What did you do today?

[Chestnut]

7 hours ago, pkinneb said:

Hock Tools, to soon to tell need to sharpen the blade but had to run to CO to see a family friend who unfortunately has taken a turn for the worse. Will be back next week and I will let you know what I think.

Stay safe. It sounds like you and your family have been having a rough time this spring.

[Gary Beasley]

11 hours ago, Coop said:

Gary, I just watched a you tube video of this camper that the dealer sold for $9.5 k. That’s a neat looking camper. Keep us updated on your progress. 

Yeah, its an off road toy hauling camper. We dont do much with it any more so Im sprucing it up to sell it. I already had to rebuilt the galley five or six yeas ago. It simply fell apart while packing it down at the campsite. Put together with luan, staples and a dab of construction adhesive. It got rebuilt with plywood, box joints and wood glue. Cant tell it was redone at first glance.

[Chestnut]

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 support roughly 35 lbs. Around 50 lbs the wood broke, shelf still didn't fall but anything on the shelf would be on the floor. To increase strength and make sure the shelf didn't pull off the wall i drilled 2 holes down from the top and put a screw through the top of the shelf and the aluminum angle. This should hold the sandwich together quite nice.

Mounting is easy. Bracket and shelf weren't long enough to hit 2 studs. I brought the bracket to the shelf location marked the stud location and drilled the first mounting hole in the aluminum. 2nd Mounting hole (the silver screw below) was positioned on the opposite side and got a drywall anchor.

Finished product.

Whole wall with picture frames and decorations. The shelves milled out to 2" thick I didn't like that thick look so i under beveled them so the showing edge is about 3/4".

The book on the shelf is one of my favorite gifts we received. The lady that made it for us takes books and folds the pages to make letters. It can be difficult to see so i upped the contrast to make it a bit easier but it says Mr & Mrs. Megan and I both read A LOT of books. the 2 giant bookshelves i made 2 years ago are already full and i need to make another 1 or 2.

[Mark J]

I like the idea of those two screws through the back of the shelf.

[wtnhighlander]

Nice idea on that shelf, I'll probably steal that. Wall displays look great, and that folded-page book is really cool! I had to squint to make out the letters, but once I did, they are obvious, and beautifully done.

[Coop]

This couldn’t have come at a better time. It seems that picture frame shelves are the going thing according to my wife and her life on Pinterest. I made her a couple using the typical j hook that are used to hang pics but it sticks out fro the wall and looks like crap. @Chestnut, on your first trial, did the wood give above the kerf due to lack of mass above it. I.e., if the kerf were lower down, wouldn’t it be stronger? Either way, I shall be borrowing your idea as well. Thanks. 

[Chestnut]

10 minutes ago, Coop said:

This couldn’t have come at a better time. It seems that picture frame shelves are the going thing according to my wife and her life on Pinterest. I made her a couple using the typical j hook that are used to hang pics but it sticks out fro the wall and looks like crap. @Chestnut, on your first trial, did the wood give above the kerf due to lack of mass above it. I.e., if the kerf were lower down, wouldn’t it be stronger? Either way, I shall be borrowing your idea as well. Thanks. 

I left 1/4" of material above the angle bracket. I thought that it would be kind of weak which is part of the reason for the screws. The screws hold the thinner wood down. That said with out the screws the shelf was still quite strong the secret is to plunge the kerf cut and not have it extend out the sides.

 

There is going to be a direct trade off between how much material is left above the kerf and how much the shelf sags. More material above the kerf will cause the shelf to sag more. It might be stronger but I don't need it to hold 5 gallons of water. or a row of books. Though it might be able to hold the books if they are the small paper back ones.

34 minutes ago, wtnhighlander said:

Nice idea on that shelf, I'll probably steal that. Wall displays look great, and that folded-page book is really cool! I had to squint to make out the letters, but once I did, they are obvious, and beautifully done.

Steal away! The book still blows my mind i have no idea how it was created.

[RichardA]

12 hours ago, Mark J said:

I like the idea of those two screws through the back of the shelf.

I do to, but I think I would have come up from the bottom, rather than leave them visible.

[wtnhighlander]

For those who aren't aware, metal angle bar is available in 'odd-leg' dimensions as well. Using a 1x2 angle would allow the longer leg to be buried deeper into the shelf, while still hiding the leg against the wall.

[JohnG]

9 hours ago, RichardA said:

I do to, but I think I would have come up from the bottom, rather than leave them visible.

Depending on the height and what you put on them, screws from the top may be less visible. Especially in a room that is typically used for sitting. 

[Chestnut]

I don't know that screws that screws from the bottom would work. You would have to have the perfect length screw to stop short of going through the top 1/4". If they might be visible you could use a brass pin or a dowel that wouldn't look so out of place.

It also might not work as well if the angle is upside down. The whole design is to offset the rotating force that is exerted which means you want the screws into the wall as close to the top as possible. Cantilever designs are tricky but fascinating.

[Mark J]

@Chestnut, did the screws you used go through the aluminum angle or just engage the top surface?

[Chestnut]

12 minutes ago, Mark J said:

@Chestnut, did the screws you used go through the aluminum angle or just engage the top surface?

The screws are 3/4" so they go through the angle and roughly 3/8" beyond. I drilled a hole small enough in the angle so the screw would "cut threads". I did this just so if there was any force put on the pin that there isn't any slop.

 

[JohnG]

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. 

[treeslayer]

Looks like you’re good to go John, always something to do but that’s a good thing IMO

[Mark J]

Wow John, that's gonna be a lot of honey.  Hope the toaster is in good working order .  

[Tom King]

John, The Bees will thank you!

I looked at the company stuff that you bought that rack from.  I was looking for a new adjustable bench. Titan was the brand I ended up going with.  The adjustable bench is a copy of a Legend one, for less than a quarter of the price.  I am very pleased with the quality of the bench. 

 Titan also has a combination, plate loaded pulldown/low pull machine that looks really good for the price.  I don't need one, but looked through their lineup.  Last week, I replaced the pulleys, and cables on my old one.  That lat machine is out of stock, but looks like they'll have it ready to ship in May.

https://www.titan.fitness/strength/specialty-machines/upper-body/plate-loadable-lat-tower-v2/400895.html

[JohnG]

2 hours ago, Mark J said:

Wow John, that's gonna be a lot of honey.  Hope the toaster is in good working order .  

Actually it is not! We have a 4 slice toaster, and occasionally the right set will not stop on it’s own. So it will need to be replaced. Usually you don’t harvest honey in the first year, but if they start strong and fast you might be able to take a little bit. They need to produce extra honey to build up stores for the winter. 
 

2 hours ago, Tom King said:

John, The Bees will thank you!

I looked at the company stuff that you bought that rack from.  I was looking for a new adjustable bench. Titan was the brand I ended up going with.  The adjustable bench is a copy of a Legend one, for less than a quarter of the price.  I am very pleased with the quality of the bench. 

 Titan also has a combination, plate loaded pulldown/low pull machine that looks really good for the price.  I don't need one, but looked through their lineup.  Last week, I replaced the pulleys, and cables on my old one.  That lat machine is out of stock, but looks like they'll have it ready to ship in May.

https://www.titan.fitness/strength/specialty-machines/upper-body/plate-loadable-lat-tower-v2/400895.html

I went with this brand simply because I have a relative affiliated with the company so I was able to get my setup for significantly less than any other option. I have been pleased with the quality of it though. 

[wtnhighlander]

Yesterday, actually. Shoveled 3-4 cubic yards of dirt, to prep for a parking spot. Tired of playing musical cars every time someone needs out of the garage.

Having recently completed yet another lap around the sun, I think I can officially say "I'm getting too old for this!"

On the bright side, my lovely bride did get me a couple of new toys.

I've needed a bandsaw for a while. Kept drooling over the Harvey Ambassador, but just don't have the power or floor space. This PC seems to work nicely.

I was also glad to discover Kobalt has at last produced a trim router to fit my chosen battery system. Tool seems pretty nice for the $$, but I have yet to chuck a bit into it.

[treeslayer]

Work and play on the same day ! Nice score Ross and I see Cody eyeing up the new bandsaw, put him to work ASAP

[Coop]

Happy BD Ross! Yeah, moving dirt is no happy chore whether you’re 25 or 35! Congrats on your brides recognition for the need for new toys! You’ll probably pay heavily as I do.  Cody’s probably wondering where the table is for the bs? 

[wtnhighlander]

7 hours ago, Coop said:

... wondering where the table is for the bs? 

Well, as you can see, we assembled most of it on the deck so there was space to move it around. Table added after we dragged it into the shop. It is pretty tight inside at the moment, I realy need to purge a bunch of scraps and stuff that I rarely use.

[Chestnut]

Yeah moving dirt isn't any fun, but it beats a gym membership IMO.

Congrats on the the new tools they look like they will treat you well. I still have yet to buy a batter powered router. They do interest me but my only battery system is the old 18V dewalt and they stopped making tools for that system long ago.

[Chestnut]

Trying out something. I've read and seen alton brown use a hot plate and cardboard box for a smoker so i figured I'd try it out. The nice part about his method is he uses sawdust to get smoke. I have a LOT of sawdust.

Inside the card board box is a hot plate with a sawdust filled cast iron pan. Dowels go through the cardboard box to suspend the food.

I'm smoking a chuck roast to make some shreaded beef sandwiches. Sawdust is a mix of walnut and cherry for a good heavy smoke flavor. From my research walnut is similar to misquite but a bit heavier and stronger so it's sugested to mix with other woods.

Because it's a bit cold I had to wrap the box in insulation to get it up to 205 F.

[Chet]

1 hour ago, Chestnut said:

I'm smoking a chuck roast to make some shreaded beef sandwiches

I love smoked chuck we use it for all sorts of things Sandwiches, burritos, tacos, even stir it in with fried rice.  I usually do about 30-40 pounds at a time on the smoker.

I am going to be interested in how this turns out, it could be a real cool deal for woodworkers.