The basic router class that I was teaching that day had just finished and I was perusing a pallet of maple boards at Johnson’s Lumber. http://www.theworkbench.com/ The lumber was setting off to one side of the warehouse, waiting to be loaded into the storage rack. I thought that this would be a good opportunity to see if there were any treasures to be found. It was not long and I found a single board of Tiger Stripe Maple. You know the one….the board that Read more »
Tiger Stripe Maple Sofa Table part 2
December 6th, 2009 
TBDKeith The Cherry inlays were done with a router, 1/8″ router bit, template guide and a plywood pattern.
Masking tape was used on the table top Read more »
Jatoba Sofa Table with Ebony Inlays
November 19th, 2009 TBDKeith Sofa table made of Jatoba (Brazilian cherry) with Ebony inlays.
This table measures 15″ x 40″ x 30″ high.
Sofa table,console table or hall table, this table is know by several different names. One thing is true about all of them, their style and function will fit into almost any decor. They can be tucked back into a corner and used as an subtle accent or positioned to be the center of attention.
The timeless elegance of Read more »
Oak Bookcase
November 15th, 2009 TBDKeith This cabinet was built for Dave and Mary Ellen who were a pleasure to work with. I would like to thank them for the opportunity to work for them once again.
Keith
Stained and finished to match the existing trim in their home.
This oak bookcase measures 22 “ x 32″ x 74″ tall.
The cabinet has a false top attached to the top of the crown molding so the Mary Ellen can display her keepsakes.
The drawers are made with dovetail joints, 1/2″ plywood bottoms and full extension, soft close under mount drawer slides.
The raised panel doors and drawers fronts were made from a single board.
Read more »
Is your Woodworking Quality? page #2
October 22nd, 2009 TBDKeith Quality
by Doug July
Quality is meeting someone’s need,
a teacher’s job is planting that seed.
What a wonderful experience it must be,
watching that flower grow from one seed.
Quality is power, freedom, love and fun.
The quality needed is different for everyone.
Quality is doing your very best.
And then finding out there is much more,
still out there to reach for.
Quality is a concept that seems to be without definition.
Yet, it is defined by many and agreed upon by so very few,
you see what is quality to me, may not be quality to you.
Quality is the satisfying of needs,
no matter how difficult that deed may be.
I’m sure everyone can agree,
life is more meaningful, when Quality is achieved.
And what a wonderful world it would be,
if there was always Quality for you and for me.
Is Your WoodWorking Quality? page #1
October 22nd, 2009 TBDKeith Lately, I have been reading posts and woodworking blogs and there seems to be a lot of comments like, I am new to woodworking and the quality of my work is not very good, or it’s okay, but I am just learning; the quality is so-so but it’s a little better that my last project.
I started wondering, what are they comparing their work to? Is there some magical standard out there that everyone compares their work to? What is the definition of quality and who sets the guidelines? Is it connected to the cost of the wood or hardware? Is the quality based on the difficulty of the project?
This past spring I had the honor of judging at the finals in the Michigan Industrial & Technology Education Society (MITES) competition in Battle Creek, MI. http://mites.cc/ I judged in the “woods” division. As we worked our way through the awesome woodworking projects, the comment, “This is quality work” was heard over and over again. Considering that these projects were built by junior and senior high school students, the work was nothing less than spectacular, not to mention encouraging. All of this made the task of judging a challenge and I loved every minute of it.
Last night at our monthly woodworkers meeting (www.mmwg.org) it came up again. One of our members, Dick Woodham brought in an owl for show and tell, that he had carved. It was beautiful, the 200 plus hours that Dick spent on the carving showed in every detail. During a break, while we standing around admiring all of the projects displayed, someone said, that owl sure is a quality piece.
What’s your definition of quality woodworking?
I have added a poem about Quality on page two, written by my brother, which really sums this all up.
What are your thoughts???
Keith
Maple Cabinet for an Afghan
October 15th, 2009 TBDKeith I made this maple cabinet for my wife, Sandy, to display an afghan that was made by her great-grandmother. The afghan is over 60 years old. It is starting to unravel in some spots, so we designed this cabinet for displaying the afghan and to protect it from further damage.
Sandy’s dad, Darwin, asked his grandmother to crochet this afghan for him to give to his new bride, Rogene. Darwin passed away a few years ago and Rogene knew that it would mean a lot to Sandy to have this treasured item.
Keith
3" x 28" x 30"
How to Cut the 22.5 degree angle for a Poker Table
October 8th, 2009 TBDKeith This post is in response to a question I received on the woodworking site The Wood Whisperer http://community.thewoodwhisperer.com/
The question/challenge is how to cut the 22.5 degree angle for the top section of the table pictured below and have all eight pieces fit together.
There are two factors that influence how well the joint will fit. The first, and most obvious, is the angle cut. The second is the size of the piece. Each section must be the exact same size, any difference in the length or width will effect the quality of the joint.
Here’s a outline covering how I cut the eight sections using a dedicated cross cut sled that is permanently set to a 22.5 degree angle.
Following these steps will give you eight pieces the same width and length with the 22.5 degree angle cut on each end. Before I make any cuts, I check my table saw and jointer to make sure they both are cutting properly. If either machine in not cutting square, it will affect the quality of the joint.
- Plane the pieces to their finished thickness. 1″
- Joint one edge.
- Rip to finished width.
- Cross cut to length plus 1″
- Setting the jointed edge against the side stop, cut the angle on one end of all eight pieces.
- Install a stop on the crosscut sled that is set to the finished length of the board.
- Again using the jointed side against the stop and the end firmly seated against the end stop, cut the second angle on each piece.
I use a spline and pocket screws to join the sections together and pin them for a little added insurance. The sections are assembled in pairs, paying close attention to lining up the outside corners.
After the glue has set, I attach the two sections together to give me half of a table and then assemble the two halves.
A few notes:
Using splines allows me to focus on lining up the corners while holding the surfaces flush. I pin the spline and then add the pocket screws.
As noted above, the boards are 1″ thick so I can use longer pocket screws that can go through the spline and not penetrate the opposite surface.
If you have not had the opportunity to check out The Wood Whisperer community, now’s your chance. It’s a great place to learn all about woodworking. http://community.thewoodwhisperer.com/
Keith
Lizzy and I build a Bird House
September 26th, 2009 TBDKeith There may be more than one way to build a bird house but for me this is the only way. Let me start with how these birds houses came to be. My granddaughter, Elizabeth, was in need of a new guitar so she could jam with her dad, Michael. The story goes like this, Elizabeth’s seven year old hands could not handle dad’s full size guitar and her piggy bank was a little short of the $70.00 needed to buy the one that they had found on the internet.
Lizzy (as we call her) happened to be spending the weekend with Grandma and Grandpa and she asked if there was a chore or two that she could do to earn the money needed to order that shinny new Hannah Montana electric guitar. Grandpa could have paid the balance and confirmed the rumor that this little girl has him wrapped around her finger but that would be to easy. I have a few chores around the house that need some attention. We could re-shingle the garage, hummm…. I don’t think grandma would go for that. The chimney needs a few bricks replaced. No, I think we better keep our feet on the ground. Maybe we could build something in the shop? I think we could find enough scrap lumber to build a bird house or two.
The plan goes like this…we spend a few hours building houses that any Bluebird would love to call home and paint a big sign telling everyone who passes by that they could put one of these masterpieces in their yard for just $8.00
Getting started, I cut out the pieces and Lizzy gets ready with the hammer, nails and a bottle of glue. After a few hours, the houses are assembled and ready for their new home. We load our freshly painted sign and the new bird houses into the back of the truck and head out to the end of the driveway.
We sit on the tailgate of the truck, munching on celery sticks (yea right) and waving at each car as it passes by but it seems that the bird house market is also in a state of decline. After a few hours of watching cars zip by, we decide that we are going to save the bird houses until the next time Lizzy visits. Then we can paint them and find a place in Grandpa’s back yard to put them up.
A few weeks go by and we get the news that Lizzy had saved enough allowance for that Hannah Montana electric guitar and it had just arrived. I think I will give her a few months to practice and then post a video of our new rock star.
Keith
Balsa Wood
September 20th, 2009 TBDKeith Balsa wood is the softest wood, easy to cut and shape with the simplest of hand tools. My first memories of Balsa wood are of the light airplanes with rubber band driven propellers, that we used to buy for a quarter back when I was a kid.
Source
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ochroma_pyramidale
Balsa (Ochroma pyramidale, synonym O. lagopus) is a large, fast-growing tree that can grow up to 30m (98ft) tall. Balsa trees are native from southern Brazil and Bolivia north to southern Mexico however Ecuador has been the primary source of commercial Balsa. In recent years some Balsa has been plantation grown.
Balsa wood is used to make very light, stiff structures in model bridge tests and for the construction of light wooden aeroplanes, most famously the World War II de Havilland Mosquito. It is also used in the floorpan of the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 sandwiched between two sheets of carbon fibre.
Keith
