I’m planning on visiting my carving buddy sometime this week for coffee and a chat. Knowing that he’s going to ask me how I’m coming along with my woodcarving I thought that I’d better get busy and do some, so I decided to carve a little Shelf Elf.

A Shelf Elf is a small carving of an elf-like figure that sits on the edge of a shelf and usually has a log beard that hangs over the edge:

This fellow is made from Pine and approximately 3″ from the top of his hat to the tip of his beard. These are a fun project to do. They don’t take too much time and can make great gifts.

Here are a couple of photos of other Shelf Elves that I did:

Continue reading 'A Shelf Elf Made By Myself'

1. If you use multiple measuring tools; tapes, rulers, squares, etc. ensure that the distance increments all match. Sometimes they don’t. If they differ, and you use a variety of measuring tools on a project, your dimensions can vary causing sizing problems. It is best to use the same measuring tool thruout the project.

2. Oil finishes can dramatically change the color of light woods. Use sanding sealer prior to application of your oil finishes to reduce this color change.

3. Cover unused electrical outlets in your shop. This will keep out sawdust and dirt out of the slots, a common cause of short circuits.

4. To carry a full size sheet of plywood or panelling by yourself, tie a single length of rope, about 18 feet long, in a loop. Hook the ends of the loop over the lower corners of the sheet and with your arm over the sheet grip the middle of the rope in one hand. Use the other hand to balance the sheet.

5. Lose the cap of your glue bottle? Need a cap for a caulking tube? Try an appropriate sized screw-on electrical wire nut (marret).

These are just a few tips that I picked up over this past week. They come from a variety of sources including books, magazines, newsletters, online and some from personal experience.

There are more Woodworking Tips and Tidbits located here.

Back to the shop…

The mood was right to turn a pen yesterday so I turned a European Round Top Pen made out of Zebrawood. The style I chose was similar to the Spalted Birch Pen I made back in November. It is a very pleasing shape, both to look at and to hold:

This pen came out extremely well. I am quite pleased with it. Here are the steps that I took to create this pen. First, you will need a pen blank and a pen kit:

Continue reading 'Zebrawood European Round Top Pen'

Since I am quite pleased with the last finishes that I bought I thought I would try a new finish, something with more of a shine. I decided on the Turner’s Polish from Lee Valley:

It is a shellac-based lacquer formula that is made especially for use in woodturning and it produces a very hard, high-luster finish.

It is applied with a lint-free cloth pad while your turning rotates at a low speed on the lathe.

You can use shellac/lacquer thinner for diluting the first coat or to increase gloss in the final coat.

Back to the shop…

I just got a pretty good deal on a Veritas Low-Angle Block Plane from the local classifieds. I picked it up for less than 1/3rd the cost! It’s in great shape and looks to have been used very little:

This is the first quality plane that I have owned and I’m looking forward to working with it. Already, with the little playing around I’ve done with it, I’m already wondering why I never had one before.

Continue reading 'The Plane, Boss, The Plane!'

Yesterday, in celebration of Easter, I made, what I’m calling, an Easter Basket Plant Pot Bowl:

The bowl is made of Maple with a band of Padauk running around its center. It’s approximately 4″ tall and 6″ in diameter. Because it is to be used as a flower pot I made the walls a bit thicker than I normally would, at about 1/2″.

Continue reading 'Easter Basket Plant Pot Bowl'

1. Round the edges of the back of your bandsaw blade to increase the allowable radius of a cut. This makes the cutting easier too.

2. To keep panels from bowing under clamp pressure while gluing, clamp lengths of angle aluminum on each end with the two opened edges on the wood (like an upside down ‘V’). Clamp the angle pieces just firmly enough to hold things in place. Then tighten the pipe clamps. Unlike iron or steel, aluminum won’t leave black marks where it contacts squeezed-out glue. Also, unlike a wooden cleat, it won’t become glued to the panel.

3. Don’t grab your wood from a tool like the table or band saw until you can count the teeth on the blade.

4. Do you need a quick zero clearance insert for your table, band or scroll saw? Use masking tape. It won’t last long but just may get you through a small project.

5. It is best not to wipe off the wet glue after clamping, as it will spread the glue around and make finishing difficult. However, if it is a water based glue, it should be removed before it is cured. The moisture of the glue raises the grain a little and when it hardens the moisture is trapped. Then later, when the glue is removed, the wood shrinks and a glue line becomes perceptible. If you use a scraper or chisel when the glue skims over it will come off in nice strips. Washing the glue off with a wet cloth works but you must be careful to get all off or it will be everywhere.

These are just a few tips that I picked up over this past week. They come from a variety of sources including books, magazines, newsletters, online and some from personal experience.

There are more Woodworking Tips and Tidbits located here.

Back to the shop…

Here’s a bit of woodworking from the past - it is an Arts and Crafts or Mission style mirror that I did about two years ago. It’s 4 feet long and 16 inches high and made out of Red Oak with a light stain and finish:

What I enjoyed about this project was the joinery and the curved top. The joinery was a bit of a challenge because it used lap joints that were different on the top than on the bottom and I had to compensate for the rabbet where the mirror would sit. The curved top, of course, had to perfect. If not, it would be very noticeable against the mirror.

Continue reading 'Arts And Crafts Mirror From The Past'

With the cold temperatures and the high winds whipping around the shop door the past few days it wasn’t very enjoyable to do much out in the shop. I don’t really think it was much colder than at other times throughout the winter but the howl of the wind made it seem that much more so.

However, I was able to get out there for a few hours and turn a small bowl out of walnut. The bowl is 5″ in diameter and 1 3/4″ tall with straight sides and a shallow curved bottom:

I found the walnut fairly easy to turn, in fact, quite enjoyable. It finished up well too. Walnut always finishes with a look of elegance, as confirmed by even my limited turning skills.

Here’s a sequence of photos showing the steps I took to create this bowl.

Continue reading 'Walnut Bowl From The Whipping Wind'

We had another great presentation from master woodturner Don Moore at this month’s Nova Woodturner’s Guild meeting. His talk was on cutting bowl blanks from logs. He shared his experiences with tips, anecdotes and his usual light-hearted humor and banter.

I mentioned in a past post about Don that he owns, and lives on, a 450 acre woodlot. This has given him the opportunity to farm and cultivate his own wood ‘from the ground up’ and the experience needed to create quality wood for woodturning.

Continue reading 'From The Forest To The Lathe'