Category: Articles

Dust Collection – Part 1

Published on by Mike  (Leave a comment)

rikon_dcThis is one article I have been putting off for a while.  The topic of dust collection can be as touchy as discussing politics or religion.  However, one of the major projects I took on this past summer was improving the dust collection in my shop.

First, before I go any further, my disclaimer is that my solution is by no means the best solution out there.  There were a couple constraints I had to work within as well, and I was more or less focused on solving a couple specific issues with my setup.  Finally, I believe any dust collection setup is like any other aspect of the shop, in that it will be something that will always continue to be improved and updated.

shop_vacBefore I started, I wasn’t completely without dust collection.  I had a small 1 hp dust collector, that I used it directly on each machine.  This meant either bring the machine (namely the planer) to the dust collector, or bringing the dust collector to the machine itself.  This worked, but it got to be a hassle.  In fact, it made the process of milling lumber difficult.  On top of that my table saw had no dust collection at all.  I got tired of the mountain of sawdust that would always develop under my table saw.  I also have a shopvac that I use for sanding and general cleanup.

What I would have really liked to have done is put in a cyclone system that I could have ducted to each of my machines.  However, I don’t have the ability to run a dedicated 220 line to power it.  Also I had promised my wife that I would not make any large tool purchases for the year, as past years I had made quite a few of them.

planer_bs_dcTo start with the improvements, I took a look at the layout of my tools.  The small dust collector is kept behind my band saw as that is where it gets most of use.   Also, the jointer is just across the from the band saw, so it made since from both a dust collection stand point, and milling stand point to move the planer  However my planer is on the cabinet that stores all my router bits and accessories which I wanted it next to my router table.  However, when I put the tool cabinet in place, the planer was in the way.  So this gave me the opportunity I needed to move it.  My new OSS on its stand was short enough to go under the tool cabinet, so I just simply swapped them and have to take a few extra steps to get to my router bits.  I now dedicate the small dust collector to the band saw and the planer, simply by moving the hose between the two machines.  This also has significantly improved my workflow for milling boards.

This, however, left my jointer and table saw without dust collection, and with the layout of the shop, it was hassle moving the small dust collector from machine to machine, which made it way too easy to not use dust collection at all.  My next post I will discuss what modifications I made to those machines to improve their dust collection.

Puzzle Cutting Boards – Final Project of 2013

Published on by Mike  (6 Comments)

cutting_board_set_connectedThis was my busiest Christmas holiday in the shop yet.  After completing the easel for my Nephew, I started working on request from my wife.  She found a picture of some cutting boards that she thought would make a good gift for some family and friends.  They are made in the shape of a puzzle piece, and can be linked together for cutting french bread.  Or as single boards they can be used for cheese and cracker boards.  The puzzle socket also allows for a wine glass to be held.

cutting_board_two_sets_stackedI ended up making 2 sets of 4, with a 3rd set on order from my wife.  Each set actually was made fairly quickly.  What took the most time was making the template.  First thing, was I needed to be able to run the rough cut piece through my 6″ jointer, and still have a full sized board with no glue-ups.  So the template was 5 7/8″ wide.   The length is roughly 13.5″.  Before I even started with a full size blank, I started working on the circular rounded front.  While I probably should have done this on paper, I elected to do it on some scrap wood that I was able to cut down to the width I needed.  Using a compass, coins, and free hand, I came up with a pencil design that looked good.  the one thing I didn’t pencil out was the shoulders on either side of circle.  In fact, I free handed out two options on the band saw, a concave and a convex version.  After cleaning up the cuts on my oscillating spindle sander, I traced out both versions on another piece of scrap.  I ended up liking the convex version far better than the concave, so I went with that.  Using the two different sided piece, I made another template with the finished profile for the front.   I did this by tracing the half the piece, flipping it, the tracing the half.  I then used the drill press to drill out where the band saw wouldn’t go, then roughing out the shape on the band saw.  I then used a flush trim bit on the router table, flipping the template once to get a symmetrical profile.

cutting_board_templatesOnce the front template was done, I started on the back template. Again, I used another scrap piece at the same width.  I then used the front template to trace out the profile on the back template.  I then roughed out the shape on the band saw.  I then used my OSS to clean up the shape back to the lines.  I then carefully started taking more material off the template until a good loose fit between the two templates could be made.  I didn’t sweat any imperfections as they would be hidden by the round-overs I would put on the actual cutting boards.  Once I got the back template done, I was ready to make a full size template.  Using the band saw, and flush trim method I used earlier I was able to complete the template.  I then marked on that template with the dimensions needed for the work pieces so that I would have them for future use.

cutting_board_set_stackedFinally, I was able to start on the cutting boards themselves.  I used maple for these, but really most closed-grain domestic woods would work very well for this application.  Again, the process was tracing the template to the work piece, roughing out the shape using both the drill press and band saw.  Then using woodworkers tape, attach the template to the work piece.  From their on to the router table with the flush trim bit, and then round over on both sides.  With some finish sanding, the boards were ready for finish.  The finish of choice is butcher block oil.

The puzzle cutting boards were a fun project to build, I have a feeling that I will be using the template often.

Heating the Shop – Be Safe!

Published on by Mike  (2 Comments)

kerosene heaterMy shop is in the garage of my home, and effectively has no climate control in it.  As many other woodworkers do, I use a kerosene heater to warm the garage during the winter months.  Using some common sense, this is a safe and effective way to heat a space.  First, as with anything thing that burns there is a risk of carbon monoxide.  It wouldn’t be a bad idea to have a detector in your shop space to alert you if the levels are getting too high.  I had a friend who had one of theses heaters started having flames go outside the heater.  What saved this from being a tragedy is he kept at least the minimum 3′ clearance around the heater.  That is not optional.  Fortunately for him, nothing was damaged.    However, this brings me to my next point, this was completely preventable.  What he found after taking apart the heater was what ignited wasn’t creosote or any build up on the walls of the heater, but rather that collection of sawdust and shavings that had worked its way inside of the heater.  At LEAST once a year, take the heater apart and clean it out!  The spring after his heater ignited, I cleaned mine out, after many years of use.  I will say I am fortunate as well that I didn’t have the same thing happen!  I found I had next no build up of creosote or any other crud on the walls of the heater, but I had a good thick layer of sawdust just under the heating element.  Keeping the heater clean, and keeping debris away from it is paramount!

Something to note for your tools, a byproduct of burning kerosene, or any other fossil fuels, is water, and will put water in the air.  For most dry winter days, this won’t be an issue.  If it happens to be a little more humid outside due to snow melt off, it can really raise the humidity in the shop.  You will also get a situation where the air gets warmer then the tools, which on smooth cast iron will create condensation.  I was not happy when I found a layer of orange on my brand new jointer bed!  (Fortunately it was a very light layer, and cleaned up well)  The lesson from this is, keep up with tool maintenance, make sure your cast iron surfaces are protected.  When the heater is lit, don’t leave it unattended!  When you extinguish the flame, make sure it cools completely before leaving it.  Also, make sure it is completely turned off.  As the heaters age the turn off tends to catch so it is always wise to make sure that the dial is all the way in the off position.

Most gas stations that sell kerosene only charge sales tax on it, so it is not street legal.  Being that kerosene is chemically similar to diesel, the stations will only allow you to dispense into a blue container.  Note, there are two types of kerosene available.  Once is clear, the other has a pink dye in it.  Use the clear stuff as it burns more efficiently.  In fact most heaters state that clear kerosene is required.

More New Tools – And Safety is King!

Published on by Mike  (Leave a comment)

GRR-Rip Block GRR-Rip Block Bottom     Recently I attended Woodworking in America, spending some money at its market place.  Then the following weekend my local Woodcraft had its annual Extravaganza, where they have their paper bag sale as well a few vendors providing demonstrations.  In fact I saw the same guy both weekends from MicroJig as a result of these events!  When it comes to affordable machine safety, these guys know what is going on!  I have had their splitter on my table saw for awhile now.  However, I hadn’t yet bought their very popular Grr-ripper.  GRR-RipperWhile at WIA, they were demoing their newest product the Grr-rip Block.  What really sold me on it is the smart hooks that are their when you need them, but are out of the way when you don’t, which is awesome when pushing a piece through the jointer.  In fact they work the same way on edge when resawing on the band saw!  So while at WIA, I bought one!  I get it home, and the grips are amazing.  I was so impressed with it that next weekend, I bought the Grr-ripper at Woodcrafts event!

Gramercy RaspAnother WIA purchase was a Gramercy rasp.  I got their smaller 5″ 25TPI rasp.  While I haven’t used it on a project yet, I have played around with it, and it is an awesome tool!  It is hand stitched, and made from stainless steel so it won’t rust.  As much as I reach for a rasp or file, I have a feeling this one will get a lot use!

CalliperI also picked up a digital caliper.  I actually bought one last year, but met an unfortunate demise when the chuck key for my lathe chuck landed right on the display.  It never worked right since.

Last but not least, while at the Woodcraft extravaganza, I entered my clock on their gallery, and took third place in the small projects division.  The prizes for that was a Fein ball cap and safety glasses, as well as Flex Tools beginners carving set.Carving Prize  Fein PrizesThat is an area of woodworking I have yet to explore, so who know perhaps you will see me posting a project with a carving in it sometime in the future!

Woodworking in America – “Why are you here?!?”

Published on by Mike  (7 Comments)

I just got back from a great weekend at Woodworking in America, Popular Woodworking Magazine’s yearly show.  This year, it was located in Covington, Ky just across the river from Cincinnati, Oh.

2013-10-18 16.26.40I spent much of my time in the market place where various vendors and organizations have setup booths to display the tools and/or pieces they have available.  I got the opportunity to try out tools from Scott Meeks, Bad Axe, Nice Ash, and many others.  While I will enjoy the tools I have purchased, including a Gramercy Rasp, and Grr-rip block from Micro jig, this show was all about who I spent my time.

2013-10-18 15.36.032013-10-19 18.11.16The group I spent much of my time with is the great guys from Modern Woodworkers Association.  These guys made an already great show an absolute blast!  They are fun to be around, and they all have a great passion for woodworking and bringing it to others, both in the online and offline communities.  Keep your eye out for their next pod cast about WIA, as I was one of the guys they interviewed at the show!  As a note, the title of this post is an inside joke with the MWA guys.

2013-10-19 18.53.432013-10-19 18.54.322013-10-19 19.03.43Another great group I got spend some time hanging out with is the Wood Talk Online crew, including Marc Spagnoulo of The Wood Whisperer, Matt Vanderlist (aka the Pod King!) of Matt’s Basement Workshop and Shannon Rogers of Renaissance Woodworking.  The work that these guys have done in the woodworking community have truly raised them to celebrity status, and getting to meet them in person was really an awesome experience!

2013-10-19 18.08.042013-10-18 15.25.282013-10-19 18.52.44The folks at Popular Woodworking magazine once again did a great job bringing in quality vendors as well as quality presenters.  It is very obvious that they listen to the woodworking community as a whole, and do what they can to produce a show that will provide something for everyone who attends!  I am already counting down the days of next year’s show!