Author: Mike

Technology in the Shop – Part 4 – Entertainment and Conclusion

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2013-03-05 22.08.29Entertainment?  Isn’t just being in the shop entertaining enough?  Well of course it is!  However, sometimes it is nice to have a little background noise while hand cutting a dovetail, or setting up a power tool for the next operation.  Sometimes having a little music  on can provide a little rhythm when using the mallet on a chisel.  True, a radio or CD player can accomplish this too, but many of us have our music now in a digital format on our MP3 players, phones, tablets, and computers.  With internet enabled devices not only do we have to choose from our music we own, but also streaming music options like Pandora and iHeart Radio give a wide range of variety.   With all the benefits already covered, the music is an added bonus.  Before I left for college many years ago, I bought some decent speakers for my dorm room for my computer so that I could listen to my music in the dorm.  When I setup the computer to be permanently in the shop, I dug these speakers up and put them out in the shop.  Amazingly enough these speakers still sound just as good as they did back in the 90s, and do well to fill the shop with music.

As for other modes of entertainment from having technology in the shop, the options are endless, from watching videos, TV shows, and Movies , to having shop time with friends on line.

From discussions I have had with others, there is a wide ranging of opinions to having technology in the shop.  As it is obvious, I am a proponent of having a dedicated shop computer.  I have spoken with others who have a compelling reason to keep the technology out of the shop.  Lets face it, our shops are sometimes our own sanctuaries away from reality, and some may feel it be intrusive to have this technology.  To be honest, there are times I don’t want it either.  The nice thing with technology…… It has an off button!

I hope you have enjoyed this series of articles on Technology in the Shop.  If you have enjoyed it let me know!

Technology in the Shop – Part 3 – Giving and Receiving Help

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2013-03-04 20.52.28I spend more time then I probably should be online in various chat rooms and forums.  However, the knowledge I have gained from participating in these online venues has been considerable.  It has also has prompted me to push myself to explore options I have never thought about trying.  Lets face it, when you watch woodworking shows on TV, you see a lot of brad nails and pocket screws out there.  Up until a couple years ago I honestly though that was the way to go about doing it.  Then I would never have dreamed of cutting dovetails with a handsaw and chisels!

So a lot of the text only options could be printed out and taken to the shop with paper.  However, in a chatroom often times having the live interaction is very beneficial.  Even with forums, keep up with current posts can be beneficial in real time.

I briefly talked about helping each other out with the streaming videos in Part 2.  And that is a great way to do it.  Setting up a stream isn’t for everyone though.  However, with options like Skype, Facetime, instant messengers, and other video chat options that are available, there are a lot of very easy ways to get one on one video help in the shop.

This can really go both ways.  When I am having trouble on my lathe, I will often bring up a video conversation with someone far more knowledgeable then I am on turning.  They can watch what I am doing, look at what I am doing wrong, and give me advice on what I am doing wrong.  (Thank you Roger!)  Also getting watch others work, and being able to interact with them in real time is a great way to learn new techniques.

One thing I will say.  Whenever I receive help, I always try to pay it forward.   As much as I can using the video streaming techniques as discussed above.  If I had a questions on it at one time, there are likely others who have the same question as well.

The Woodworking Shows and Tool Gloat!

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As you may or may not have noticed, but I am attempting to do more posts, and doing one at least weekly.  This week, there are two posts!  This past weekend, I attended The Woodworking Shows in Columbus Ohio.  I must say, I had a blast!  This was the first time I attended one of these shows.  This show is mainly about the vendor booths, but there were also some excellent presentations as well.  I watched presentations by Paul Moore, also known as The Crazy Woodworking Canadian.  He showed off some techniques and products, but was popping jokes left and right and had the audience rolling.  I see the same theme coming up at this show as I do at other shows, which is the growth in hand tools.  I watched a presentation by Paul Sellers, who is a very talented woodworking.  What he did with hand tools in a very short period of team puts most of us to shame when using power tools.  Andy Chidwick and Chuck Bender also put on a great presentation as well.

Something that was great about both days I went to the show was meeting up with people.  The first day, I brought my Dad up with me.  While he has an appreciation of the craft and the tools that go in to them, he isn’t into woodworking to the degree I am.  Still, we both really enjoyed the time together.  The next day, I met up with Kevin and ran into Sean, both of whom I have had some conversations with online.  It is always great to put a real face on those we talk to online!

2013-03-04 20.27.54Finally the tool gloat.  🙂  There were a lot of good deals at the show.  After walking around the show a bit, I started making me purchase strategy, which includes the okay from the boss (aka the wife!).  Some of my smaller purchases came from the far back corner of the show where there was a tool closeout area.  There was a lot of junk there, but a few gems with in2013-03-04 20.03.34 the junk.  It was priced so cheaply it was worth the risk on some of it.  First off, I bought 4 calipers for the lathe, at $3 a piece.  I also got 3 boxes of sand paper for my random orbit sander, also at $3 each.  Finally, I bought a file for $2.  For my big purchase I bought more clamps.  I ended up going with four 18″ Bessey Revos, for under $140!

All-in-all it was a great weekend!!

 

Spring is coming soon…… Please hurry!

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2012-09-23 18.45.19So, it is early March, and reflecting back on the winter we had, it was COLD!  I do have a kerosene heater that I can warm the garage, but it is only effective if the outside temp is over freezing.  Most any day I can get it tolerable to be in the shop with a sweater or jacket on, but if I can’t get it into the mid-50s it isn’t worth it.  First, I don’t like working in the shop with long sleeves on, for various safety reasons, as well as I feel like I can move more freely when working with hand tools.  Next, and yes on this one I am being a wuss, but cast iron and tool steel is COLD and uncomfortable to work with!

2013-01-30 22.44.46That said, I am starting to think ahead as to what I will be working on this spring.  First off, I want to finish the box for the box challenge.  It is nearly done, but I have an idea of a detail I want to put inside the lid first.  I will post here how that works out.  Once that is done, I will mortise out for the hinges and once the outside temp is steady enough, put some finish on it.

Next, I want to finish my hand tool cabinet.  I made a lot of progress on it last fall, and it has been sitting on saw horses waiting for me to get back to working on it.  One thing I have been thinking on is the drawers.  First, I want to do hand cut dovetails with them again.  One thing I am tempted to try is making them half blind.  I will have to do some more research on it.  The other thing is, I want the drawers to be unique.  I have been thinking about getting a small amount of some sort of figured exotic for the fronts.

As for other projects, I have a few ideas in the works, as does my wife.  🙂

A day of zen in the shop

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2013-01-19 18.22.49As mentioned in a previous post, I have been working on box that was part of a challenge in the chat room for The Wood Whisperer.  While I missed the deadline to get it completed for the trade portion of the challenge, I still have every intent to finish it.  There have been a lot of firsts on this project, with far more hand tool work done on this, including hand cut dovetails as the primary joinery for this project.

That brings me to my day of zen in the shop.  Most days I spend in the shop are good days, but this day was one of the best days.  During this day, I did not use a single power tool.  The only electrons abused were the ones powering the lights in the shop.

So, what did I accomplish during this day of zen in the shop?  I finished cleaning the tails, cut out and cleaned up the pins, and fitted all 4 corners of the box.

Just me, a dovetail saw, a few chisels, a mallet, and four pieces of wood, with some classical music playing.  Does it just get any better then that?  Well, yes, it does.  When I brought the first corner together first time.  The fact that it slipped together with some light taps of the mallet.  Even better?  Doing it 3 more times!  After doing a little more cleanup, I had a box that was reasonably square.

Since the day of zen, and the previous post, the box parts were sanded, glued together, and the lid separated.  Still some work to do on it before putting the first coat of finish on it, including a little more hand tool work.  Perhaps another day of zen in the shop?