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It doesn't rain often around here but when it does odd things sprout up.

As many of you know my father passed away a week ago Monday and as we work through the process one of the things that came up was the need for an URN for his ashes. The family decided to go with a wooden box type urn. As the funeral home showed us what was available they either looked really cheap or the prices climbed to the $1K range. Knowing my father (who was quite cheap LOL) I offered to make the the box and thought I would take you all along for the ride. First up was the design we wanted something clean and fairly simple yet nice. I decided to go with what I had in the shop so originall

Final inspection complete. The next phase begins: 2100

I have to share this news with you folks. In fact I think you get some of the credit for encouraging me. One of my pieces was chosen by the American Association of Woodturners for inclusion in the AAW's 2021 Member Exhibition, Finding the Center. I'm dumbfounded. I just had no expectation of being selected; I almost didn't enter. The piece they selected was "Offering", wip down to the bottom of the first page this journal to see some pictures: The exhibit is at the AAW gallery in Minneapolis and runs from Sept 5 to Dec 30, so I've got a while

I took my son for his driving exam today, then whatched him drive home in my rearview mirror. His "new" car may be several years old, but you'd think it just rolled off the assembly line... Sorry, too dark for photos, this is a dealer pic.

for hand surgery. I had a locking thumb that was painful. The surgery was 2 hours ago and is already feeling better.I have flexibility already. But doc says no work until the stitches are out.

Attached the bottom tonight and took some final beauty shots. Wish I would have had more time to play with some additional inlay strips recommended by Scott Grove but can't risk mucking this one up so I will probably make another similar one to try that on. That's a wrap! Thanks for following along

Glue up went well Next up was to cut for some keys Then glued them in and trimmed them at the BS Then I fit the bottom that will screw in for access. That'll work And finally glued in the attachment points for the bottom before starting the finishing process. Last step will be to rub out the finish and take a couple beauty shots later this week.

Today I remade the box while still not perfect I can at least live with this one. 1 2 3 4 - you can see this one is still off, I should have changed my bandsaw blade to a new one but it will work. Next up I cut a dado for the inset top panel and hand fit it using a shooting board and #5 plane With that done I moved on to a bevel detail on the top and the bottom of each side. I clamped a quick zero clearance piece down to the router table to insure a smooth cut. The panels are square with about an 1/8" 45 bevel top and bottom. Th

@wtnhighlander, Funny you should say that. It rained (well, what we call rain anyway) the few days before the building was going up. Despite repeated warnings about the electrical trench one guy pulled in and stopped right on it. It had been back-filled and compacted but, none of that means squat compared to Mother Nature's compacting process. His buddy was waving him forward like crazy but, for some reason he just sat there and sank up to the axle. This meant the other trucks/trailers that arrived had to stop behind him. Parts had to be carried to the slab when there was road

Pretty much finished the scraper plane that I started a couple years ago. Some final sanding, touch up the blade, and add finish and it will be complete

Ok I lied I have to post one more pic...on my desk the top really pops! Apparently I need to read up on lighting for photos LOL

Inspection for roof decking tomorrow.

About 70 miles due east of Santa Monica. I'm taking advantage of the lull to seal saw joints and mark stud locations. I've done this floor and ceiling in other shops and the short time spent on the little marks pays back well later on.

My Christmas gift finally arrived ... Veritas medium router plane, back-ordered 4 months.

Got all of the ebony veneered onto the three shelves. Still waiting on the glue. It is supposed to be here today. In the meantime, I decided to make a little box using the scraps from the rhombuses. I was originally going to use the scraps for the top but ended up putting on the bottom of the lid. At first, I was going to put a little marquetry piece on the bottom of the lid. I couldn't find anything that I liked that was super simple. So I picked a design that I liked and decided I wanted that for the top. So got out some veneer to pick the colors. Decided on the woods and m

I cut the veneer for the inside of the sides. It is fiddleback English Sycamore. I also taped it and got it ready for the press to find out that I don't have any lightener for the glue. I ordered some and it will arrive on Thursday. So, I shifted gears and started to veneer the shelves. I used the track saw because these are much longer cuts. Here is how I cut veneer with the track saw. I put the sheets on a sheet of mdf. Then tape all the veneer together so they don't move during the cut. This is the blade that I use to get nice clean cuts. Once the sheets are cu

This isn't likely to be an exciting thread as it'll just be standard cabinet build. Existing bathrooms and laundry room look like this. The new cabinets will be cherry, and I'm not a fan of the overlay design so all the doors and drawers will be inset. I have already made the lower cabinet carcass for the laundry room and 2 bathrroms. I have a deadline to make for the granite measurement so i have been steadily working on these. The laundry room above will be slightly modified. The cabinet will be shortened from the 6' that it is now to 4'. Where the sink currently i

Finished the external electrical boxes today but this was the highlight.

Finally getting a chance to use my new hand plane, and it appears to be working pretty well.

Finished product! Decided since this was my first time solely using hand tools for sawing, flattening, dimensioning, jointing, etc I’d start off with something pretty easy like a cutting board. It’s nothing special, but was a nice little training exercise.

Ok...so I am not sure this is worthy of a Project Journal, but I have decided to try the WW kitchen helper for my first project and add a thread. If there is a better location to post this thread please let me know! I have watched the WW video a few times and have printed out all of my plans to get started. I have also been talked into doing a small doll bench for the niece so we will see how that goes. I started with 4/4 cherry for the kitchen helper and 4/4 poplar for the bench with target end dimensions of 3/4-inch. Not too worried as long as I get all of the parts dimensional

So we got our first package of bees today! Typically you can have packages of bees mailed to you, but this year it seems that all suppliers are doing pickup only. So, how do you mail or store bees? Bees need a gap of 3/16"-1/4" in order to fit through, so 1/8" mesh will safely contain the bees while allowing plenty of air. In the center of the box, there is a metal can full of sugar water with a few small holes in the bottom to feed the bees while in transit. Suspended next to the feeding can is a small wooden box called a queen cage. It has one mesh side, and a hole on each end. On

I don't normally post my videos on here out of respect but, thought you all might get some use out of these. This is my review on the Harvey MG-36 Miter Gauge as well as adding a 0 clearance fence to it.

I’ve been eyeing the festool vac sys for a few years now but I really couldn’t justify the cost for a new one. The full set cost more than what I paid for my used pm2k. I would check the used market and even set up a couple of alerts on my phone but after a couple of years I never really had high hopes. Well yesterday guess what shows up on CL. Nearly spilled my coffee trying to hit the reply button. Agreed to meet early the next day and frankly I was still not convinced I was going to get it. Been burned more than a few times by Craigslist posters who agree on a price and time to meet then

Cherry kids folding chairs, the dark one was made in 2017, lighter was done today, Watco oil is the finish, all are right it just gets darker with time and better I think

People have different thoughts on windows and I believe everyone is correct as it pertains to their shop. In my reality windows are an incredible waste of valuable wall space. This is compounded by the fact that where I live we have all the 'natural light' we can stand 340 days a year and I already know what it looks like outside . Call me a curmudgeon or a misanthrope but I go to the shop to isolate and immerse in the atmosphere of the shop. I enjoy being with people and I enjoy my shop time. The two rarely spill over into each other .

I started working on the front of the shelves today. Cut one shelf worth of squares. I used the same method as the previous rhombuses. The squares are 2 5/8 from diagonals and the edging is 1/8. Then, set up to cut the holly strips that go around the squares. Got the miters pretty close to where I can appreciate them and batch them out. Tomorrow will be another day of cutting squares, edging and waiting for my glue to arrive. On a side note. This is how I store veneer that is not in use but is in the way. I tape it to my plywood that I am not using anytime soon and stack it up against t

Tick, tick, tick . . .

Oh yeah this is starting to come together...

As you get older, that 50’ can quickly become 500’! That’s the reason you put in a backdoor.

I got permission to buy a new tool and the next morning it popped up on recon.

I never liked most glues for mdf. The medium tended to float and shift even while clamping it together. But this thick stuff sets up fast, the mdf doesn’t float away, and it doesn’t get sucked in like a sponge. A very suitable use for the thick stuff.

Floating shelf V2. I had an idea to just use a piece of angle. So i bought an 1/8" x 1" aluminum angle for $10. My idea is to cut a kerf in the back of the shelf and then relieve some wood to allow the shelf to sit flush with the wall. I used a tall fence on my table saw clamped the shelf in place and then cranked the blade up 4.5 turns of the hand wheel to get the height i wanted. I then used a forstner bit to relieve most of the material and cleaned up with a chisel and router plane. I put a small test piece of angle in the slot. In my tests i found that the shelf could suppo

About 10 years or so ago, I was fortunate enough to purchase a set of Kiyohisa slicks from the maker, Watanabe Kiyoe, through So Yamashita (Japan-Tool.com). These have been incredible chisels and a joy to use when building furniture. As much art as tool. Part of the motivation for this thread comes from the completion of the underbench cabinet. Here are the Kiyohisa slicks in a drawer (beginnings of fitting tools into the drawers) ... Of course, over the years, I wished I have been able to order a set of Kiyohisa oire nomi (bench chisels). Not only were these very expensive sev

Biden chipped in 1400 an I payed the rest for a Pantorouter. I got the one that will press my shirts. Seriously they have a deal of $1995 for everything. All accessories. And freight. It is promoted as limited time. $150 savings. I had to stipulate that I want the shipment delayed until arriving April 10. I have a hand surgery for a locking thumb on March 31. If the box shows up early I may not behave and hurt my hand. Joe has an invitation to use the tool anytime.

Well after I had everything together I didn't like some aspects like small gaps and such. So I spent some time fixing up the errors and making a jig so hopefully the next go around goes a little smoother. You probably can't tell from the pictures but it is a lot better.

I forgot the 2 best pictures.

Pretty cool, but they weren't willing to trade a chair for a puppy.

These 2 were waiting for me when I got home. Now I just to find my bearing puller

Speaking of fishing, a friend and his wife were fishing a point and heard commotion several yards behind them. They checked it out and found these two guys. He netted them and brought them aboard. Both were still alive and they separated them and weighed them, then released them. An eight lb. bass trying to eat a five pounder.

I will have an outdoor switch and outlet at each door. I like the box just shy of flush and use a quick "jig" to help with alignment. These lockable covers will activate a "porch" light over each door and provide an outlet for whatever one may want one for in those areas.

How furniture makers bore for Romex

What lies behind drawer #1? The underbench cabinet is done .... ... and now the drawers are being filled, starting with the centre drawer in the top row. There are 10 drawers in all, and the aim is to use the space as efficiently as possible. Into this cabinet will be those tools I want close at hand, and to access readily. The centre drawers in the top two rows are for marking tools. The top drawer will be for squares I use all the time. Opening the drawer produces a 300mm Starrett combination square, a 150mm Starrett double square, and a V

We get our first package of bees today so I’m scrambling to be ready. All hive boxes are built and last night I painted them. Most frames are ready, but I have to install the wax foundation in one more set. All of these parts will make two separate hives, so technically I’m ready for our first package. But, our chickens are supposed to hatch on the same day that I’m picking up thw bees so I won’t be getting any less busy. Hope to update my bees thread soon.

Passed final in electrical. Just a couple nuisance items on the building to go.

I changed the faces on the bottom drawers. The previous was blotchy on the finish so I changed it. Much better. I was delayed doing this because my planer went down. Up and running better than ever. Now waiting for the prep work in the bathroom to be done so I can install.

Drawer Bottom and Slips One of the least pleasurable areas of drawer making is fitting drawer bottoms. Why? Because there always seems more to do than anticipated - there are more panels to machine to thickness and area, and this feels like it is endless. Mindless. Before starting on the bottoms, the drawer fronts are planed, chipped dovetails repaired, and fine-tuning of the bottom-less drawer is completed ... Link to the fixture here: http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMadeTools/DrawerPlaningFixture.html One of the rules I set for myself at the start of this project was that,

That's awesome to hear! Of the 4 I planted i had 1 die. It got wiped out by Japanese beetles. They are apparently highly attracted to Chestnut trees. I treated the other 3 trees with a pesticide to keep them away. So keep your eye on them. I have a pretty healthy tree order coming this year. I'm trying to introduce some diversity on my lot. Right now all i have are Ash, Elm and Boxelder, 2 of which are highly disease prone. So i ordered a river birch, a pair of black cherry, a pair of eastern redbud, a red maple, and a sugar maple. We'll see which ones take off.