Indholdsfortegnelse for October/November 2019 i Woodsmith

This past summer, I had the opportunity to visit the shop of a fellow woodworker by the name of Arlin Eastman. (That’s Arlin sitting at his lathe in the photo below.) I first “met” Arlin several years ago on WoodNet (Woodsmith’s online woodworking forum). At that time, he was just getting into woodworking (specifically, woodturning) and was looking for advice on how to get started and what tools to buy. But what makes Arlin’s story unique is the way in which he became involved in woodworking. Arlin was serving in the military and deployed in Iraq when he was wounded in 2008. His injuries left him with physical disabilities as well as brain trauma and short-term memory loss. When he returned home, he suffered from PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). His…

Due to restrictions on harvesting and exporting, genuine lignum vitae has become harder to find in recent years. As a result, many lumber dealers sell “Argentine” lignum vitae (also known as verawood). This wood not only looks similar to genuine lignum vitae, but it’s almost as dense and hard, making it a good substitute for the genuine article. Scientifically speaking, however, Argentine lignum vitae is a different species (Bulnesia sarmientoi). And unfortunately, it’s also threatened due to overharvesting, so it may be harder to source in the future.…

If large, robust carvings aren’t your thing, and you need a smaller set of carving tools, Power Grip has you covered. The small tools are sized in between palm carving tools and the full-sized tools above. They come in a set of five different profiles. The laminated steel blades hold an edge well and are easy to sharpen. I like that the Power Grip set comes with a plastic case to keep the tools from rattling together. You would do well to add some cork to the bottom to protect the business end, however. They’re an ergonomic set that is the perfect way to dabble in carving without breaking the bank or fighting against cheap tools.…

? On a recent episode of the Woodsmith Shop, there was a segment on band saw blades. It mentioned that the three basic blades to have are 1/8", 3/8", and 1/2" widths. What I was wondering is what TPI do you recommend? David Molnar via the Internet TPI (teeth per inch) is one of three main considerations when choosing a band saw blade (along with blade width and tooth configuraton). Fortunately, determining the best TPI for a given blade isn’t really all that complicated. But there are a couple points to be aware of. The first rule of thumb is that the number of teeth per inch will be dictated somewhat by the thickness of the stock you’re cutting. Let me explain. MINIMUM NUMBER. In order to avoid damaging the…

Disposable Epoxy Mixer. When Crayola England of Des Moines, IA had some epoxy to mix up, she decided to get a little creative. She used a section from an old set of mini blinds. The plastic strip is sturdy enough to mix the epoxy and is the perfect spreader. Resaw Push Stick. Scott Kirk of Solon, IA often uses his band saw to resaw stock. When resawing thin stock, James likes to use a thin push stick. By attaching a magnet to the end, James can hang the push stick from his band saw cover so it’s readily available when he needs it. Chalk Remover. Dan Martin of Galena, OH found that white chalk can be difficult to remove from open grain woods like walnut or oak. To easily remove…

When I was younger, I cherished any amount of time that I was able to spend at my grandparents’ house. Their house was my home away from home. And of course, the fresh sugar cookies that magically appeared on the counter was (and still is) my favorite treat. Thinking back on the time I spent there, I can still picture their living room with the large curio cabinet along the wall. Inside, my grandma had a set of three containers that fascinated me. Only after becoming a woodworker did I realize these were called Shaker boxes. When I first saw the plans for the set of Shaker boxes shown here, it brought back a flood of memories. ROUND BOXES. Traditionally, Shaker boxes were oval containers made from thin, bent strips…

Full disclosure: This project started out as a wood toy train for small kids. However, Chris Fitch, the project’s designer, wanted to add a few more details … and then a few more. So it turned into a static locomotive model for much older “kids.” This just isn’t any steam locomotive and tender, though. For you railfans out there, it’s styled after the streamlined Hudson J3a built for the New York Central Railroad. Renowned designer, Henry Dreyfuss created the streamlined shrouding that gave the locomotives their distinctive look. There were only ten locomotives made and they saw service on the famed “Twentieth Century Limited” run between New York and Chicago. The real challenge with a wood model of a locomotive is just how much detail to include. For this version,…

Shop-Made Toggle Clamp I often enjoy building my own shop-made items. When I needed a couple of toggle clamps for a project, I knew that I wanted to design and build my own. WOOD CONSTRUCTION. As you can see in the photo, the toggle clamp I came up with uses almost all hardwood parts. They’re small, but easy to cut out at the band saw. I used aluminum rods for all of the pivot points, and a bolt with a couple of nuts for the finger. Using the toggle clamp is easy. It works exactly like a commercial toggle clamp. The top lever releases the arm and lifts it up. When you slide a workpiece in, you can pull the lever to latch it in place. To accommodate different thicknesses…

One aspect of woodworking that I particularly enjoy is the opportunity to work with different species of woods. And when it comes down to interesting woods, lignum vitae has to rank near the top of my list. Lignum vitae is a tropical hardwood that grows primarily on the islands of the Caribbean, such as Haiti and Bermuda. However, it can be found as far north as the southern tip of Florida and as far south as the coastal regions of Central and South America. The trees are generally small and slow-growing, with tiny purple or blue blossoms. Typically, the trees only grow to a height of 10 to 50 feet. The name lignum vitae is Latin for “tree of life.” It’s so named because the resin extracted from the tree…

To create a steam box, you have a handful of options. You can buy a commercial steam tube from an online retailer, or use a section of PVC with a handful of fittings and caps. Or, you can build your own out of wood, as you see here. Plywood Box. The box I built is made out of plywood, but you could use hardwood for a little more durability. The sides are attached to the top, bottom, and front with screws and waterproof glue. The back door is hinged and has a latch to keep it closed. If your door doesn’t close tightly, you can use foam weather stripping to seal the door. A series of dowels span the sides to suspend the strips in the middle of the box.…

Wheel Shells. Start the shells by drilling a shallow hole for the insert (detail ‘a’). Set the depth stop so that all the holes are the same depth. Form the Flange. Drill the axle hole first. Then using a modified circle cutter, cut a flat groove to define the inner profile of the shell and the flange. Outer Diameter. Switch to a standard circle cutter to size the wheel to its final overall diameter. From here, cut the shells free at the band saw. Eccentric Arms. The arms are formed on a thin oversized blank. When drilling the shallow counterbore, set the depth stop to avoid drilling all the way through.…

A Legs (4) 1 3/4 x 1 3/4 - 41 B Feet (8) 1 3/8 x 3 - 5 3/4 C Upper Shelf (1) 3/4 x 17 - 19 D Lower Shelf (1) 3/4 x 17 - 19 E Side Stretchers (2) 3/4 x 3 1/4 - 16 F Front/Back Stretchers (2) 3/4 x 3 1/4 - 18 G Front Rail (1) 3/4 x 3 - 18 H Side Aprons (2) 3/4 x 10 5/8 - 16 I Back Apron (1) 3/4 x 10 5/8 - 18 J Drawer Guides (2) 7/8 x 1 - 15 K Top (1) 3/4 x 19 1/2 - 27 1/2 L Blocks (10) 3/4 x 1 - 1 1/4 M Corbels (4) 3/4 x 3 - 11 N Drawer Sides (2) 1/2 x 5…