What came in the mail today?

[gee-dub]

Yep.  One of those is on my wall hung tool cabinet.

Certainly a large slot screwdriver will do but we have all seen the damage they can also cause when things get stubborn.

[roughsawn]

A new JessEm Router Lift.

[Von]

New shop apron spurred by our xmas list discussion. So far I really like the measuring tape clip and the magnets. Haven't had a chance to test dust not getting into the pockets.

I found a couple 7' pieces of heavy-duty extruded aluminum cheap at the local Habitat restore. Mounted one piece above my bench. It has a 1/4"-20 t-track on the bottom and I expect to use it in combination with some bungee cords to hold hoses, power cords, etc. Will see how useful it turns out to be or not...

[Beechwood Chip]

Why is there a tennis ball hanging from your ceiling?

[Coop]

On 12/20/2024 at 5:25 PM, Beechwood Chip said:

Why is there a tennis ball hanging from your ceiling?

I have an uncle that has one suspended from the ceiling in his garage that when it touches his windshield, he knows to stop. But, I suspect not the case here? 

[Mark J]

2 hours ago, Beechwood Chip said:

Why is there a tennis ball hanging from your ceiling?

So the dog can't get it.  

[Von]

On 12/20/2024 at 7:13 PM, Coop said:

I have an uncle that has one suspended from the ceiling in his garage that when it touches his windshield, he knows to stop. But, I suspect not the case here? 

Actually, that is it. The deal with my wife is I can make room for a car in the garage when the combination of winter weather and our plans call for it.

But really, since converting the garage to a shop I just haven't gotten around to taking it down.

[Coop]

Ding, ding, ding! 

[Beechwood Chip]

On 12/20/2024 at 8:50 PM, Von said:

I can make room for a car in the garage

The parking thing was my first thought, but I looked at the picture and thought, "the track is above the work bench, so there's no way to park a car so the tennis ball hits the windshield."  I was wondering if it was some nifty storage solution, like you pull on the tennis ball and the electrical cord/air hose/vacuum hose comes down.

[Von]

On 12/20/2024 at 9:19 PM, Beechwood Chip said:

 "the track is above the work bench, so there's no way to park a car so the tennis ball hits the windshield."  I was wondering if it was some nifty storage solution, like you pull on the tennis ball and the electrical cord/air hose/vacuum hose comes down.

Nothing so exciting - the workbench goes up on casters and gets out of the way of the car when need be.

I like how you think though :-) The track is high enough its a pain to reach...

[fcschoenthal]

On 12/20/2024 at 5:02 PM, Von said:

New shop apron spurred by our xmas list discussion. So far I really like the measuring tape clip and the magnets. Haven't had a chance to test dust not getting into the pockets.

I looked at the link and thought it was funny how they show the guy with a long screwdriver in the right breast loop. I don't know any woodworker that would use that for anything other than hanging their safety glasses on.

Otherwise, it looks like a really nice one. Let us know how it turns out.

[Beechwood Chip]

On 12/21/2024 at 7:02 PM, fcschoenthal said:

I looked at the link and thought it was funny how they show the guy with a long screwdriver in the right breast loop. I don't know any woodworker that would use that for anything other than hanging their safety glasses on.

That's where I keep my tape measure.  I have prescription safety goggles that I switch to when I enter the shop, and stay on until I leave.  Juggling safety glasses on top of my regular glasses was too much hassle, and contacts are not an option.

But yeah, whoever stages those photos has never actually worked in a shop.

[Von]

On 12/21/2024 at 9:59 PM, Beechwood Chip said:

That's where I keep my tape measure.  I have prescription safety goggles that I switch to when I enter the shop, and stay on until I leave.  Juggling safety glasses on top of my regular glasses was too much hassle, and contacts are not an option.

Ditto. I do have some non-rx safety glasses I will switch to for up-close detail work, but 99% of the time, the prescription ones stay on. (I also take my regular glasses off to read - I've just never gotten good at the bifocal thing.)

On 12/21/2024 at 9:59 PM, Beechwood Chip said:

But yeah, whoever stages those photos has never actually worked in a shop.

I consider it good enough if the person who designed the product has actually worked in a shop...

[Mark J]

On 12/22/2024 at 7:53 AM, Von said:

I've just never gotten good at the bifocal thing.)

I get that. (But I have to have them).

[pkinneb]

On 12/23/2024 at 10:06 AM, Mark J said:

I get that. (But I have to have them).

x2

[Botch]

Got an unexpected large Manila envelope from a “M Boettcher” in South Carolina today.  Wha?  No idea who that was, and it had a $5.95 “retail” stamp on it.

Opened it up and got a flash drive, with a personal card in an envelope.  Stupid card had GLITTER all over it, which is now all over my fleece top, my chair, and worst my laptop!  GAAHH!!  A pox on anyone who buys/sends cards covered with that damn glitter sh*t!!  

Anywhoo, it was from my cousin “Michelle” (whom I’ve always known as “Chelle”, since grade school).  She is now a Professor at one of the SC universities (can’t remember which).  Her card said she’d finally digitized all her Dad’s (my uncle) slides (he passed away, what, 15 years ago?) and sent me them on a thumb drive, cool!  He’d always shoot during all our family gatherings, but I’ve never seen any of those photos (I have a lot of the pics my parents took of the same events).  

I have no local family and don’t celebrate Christmas, but I think Wednesday will be the perfect day to plug in this thumb drive (I hope I have a USB-A adapter somewhere) and look thru the photos.  An unexpected treat.  

[wtnhighlander]

44 minutes ago, Botch said:

A pox on anyone who buys/sends cards covered with that damn glitter sh*t!!  

*1000 (no offense to your cousin!)

[legenddc]

On 12/23/2024 at 10:31 PM, Botch said:

Her card said she’d finally digitized all her Dad’s (my uncle) slides (he passed away, what, 15 years ago?) and sent me them on a thumb drive, cool!  He’d always shoot during all our family gatherings, but I’ve never seen any of those photos (I have a lot of the pics my parents took of the same events).  

That's great! We bought one of those slide scanners for my mom years ago. I also converted all of their VHS tapes to digital/DVD.

If you don't already have one, you should look at getting a digital frame to display the photos. My parent's have a Nixplay frame and we got my in-laws an Aura Frame. Both are nice but the Aura is easier to set up remotely if you're giving it to someone. Perhaps you send one to your cousin and include lots of glitter in the package!

[Botch]

On 12/24/2024 at 8:36 AM, legenddc said:

That's great! We bought one of those slide scanners for my mom years ago. I also converted all of their VHS tapes to digital/DVD.

If you don't already have one, you should look at getting a digital frame to display the photos. My parent's have a Nixplay frame and we got my in-laws an Aura Frame. Both are nice but the Aura is easier to set up remotely if you're giving it to someone. Perhaps you send one to your cousin and include lots of glitter in the package!

The last time my Mom was able to visit me here in UT we road-tripped thru Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, Escalante, Bryce and Zion nat'l parks, and that Xmas I gave her a digital frame with all those photos in it.  She really liked it as did all her friends.  

[Von]

The tops for the boxes I'm building are too wide to resaw on my bandsaw, so I ordered this rip saw off of https://hyperkitten.com/ and will give resawing by hand a try once I can get back into my shop. I suspect I'll end up starting a kerf on the table saw and then using the hand saw to finish the cut.

[wtnhighlander]

@Von, I suggest cutting as far as you can with the TS before using the hand saw. That will minimize the planing required to smooth the hand cut portion.

[Tom King]

Can you show a closeup of the teeth on that handsaw?  On my screen it looks like a lot of rake for a rip saw, and I can't even tell about the fleam.  I like 0 and 0 on a rip saw, but a lot of people like 4 degrees rake.  I can't zoom in much on the picture of the saw but it looks more like a crosscut saw by what I can see.

[Coop]

@Von, you just gave me a good idea. I am making a laminating jig/clamp (bending form) with screws and glue and I need to remove a portion (long story) and I didn’t want to run it thru the bs in fear of hitting a hidden screw. I do however, have the luxury of at least starting a kerf on the bs to give me a straight(er) cut. Never thought about that. Thanks! 

[Von]

Finally warmed up enough and I had a little time to convert our garage back into a shop yesterday. After converting back, I mostly used the time to get caught up a few chores I'd been putting off until I could get back to my shop, but I did get to unpacking some things I ordered recently.

Whenever I order from Matchfit, I'm concerned it will be more gimmick than useful (I think it's the yellow plastic), but so far they've always come down right. I bought SafeRip kits for my push blocks (which I don't know how I lived without). They certainly don't seem necessary, but they are $10 so I took a gamble they will save me futzing setting up my blocks. I also bought a 1/2 Gauge. Again, completely unnecessary but for $35 if it saves me time finding centers and setting heights more accurately, it will be worth it. (I notice I'm finding more bang for my buck in safety and measuring these days than I used to.)

Finally, a Stanley no 78 I found at Habitat Restore for $10. I'd been wanting to try a rabbeting plane so I jumped on this (as is typical for our Restore, it was buried amongst screwdrivers, pliers and switch plates). For those keeping score, this brings my planes-to-be-restored list up to 3: a smoother, a scrub plane, and this one, but I've hit the end of my plane want list and I don't think this one will take much work (except now I kinda need to build a till).

 

 

[roughsawn]

Gotta stimulate the economy, Von.