Design by Committee
I mentioned in a previous post that one of my next projects is going to be a gaming desk for Nicole and I. I planned on spending the next week working on the design and developing a plan so I can get started as soon as possible. As I was working on my initial rough sketches, I came up with an idea. And frankly, I still don’t know if this is going to be amazingly cool or just plain dumb, but it sounds like fun so what the heck! I am thinking about allowing the community to help me design this piece. Obviously I will need to make some of the more general decisions since the piece has to fit in a particular place and serve a specific function. But there are a lot of other decisions that need to be made and there’s no reason I can’t look to you guys for opinions. At the very least, I hope it will be a thought-invoking exercise.
So here’s how I invision it going down. I’ll start rough sketching and getting my ideas organized. I’ll keep you guys updated on a daily basis, taking feedback the entire time. And when I hit a cross-road, I will specifically ask for your opinions and perhaps even put up a poll. Sometimes the hardest part is making the choice between two or three great ideas. So that’s where the “committee” part of this comes in.
So what say you my fellow wood-chuckers? Are you up for it? If so, I’ll get started right away.
Need a Lift? Get it cheap!
I have been working with Jessem recently on a new router table setup, and in my conversations with them I found out about this incredible deal. Jessem is having a blowout sale on a limited number of imported Mast-R-Lifts for only $129!! So you will save $200 with this deal!!! You can read more about the reason for this clearance here, but let me sum up. Jessem was considering manufacturing some of their products off-shore. I even had a conversation about this with a few of you over email. Well, after the initial run, they decided they wanted to keep manufacturing in Canada. So while these lifts were made overseas, Jessem says they are still, “well designed, well engineered, well built, and we will stand behind them 100%”. But they do need to clear out the stock. So, if you’ve been in the market for a high quality router lift, don’t miss your opportunity.
Incidentally, I make nothing on these lifts. I just wanted to pass on a smoking hot deal. Get your lift on!
Going to WIA? Get your Schwarz shirt!
Woodworking in America is quickly approaching in October. And what you might not know is that Saturday, October 2nd is the “Honor the Schwarz Day” (its really not, but that’s what I’m calling it). And how do you honor “The Schwarz”? By wearing one of these awesome t-shirts of course! I know I’ll be wearing mine! The shirts are available in two colors (white is for the larger sizes), and they feature the likeness of Chris Schwarz with the phrase, “May the Schwarz be with you!” Chestnut shirts are $9.99 and white shirts are $10.99.
Obviously this is all in good fun and we hold Chris Schwarz in the highest regard. Fortunately he has a good sense of humor and I am hoping that we will at least get an eye roll, a giggle, or maybe even a little blushing out of one of woodworking’s best assets.
Learn more about Woodworking in America!
Visit Chris’s Blog
Wood Talk Online Radio #73
Watch the Video Version
You can reach us by email at woodtalkonline@gmail.com or you can pick up the phone and leave us a message on our voice mail at 623-242-2450. Or you can find us on Twitter as @MBWPodcast, @WoodWhisperer, and @RenaissanceWW and also on Facebook too.
Topics:
- What’s been keeping us busy all summer,
- The woodworking styles you should probably get to know,
- Our favorite recent woodworking articles,
- Some cool crap going on in the forums.
What’s on the Bench:
Marc – Wood Talk Online Radio and the Wood Talk Online Forum. The Chest of Drawers is done!
Matt – Started Ron Brese Small Smoother Plane Kit and a Walnut side board for some friends. BUT I’ve spent most of my summer renovating a portion of an old Lazy Boy furniture warehouse space into my wife’s new photo studio (roll that beautiful footage)
Shannon – 2 Adirondack chairs, Hepplewhite Bookcase, Bevy of Boxes, Claw Feet, Designs for Christmas Card Table and Trestle or French Country Table, Jefferson Desk
Events:
Woodworking in America
Fourth annual Mid-Hudson Woodworkers Show Saturday September 25 at the Hurley Reformed Church in Hurley New York $3 admission
Email:
From listener Jeremy Hopkins”
“I know you have provided a great service, and have spent time “perfecting” the art of woodworking – at least as much as anything fluid is ever perfected – but I had a question concerning what you felt were the three styles of furniture that every woodworker should attempt, if not feel that they have achieved some level of “mastery” over. Yes, I realize this can open a can of worms as to what constitutes mastery, but that is not the field of this request. I’m more concerned with starting points than ending points at this particular moment. Should a woodworker attempt Stickley, or Federal, or perhaps some other style? Or does it remain in the best interest to rarely venture outside of the Shaker realm?”
Articles/Blog Posts:
Marc – Woodworker West Sept/Oct. 2010 Profile: The Maloof Legacy
Matt – A visit to the Design Doctor Sept/Oct 2010 FWW
Shannon: Gottschall Block, Bob Lang
From the Forum:
Avoidance Behavior: started by Bobby Slack
Table Saws, Granite vs cast iron table top: Started by Aaron B
Sweet Deals:
Highland Woodworking
Earlex HV 3500 HVLP Spray System $129.99
Triton 10″ Sliding Miter Saw $199.99
Eagle America – Huge Cutting Tool Sale – Save up to an additional 20%! All router bits, shaper cutters and saw blades including sets and clearance items. Ends September 15, 2010.
Sears Friends and Family Sale- Sat. Sept. 11th – Extra 10% off tools but 20% off other stuff.
Voicemails:
Erin Missouri – Difference between bevel chisels and bench chisels?
Roberto – Working with Bamboo. Special precautions, blades, etc.?
BambooCraft.net
Mike NJ – Electrolytic rust removal.
Guest Tips:
Tom’s Tip – Enough room for your projects?
Visit Tom’s site, Toms Workbench
Kari’s tip – Inspiration from old stuff.
Visit Kari’s site, The Village Carpenter.
The Chest of Drawers Finished!
Well its been 8 straight weeks of building, filming, editing, and sweating my butt off! Finally the chest of drawers is complete. Maybe picking the hottest part of the Arizona summer for one of our Guild Builds wasn’t the best idea. Oh well. It makes the victory all the sweeter!
Many of you requested more information about the epoxy fill, so let’s pick up where we left off. Once the epoxy cured overnight, I hit it with my block plane and card scraper. I wouldn’t recommend sanding the epoxy down as the heat tends to make things gummy, rendering the paper useless after only a few seconds. After the bulk of the epoxy is removed, its usually pretty safe to begin sanding the surface. I gave the board a rough sanding and a quick taste of mineral spirits just so you can see the effect of the epoxy and what it would look like with finish. You’ll also notice I have two small indentations that will need additional epoxy. That’s a quick fix.
The epoxy knot repair does a fine job of recovering what would normally be a piece of firewood. And hopefully in the photo you can see the reason why this piece is worth recovering in the first place. Look at all the beautiful swirly grain and the contrasting figure and colors! Knots generally create very interesting anomalies in the wood, and if we can stabilize and capture them, it really is a great way to celebrate Mother Nature’s beauty and power. Ok someone hand me some granola.
I was thrilled to be able to make the top out of only two boards. Because of the increased width of the boards, I decided to skip-plane them. This is a bit of a short-cut that allows you to use your planer or drum sander to flatten a board by taking very light passes and approximating flatness. You really need to start with a pretty flat board to begin with. The end result was one flat board and one slightly bowed board. So a few Dominos helped to ensure the boards were in alignment and the glue up was uneventful.
I finished the piece with General Finishes Enduro-Var. This is a water-based urethane that is quickly becoming one of my absolute favorites. I used it previously on my maple and bubinga Drill Charging Station and the finish has held up very well in the shop. Best of all, it doesn’t really look like a water-based finish to me. So I was fairly confident in using the stuff on a piece intended for my own bedroom.
One thing I have been catching a little flack for is the handles. Handles can truly make or break a piece. They are a major focal point and as a result, they can easily be overdone. Even if the handle design is perfect on its own, it may not look so great multiplied over six drawers. So its important to give the handles and pulls a significant amount of thought. Given the time-frame for the completion of this project, I didn’t have nearly enough time to follow through with all my different ideas and “experiments”. So I went with what I had so far and completed the project. These pulls (and several other prototypes) were designed and built over the course of 4-5 days. That seems like a lot of time for something as simple as drawer pulls and handles, but I could easily use 2-3 times that to really think about and work through the ideas I have in my head.
The wide pull was inspired by a piece of metal hardware I saw online. Overall I am happy with the concept although it could certainly be refined a bit. The smaller pull or knob for the top drawers is where I really struggled the most. I wanted them to stand out, but I also wanted to echo a theme from the rest of the piece. So the circular base represents the contrast and the curved boot-shaped handle is paying homage to the legs. Frankly, I am still digesting the effect and initial impression this gives the piece because I am not entirely sure it works. But I am afraid that my lack of time and need to move on to other things means that what you see is what you get. Now both my drawer pulls and handles can be removed with minimal to no damage, and if I am ever inspired and have time to do something different, it won’t be a very big deal to make the change.
The take-home message here is that subtle details can have a HUGE impact. But don’t let that intimidate you. Experiment a little, have some fun, and occasionally throw caution to the wind. Its going to be very difficult for you to discover what does work, if you never create something that doesn’t work. I am still not 100% happy with my drawer pulls and knobs and I am OK with that. I freely admit it. But I am having fun playing with different ideas and I am learning along the way. And that’s what counts in my book.
So that’s about it. The Chest of Drawers is living happily in my bedroom and is already full of clothes. Here are few pictures of the final piece and a short video advertising the Guild Build.
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Enduro-Var Gloss Urethane Finish The latest innovation in water-based urethanes! Purchase through this link and help support the TheWoodWhisperer.com. |
TWW Rewind – A Lumbering Feeling
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As just about any woodworker will tell you, your first trip to a hardwood dealer can be quite intimidating. I can honestly say that my first trip was not only intimidating, but confusing and frustrating as well. Poor signage, no prices, and an impatient staff served to make the whole experience less than enjoyable for a woodworking noob. I know I’m not alone here. In this video, I will cover some terminology and topics that will help you be better prepared for your next trip to the lumber yard. Just a few of the topics covered include identifying different types of cuts, estimating board feet, and finding a good hardwood supplier.
Update (9/4/10): Sometimes when I watch these early episodes, I have to laugh at the delivery of my monologues. Not sure why I needed to say things like, “Wood Whisperer…..Video….Podcast…..” I guess I really wanted to make each word count. Anyway, years after posting this video, I still have the same feeling about lumber dealers. Each one seems to have its own system and rules. And I hear from countless woodworkers across the country who feel the same way about the lumber dealers in their area. I guess its just the nature of the beast. But once you have a little confidence in what you’re looking for and you shop at a particular store once or twice, its no longer an intimidating experience and you know the drill. Hopefully this video prepared some of you for that first experience. And if not, I hope it at least made you laugh. I think this marks the first of many instances where I would have to *bleep* Nicole on the show. And notice that I couldn’t even find a good censorship bleep sound effect so I had to make it with my own voice? That’s just the kind of high budget operation we run around here. haha!
Oh and if you are looking for a great way to calculate board feet on the fly, check out the Wood Shop Widget!
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August Giveaway Winners
Congratulations to all of our winners and a big thanks to our giveaway sponsors: Kreg Tools, Rockler Woodworking and Hardware, and Eagle America!
Nick Albert
Vic Hubbard
Gerald Millheim
Marty Knowles
Terry Anderson
Fall/Winter Upcoming Projects
When I started the Wood Whisperer Guild, I actually had no idea how I was going to balance projects and content for both the free site and our paying members. But like most things in my life, I jumped in and decided I would sort out the details later. Looks like “designing on the fly” is not only a part of my woodworking, but also my life and my business. Well, as it turns out, the Guild has actually brought a sense of structure to my year. This structure forces me to be more organized, and the trickle down effect is better visibility for not only Guild projects, but also the things I plan to cover on the free site. Its organization like this that makes this post possible. So here’s a quick list of things I expect to tackle in the coming months, although I can’t be sure what will fall under the Guild umbrella and what will be on the free site (sheesh! I’m not THAT organized yet!).
Many of you know that Nicole and I are gamers. We spend many an evening playing games online with our friends. Right now, our “his and her” gaming rigs are sitting on a make-shift table in our bedroom. This table actually used to be part of Nicole’s old desk and was never meant to stand alone like this. Its not long enough, its not wide enough, and its quite unstable. Furthermore, being the unconventional couple we are, we tend to eat at least one dinner a week right there at the gaming desk. So having a little extra room would be a nice treat.
My idea is to make a simple Maloof-inspired trestle table. I haven’t designed it yet and I am still collecting ideas. I was very pleased to see the cover of the latest Woodworker West, featuring a Maloof desk. I love the look of the legs and the double rail. Hello inspiration!! So good to see you today! I also found a picture of a Maloof-inspired table that goes even further in the direction I am considering.
Now of course you know the holidays are fast approaching. And as woodworkers, we need to start thinking about this stuff even earlier than most folks if we want to have our holiday projects done in time. So I was excited to receive an email from our buddy Roberto, looking for help on how to build this advent calendar. I thought this would be a great project and certainly a little more involved than some of the things we’ve done in the past. Aaron is helping me with the SketchUp drawing and hopefully we’ll have that one ready in plenty of time for the holidays.
Yes, this is a picture of my toilet. The reason I am showing it to you is so you’ll see the future home for a new wall-hanging cabinet. A small wall-hanging cabinet is an incredibly convenient accessory for any bathroom, for all that fun stuff like toilet paper, reading material, and cleaning supplies. I am hoping that this wall cabinet will also be the subject of a class at the William Ng School next year.
So that’s about as far out as my brain can handle. What projects do you guys have planned in the coming months??
127 – To Kill a Vampire
Filed under: All Videos, Projects, Techniques, Video
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Turning on the lathe is one of the most relaxing and enjoyable parts of woodworking. Every time I turn I ask myself, “Why don’t I do this more often??” I still don’t have an answer to that. But recently, I had the opportunity to turn a cool item for a charity event. My friend Shawn was creating unique auctions for a Muscular Dystrophy charity event. One of those auctions was for a vampire slaying kit, which of course required a stake. Unconventional? Made of wood? For charity? I’m in!!!
While making the video, I decided it wouldn’t hurt to review some turning basics as well as introduce you to the tools I use most frequently. These include the Ellsworth gouge, the roughing gouge, the skew chisel, and the diamond parting tool. If you are interesting in picking any of these up, I included affiliate links below for these tools. Remember, buying through us helps support the show.
And keep in mind, although I am turning a vampire stake here, the tools and techniques are the same that you would use to turn a spindle in a regular woodworking project.
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Ellsworth Signature Gouge The most versatile 5/8″ bowl gouge on the market — with the edge and balance needed for the finest projects! |
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Robert Sorby Roughing-Out Gouge Recommended for the initial turning of uneven or square stock to round… |
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Robert Sorby Oval Skew Chisel A delicately balanced tool essential to the spindle turners kit… |
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Robert Sorby Parting Tools A selection of fine Robert Sorby parting tools… |
Two Days Left – Giveaways!
Only TWO DAYS LEFT to get in on these awesome giveaways! Don’t miss your chance!
Special Forum Giveaway
All you have to do is join the Wood Talk Online Forum and make a post. That’s it. And look at what you have a shot at winning if you do:
Kreg’s Precision Benchtop Router
August Giveaway
The usual rules apply. Simply comment on any of August’s articles/posts on TheWoodWhisperer.com and you are automatically entered. Here’s the loot for that giveaway:
Rockler Clamp Racks – Your choice of any three: F-Style Clamp Rack, Parallel Clamp Rack, and Pipe Clamp Rack. A compact solution to a sprawling problem! This new rack from Rockler herds your F-clamps together and mounts them firmly to the wall or to the Pack Rack (sold separately) so your clamps are where you need them, when you need them.
Box Joint Bit Kit (3-Wing) – The 1/2″ shank assembly includes five, 5/32″ carbide tipped slot cutters, four precision machined spacers, and four ball bearing guides for cutting 1/4″, 5/16, 3/8 and 1/2″ thick stock. Cuts up to 1-9/16″ wide stock in one pass, and 3-1/8″ wide in two passes. Great for jewelry boxes, humidors, music boxes, and other small projects. Made in the USA! Learn more!
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