Am looking for wood project

I havent had time to examine my fridge and figure out where and how I can add some coolant. Thanks for everyone who had suggestions on how I can cool my beer. Actually, one of the best ideas is just to get a box and an ice brick. I think Ill keep scouring Craigslist for free mini-fridges, like they have in hotel rooms. Then I gotta my old one up to the dump and pay a $40 disposal fee. At least thats what they charged about five years ago; I suspect its more now.

But on to more important matters. I spent the weekend working on the two front legs of the TV stand. (For reasons I cant really identify, I am going to stop calling it an entertainment center.) Its a good thing I dont do this for a living because I would never reach deadlines. I cant believe all I accomplished over the course of two days was two legs.

Well here they are:



They sort of look a combination of the Chrysler Building and Golden Gate Bridge. Ive always been intrigued by Art Deco style, even though Im not completely sure how to define it. I used MDF for these because I plan on painting them. Its just a one inch core surrounded by layers of 1/4" MDF.

Im a little stumped on how to securely attach them to the lower shelf. They are pretty heavy and could easily become weak links and break off when the unit is moved. Im thinking about joining it all together with a couple of thick dowels. The trick will be getting it all lined up. 

I also went to Target and priced some TV wall mount brackets. Holy cow, the least expensive unit was about sixty bucks. I dont see any reason why I cant just install some metal strips behind the upright. Id rather spend a few bucks than sixty. Well see.

And my final concern to ponder this week is if the entire stand will be stable on just three legs. I think it will as I tend to overbuild these things.

So for the last couple of days I have been working on milling more wood for the base. I really need to get the base right or the whole thing is going to be off. Also, as usual, Ive made a slight design change. In the stock picture, the base is flush with the rails and posts. I liked this, but it was going to be trickier than I wanted it to be. Also, Im using solid wood, not plywood, so this would be an issue with wood movement. So, Ive decided to change it to set on top, like a table top, with a 3/4-1" overlap on three sides (not the back). This solves my wood movement problem (sort of) but will also dress it up a bit; Im going to use a classic ogee profile on it. So, with that, Ive done all my mortise and tenon joints for the base rails.

From MediaCabinet

Here it is all dry fit.

From MediaCabinet

I have not glued it together yet as I want to add two cross braces about a third of the way in from each side. This will give me better support and also give me another place to screw the base into the bottom with slots for wood movement.

Next I milled up the 4/4 lumber that is going to be used for the base.

From MediaCabinet

And here they are LOOSELY dry fit to the bottom.

From MediaCabinet

I still need to cut them to exact length and glue them together. Im not in a huge hurry for that as I had to order the router bit I need for the profile so it wont be here for a while. But I think what I will start on next are the two main vertical support in the center of the cabinet, as well as the outside verticals. Im not completely sure how I want to attach these to the base, but I am leaning toward mortise and tenon here as well; input welcome on that one.

Well, back to the jointer and planer...

Be Safe!

Well, the calico bowl survived and is going to be claimed by the gentleman who ordered it originally. It looks lovely and it has a polyurethane and oil finish on it. I hope the new owner enjoys it.

Unfortunately my kitchenware line isnt selling well so Im converting some of my cutting boards into plates. I turned a hickory plate this morning. Hickory is a wonderful wood to work with as its very dense and hard and it cuts cleanly and finishes with little sanding needed. Here is a photo of the latest plate:


This plate is getting a Danish oil finish and will be done in a day or two. When the oil is dried, Ill polish it with a little beeswax. Lovely way to finish wood.

Ive done a lot of turning over the past several days and I created a mountain of shavings--two full trash can bags full along with assorted scrap lumber. If anyone in the Twin Cities area would like to have the shavings and saw dust for FREE, let me know and Ill arrange to get it to you.

Im going to take tomorrow off and work on business stuff. Ill be back soon.

VW

There are several ‘The Good Shepherd’ mosaics that you can check out.

In Ravenna Italy, you can find a 5th century mosaic of the Good Shepherd at the Galla Placidia Mausoleum. It is of Byzantine heritage. When you enter the mausoleum, you will see this mosaic art. You if you examine it closely, you will notice that it has a variety of bright colors and different tiles were used to create the ‘depth illusion’.

During the Roman Empire, Ravenna City played an important role in the mosaic industry. It was a fleet base during the time of Emperor Augustus and by 402 AD, Honorius made the city a capital of the Roman Empire in the west. From 493 AD to 540 AD, the city was full of buildings and outstanding monuments. Mosaic icons dominated during this time. Buildings and churches had mosaic works and one of the greatest works is the Good Shepherd at Galla. In this mosaic, you can see that Jesus is leading a faithful flock of sheep. When one of the sheep was lost, He went out to find it. The mosaic tells a lot about the life of Jesus as well as His Kingdom.

Another Good Shepherd mosaic can be found in Ravenna but this art work is of Greek origin. It was created in the late 20th century. The mosaic shows the Lord carrying the lost sheep. The sheep symbolizes an individual who has strayed. It also shows that God will do everything He can to bring back a lost soul. Through this mosaic, many people were able to understand the likeness and image of God; and that He gives the people freedom of choice.

The Simple Shepherd is of Greek origin and it can also be found in Galla. It is for sale for only $14. The mosaic shows Nicholas Planas, a priest.

Many years ago, religion is a very important part of the everyday life of people. Although religion still remains an important part of modern society, the passion and intensity of the worshippers in the past was reflected in their great works. Most of the ruins and relics dating back centuries ago show that the mosaics were reflections of their beliefs, ideology, and faith.

Christians were not free to express their belief back in the old days. Through art works, they were able to impart to the world their strong faith to the Lord. If you have a chance to visit the Galla Placidia Mausoleum, take the opportunity to see the three mosaic art works by various artists. Mosaic works like these are rare and it tells a lot about history. Mosaic has definitely withstood the test of time.

Galla Placidia Mausoleum offers breathtaking mosaics and aside from that, you will also have a chance to visit one of the oldest structures in Ravenna. The mausoleum itself was built back in 430 AD in honor of a powerful empress – Galla Placidia. It wad intended to be a tomb for the Empress but she was buried at St. Petronilla near the basilica of St. Peter in Rome. Millions of tourists and local visitors are impressed of the mosaics in the mausoleum.

Aside from the Good Shepherd mosaics, you can also find other mosaic designs like that of the starry night and he golden patterns of plants and flowers on the side arches. Come to the mausoleum and be intrigued by the magnificent mosaics there.

A few weeks ago the Tree House suffered a major setback when one of the main support bolts broke. After some immediate triage consisting of temporary supports to hold up the unsupported corner and supplement the two (2) bolts which hadnt broken yet, Ive finally managed to restore the sagging tree house deck to its original position.

Finally, a jack setup that works. The deck is going up.

By using a house jack (or two) and ultimately learning that I needed to brace the jack stand against the tree and screw it together to prevent it from toppling under the weight, I was able to raise the deck back to its proper height today. Its now held there with two (2) temporary supports.

Greetings!
Today was the day to cut down all the solid cherry into proper widths. I need 1x4s for the larger rails and stiles, 1x2s for the cabinet face frames, and 1x1s which Ill mill down into some decorative trimwork. It took quite a while, but as you can see, everything is now cut and starting to take shape. I also need to mill some 1x4s to turn into fluted trim. Ill do a seperate post for that operation...

If youve been reading this blog for a while, you probably know that Ive been teaching woodworking (hand tools only) at the Waldorf Inspired charter school where I also teach middle school. Its been a fantastic adventure, and since I started with a blank slate, it has also been a lot of work.

Our school opened two years ago, and I had an empty room to convert into a shop. In typical overly optimistic no-time-reality fashion, I thought it would take until Christmas break to turn my vision into reality. Ha! Well, the students and I got busy and two years later its finally finished, mostly, and ready to be shown.

So here is the tour.

These first four shots pan the room right to left from the wood storage corner. In the first picture you can see the door into the classroom from the hallway, the sharpening station, clamp rack, our original bench and the chalkboard.


In the second shot, you can see the tool storage corner - shelves, saw board, brace and hand drill board. And of course, the GGTCOD.


The third shot gives a better idea of the main working area with the workbenches. There are three different variations on the basic split top design. They evolved over time based on experience and changing space needs as we moved to a slightly smaller, but more suitable room in year two. The first design, as already stated, is the bench at the front by the chalkboard. The two benches visible on the right in this shot are variation two. They are shorter and the vises are moved outside of the legs which is more useful for most tasks.


In this final shot from this corner, you can see the last two benches, which are variation three. They have the longer tops of the first variety, but the short bases of variation two, which gives them oddly long overhangs. What happened was, I had planned on four more of the shorter benches, but it became evident that it would just be too tight - but not before we had already built the shorter bases. So, in order to have enough work stations for all the students, we went back to longer tops and just made do with the existing bases. Some day we will change out the stretchers and make the benches less awkward.


And now three shots from a front corner of the shop - mostly the same stuff, just different perspectives. Heres the front of the room again:


And across the benches to the old Stanley Tool Guide on the wall:


Here you get a first look at wood storage, scrap bins, project storage shelves, and the saw bench. This is a slightly modified version of my saw bench from my own shop. Its a little lower, to better suit the students, and made from 2x8s rather than 2x6 stock to be more stable. You can also see the door to the outside, which is one of the features of the new room that really make it work well. The other is the concrete slab floor - no more bouncing!


A shot from along the bank of southwest facing windows, which give great raking light to compensate for the overhead florescenct lights.


Another shot of the benches, version two on the left, and three on the right. The bench on the right doesnt have its end cover on the stretcher shelf yet, which allows you to see how it was designed. The stretchers are "L" shaped with vertical 2x6s and horizontal 2x4s glued and screwed together. The spacing between stretchers is such that cement pavers fit nicely across to give some extra weight. The inside edges of the 2x6s are rabbeted to accept 2x4 slats which hide the pavers and create the shelf. The trestle ends of the base are 2x4 laminated legs with 2x4 stretchers - the bottom M&T and the top bridal joints. The leveler feet are the Mark II design I posted about here - simple and effective.


Another look at version two:


And version three:


Heres a better shot of the cool old dovetailed chest from Germany that I picked up to hid stuff in that I dont feel like looking at on a daily basis. Its been lurking in the background in several pictures and I thought it deserved its own photo. Well, really I should give it a full post, but that will have to wait...


And finally, a closer look at the most troublesome part of the shop. Its not looking so bad now, but I had just spent about 30 minutes cleaning it up. The big can is for plane shavings, well at least the ones that make it in there. The students usually take the really cool ones with them.


Well, I guess thats it. It sure makes me happy - I hope you enjoyed seeing it!

The last post focused on process, so to keep things fair this post will be all about product. Okay, fairness has nothing to do with it really - I was just so pressed for time finishing these gifts before Christmas that I didnt take a single picture of making them. In fact, I didnt take a picture of Rebeccas frame at all, but she graciously took a picture of it hanging on her living room wall down in Oregon.

Here it is:


Its an Oxford frame, and very similar to the one I posted about in the past. There are two differences: this frame has angled rail ends; and the cross-lap joints where offset so that the stiles project slightly. And yes, thats more oak salvaged from the library chair.

The second project was a trivet for my wife Celena:


And a detail shot:


While I did enjoy the shop time spent making these gifts, on these projects the final product was what it was all about. Which makes sense, since these were gifts, the recipients didnt really benefit directly from the process.

Here are some details of the indexer I designed. First, the clamps that hold the index bar to the rail are made from 0.75" UHMW. The translucent area in the drawings below are the UHMW. It is in two pieces, the main body and the clamp head. the clamp head has a "V" shaped protrusion that fits into the "V" grove in the side of the guide ridge. It is held in place by the Clamp Knob and Stud. The main body is attached to the index bar with the Attachment Bolt and Knob. There is a small open area between the main body and the clamp head below the Clamp Knob Stud, this allows the clamp head to be tightened against the guide ridge.The index bar is made of 0.375" UHMW and can have two sets of index holes. You simply remove the bar from the clamps, turn it over and reattach. It has been suggested that a strip of pegboard could be used for the bar. I havent tried it yet, but I cannot see why it would not work.

The index pin module is also made of 0.75" UHMW, and has an aluminum Top Plate that traps the pin and spring. The index pin is a 0.25" hex bolt that has had the head cut off and the end rounded over some. The bottom nut on the pin gives something for the spring to push against, the top nut is just to lock the knob in place. The body of the assembly is attached to the SRK with two screws. It sits over the index bar and straddles the guide ridge (for no real reason).

Alignment of the rail to the center line of the holes to be drilled is accomplished by means of an alignment jig made from an SRK and a section of aluminum angle. First you set the rail with the router bit centered on the center line. I use a brass setup bit that has conical points on each end and a 0.25" and 0.5" shaft (one half each). This sets the distance. then I adjust the alignment guide so the edge of the aluminum angle is on the center line. I then set one end of the rail the proper distance from the line with the alignment guide and loosely clamp that end of the rail to the work piece. Slide the alignment guide to the other end of the center line, adjust and clamp that end of the rail. Go back to the other end and reset if necessary.


I hope that this has answered some of the questions that you might have about the jig. If not dont hesitate to ask.