April 8, 2008 —
I am at home and recovering well for an 80 yo. Unfortunately, I am only 71
(humor on my part.)
In for 14 days and I thought I would never get rid of the strains of bugs that
were keeping me in there.
While I can joke, there is one thing that is no joke, and that is the prayers
and thoughts
of you people here. I don't even want to suggest what it would have
been like without your good thoughts. Wife Sandy who did Herculean
effort to
keep me sane also appreciated your thoughts and the part they played.
I have some rehab ahead and then lots of things for woodshopdemos.com. No, I did
not locate any potential woodshop assistants.
With the meds I was on, I wouldn't trust my otherwise spotless impressions.
March 30, 2008--This is not an April Fools Joke!!
John is in the hospital recovering from surgery.
He had a very nasty gallbladder removed and spent some
time in intensive care, but he is on the mend.
His recovery may take some time, but I expect he'll be
back in the woodshop and on the site very soon.
March 12, 2008 — Most of you (not all) have been very
understanding
of my not posting every week as I did for the first 5 years. I am slowing down
no doubt about it. But I enjoy this task immensely and will keep on
doing it as long as I physically can.
One reader suggested making the updates once a month, that way
he and others who constantly come to the site for the update, will not be
disappointed
if there is no weekly update. I like that idea so April 1 will be the next
update.
Right now, Elena and I are cleaning and
organizing the shop. You have heard that before, I know.
The difference this time is that we are doing a "deep" cleaning —
not just pushing things around to gain a few square feet
of room to shoot. The downside of getting products to review
is that you become a "depot" of goodies. It is not a fun shop to work
in if you have to constantly push things around. So this time it will be a
complete overhaul and I will shoot a panorama of the
entire shop and create a mini-tour.
Next Scheduled Update is
April 1, 2008
Products in the works:
CMT Enlock - in-depth
beadLOCK by Rockler
new PC Omnijig
Woodpecker Router Table
Incra Insert Plate
...and many more
Thanks to the many readers who have been using the
Woodcraft and Rockler links
here to make their purchases. I do get a small commission which always
helps — especially with the bandwidth this website is currently using. I
will never complain about high bandwidth usage —
that is an indicator of website popularity and ours is off the
chart.
How can you live without a
Woodcraft catalog. I have enjoyed reading this source book for
decades. Every time there is a new catalog, I can find some new
product for my shop. Just click on the image to the left and get
your free copy today.
And, thank you for supporting WoodShopDemos.com
You can search for any keyword on
WoodShopDemos only by using Google search engine. ShowMe
February 10, 2008 — We put the cabinet story aside for
a week or
two so that we could get started reviewing new products. This first one was
lots of fun and promises to be a good new jig for the shop.
Elena and I had a chance to try out the new CMT Enlock Joining
System. It is
a clever jig that is very well made and does what it is supposed to
do — cut dovetail keys. Show
me
"Puppy" Pic of the Week
More than one reader suggested that Gabby is getting to be
larger than a "puppy" so this is the last "Puppy of the Week" pic.
February 3, 2008 — A little progress on the under table
cabinet and a few
of the new products opened up and reviews started.
Elena starts joining the pieces with Festool Domino mortises
and tenons. Show me
Puppy Pic of the Week
Gabby is really growing. The small inset picture is one that we
shot in November, and in
a full stretch she barely filled the chair. She doesn't know it, but she is
too large for chair now.
January 27, 2008 — The month is flying by. The shop has a
number of
really fun looking new products. Oh to have more time and energy to get
to them. Next week.
Elena continues cutting pieces of white melamine particle core board
for the MFT storage cabinet. Show me
January 13, 2008 — Happy New Year.
Puppy Pic of the Week
We are into a new project in the shop - a cabinet base for one of
the Festool MFT's. Elena is installing a clever caster set that has
a different style locking mechanism. I purchased the set so that I
could "invent" a method to lock the wheels without kneeling
down or kicking a brake. Show me
December 21, 2007 —
Puppy Pic of the Week and Seasons
Greetings
from all of us at woodshopdemos.com
The best way I can think of to test the ability of my shop to cut
things square is to build a cube with mitered corners. Elena and I
do this with the Festool plunge saw.
Show me
December 2, 2007 — Five snow flakes were seen yesterday.
Winter is coming.
Puppy Pic of the Week Gaby reluctantly shares her tv chair with me. It is Sunday morning and "Meet
the Pest" —
just kidding. She is a wonderful puppy and still of the puppy weight where
visits
like this can be ok. But she is really growing.
Elena and I have finished the clamp rack. It is happily storing
about 75 of my clamps. It is very heavy (est. 300#) but the
Woodcraft 4" swivel casters seem to do the job.
Show me
November 18, 2007 — Brrr. Each year at this time, I
realize why I
don't like the North East. It isn't that cold but the change from the
warm and balmy is more than these old bones can handle. But the shop is warm,
so what am I complaining about.
Puppy Pic of the Week Does this look like an overworked
shop puppy? That is my TV viewing chair — or was mine.
In the last couple of weeks I showed some drill assortments and
screw assortments. This week I am showing this special edition case
from Festool — with drills and drivers and a lot more. They are all
designed for use with the Festool Centrotec chuck.
Show me
We are back on the clamp rack and will finish
it this coming week. Show me
November 11, 2007 — First: Happy Veterans' Day.
For those of you who are keeping track of
Puppy Gabriella, she is
going through the biting stage. Her owner/trainer (me) is going through the
"being bit stage."
Sharp little teeth, scary sharp, in fact. But she is so adorable.
Puppy Pic of the Week
As to shop projects: Elena, Andrea and I have made some progress
with the clamp rack — and one mistake. We made the first base the wrong
dimensions.
We will get that project back on track this coming week.
One of the many new products that came my way after AWFS in Las Vega
last July, was this cabinet hinge boring machine from CMT. It is
great — it drills the 3 holes for cabinet hinges all at one time,
perfectly spaced and to the right depth. There are a lot of jigs
that have helped me over the years but nothing like this. Show me
If you are at all like me, you have quite a
few drill bit kits with more than a few drills missing. I really
don't know where they go — just that they are gone. So when
Woodcraft displayed these "monster sets" of drills, I was very
quick to send in an order. In fact, I got one of the brad point and
one of the twist drills. Show me
October 28, 2007 — My daughter asked me months ago if I knew
how much time puppies took,
I don't recall what I said but I am sure it was something like "piece of cake."
Gaby is one
real piece of cake...and takes every minute you can give her, and then some. But
she is so damn cute and soft — and who said that socks were supposed to
have matching pairs. Asleep, she is always so good.
To the many people who think I have a screw loose, not any more. I
finally decided to organize all my screws into one handy Systainer —
well actually, it will be in two handy Systainers.
Show me
October 21, 2007 — My new shop puppy - Gabriella or Gaby
All of 9 weeks and a little charmer with a touch of rascal.
October 7, 2007 — My wife and I took a quick vacation to the
other coast
and visited with my son, his wife and two kids. What a wonderful
young family. It is so fulfilling to visit them. And we had a lot of good food.
Three generations of Lucases.
And once again my wife and I were able to meet up with this old Navy buddy
and his wife. We served together in the early '60's and have stayed
in touch all the tween years. Great friends are too far and in between.
And this week's add:
Andrea and I work on creating some angled legs for the clamps rack. Show me
JessEm/Milwaukee 3.5 HP EVES Motor & Switch
($489.00) Never reach under your router table again! Remote control box offers convenient access to both power and variable speed. Just flip the paddle switch on and dial in your desired RPM setting.
Features ..
This is now available at Rocklers and
Woodcraft
September 16, 2007 —
We had a nice visit from Beth last week. She is as lovely as
ever. I miss her on the site.
And speaking of dog, check this out:
That is a future shop dog. This picture is from the breeder and at the time
was taken, these two 4 week old females had not been spoken for. Well, actually,
the one
on the right is mine to be picked up at their 10th week — mid October. The
breeder is
the very same that sold me Samantha in 1993. Can't wait.
I know. I said I was going to install the two new router plates
that I display below. I will, but I find myself using the router on a new
project and don't want to play with the setup.
But, I did start something that is years overdo here — a rolling
clamp rack.
There are a lot of good clamp racks made by woodworkers around the
world. I have been looking for good ideas on forums for ever. This
one should work for me. It makes use of some very strong steel clamp
racks that Woodpeckers sells. Show
Me
September 04, 2007 — We have nothing to report this week,
except that we are
enjoying beautiful weather. It is a good time to seal up the shop for cold days
ahead.
This is what we are working on for next week. I don't know why it is but we
have two router lifts to try out.
I was pleasantly surprised to see that Incra was offering a router plate.
It turns out it is a Jessem plate made to Incra's specifications.
In reading over the instructions, I see that there a couple of new
features that will be nice to have. Coming Next Week
We also got a router plate from Woodpeckers.
It has a "Quik Lift" knob. I look forward to seeing how that will
make our router operations better. Coming Next Week
August 26, 2007 — You saw the "pieced together"
panorama picture below.
I did this because I couldn't back up in the shop. Well I remedied that last
week.
I sold my trustee Unisaw. I almost teared since that saw was the first tool I
bought when I got back into
woodworking. So in the same breath that I say I miss it, I say I sure
love the room. The "Superstation" was eating up my limited shop space.
Maybe when I need a table saw, I will get one with a granite top.
Elena has a chance to practice edge jointing with the Festool
planer/jointer stand that Sal had put together.
Show me
August 19, 2007 — We have been working on a DVD on
cabinetmaking.
It is using the Festool side of the shop. But if you do not have any Festool
products,
I hope you will still be able to make use of this on-going feature.
It is started today and will continue over the coming weeks.
At the same time, we will still be reviewing some new tools and jigs.
August 5, 2007 — Well, long time friend Sal has been visiting
for a week and
has been setting the pace for work in the shop. Here he poses with Elena.
A point of information: isn't it my job to pose with her? (He pulled
rank.)
This is a story about installing and using the Jessem/Milwaukee
router motor and remote controller. We spent an afternoon installing
it in a Festool MFT, but it could have been in any router
table. And then we put it to the important test of making raised
panel doors — and it was great.
Show me
I have been using FastCap 2P-10 CA
Adhesives for several years, but I just received this starter kit
— and I love it. It is the ideal way to sample the different
thicknesses. And when you only use drops each time, the 1 oz.
bottles are a good size. Show
me
July 22, 2009 — I just get slower and slower. Oh well, as
long as there is forward progress.
And thanks to all those readers who sent me a person note on the loss of Jakie.
There are
a lot of animal lovers out there, and that is all good.
Last week I thought I came up with a good jig to help
determine the number and type of chippers that I would use
to make tight dados. But one perfect dado doesn't make a jig
success story. This week I tested on a couple more wood
thicknesses. Show me
This is one of those
products that has been sitting on my "to do" pile. It hard
to believe that I have been reminding the manufacture for a
year to send one for review. It is from Jessem and is the
Jessem/Milwaukee router table motor and remote speed dial
and switch. I am really looking forward to installing it.
Coming next week
July7, 2007 — I have mentioned dear Jake a number of
times here. He has
been a great shop dog. Do you remember the story when Jake visited the
shop; tilted a bottle of water that was on the floor; unscrewed the top with his
too long nails and
then drank from the puddle. It sounds like a fish tale doesn't it.
Well he did it twice and both times I had witnesses. Anyway, shop
dog Jake
stopped breathing on July 4th. He was 12+.
And two stories — actually, one is pretty important.
If you look closely at that dado, you will witness the best looking
walls and bottom that a dado has ever had. At least, that is how I
feel. We had a chance to review the CMT Pro Dado set.
When I first opened the box, I thought this was going to be a "me
too" product. After all, doesn't my current dado set give me
pretty good dados. We had a lot to learn. ShowMe
In the picture at the left, I am
using The Extractor from Lee Valley to remove tight Dominos after
dry fitting a cabinet together. It works well. What it
was designed for is removing the nail that finds its own way.
I find that when I use the narrow crown stapler on particle core
board, I get my fair share of "strays", and they can be a devli to
remove. The Extractor was designed for this, and I do like the way it
works. Show Me
June 24, 2007 — It seems like I am treading water with a lead
jacket pulling me down.
A lot of time since the last post. Too many things started. Nothing finished,
but this week I do
have some stories.
Welcome to my office. You would think I would have great woodworking projects or
pictures.
But noooooooooo. First love is the Navy. I got out in 1963 and I still picture
myself on my favorite destroyer in one of
the typhoons of the Pacific. The picture on my PC is of the destroyer going
alongside a carrier for
refueling. The "rough" seas were quite typical. The carrier hardly felt them.
To all those who are in now or have served, I salute you...not just on veterans
and flag day, but every day.
Several weeks ago, I posted a story on how to keep things square and
in that story I showed a number of squares that we use here in the
shop. A number of readers suggested that the "1281" square made by
Woodpeckers should be on my list. So I got two squares from
them and the readers were right — they are great squares. ShowMe
We said we were going to review the WorkSharp
and we did. We have more to do, but here is the first section. We
have used it enough to know that it works and is easy to use. ShowMe
Elena and I use the Festool Parallel fence
for accurate and repetitive rip cuts. ShowMe
June3, 2007 — Last week, I promised to finish the 3 stories I had
started and that we did.
The Work Sharp is a new tool to make sharpening of all blades easier
and better. We have just started working with it and about 1/2
way through the story. Next week we will have it done. I think you
will like it.
Coming next week
Elena, Andrea and I have been testing the new
Pro Dado set from CMT. It brings to dados and rabbets what the
glue line rip blade does for those cuts — an absolutely smooth
bottom. If you have had dado bottoms that showed ridges, you will
love this new set. And when I say it gives smooth bottoms, I am
talking smooth, real smooth.
Coming next week
We have been using a brand new set of drills
available exclusively at Rockler. They are of a new design
that is meant to cut better and deeper holes. We made our
first test to be the hardest — drilling a 3/4" hole 4" deep in very
hard Brazilian Rosewood. It is a 2" thick board that I paid pretty
money for and we will be making jewelry chest's, but I had to use
one end just to test these drills. I will tell you now that our
first use was amazing. It made the hole as easy at drilling a cake
of Ivory, and the hole was smooth with an almost perfectly flat
bottom. We would publish this story but want to test the bits in a
hand held cordless drill and in other woods.
Coming next week
May 28, 2007 — Happy memorial day. Up here, we are enjoying a
really nice
early summer day, and my wife is already in the pool soaking up the sun.
Before she
went out there, she put AC in my office window and uncovered the AC for the shop so that
I can be comfortable. Can't find a better wife than that.
To date, we have never made mention of what we are working on — just what
we have completed. We are almost done with three new products
so I thought I would, at least, tell you what's coming. And we have a
lot more tools waiting for us.
May 20, 2007 — Last time, I posted a page on making
square cuts. There was
a lot of interest in that page and the subject. So today
I am discussing the alternate method — parallel cuts.
Making parallel cuts is as important as making square cuts. We find
that for every panel cut list, square and parallel cuts almost
always alternate in the overall process. ShowMe
May 8, 2007 — Way too long between updates. Bad cold/cough
took over
last two weeks and kept old, 84 yo frame down and out (Yes, I know
I am only 70, but frame is that of an 84 yo, it can seem at times.)
Maegan helps me test a new glue line ripping blade from CMT.
And we do a quick comparison of all three of their rip blades. ShowMe
Andrea, Elena and I take on the subject of
square. How square must you be to be "in square?" ShowMe
April 21, 2007 —
Announcement: I made a real boo boo and since the readers here
often praise me
for admitting them, here goes.
The mistake is in the review of the CMT Pro Dado Set. That review should
have been this week, but I made a second error...so next week.
But in the meantime, here is a very good "add" to the shop. Elena, yes, but I
was referring to the GG.
Can you spell "easier lifting." That is what you have if you have
this new product — the Gorilla Gripper." It has many uses, but
in this shop is works great lifting the heavy, slippery white
melamine particle core panels. Just ask Elena. ShowMe
March 25, 2007 — Many readers have written me and said that I
spend too much time
reporting on Festool products. I am guilty. There is only one reason why I
do this: I find them excellent tools
and they have done a lot to change my way of doing cabinetry and other basic
woodworking jobs.
In my "credo", I say that I will review those products that I would want in my
shop. That doesn't mean
only Festool. I have a years worth of other products that will be on these pages
and in my shop. And
I will be doing more work with Festool products. When I do a story like the one
today, it is
a Festool story that should be of interest to all woodworkers. The digital fence
I am installing
on a Festool product, can be done anywhere in the shop. As a matter of fact, I
will be installing it on
my Incra cut off sled and on my Delta planer. I always try to be fair. And I
appreciate it when
you, my readers, email me and suggest that I am not being fair.
We have seen many new digital measuring devices in the recent years.
Here is one that is a part of a longer sensor that I have installed
in one of the Festool MFT (multi function tables.) I like it because
it works. ShowMe
Recognize those router bits. They are the lock miter bit and the
reverse glue bit. They can be very difficult to setup. I have
prepared a couple of pages to show you the "Lucas way" and it
works for me. ShowMe
Here is the final page from the Swenson and
Swenson bar building pages. I can't say enough about their
skills in creating beautiful wood masterpieces. Rarely do we get a
chance to see such magnificent work — a tribute to the beautiful
wood that it is. ShowMe
February 25, 2007 — I really am alive and well, just way
behind in adding new pages.
I have some new products that are on the bench right now and will have them
reviewed by the weekend.
February 11, 2007 — We are back after a few days in
Florida. It was sunny for this picture
but grey for much of the time we were there — but fun none-the-less.
And I have posted several pages with Marianne continuing the
vanity top story. It is coming
quite well. These are pictures we took weeks ago since she also was away
traveling.
Who is it that said we do not use hand tools. Marianne uses a back saw
to finish a miter on our vanity top. ShowMe
PS — Some reader beat me to it. This
router and external speed control was shown at last year's IWF and
I have been waiting patiently to get my hands on one. Some reader
beat me to it and ordered one from Rockler last week. Let me know how well
it works.
February 3, 2007 — My wife and I are taking the week off for
a short trip to visit friends in
Florida. We will be back next week and have an update then.
For now, enjoy this week's success with the Swensons.
This a nice finishing touch, but the real story is with Per's use of
the Festool Domino Joiner. He used it to link together 12 ft.
sections of bar rail — and he did it perfectly. He played
"hide the seam" and he won. ShowMe
January 28, 2007 — Brrrrr! The long overdue cold has been
here. It makes me appreciate
a heated, cozy shop. A special thanks to the many readers who visited the
Woodcraft
pages from below. It is amazing how many readers and friends visit here.
This week, Elena works further with the Festool Domino Joiner and
cutting tenons to fit her mortises. ShowMe
We don't usually show what others are doing
but friend Per Swenson and his 82 year old father are woodworkers
par excellence. Their specialty is long bars. What is newsworthy
is that Per just used the Festool Domino Joiner for the first time. ShowMe
January 21, 2007 — Still working on cleaning and
organizing the
shop. It seems to go forever.
Welcome to Marieanne, a Scottish lass who wanted to try her hand
with the new Festool Domino Joiner. But of course, as
long as you let us all watch. ShowMe
January 14, 2007 — A quick "hello." Things are real busy here
and a lot to report, but I am still
cleaning my shop. It is taking forever.
This CMT Tenon Cutter bit is a product that was first released at
the IWF Show in Atlanta last August. It allows you to cut tenons
from 3/16" thick to 3/8". Andrea and I use it to cut 5mm tenons with
precision enough to fit into Festool Domino mortises. ShowMe
January 7, 2007 — Happy New Year to you all.
Elena continues her learning of the Festool Domino System. We
are trying to learn one feature or operation at a time. She is doing
well.
December 31, 2006 — 'T'is the very last day of 2006. I hope
it has been a
good year for you, and that 2007 is going to be even better. I am
planning to have a Tony the Tiger grrrreat year.
We used the Domino Cross Stop and were able to auto-place the Domino
mortises at wider locations. This really made joining of cabinet
sides together easier and better.
December 26, 2006 — I hope everyone had a safe holiday so
far. New Years is
almost upon us. Yikes.
We continue our review and use of the new Festool Domino System.
This week we practice using the automatic Domino spacing procedure.
It is neat and takes just a little getting used to. But it saves so
much time. In fact, the whole Domino System is shaping up as a
time saver. But, we have a lot more to do before we can really make
that statement.
December 17, 2006 — A fun couple of shoot sessions in the
shop this week capped off
by losing my website PC. That was plain scary since all the pages and the
picture files
would be lost. Yikes!!!. But, I managed to get the PC back with no loss of the
hard drive.
This is Elena wheeling out
a Festool Domino Joining System. The new product is expected
for release in April but we were privileged to get a head start.
What does it do and how does it do it? Well that is what we will be
showing in the next weeks and months. It is a honey of a new
product. We know what it is supposed to do and a
features/benefits story. But what Elena, Andrea and I will be
showing what it can do in the way of woodshop tasks. It is either
expensive or inexpensive, depending on what it can do. We know
already, that it can do a lot and many, many woodworkers will
benefit from it. So let's start the story...
December 10, 2006 — These are fun days in the shop.
We have three different projects we are working on. You will see them
all in good time.
Andrea takes over the
silver chest project. The task this week is to thickness plane
the various pieces, mark them for end grain matching and do some
edge jointing.
December 3, 2006 — We actually had a flake or two of
snow here. And I thought winter was
going to pass us by. When I was sitting in front of the TV nursing my broken
leg, my wife had
a new door installed so that my "commute" was only 4 steps away rather than a
hundred.
So I am "snow-ready." Is that a good wife, or what?
The giddiness that Andrea
is displaying is not because she is back in the shop, but instead
because she has just told me that she is newly engaged.
It is amazing that we got anything accomplished.
We did though. I wanted to play around with jigging the router for
perfect fitting dovetails. We did this with the Festool guide
system but the method can be used with a clamping straight edge.
November 19, 2006 — It is nice to be back and able to work in
the shop. The silver chest project
is a fun one and is coming along quite well. We have another story also in the
works. It is on using the new
CMT tenon cutting router bit — a product announced at the IWF. We will post that
story right here next week.
As you can see, Jessica
has re-sawn all the boards necessary for the silver chest
project. It is nice to have that done. Fact is, it was quite
easy to re-saw with the Festool TS75 plunge saw. This larger
capacity saw was quite easy for Jessica and me to handle and the
extra depth and power came in very handy. ShowMe
November 12, 2006 — Well, I am back on my feet again and it
feels good.
I have an "air-cast" for awhile but I have doc's OK to work in shop
as long as I don't over do it. Moie??? 11/05/2006 — Update.
I did
overdo it so rest of day will elevate foot and watch football. Tomorrow
plan to install new worktop, show you a new product I just bought; and display
my repetitive cuts jig. Come on back on Tuesday.
With my broken leg in
cast, I had lots of time to come up with an improved way to rip
boards to like widths — just as you would do with a table saw and
the fence set at one setting. Easier said than done. I am
still working on the "how-to." It is one of those "coming soon." One
problem is that it is so easy to do without clever jigging — that's
a problem we may live with. ShowMe
It is a Wixey, what else?
Should you have one? Do you like to make square cuts? Perfect
miters? ShowMe
This product shot is of the Porter Cable
Compact Belt Sander. It is one of the new products that was
introduced at the year's IWF exhibit. Elena and I had opportunity to
give it a brief workout. At a street price of $119, it is hard
not to add this compact belt sander to the tool crib. How nice
it will be to sand down slightly oversized dovetails. ShowMe
October 29, 2006 —
I do want to thank the local Visiting Nurse Association
for assigning Julie to
monitor my rehab
experience. Could there be a
nicer way to keep me from really missing my shop
assistants.
I am still in cast but hope to get to
shop this week. There is a lot to do there.
October 22, 2006 — Going bananas would be an apt way to
describe my past weeks. I am not good at sitting
and watching the "boob tube" just to keep my broken leg elevated. But that is
what I did, and I have
about 2 more weeks of just that.
Jessica helps me this day
by using the new Festool TS 75 to re-saw some boards that are 4"
thick. This plunge saw has a great cutting capacity but not enough
to slice the 4" board, but we did just that as a "work in turn." She
made a 2+" cut from one side and then the same from the other.
Sounds good, but how smooth is the combined cuts? Can you
believe 10 out of a perfect 10. ShowMe
This product shot is of the Porter Cable
Compact Belt Sander. It is one of the new products that was
introduced at the year's IWF exhibit. Elena and I had opportunity to
give it a brief workout. At a street price of $119, it is hard
not to add this compact belt sander to the tool crib. How nice
it will be to sand down slightly oversized dovetails. ShowMe
September 29, 2006 — A bit of reality has caused me to post
this brief message. The reality is that
when I am working on the PC, I am not elevating my broken leg and if I don't do
that, I am asking for trouble.
I will spare you the description of that trouble, but it was and is very
painful. So now I am
going to heed the doctors orders
and sit in the recliner
chair for the next couple of weeks, then rehab and then I can come back here.
Thanks for being so
understanding.
September 24, 2006 — It has been an interesting and different
week for me. Went to orthopedic
doctor on Tuesday and was given a walking boot and told to stay off my broken
leg. How long that
will be depends on how good I am in not agitating it and how fast the bones
mend. So I have
tried to be good, but I am getting restless. I want to thank everyone who
has taken the time
to write me with well wishes. They are sincerely appreciated.
As I said lasts week, I have a couple of stories "in the can," so I will
be able to offer some new pages.
A
Bessey utility knife? That is what it is and a heavy, solid one, at
that. I saw it at the Woodcraft store check out counter and it
followed me home. At just under $20, it becomes the cheapest
Bessey by far. ShowMe
September 17, 2006 — Yesterday I had a great shoot with
Jessica showing how the
Festool TS 75 could re-saw through heavy mahogany. As we were getting the
last shots, I knelt on the shop floor to get some close-ups of the cuts when
I heard a snap. It wasn't the saw, the wood, the blade or Jessica, so my
astute mind said "It was me." Three hours later with X-rays in hand I departed
the hospital with crutches. Damn. The good news is that I have some very
good
stories shot and will get them up for next week. I did manage to get one
page up of a new product.
A
Bessey utility knife? That is what it is and a heavy, solid one, at
that. I saw it at the Woodcraft store check out counter and it
followed me home. At just under $20, it becomes the cheapest
Bessey by far. ShowMe
Sept 12, 2006 — Missed again. Both young ladies had schedules
that precluded visit to my
little shop. But I am working with Elena tomorrow to continue on with the
cabinet making.
I also started a long overdue project — making a rolling clamp stand for my
shop. Last week
when Elena spent some hours cleaning the shop, she kept finding clamps.
You know the saying "you never have enough clamps." Well my version is "...and
you
can't find them." But they are all found and need a rolling stand. Coming
soon!
I know Amy D. is "old news" but it is (was) so nice to have this picture posted.
(I'm easy.)
September 4, 2006 — Happy Labor Day to you all. How about
this as picture:
That is Amy Devers, a shining star on the DIY Network and demonstrator at the
Festool booth at the
recent IWF Show in Atlanta. No, I didn't attend but a friend of mine at Festool
was nice enough to ask
Amy for this picture. It will be posted in the shop right next to my poster
signed by Norm.
Elena, Andrea and I spent many hours in the shop cleaning and cleaning. We are
almost ready
to start in on projects again. Next week for sure. Also, I have taken a close
look at exhibiters at IWF and
will start a feature called "The Best of IWF." Already I have quite a list
of tools and stuff
that were shown at this large exposition. I will post a list of those
things starting next week.
August 27, 2006 — I am setting a bad record of not posting.
That will change real soon.
This week, Elena, Andrea and I are putting many hours into re-organizing the
shop, I will
even give you a tour of the shop when it is re-orged and clean. That will be
soon, this coming week or the next.
In the meantime, I will share this picture with you. It is my granddaughter
Bella who is just two. And yes, she
did blowout all (both) the candles.
August 20, 2006 — Yes, I did miss posting last week. I
kept on working on pages, that finally
I decided it would make most sense to post today. My long term friend, Sal, was
here and we managed
to get some shop time with cleaning and organizing being Job 1. Boy, did
it need it. Pictured below is
the counter that Gail had put in place months ago. Sal and I made some supports
and then
did some organizing — mostly putting plastic bins of "stuff" under and out of the
way.
This
is the picture from when Gail made up the counter, months ago.
This is how it looks now. I have a lot of sorting to do and all the things in those tubs, but at least the shop is
getting where I can use it comfortably. You can also see the
refrigerator that my wife got for me.
Andrea and I start a new project
using a router bit set from CMT. It is the tongue and groove set —
but a different one than the standard set. It is designed for
woodworkers who want to make cabinets. And best of all, it
integrates pocket hole screws into the overall joinery system.
What's best is that it works and works well. ShowMe (8/21 - I have had to make a correction to
this series. It is the 2nd page and is marked.)
August 6, 2006 — There is progress here, but nothing to
show for it — at least right now.
IWF in Atlanta is coming up the end of this month, and while I am not going
there, I want
to complete a couple of stories for viewing here before the doors open down
there.
This Sunday afternoon, I am heading to the shop to complete the
bench that Gail started months ago—
my wife just bought a small refrigerator for the shop and it will fit under this
shelf.
After these "dog days", it will be appreciated.
Do
you think you saw this picture last week? Close but no cigar. Last
week it was Andrea carrying in a big plank of mahogany. This week,
Elena is carrying in some oak boards for a special, hurry up
project.
Some important items on our To Do List
(updated) ...
I told you that Gail
visited one day this last week and did a whirlwind cleaning of part
if the shop. In that time, she also managed to pull out a full sheet
of white melamine particle core board and make three long rips and
put this counter in place over two saw horses — all by herself.
The horses work, but this week I will get a bunch of 2 x 4's
and make some permanent legs. This counter is to the right of the
chop saw. Click on thumbnail for larger photo; use Back Arrow to return.
July 30, 2006 — Oh I am getting spoiled with AC in the
shop. I hope all of you are able
to stay comfortable. I am even becoming a pool person (a margarita does help
that.)
Elena and I had the
opportunity to use the new Kreg Jig. I am a long time fan of
pocket screws and this seemed like a good time to get Elena up to
speed with them.
This project starts next week. That is Andrea
carrying a heavy plank of mahogany. Have you ever resawn heavy stock
with a portable saw? Well, I haven't, but that is
what we are going to do.
July 23, 2006 — This month is sure
flying by.
Elena uses the Festool
OF1400 and the guide rail to make both rabbets and dados for
the cabinet she is making. ShowMe
Some important items on our To
Do List (updated) ...
I told you that Gail visited
one day this last week and did a whirlwind cleaning of
part if the shop. In that time, she also managed to pull
out a full sheet of white melamine particle core board
and make three long rips and put this counter in place
over two saw horses — all by herself. The horses work,
but this week I will get a bunch of 2 x 4's and make
some permanent legs. This counter is to the right of the
chop saw. Click on thumbnail for
larger photo; use Back Arrow to return.
July 16, 2006 — I am in the cool office, but it is dreadful
hot and humid outside.
Here is what Elena and I have been working on:
Elena starts cutting and building her first cabinet. In this
section, she is cutting the pieces. Next week and after we will be
going through the many other steps of cabinetmaking. For the
most part, she will be using the Festool System setup in the shop,
but I hope that the series will be of interest to all readers. ShowMe
July 9, 2006 — One month ago, I posted a picture of an old
Navy friend, from 1960's days.
This week, my wife and I flew off to Texas to celebrate my mentor's 50th wedding
anniversary, and his
wife's (my "mentoress", I suppose) 80th birthday. It is amazing how far I will
travel
to meet up with someone older than me. Jerry is a mentor from my days with Union
Carbide in the
60's. He and I both have gone very different business directions, but as a
mentor, ex-colleague and friend, he
and his wife are at the very top of the list. It was a proud moment for me to
introduce my "new" wife to the
two of them. She had two days of listening to all the old stories — from their
perspective, as if I would "enhance" a tale.
Bald guys sure are handsome, aren't they?
