Projects

[barfle]

Piq, it's worth noting that the brackets for the clothes pole are visible in the cabinet under the sink, leaning against the left side. You can't see them very well, but since I know what they are, I spotted them in the picture after you asked about them. They have one partial coat of paint, then that odd phenomenon we have here called "winter" happened.

[Selma in Sandy Eggo]

[quote]Originally posted by OperaTenor:
[b]I think threatening Random with group ice plant abatement is a good way to cancel the event.

[treebeau]

Well, now that my drill press table and fence are about done it's time to start 3 more projects.

For next year's Christmas presents I want to make wooden pens using the lathe. I bought a lathe (maybe 10th hand...it's old!) from an old guy in a neighboring town. $100. It had several problems that I fixed for maybe $4.50 for all. But now there's a nagging problem remaining.

The bed of the lathe is a steel tube that is a couple of inches in diameter by about 4 feet long. Attached down the length of the tube, on the bottom, is a rectangular strip of metal called a "key." The things that slide down the tube have a notch in the bottom of them to accomodate that strip. That keeps the thing lined up on top of the tube. The strip is attached with rivets.

The problem is that several of the rivets have broken, which allowed the strip to flex as a "thing" was slid down the tube. Over time the strip became bent and now a "thing" can't slide past that bend to get close enough to the head of the lathe. So, I cannot work on small items on the lathe.

Today I was able to remove the tube and turn it upside down, to see how bad it is. It's bad! A new strip of metal will only be a couple of bucks. Rivets, negligible. I already have a rivet tool. Drilling holes in just the right places will be the challenge. I figure there will be a few hours of work, about $5 in material, and a couple dozen curse words.

But the pens will be fun to make later. Worth it. Pics soon.

Regards,
Tim B.

[barfle]

The sawdust factory where I do my woodworking has classes in pen making. I thought about doing that for Christmas gifts this year, but the pens I saw being made were all pretty thick, which I feel is uncomfortable. If I could find pen guts that would let me make a pen that is 3/8" in diameter, I would seriously reconsider.

[treebeau]

Check out: Penn State tools.
They sell everything one would need to make pens of every size possible. And if you need a lathe, they sell those too.

Tonight I removed the aluminum strip from the tube. Only had to drill out a couple of aluminum rivets. Measurements have been taken to get a new strip. Then I'll have to mark hole locations, drill holes in the strip, and rivet it on. The only tough thing is getting an exact replacement. Don't know how tight the tolerances are.

Regards,
Tim B.

[barfle]

One thing I know about myself is that I will follow directions until I get to the point where I believe I have things figured out, then I tend to "customize" almost every project I've done. Of course, that often ends up with more "experience" than it does finished product, but that's how a lot of lessons are learned.

So, what I figure I'll do when I get around to pen making is I'll do a few the way they tell me to until I get a feel for the craft, then I'll probably take apart pens and pencils I like, build wood grips for them, and stuff the guts from the cannibalized pens and pencils into my grips. No doubt, I'll turn some nice pieces of wood into scrap in the process, but once I figure out how to make a wooden pen and pencil that are thin enough for comfort, away I'll go.

That site has quite a bit of cool stuff. I especiall like all the instructions and newsletters you can download.

[Shapley]

This has been my ongoing project since the summer. We had a garage built last spring, which is connected to the house by a 16' x 16' breezeway. I purchased some tongue-and-groove cedar for $1/bf, (with a large amount of waste product), and set out to finish out the breezeway as a library.





I had the floor tiled, and I insulated the walls and ceiling. The ceiling is done in pine box car siding, which conveniently comes in 16' lengths, so I didn't have to worry about any butt joints. The walls and shelf trim are cedar, as is the desk in the forground, the shelving is pine, except for the desktop, desk shelves, and desk panel inserts, which are oak-faced plywood. I had a wall map of the world, which the wife didn't want hanging on the wall, so I glued and lacquered it to the desktop. It goes well with my nautical theme.

I still have some trim work to do on the photos shown, and the wall not visible is still in the 'construction phase', but overall I think it's coming along fairly well, even if it is a bit slow.

V/R
Shapley

[treebeau]

Shapl'e'y,

It IS nice. But in your second picture everything appears to be listing starboard, except the chair which looks upright.

Seriously, though, I like. Does it smell nice? I have 400 board feet of cedar that has been air dried for about 8 years.

And where did you get those portholes? It gave me an idea for my son's bedroom.

Regards,
Tim B.

[piqaboo]

Originally posted by BigJon@Work:

Originally posted by piqaboo:
[b] Insert between 1 and 3: sand and seal deck itself.

Sand a Deck! Piffle! Get a manly, high-performance pressure washer and blast that crap off of there. It's actually safer since you won't be sending lung-sized particles into the air you breath. [/b]

At this point, the deck is entirely bare wood due to years of neglect. Nothing for a powerwasher to blast off. I just want to rouch up the surface enough for the paint to stick. FYI - powerwashers send up lung-sized aerosols containing all the same nasty crap.
But they do a much better job of washing away the debris.

[piqaboo]

Shap, thats really pretty. And decoupaging the map to the desk is a cool idea.
Is that a former you, peaking out of one of the portholes on the wall?

[Shapley]

treebeau,

Thanks. It does seem to have a bit of a list, I'll have to adjust the ballast a little. I purchased the portholes from ebay, but I don't recall the name of the ebay store just now.

Piq,

No, that's my great-uncle Shapley, who served aboard the USS John D. Edwards in the '30s. I have a collection of photos of his, including some rather gruesome pictures of the massacre in China at that time. My intent is to get a photo of my dad and one of myself for the other two portholes, in order to have three generations of sailors pictured.

I'll be building a similar, although deeper, set of shelves on the wall that is not yet finished, and I have larger porthole to put there. I'll use that one for a family photo. Perhaps my pedicab picture would be a good choice to use there, although the wife will probably prefer a more formal setting.

V/R
Shapley

[OperaTenor]

Originally posted by treebeau:


It IS nice. But in your second picture everything appears to be listing starboard, except the chair which looks upright.

What do you expect from a library rocking on the ocean?!!

Shap, all I have to say is "WOW!"

How very "Master and Commander"!

Is all of the woodwork finished with varnish or polyurethane?

<small>[ 01-20-2006, 12:31 PM: Message edited by: OperaTenor ]</small>

[Shapley]

OT,

The woodwork is finished with polyurethane, except the desk, which is finished with a standard shellac. The shellac has a bit of a darker colour, which makes the map look antique.

TB, It did smell nice when we first started the project, but most of the cedar is covered with several coats of finish now, so I don't notice the smell. However, may people comment on the smell when they walk in, so it may just be that I've gotten used to it.

V/R
Shapley

[Shapley]

T/B

Here's the ebay store for portholes:

http://stores.ebay.com/NauticalSupplier-dot-com

[treebeau]

The latest:

Drill press table and fence.

Lathe repair part 1 of ??

Puzzle box part 1 of ??

Thanks for looking and any comments you might make.

Regards,
Tim B.

[barfle]

Tim, on the puzzle box, those band saw cuts look pretty deep and pretty intricate. What size blade did you have to use, and for the life of me, how did you keep from breaking it (if you did)?

[barfle]

I'm sure you didn't think the laundry room saga was drawing to a close, did you?


Perhaps on Tuesday night I'll disconnect the drain and supply, remove the sink from the counter top, clean off the goop, and remount it with silicon seal that has not expired.
:p

[treebeau]

I liked the idea of filling the sink with water to add weight while the adhesive set. Wonder if that adhesive was not intended for Corian.


For the puzzle box, ugh! A year ago I tried a 1/8 inch bandsaw blade and ruined the box. Then I made another blank and ruined that too. So I made another and set it aside for a year.

This year I tried a 1/16 inch blade. I broke that and installed a 1/8 inch blade (again) and broke that, ruining the blank in the process.

SO, I went to the manual (RTFM in the computer world). I found a couple of things wrong.
1. The rubber "tire" on one of the bandsaw wheels was loose. Epoxied that back on.
2. The guide blocks for the blade were too far apart.
3. The guide blocks were old and worn. I replaced them.

A new 1/8 inch blade was now cutting so much better than ever before. But I don't like making cuts this deep, so I think this is my first and last puzzle box.

TTYL and
Regards,
Tim B.

[piqaboo]

Its a pretty cool puzzle box.
Will you stain it simply, or decoupage it, to help visually disguise the puzzle cuts (thus making it more of a puzzle)?

[treebeau]

Oh, I want it to look like a puzzle. That's an important aspect of the gift. So it will be stained and polyurethaned.

Regards,
Tim B.