, and remove all sharp edges that can injure you.
My neighbor is a wood turner and he was kind enough to turn a couple walnut handles for me. Did I mention how much walnut we have?  The plan was to epoxy the threaded rod into the handles, and it worked like a smelly, sticky charm.

One of the walnut handles my neighbor made, a section
of threaded rod, and 5-minute epoxy.  What could go wrong?
Put the epoxy into the hole, and work the threaded rod down into
the epoxy so that the threads get filled up.
Next, I needed to make the vise body and front chop.  I used a seasoned 2x10 that was laying around the shop (well, my neighbor's shop...but he looked the other way for a couple seconds too long!)   I stayed pretty close to the dimensions from Schwarz's magazine plans.  With luck and planning you will end up with a little more than 24" between the screws.

Front vise chop, rear body, and stabilizing support were cut and milled square.
The screws go through the front chop, and thread into the rear body of the vise.  For the wooden-screw versions, you would need to use a tapping kit to cut some threads in the holes in the main body.  I simply drilled some 1" holes and sunk the nuts into the back of the body so they wouldn't spin.
I used a knife to mark the locations of the nuts on the back of the vise.
http://i318.photobucket.com/albums/mm404/amarshallpics/615e3616-1.jpgA little drilling and chiseling created a recess for the nut to sit in.
http://i318.photobucket.com/albums/mm404/amarshallpics/e7af23c3.jpgThe nuts are just friction fit, though a little epoxy would work fine also.
Here is the completed Moxon vise, shown from the back.  You can see why the nuts are countersunk, so they won't rotate when you tighten the screws.
http://i318.photobucket.com/albums/mm404/amarshallpics/22f97c24.jpgAll the edges are chamfered, and a little danish oil makes a good finish
The Moxon vise sits on top of your regular workbench, and you can just clamp it down to the bench top.  This provides a rock-solid way to clamp a board for working on the end.  It's great for hand sawing, and also raises the workpiece up to a much more comfortable height.
http://i318.photobucket.com/albums/mm404/amarshallpics/1362b4b5.jpgWith 24" between the screws, you could dovetail the side of a cabinet in this vise.
I can see why this vise has become so popular among woodworkers.  It's an easy build, and really is specialized for working the ends of boards.  Combine this with other vises on your bench, and you will be all set for any hand tool woodworking.
Here is a picture of my wacky English woodturning neighbor giving the vise a test drive.  I think he likes it!
http://i318.photobucket.com/albums/mm404/amarshallpics/6c029600.jpgHe's having a little too much fun!Have you built a Moxon vise?  Let's hear about it in the comments! https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/11055508-7427479352104628638?l=garageshop.blogspot.com

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My last post was about a cart I built for my short drill press, and the possibly dangerous creative use of a couple rachet straps to hoist it onto the cart.  It had been sitting on the floor for years, and I finally managed to raise it up to a better working height.  Of course, I didn't plan ahead so I had to order the wheels.

The wheels came in, and hilarity ensued.

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I did something yesterday that worked just fine, but was a little risky.  I got scolded when my wife found out about it, and that says "blog post" to me.

For almost two years, my drill press has been sitting on the ground.  It's a full size drill press with a short column, that's meant to be mounted on a stand.  It's way too heavy to be considered a bench-top tool, since there's no way anybody could move this thing alone.

Floor level is not ergonomically correctI have a bunch of drill press tasks coming up, and I'm getting tired of crouching down to use the drill press anyway.  I've also had an extra sheet of nice Baltic Birch plywood kicking around the shop for a while, earmarked for a drill press stand.

To those who know me as an uber-geek, here is proof that I don't model everything in SketchUp:  my rough sketch for the drill press stand.  I suppose I lose some points for blogging about it, but surely I am still ahead in the accounting.
Very technical plansAfter a very quick session with the table saw, I glued and screwed the cabinet together.  Here is a shot just before I added a 1/2" plywood back.  It's upside down, and those  of you with eagle eyes will notice that I reinforced the top to prevent sagging from the heavy drill press.

Drill press stand - almost completeNow, here is the not bright part.  I wanted to put the drill press on the new stand, but I couldn't lift it alone.  It would have been tough even with two people honestly.  So I went out to my truck and got a couple ratcheting tie-down straps.  A few minutes later and I had the drill press positioned under a convenient 2x4 in the ceiling, ready to hoist.

Hoping my wife doesn't see thisIt was slow going because the straps would only tighten about 8 inches at a time.  I would raise the drill press with the first one, then switch to the second strap and then back again.  It was a little nerve-wracking. After a couple of minutes of clicky-clicky ratcheting, I had the drill press high enough off the floor to slide the new stand underneath.  After I started breathing again, I remembered to take a picture.

Whew!  Made it!All's well that ends well, or at least that's what I told my wife.  I will be adding some casters eventually, and likely some drawers inside the cabinet.  For now, I am just happy to be up off the floor.

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A lot has happened in the last month, though you wouldn't know it from my lack of posts.  This post will be a bit of a brain dump, just to get the blogging area of my head aired out a bit.

For much of the past month, I was working on preparations for the newest Guild Build over at The Wood Whisperer Guild.  It's a Greene & Greene inspired Adirondack chair, and Marc and I held a lot of design sessions to get the plans finished.  With these Guild Builds, I started simply helping out with the SketchUp work but it has evolved over time to really be a collaborative design effort between the two of us.  I will finally be building one of these projects, and brought home a few cypress boards the other day to begin construction.  This one will be fun, so stay tuned.

Greene & Greene inspired Adirondack Chair
I also started work on a walnut desk for my wife.  It will be a modular design, and the top is already completed.  I bought a metric butt load of walnut recently and this is the first of many walnut projects to come.

Walnut Desk - Top is completedThere have also been some upgrades to the shop, as always.  After using my "Swiss cheese" workbench for a few months, I have decided to enhance my work-holding by building a Moxon-Schwarz saw vise.  The design was featured in Popular Woodworking Magazine last year, but I made a few modifications.  The biggest change I made was to use metal screws instead of shop-made wooden threaded screws.  I found a great cheap source for some 1" diameter, 4 threads-per-inch metal screws and matching hex nuts.  You'll probably be seeing more about this later, but here is a quick teaser shot.

Moxon-Schwarz Saw ViseMetal Vise Screws?  Crazy!Summer is fully here in Georgia, and it is getting hot.  In the coming months I'll be working on the Adirondack and the Walnut Desk, with a couple detours into other fun little projects.  

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I'm still here, and actually getting a lot done in the shop.  In the past few weeks I've stashed away a small mountain of walnut, started on a new desk project, and been working on upgrades to my workbench. On top of that, I'm working with Marc Spagnuolo to design the next project for The Wood Whisperer Guild, a Greene and Greene style Adirondack Chair.  I've got a ton of pictures, and I'll attempt to catch up on my posting.

To show you that things are getting done and I'm not sitting around eating hot pockets and playing with SketchUp - well not JUST doing that anyway - below are some pictures of my completed English layout Square.

If you read back to my previous post about the class I took with Schwarz, you will see that I still had some work to do after the class.  Here is where I stopped:

Almost ready to attach the cross brace, and lots of curves need to be smoothed out.After I got back to my shop, I was able to cut the half-laps for the cross brace and get it glued into place.  The joints came out nice and tight, and a little smoothing plane action had everything nice and flush.  This was my first time working with walnut, but it certainly won't be the last since I recently bought a pile of walnut.

Here is another shot showing the progress I made on getting the curved details completed.  I don't have a large selection of rasps, so I had to make do with some small chisels and a dowel with some sandpaper rolled around it.  The end result turned out pretty good, I think.

Working on the curvy bitsAfter that it was time to get the square adjusted so the corner is exactly 90 degrees.  There is a video on the Pop Woodworking site that shows how to do this.  I ended up clamping the square onto my bench on its side and just shooting along the edge with my smoothing plane.  

First one edge, then the other.  It's easy to adjust one edge at a time and get very accurate results.After I tested and adjusted it a couple times, this simple wooden square is now more accurate than my metal framing square.  I've already used it a couple times, and it's nice to know I can easily correct things if it ever goes out of square.

Here is the final product after a couple coats of danish oil.  I've got it hanging up on one of my cabinets, and I kind of like that it looks like a big "A" for Aaron.

"A" is for Aaron, Aardvark, and Apple Pie.It's been a while since an update, and things are getting hot in Georgia!  Is this your busy woodworking season or do you play outside in the summer and come back into the cave in the fall?https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/11055508-5311655739940082170?l=garageshop.blogspot.com

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