Truck troubles are interfering with my wood working time

It looks like the engine in my truck decided it doesn't want to work any more.  I am not real happy about that.
So I have been working on getting that pulled and finding out what the problem is.  As long as it isn't raining in the morning, I am going to yank the engine and start tearing it apart.

Sorry wood working projects, but you are going to have to wait.

Christmas Gifts for the Family

I made these as gifts for my daughter and one of my grandsons.  My daughter is a runner and asked for something she could use to hang her ribbons on and my grandson is a Chicago Bulls fan and now he can display his trading cards.

So excited about today.

Marry Christmas Eve everyone!  

Today all of our kids and grandkids will gather at our house and celebrate Christmas.  We will eat too much and laugh and open presents and have a great time with each other and I can't wait!

I hope all of you get to experience the joy of having family near at this time of year.

Mark

Christmas Break!!!

I don't have to go back to my day job until January 2nd!!!

Time to spend some time with the family, and get some woodworking done.

To Do List

We all have them and we all hate them so when I saw this on my list today I cheered!

Band Saw Blades

I read this article this morning and it is very timely as I need to replace my blade and wasn't sure what options I had:

Band Saw Blade

Back to woodworking

Ok, the holiday is over.  Time to get back in the shop and get some woodworking done.  I have stuff to build!

This is a Chicago Cubs themed clock I am working on

It is 12 x 12.  I still need to add a logo and the clock pieces.

Hanging out with my mom

Not getting any woodworking done these days but that is ok. My mom has come out for Thanksgiving and we are spending time hanging out together.

Pegboard Display Stand

My friend Kayla asked if I could build one of these so she can display her Scentsy products at there shows.

It is about 2 ft square.

Raw wood frame.

Painted wood frame.  It is ready for a lot of shows.

Little Doll or Kids Chair

I picked this chair up this morning.  It is a cute little thing, about 20 inches high.
The wood is pretty dried out but I can fix that.

This is before I started working on it.  Pretty dried out.

This is after two coats of Kramer's Best.  It is still pretty dried out so I will take a couple more coats.  It sucked up the first to coats pretty quickly.

Can you say VACATION!

I can!

I don't have to go back to my "day job" until December 3rd!

Mark

Working on the legs

No, I haven't started working out :)

I am working on the legs to the oval table.  First though, here is a picture of the finished top.  It has about 6 coats of Kramer's Best Antique Improver on it.  This will help it age nicely and gain a beautiful patina as it ages.

Here are a couple of pictures of the first leg I am working on.  It has been sanded and scraped and ready for finishing.

This is the leg after sanding and scraping and then one coat of Kramer's applied. It is looking pretty good but as with the top it is pretty dry and it it going to take quite a few servings of Kramer's to make it look good.

Oval Table Update - Working on the top

I was able to disassemble the oval table which makes it a lot easier to work on.

I am focusing on the top right now.  The first picture shows how rough the top was.  The wood is very nice and not torn up or damaged but the finish was pretty nasty.
I only had to glue up on little 3 inch strip along one edge.  That is where the clamp is in the first picture.

I spent some time scrapping the top and then sanding it.  I started with 220 grit and finished it off with 500 grit.

Once that was done it was nice and smooth and looked great.  I brushed it clean and then tack-ragged it to get the dust off of it.

Then it was ready for a finish.  On this table I am using Kramer's Best Antique Improver.  I really like this and use it on all of my 'old' wood.

I apply the Antique Improver with cloth pads like you would use for waxing your car.  In this picture you can see how it looks versus the sanded wood.  

By using the cloth pads you will also pick up any leftover sanding dust and particles.

Now you can see the completely "Improved" top.  This wood was/is really dry and it sucked up this first coat like a camel in the desert.  I put a second coat on after this one dried for about 10 minutes.

Here you can see how the inlays standout from the rest of the wood.  This top has some interesting design in it as the ends are 2 pieces with a third piece in the middle but the center section doesn't have this.  I found that quite interesting.

I will end up putting a few more coats in the Antique Improver on this over the next couple of days.  After that the wood should be restored and not as dry as it is now and should really look nice.

Then it will be on to the legs.

Mark

Recycling

Did you know that styrofoam and plastic bags from the grocery store are not recyclable?
Neither did I.
I learned this from my trash company yesterday.

They sent out a letter with new recycling guidelines and I noticed that grocery bags were missing from the list so I called them.

They said "Yes, they are not recyclable trash."

You have to either put them in with your regular trash or take them back to the store (Wal Mart accepts them).

That was when she also informed me that styrofoam was excluded too.

Just thought I would share this with you.

Mark

Updates on the oval table

I know those previous pictures looked really bad.  I seriously think my cell phone camera and fluorescent shop lights don't play well together.

Here are some pictures taken with my real camera.

Now you can see the real color of the wood.  They still look like penguin legs to me :)

This is the top, partially sanded.

These are a couple of the corners that go under the top and between the legs.  They need some work.

I use this version of Kramer's product to 'improve' the look of the wood and bring it back to life.  I love this stuff!

Here you can see the difference Kramer's make on the two pieces.  The bottom piece has come back to life and looks beautiful.  These are the same two pieces from the picture above.

Oval Walnut(?) table

This is one of curbside finds.  It is in pretty good shape, just needs to be refinished.

I think I have to do something about the lighting in my shop for picture taking since these all came out kind of yellow, or maybe use a real camera and not my cellphone. ;)

Anyway, here you go - 

Just had to glue down this edge.

I love this stuff!  It cleans all of the grime off and doesn't hurt the wood.

Kind of look like stick penguins.

I have to get a better picture.  This top has nice wood and two inlays to offset the long look of the table top. 

Building a table saw fence

When I picked up my new-to-me table saw the fence wasn't in the best of shape so I built a new one.

I cut a couple of 2x4 blocks and a couple of 20 inch long 1x4's.

The front edge of the table saw is contoured so I cut the front 2x4 to fit in the guide.

I then took a 3/4" piece of pipe and a 3/4" pipe clamp set and measured where they would grab the table and marked the 2x4's at that height.

I then drilled a hole in each of the blocks, screwed the sides to the blocks, put the pipe in and held my breath.

It worked!!!

It slides smoothly and is square.  I need to put a top piece on the box.  That will keep it square and solid.  Now I can safely cut boards on the saw.

I built it out of scraps I had so there was really no cost involved.

Now if I need to cut taller boards I can build a support that goes over the fence and feel secure.

Mark

Brrr, it's cold

I am not ready for it to be this cold in November!

I went out and fired up the generator to make sure it works and the carb bowl gasket is leaking.  Grrrr.

I have to get that fixed on Monday.

After that I decided to stay inside and install Ubuntu on one of my computers.

Woodworking will happen tomorrow.

Mark

My new shop heater

I didn't figure it was a good idea to use my open flame propane heater in the shop now that I am doing wood working.

I bought this little electric heater at Menards and it works great!  Multiple heat ranges so I can go from "just taking the edge off" to full blown heat.

It has come in nice now that the temp is below freezing.

Mark

I found the missing leg!

This morning I picked up a six-legged table that only had 5 legs.  I discovered that once I got home.

I had the chance to go back and look for the missing leg this afternoon and I found it!  It was buried under a pile of leaves.

Now I have a complete table that I can easily repair and restore.

Mark

More curbside finds this morning

Was making an early morning run to the hardware store when I stumbled upon two tables sitting by the curb.

The more ornate table is missing a leg so I may convert it to a 4-legged table and give it a good coating of oil.

Good day today!

Got some work done on a clock early in the day, then did some more shop cleaning and organizing then went to my grandson's football league banquet.

Yep, it has been a good day.

Oswego High School Craft Show

Had a good time at the Oswego High School Craft show this morning. I saw my friend William Bergland of ‪#‎PenStation‬ there and I met Tracy Merovci of ‪#‎tracyystreasures‬.

Lots of inspiration now!

Plus there was good food! 

New (to me) tools!

Yesterday I picked up a Craftsman table saw and a Craftsman scroll saw.  The shop is near complete with tools for now.
Well, I still need a surface planer, and a drum sander and ... but I am getting there.
What I really "need" is to get my butt out there and make something!

Another curbside find today!

Coming back from buying a nice used table saw I found this little cabinet sitting by the curb with a FREE sign on it.

Of course I had to stop :)
It has a water spot on the top but should be fixable.

Yesterdays curb-side findings

Yesterday I posted about finding a couple of chairs and an entertainment center.  Now that it is daylight I was able to take a couple of pictures.

Not bad for Free!

Mark

---

The entertainment center was a little dusty but I cleaned it off and oiled it up and she now looks great!

Trying something a little different

I was at the store yesterday looking for ideas to stain my latest Shaker Style clock I am working on and I found an Indigo Blue wipe on stain from Minwax.

I put the first coat on last night and let it dry overnight and then I went out this morning and did some touchups and applied a second coat.

I think it will turn out okay but next time, especially since I am working with pine, I will seal the piece first and see how that turns out.

I am still working on the drawer that goes in the bottom opening.

Mark

Better wood working day today

Well, I was driving to the hardware store today and guess what I saw sitting on the curb?  An entertainment center and 2 chairs.

Of course I had to stop and load them up.  They will go to good use.  I will take some pictures tomorrow.

I was able to get some work done on one of my clocks today.  I got it finished sanded and the first coat of stain on it.
I am trying something different with the stain this time.  I normally do use a "wood" colored stain, Honey Oak being one of my favorites, but when I was at the hardware store today I saw an Indigo Blue stain.  Sounded interesting so I bought it.
It is a water based stain that you apply with a rag or pad since it comes in a tube.  Wear gloves!  It washes off easily though :)

I didn't take any pictures of the stain job yet either.  I wanted to let it dry overnight and see how it looks in the morning.

So stay tuned for tomorrow is a big picture day!

Mark

Making a Small Parts Mitering Jig / Rockler How-to

Making a Small Parts Mitering Jig / Rockler How-to



Great jig idea.  Thank you Rockler

Well, that didn't work out

I had every intention of going out and working on some clocks today but a buddy of mine called and needed some help with his car.
Then I drove by my curb-side find from yesterday and found a dresser carcass that is actually in decent shape, so I had to get that.

Got it home and started messing around with it and coming up with ideas and the next thing I know my day is coming to an end.
I did figure out that I could use some of the busted drawer pulls as the 12:00, 3:00, 6:00, and 9:00 markers on a clock so maybe it wasn't a totally bad day for clocks ;)

I am thinking of converting this to a storage cabinet of some kind.  My wife suggested a Sweater Chest.  I have some drawers that will need to be modified and maybe make some doors for the lower portion.
I don't know.  Stay tuned.

Mark

Building my shaker style clocks.

Yesterday I bought some Cherry from Rockler and today I am going to see if I can cut it down to size for the Shaker style clocks I make.

I will take pictures through the process and let you see how I do this build. 

Mark

Show Booth Etiquette

I found this article tonight and thought it was very interesting and helpful:

http://www.fairsandfestivals.net/articles/view/improve-your-booth-etiquette-to-increase-sales-at-craft-shows/

Curbside wood find

So I was coming home from the fast food joint tonight and I drove by a house with a bunch of wooden furniture tossed to the curb.  

Whoa!  I slammed on the brakes and made a u-turn.

Scored 7 dresser drawers, all wood, not pressed board, some pictures frames and a chair.

Not too bad.  The dresser carcass was not in very good shape so I left it.

Not sure what I am going to do with any of it yet, but hey, I you can never have too many pieces of wood in your stockpile.

CNC Shark at Rockler

I went to the Rockler store in Schaumburg today.  My first time in one of the stores.  Pretty cool.  
They demonstrated using the CNC Shark today.  Pretty cool machine but you would have to do a lot of engraving projects to cover the $4000.00 price.

So I bought some Cherry wood instead :)

Rockler, here I come!

I just confirmed that the Rockler store in Schaumburg is have the CNC Shark demo at 11:00 today so I am heading out!

Halloween and then Rockler

It was a cold Halloween and not many kids came out.

Tomorrow I am thinking of going to the Rockler store in Shaumburg for their free demo day.
I have never been there before so I am excited about it.

Radial Arm Saw "Know-How" manual

I have an older Craftsman radial arm saw and my son found this great know-how book.  It was published in 1969 but still holds true.

I have used several of the ideas out of it already.

Sanding and Gluing

Got some sanding done last night on a couple of projects.  Letting glue dry overnight on a couple more.

Hopefully I can get outside today and get more work done.

Halloween

While not really "wood working"  we did get our pumpkins carved today.

Hello!

While I have always been interested in wood working, and about 25 years ago I had a small wood working hobby/business, I got away from it as we moved around and the kids were growing, and all of that life stuff.

Now I am starting to focus on wood working again and am having a blast!  I have made a few projects over the last couple of months and getting the feel for it again.  I can see more projects in the future, that's for sure.

I will post some pictures in the next few days of what I have been up to.

Mark