Block Plane Basics More and more woodworkers are bringing power jointers and planers into their shops, often pushing hand planes into dusty corners. But a plain old plane still comes in handy, even in the most up-to-the-minute shop. Here's one of the handiest: the block plane. (1) Compact and versatile, block planes, such as the low-angle one (left) and the standard version (right), belong in any woodworking shop. A sharp, properly adjusted hand plane allows a woodworker to peel a whisper-thin shaving from wood while leaving a surface of unsurpassed quality. That's why these venerable tools--planes go back to Roman times--still fit into today's shop. Using a block plane feels almost natural--and very craftsmanlike. What can a block plane do? A block plane handles many tasks, including some that would be difficult or unsafe to perform with power tools. (2) The compact block plane fits your hand comfortably, making it easy to use. Erase mill marks. Bevel an edge. Fit doors and other parts. Tuning your plane
Double Dovetail Box After admiring the double and double-double dovetail joints that are capable with the Incra and other jigs, I started thinking, “Why not try this by hand?” So this box is my first experiment with handcut double dovetails. It took me some time to figure out the joinery process, but once I realized a few things about this type of joint, it seemed do-able. It was quite challenging but also a ton of fun. It also does take some degree of patience and precision…which I’m still working on. In this blog, I’m focusing on the sides of the box, but here’s a few pictures of the nearly completed box - Materials.For this box’s sides I used three types of primary contrasting woods, although there is no real reason to do so. The picture below shows the rabbet joint cut on each end of each side – I set the rabbet depth at 1/8” and cut it on my router table. Below is a top-view picture of the pieces in relation to each other once they become integral to the box. The close-up below shows in more detail.
Getting screws to hold in end grain Because wood is relatively weak perpendicular to its grain, screws don't hold that well when screwed into the end grain. This firstly because the thread has a harder time cutting into the grain fro the side, and also because what it does grab shears out more easily, as the shear is cross-grain. Wood screws do, however, hold extremely well in cross grain. So the trick to making screws really hold in the end of a piece of wood is to give them a bit of cross-grained wood to bite into. The easiest way to do this is to put a hardwood plug into the wood, 5/8" or 3/4" in diameter. The illustration at left shows how far the screw would penetrate, if it was actually in the wood. This approach is much cheaper, and probably stronger, than using some specialized fastener using a machine screw and some sort of specialized nut to insert in a hole. I use this apporach for screwing bed rail clips into the ends of bed rails for my bed frame and my daybed, where good hold is very important.
Charging Cell Phone Holder My husband and I both have cell phones. And both of us have phone chargers. And that means lots of obnoxious cords. You never know when one of us may be moving phone cords around, to give our phones an extra charge while we’re chatting away……… or trying to charge our phones up before running errands or something. Needless to say, those phone cords seem to be everywhere…..and are generally in the way and hanging all over the floor. (Okay, and how about when you’re in a hotel or visiting family/friends. I was looking around on the internet for a solution and found this. It made the perfect little holder for my cell phone while it’s being charged. Holder for Charging Cell Phone And no more phone hanging down from the outlet while in this room or that room……..the cord and phone are now up off the ground, and tucked away into the little holder, while the phone drinks up a full charge. If you look closely, you can see that the orange print is fabric. And turns out, it’s pretty useful.
Wood shed Piggy Pillow As promised, I have completed the tutorial and the pattern for the “Be My Valentine – Piggy Pillow”, which was published 3 weeks ago. This time I made a pair for my kids, they love it. You may not be able to do it in time for this valentine but as I said, if you have love in you, everyday is valentine. Besides as a pillow, you can use this pattern to make into other things, for example, pin cushion, smaller softy as gift, or a piggy back pack for little children. Material you need:1. Print out the PDF pattern of the piggy pillow. Use a pencil and trace the pattern onto the cotton fabric. Sandwich the towels in between 2 fabrics. Sew it up on the sewing line, it can be from sewing machine or hand stitching. Turn body, ear and tail inside out. Tie a knot at the tip of the tail as shown, mark a length of 4″ from the tip. Turn the body outside in and position the tail on the top part of the body. Embellish the body with a heart. Stuff the piggy with poly-fill to the fullness you prefer.
veritas shooting plane Bean Bag Whether it’s extra seating you need or a plush spot to put your feet up, this cozy circular beanbag pouf fits the bill. The playful dot pattern adds retro-inspired whimsy and visual interest. Skill Level: Intermediate Materials: 3 yd fabric; tape measure; water-soluble marker; string and tape (optional); scissors; pins; iron; thread; sewing machine with zipper foot; 20" zipper; 6 yd 3/8" cording; polyester bean filler (we used Poly-fil Beanbag Filler from Fairfield Processing). Directions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 9. 10. 11. 12.
Mighty Compass Video Bob Lang October 2013 Popular Woodworking Magazine Bean Bag Looking for hours of entertainment? Meet, The Rollie Pollie bean bag chair. It’s a chair, it’s a toy, it’s your favorite pillow. Made of durable cotton twill or soft vinyl, each bag is actually a slip cover (with another Rollie Pollie inside) then filled with mounds and mounds of soft cluster stuffing. So if it gets dirty, just zip it off and throw it in the wash. And with a handle on top, it’s easy to toss around. Now, pick your favorite…. Drag it around, Dive right in! Or take a little nap. Build a Rollie-Pollie-man: kick off your shoes: Or do what I love best….find a yummy treat, and just relax, watching your favorite show. Who said you were a couch potato? 100 Creative Furniture / Inspiration / Splashnology - Web Design and Web... inShare19 In this roundup you will find some stunning, creative and unique furniture design ideas. Some of them really look awesome. So, re-think before you scrap anything because it could be a good material for making an exclusive furniture. Advertisement 100 Creative Furniture: Reloaded We have already presented to your attention a collection of 100 Creative Furniture.
Plastic Animal Bookends First of all, thank you so much to all of you who voted on the first round of So You Think You’re Crafty. Weren’t the projects fantastic? I have my work cut out for me in this competition! My animal bookends didn’t quite take first place, but I was ecstatic to see how many people liked my project the best. Since I wasn’t the first week’s winner, it means that I get to share the tutorial for my project here for you! To make plastic animal bookends, you will need: dollar store plastic animals sharp scissors strong craft glue acrylic photo frames spray paint (optional) I was so excited to get started on this project, that I didn’t take a before picture of the plastic toys. To bisect the toys, I just pierced the animal in the midsection (this is beginning to sound like a biology lab) with my scissors, and cut all the way around. Once the toy was halved, I applied a generous layer of glue to the cut edge and stuck the toy onto the frame. Once the animal halves were in place, I left them to dry.