Well, this weekend allowed me to get a bit of time in on the Craftsman Style Coffee Table that I have been puttering away with for the fast few months. I was able to get the slats for the ends cut, mortised and tenoned.

I went with five same-width slats evenly spaced from each other with a much larger space at either end. They are centered on the skirt and stretcher.

Both the top skirts on the short side and bottom stretchers were mortised with 1/4″ mortises:

Continue reading 'Craftsman Style Coffee Table – Part 4'

1. When building a deck it’s possible to straighten a warped deck board – even when working by yourself – with the aid of a scissor-style car jack. A 2×4 cleat screwed to the supporting joists allows you to exert enough force with the jack to straighten the board. Then screw the board in place.

2. Sawdust and shavings from Pine and Oak lumber can be composted to form a nutritious mulch for gardens, shrubs and trees. It is best to mix it with other compost like leaves and grass clippings. Never compost sawdust from pressure-treated lumber, plywood or particle board which contains hazardous additives.

3. Some woods, such as walnut or oak, are very tough and hard to carve. You can soften the wood up by applying de-natured alcohol to it. The alcohol will not cause the grain to raise like water will. The alcohol, of course, will evaporate with time.

4. Need to fill in a crack or check? Mix sawdust from your piece with glue and put into the crack or check. When dry, sand and finish as usual.

5. Use a framing square to find the center of a circle by placing the corner of the square on the circle, and marking where the legs meet the circumference. Draw a line from one mark to the other. Do this a second time. These lines intersect at the center.

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…

Wanting to try out the new spindle gouge that I turned the handle for a week ago I turned a candle holder. And since I also wanted to try out the new drill chuck I decided to put a base on it:

This is made of cherry and finished with Turner’s Polish. It stands at about 6″ tall and is just over 3″ round at the base.

It was made in two parts with a tenon turned on the candle stick that was glued to the base. Here’s a photo of the two parts:

Continue reading 'Candle Holder Spindle Work'

Who’da thought that woodworking would bring me back to the computer? As much as I try to get away from this electronic life-sucking gizmo I’m always drawn back, but this time in a real good way.

One of the latest cool tools to hit the woodworker’s workbench is Google Sketchup, a 3D computer aided design (CAD) software program that you can use to design, create, and modify your project plans. It’s like Etch-A-Sketch on steroids!

SketchUp was created by @Last Software, a small group of AEC software industry veterans. Founded in 1999 and based in Boulder, Colorado, this group envisioned developing 3D design software that would make design exploration accessible to everyone. In March of 2006 @Last Software was acquired by Google, and shortly there after released a free version of SketchUp.

It’s easier to learn than other 3D modeling programs, which is why so many people are already using it. SketchUp’s simplified toolset, guided drawing system and clean look-and-feel help you concentrate on two things: getting your work done as efficiently as possible, and having fun while you’re doing it.

Continue reading 'Google SketchUp For The Woodworker'