Bow Saw

Above is a bow saw I made this weekend with the kit from here. I had purchased these parts awhile back but never got around to making it. The saw is made out of hard maple with the toggle being out of cherry. The finish is Watco Danish Oil with a couple of coats of Shellac. The handles were the biggest challenge as I do not have a lathe so they were formed with the bandsaw and files. Hence, they are not perfectly round.

This will be functional as a coping saw. I will probably use it the most when I attempt handcut dovetails to cut the waste out. Regardless, it was fun to make and will be nice to have around the shop.

I also ordered the kit for a spokeshave from Lee Valley. I will hopefully be making this in the next few weekends. Although, next weekend will be very busy as I am taking a handplane class at Woodcraft with Chris Schwarz, the editor of Popular Woodworking and Woodworking Magazine. I have learned a lot already from reading his articles. It will be very exciting to meet him in person and learn some new skills.

Garage Cleaning and a few things

We are starting to do more workouts at home so I have been wanting to make plyo boxes. Some of the workouts we do incorporate them for jumping on. They are fairly simple to make and Home Depot had Birch Plywood on sale for $25. I bought two sheets and was able to make 3 boxes. Not the best plywood but it will work. I made a 20" tall one that can be used in conjunction with my saw bench and two 24" tall boxes. The taller ones will also be handy with woodworking as I can use them for assembling projects.

One tool that would be nice to have some day after cutting all of this plywood is a Festool saw with the shop vac attachment. Fairly pricey so that will have to wait. Here is a picture of the boxes stacked in the corner.




I also rearranged the garage and had a table sitting were the plyo boxes are above. The table was original made to be an outfeed table for the table saw but it never happened. I finally was able to get it set up to work which I think is going to be very nice. Here is a picture of the new setup.



The final item I made this weekend were two push sticks which I have needed. I had a poorly made one before that did not work that well. These I spent some time on forming with the bandsaw and a file. I also put a coat of Watco Danish Oil on them.



I spent the rest of the time cleaning and getting the garage better organized. I also completed the drawer in the cabinet which was nice to get that completed. Overall, it was a very busy weekend.

Sawbench

I read about this sawbench a few months ago and wanted to make one for the shop. It would be very helpful for various tasks that I can do with the handsaw vs. pulling out the big heavy miter saw. I can also use it as a stool for my tall cabinets or for chiseling pieces of wood.

Also, my wife wanted me to make plyo boxes for when we workout at home and this can function in that capacity also. Although, I think I will make an actual plyo box and then can use the two of them for assembling projects.

I did not sand it or clean up the wood so please ignore the glue drip on the leg.

Here are a few pictures.

Coffee Table for a Friend

A close friend of my wife is going through a split up with her significant other and has a 10 month old baby and no furniture. She recently moved into an apartment but has little furniture. I hate to see anyone going through this so I offered to make her a coffee table to help out during this difficult time.

I made it out of 2x4's and 2x10's from the depot and cost about $25 total. I just glued up the 2x4 to make the legs thicker. Did M&T for the apron's and glued up 3 2x10's cut down for the top. Finish is Amber Shellac and paste wax as I had some sitting around. Here are a couple of pictures before I deliver it.

Thanks for looking

Projects and more Projects

I have not posted in a bit as I have been busy making sawdust. I have a number of projects currently brewing in my garage shop.

First, the local woodworking group has set up three groups to make end tables. Our group is making a Greene & Greene style table...very cool. One of the members of my group was very nice to sell some cherry wood so that we can each make our own table. I have the pieces cut but no pictures yet.

Second, I am making a saw bench which is a handy tool in the shop. It is a small low bench that helps with using a handsaw (the kind with no electric cord), chiseling and a number of other items.

Third, our friendly lumber provider, Oakie, had a bunch of hard maple billets (2 5/8" x 1 1/2" x 8 ft) and the oak was finished drying. So last weekend I picked up more wood. The billets I will use for bench's, cutting boards and other items. The white oak may be used for book cases. It is quarter sawn and flat sawn showing off some beautiful grain.

I will try and post some pictures soon. I just have been very busy lately with work.

Completed Side Table

I finished the table today. I decided to change the finish slightly as I found this article in Fine Woodworking. I did not follow the article exactly but used it as a guideline. After the one coat of BLO mixture I did a coat of clear Shellac and Paste Wax. The article used amber Shellac but I decided to use clear as it will show the maple figure much better.

There were a number of mistakes along the way but overall I was able to hide most of them and learned a great deal. Here are a few pictures of the finished product.

Finishing the Finish

Finally the table is glued up and I am at the dreaded stage for most woodworkers which is what finish to apply. There are many choices between using oil (tung, linseed), varnish, lacquer, shellac and on we go. Part of the difficulty with finishing is that I can conceptually see how things are built....the reason I like woodworking. But when it comes to finishes which is chemical reactions...I loose all understanding. Maybe why I did not do well in Chemistry.

I did a number of sample pieces of wood which I could not really tell a difference on. I tried clear and amber Shellac and for some reason did not like the Shellac. Many woodworkers seem to rave about Shellac being the next best things since sliced bread but I did not get too excited. I also tried boiled linseed oil(BLO) directly and mixed with mineral spirits 50/50. That looked fairly good. I also tried Watco Danish Oil which is a wiping varnish that also looked good. To be honest, I really could not tell much of a difference.

My wife liked the BLO with no mixture so I decided to do an approximate 70/30 mixture of BLO and Mineral Spirits. She liked the darker color even though I believe it is going to darken up over time with the BLO. I have put one coat on so far and will probably add another couple of coats and give it a final rub down with paste wax.

This is my first piece of furniture that I have made that will actually be inside our home. It is very exciting to see it coming to a completion. Here is a picture of the first coat on our kitchen table (the garage is too cold to finish in). I have to say I have a great wife to let me use the kitchen table as a finishing table.