September 2013 Meeting at Wooditis

   

Our meeting began with the traditional round robin introductions.  There were a number of new faces and about 27 of us in attendance all total.  Jamie began the meeting with a reminder about the 2 x 4 x 8 Challenge.  The challenge is to make whatever you can from one stick of construction grade lumber without adding any other wood to it.  The only allowed add-on items  would be glue, fasteners, dowels, finish, and fabric but no additional wood of any kind.  The judging will be done anonymously when we have our end of the year, Christmas party.  Jamie showed off her prototype and it's a good one, the rest of us better get hot on our creations.  I must admit that I've been putting it on the back burner and if I'm not careful I won't have anything done!

Jamie's Project, the groove is for a tambour!

     During our round robin intro's we often joke around by saying: "my name is Herkimere and  I'm a woodworker", just like they might do at an alcoholics anonymous meeting.  Well, Aaron added to that by admitting to a mistake he made on a recent mirror project.  This opened up an interesting and revealing discussion about how we all make what we call "stupid mistakes" in our work but ultimately they make us better and smarter.  I've been working with wood since the early 60's and come to the conclusion that it and perfection are seldom used in the same context.  I mean really, how many other endeavors have a book titled Measure Twice, Cut Once!
     Eric gave an endorsement for Nevada Carbide, here's a LINK to them for your convenience.  They were able to not only help him repair a saw, they manufactured a special fixture to do it!  In this age of mostly remove and replace "technicians" it's good to know there are still folks out there that can actually repair tools.  In addition to being our local source of repair and warranty work on brands like Powermatic and Jet they are set up to sharpen virtually any cutting edge.  Check out the link to them and see what all they do.
     Last item that came up is an announcement about two, upcoming events.  One of them is the Summerlin Art Fair which will be the weekend of Oct. 12 & 13.  It's in the Community Park on Town Center just south of Charleston Blvd.  My wife and I are using this as our first ever venture into the craft fair world!  She'll be selling her dolls, LINK here for her site; and I'll have a collection of boxes.
     The other event is the show that Ed mentioned for the woodturners group, here's that information:

                             Summerlin Library Art Gallery Show
 The show will take place from Thursday, October 3, until Sunday, December 8, 2013. Installation of the pieces by library staff will take place on Wednesday, October 2nd. We will have a reception (cookies and punch) for all members and guests onThursday, October 3, 2013, in the gallery from 5:00 - 6:30 pm.

 The venue is the Summerlin Library Art Gallery, located at 1771 Inner Circle, Las Vegas 89134. Directions to the library can be gotten from the internet at "Google Maps".

We got a little disorganized at the end of the meeting so in case you didn't see this beautiful box that Mike brought in here it is now.  It's made of quilted and tiger stripped Maple.  The knob and splines are of Ebony and the hinges are from England.  It has Mike's signature, hand polished lacquer finish --- stunning!

Scratch Stock Demo

     As the writer of the blog I can elaborate as much as I'd like to on anything that happened at the meeting and also let you know how much I welcomed the enthusiam you showed for the demonstration I did -- that makes doing them worthwhile and fun!  There are so many facets to woodwork, being in a group like this gives us all the opportunity to share and learn from each other.  Here are a couple of links you may find helpful to get you to make your own scratch stock.  First off, here's a link to a video from Garrett Hack:  http://www.finewoodworking.com/how-to/video/how-to-make-a-scratch-stock.aspx    Although it's from Fine Woodworking Magazine I don't think you have to be a member to access it.  It'll give you more information than I was able to show and you were able to see; during my demo on making the blade.  This is the simplest version of a scratch stock that works well.  One advantage to this style is that the length of it gives you a lot of surface to press against the edge of your board.  If you're planning on doing the traditional quirk & bead type of detail near the bottom of an apron or whatever this is the way to go.
     The way the scratch stock is held in the holder, whether it's this one or the one I've drawn, is with 1/4-20 machine screws and threaded inserts.  These can be a pain to install!  In my experience it's a bit easier to use the ones that thread in with an allen wrench and you can make a special tool or use a drill press but ---- there's another way.  I recently made a platform bed and used a number of the brass inserts that are inserted with a slotted screwdriver.  These are notorious for breaking off about half way into the hole!  Here's a LINK to my blog that explains the procedure.

     The other style of scratch stock holder is the L-shaped one.  The advantage of this is that you you're not limited to only working an edge but can get further in on the board.  The dimensions are suggested only, make it whatever size feels good in your hands or can be made from whatever piece of wood you have laying around!  Use a hardwood if possible, put a radius on the edges to make it comfortable with a spokeshave or router, and consider finish and/or wax to have it feel good while you use it and reduce friction.  If you have it, wood at least a full inch thick will allow more "meat" to secure the scratch stock.  Make your kerf as thin as you can,  mine is about 4" long.

For blades, any steel that is soft enough to file but hard enough to hold an edge will work.  I used a blade from a miter box saw, an old handsaw blade, bandsaw blade, etc. is all good.  Remember too that  if you wanted to just purchase it all, check Ron Hocks website for a $30.00 version complete with stock to make your own blades --- the choice is yours.

Here is a collection of pictures that Lupe took of the demonstration.  

Cutting Blade to Size

Filing Cut Smooth & Square,  Adding Profile

Completed Cutter in Holder

To see the cutter in action, Lupe also took these videos which have been posted on YouTube, here are the links:

Video # 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgCsL9hl1HU

Video # 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXLDwFSlICA

Video # 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtVpDok4llw

Video # 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YYRBgMk7Dw

Last of all, I showed you the beading tool that Vince DeMarco gave me for helping him move from the east coast.  It's a beauty and I love using it!  Many of you remarked on the picture frame corner sample I made using this tool so here's a LINK to my blogs on the making of this frame.

Lie-Nielsen Bronze Beading Tool

Corner Sample of Frame made with Beading Tool

Drawer Pull made with Beading Tool

I think this may be one of the longest blogs I've made after a meeting!  Maybe it's because I'm sitting in the Portland airport waiting for a connecting flight.  Hope you enjoyed it and the demo, feel free to contact me if you want any information or help in making your own scratch stock.

Sin City Woodworkers Meeting September 2013

Did you get Jamie's MeetUp announcement about tomorrows' Sin City meeting but still wondering about all of that scratch stock nonsense?  Come to the meeting at 7pm at WoodItIs and discover how you can easily add some decorative elements to your work without a lot of dust, noise, or $$$$.  John will show how you can make this simple tool to embellish your work.

As always, we'll have a show and tell session so do bring in your latest project to share with the group.  If you have a major work such as Lupe's chair scooping demo last month (yeah, I gotta follow that!) see either Ted or Dennis so they can put you on their schedule as a main presenter for an upcoming meeting.

Bring a guest, bring a chair, and be ready for an enjoyable evening talking wood with others.

August Meeting --- Here's the Scoop! (pun intended)

     

     The August meeting of the Sin City Woodworkers had 30 woodworkers in attendance.  There were a number of new faces and glad to see you and hear a little bit about you as we did our customary, round robin introductions.  The group continues to grow and have woodworkers of every sort attend, great way to learn about the many aspects of our chosen passion. 

     Jamie brought us to order (as best as we can be ordered!) and reminded us about the inaugural, Christmas Party challenge.  This is where you make whatever you'd like from a single, construction grade 2 x 4 x 8.  She's already been experimenting with her work and showed this wall shelf that is destined to get a tambour door made from the piece of 2x4 it's sitting on.

Yes, you're right Richard; we're going to have to step up our game.  That gross of toothpicks your were planning on isn't going to win the prize!  The contest will have us bringing in our projects anonymously  for the Christmas Party and then holding a vote to select the winner and runner up.  Richard suggested that we submit photos of them to Fine Woodworking Magazines' Readers Gallery which was approved by all.  How in the world Jamie finds time to build her sample is beyond me.  In addition to teaching and maintaining her school at Wooditis plus the busy schedule through UNLV she announced that CSN is now offering classes through her as well.  Doesn't leave much time for other things like eating and sleeping does it?

     Jamie also mentioned the article and interview the Review Journal did on me.  That is a humbling experience but pretty exciting to have a reporter and photographer show up at the house and do their thing.  I appreciate all of your positive comments.  Here's a LINK to the article if you're interested.  I know that they don't publish it in every issue of the View.

     If you're in the market for a power planer Eric brought in one to sell.  It's a Craftsman (Sears house brand) with 15" capacity.  Features include 2 speeds, 6 preset depths, and 110 volts.  A unique feature is that it has a fan driven, built in dust collection system.  At $375.00 it's a bargain.  I know Eric takes real good care of his tools so I'm sure this is no exception.  Why sell it, same reason most of us will sell a tool -- upgraded to something bigger or better at a good price!

Here we are, anxiously awaiting the feature presentation from Lupe.  During several of our previous meetings we had seen a stool/chair that she's been working on in the corner of the shop.  It was based on a DVD and plan that she obtained from Scott Morrison.  He's a woodworker from Montana that has developed his own work based on the designs of Sam Maloof.  Here's a LINK to his site for more information.  As woodworkers tend to do when given plans we modify them to suit our own taste and Lupe was no different when it came to building this chair.  One of the most noticeable changes she made was to eliminate the cheesy construction technique of screws, glue, and plugs.  You may notice my bias but let's leave that to Ikea and the Chinese crap!!  She could have used traditional mortise and tenon joinery but due to all of the angles involved in chair making chose to go with a Festool Dominoe instead.

     I'm sure you'll all agree that Lupe is a wonderful presenter, her enthusiasm and passion for working with the wood is obvious!  She refers to herself as a rookie but during her 2+ years at this craft she has definitily moved her way beyond that status.  She shared with us how she's learned and it's primarily through reading, video's, taking classes, and interacting with others during Jamie's open studio on Saturday's.  I've been privileged to teach her and Jamie and I would agree that she is an eager and willing student, look at this chair ---- is that the work of a rookie??

    

Here's the Scoop, seat that is

     The main emphasis of her demonstration was to show us how she created the scoop of this chair.  Traditionally you use tools such as an Adze, scoop, etc. so here is a LINK to a YouTube video I found on that.  I've never done that and after Lupe's demo doubt I ever will.  Lupe went a bit more modern and used a tool called a Holey Galahad which reduced her time to 3-4 hours to scoop out the seat you see above.  Here's a LINK  to it on Amazon.  Even that wasn't suitable so enter a new technique by Mario Rodriquez where he devised a jig and was able to do it on the tablesaw with lightning speed.  For her demonstration, even with her telling us how it's done, Lupe was able to scoop the seat in around 17 minutes!  This will be followed with sanding work she'll do with her beloved Festool Rotex Sander.  She's sold on the brand and although pricey that adage about getting what you pay for is true. 

     The process is fairly simple once you watch someone like her present it!  She gave us all a handout that fully describes the process so I'll keep my commentary to a minimum.  She begins the work with this full size template.  The plans and DVD from Scott came with full sized templates.  The completed stool at the top of this blog was constructed of 8/4 Cherry, the example she shared with us during her demonstration is made of Poplar.  She explained how using this jig set up on the table saw you're able to get a consistent depth plus a well defined, appropriately sized pommel.  I'm certain Richard and I weren't the only ones to have an "ah hah moment" when she used that word.  Watching gymnastics you've probably seen an apparatus called the Pommel Horse which is straddled so that must be the origin of that word --- and I thought it was named after Peter Pommel!

Blank template for the finished seat after the scooping technique.

Lupe, the self proclaimed "Grinder Queen of Wooditis"  She's holding the glued up blank that will become the seat in just a short amount of time.

This is the "sled" clamped on top of the table saw.  The width between the two supports is determined by the width of the seat.  On top of the seat blank she has screwed a guide block (piece with 2 dowels) used to control the cut.  The other purpose of the guide block is to determine the length of the pommel.

The saw blade is located underneath the guide piece which is located on top of the supports.  There are a series of holes in that guide piece that will determine the location of scooped portion of the seat.  This is the same general process as cutting your own cove molding on a tablesaw but much safer.  She will take an 1/8" at a time which was about 1/4 turn of the depth wheel.  The process is to raise the blade and pull the seat against the guide piece.  Look at the exploded view of this jig on page 37 of the handout she gave.  This guide piece is notched in the center and the dowels are captured in that area.  Once you travel to one side you rotate the blank and continue on to the other side.

Nope, that's not the Milky Way cascading down in the shop, that's how the flying sawdust was captured on film eh, memory card?

Traveling along the guide piece

Blank after one or two passes, you can see the definition and the pommel at the center.

.

Once the entire piece has been scooped out to it's desired depth (3/4" or so) the guide piece is moved one dowel at a time to widen the seat.  The depth of the cut remains the same because now she advances the width of the scoop an 1/8 of an inch or so every time she alternately moves the guide piece.

Setting the Depth

Making the Cuts

     As I mentioned, the complete seat was scooped out in less than 17 minutes or so and that included all of the instructions she gave.  Cutting the blank to match the required template plus sanding and working the pommel still remains.  This is a fantastic way to accomplish this task --- Thanks Lupe for sharing and showing it to us.

     Not sure if the general excitement level or the clouds of sawdust were to blame but our Show & Tell session became a little bit disjointed.  Here's a collection of what was brought in to share.

Ed's future Pepper-mill, this time from Appleply  architectural plywood 

JC's Sombrero inspired Birdhouse

Neal's large dog feeding tray from peeler logs, Aspen

Coasters from actual recycled pallets from JC

JC's turned Birdhouse with Bill's work in the back

Close up of Bills' Fabulous Machinery;  Everything Works

And to end it all, the sawdust has settled, the seats been scooped evenly on both sides so your cheeks will be aligned properly as you enjoy a beer from my home country!

See you next month, don't forget the 2 x 4 x 8 Challenge -- John

August Meeting 7:00 pm at Wooditis

   

    Well, here we are; ready for an interesting but more than likely HUMID meeting tomorrow?  If you've been out in a typical garage shop lately you're probably worried about all of your sweat rusting your tools!  Take a break from that and come to the meeting at Wooditis, starting at 7pm.  Our featured presenter will be none other than our photographer -- Lupe Nielsen.
     Remember the stool she has been working on, Jamie has pointed it out at a previous meeting or two.  It's based on a design by a Montana woodworker by the name of Scott Morrison who specializes in rocking chairs.  Here is a  LINK to his website so you can get a preview of his work.  In addition to sharing the details and tribulations of her stools construction she will demonstrate a tablesaw technique used to scoop out and form solid wood chair bottoms.  Traditionally these are the result of lots of carving and inshave work.  There was a fairly recent how-to article in Popular Woodworking showing this technique.
     As with most how-to articles they usually need to be modified to suit our particular style of working or the tools we have available to us.  Lupe did that and will give a demonstration at the meeting.  She finishes the chair seat with a Holey Galahad --- what the heck is that you ask?  Well, you're going to have to go to the meeting to find out.  See you tomorrow night, 7pm, 2267 Gowan Road, North Las Vegas.

     

Legal, schmegal Update!

     Here's an interesting development!  Remember for last years Christmas party I brought in a poster board which showed the correspondence and letters that Woodcraft had sent me?  They wanted me to change my logo because of the interlocking O's which they stated, infringed on their copyright.  They included numerous patents and legal stuff.  According to them, a client of theirs thought that little old me was affiliated with them!  (click on this image to make it larger and easier to read)

Basically, my response was that it was crazy to think that anyone would make a connection between the two of us and I was in no position to change my logo.  Never heard back from them so I figured it was something they have to do in the CYA mode.  Fast forward, they had an email extolling a line of products that they promote as Proudly Made in the USA.  Above is my comment on the facebook page and their response --- pretty amazing I thought.  Here's my logo so you can compare the O's:

July 2013 Meeting

     Our meeting this month started off on time during a typical, hot July evening.  I counted 19 of us that braved the higher temps and were ready to get together, share some woodworking tales, and learn about keeping our shop a bit cleaner and our lungs a lot happier.  As is the routine, round the room introductions were the official start of the meeting.  At first we opted to turn off the swampers so we could hear better but as beads of sweat appeared and we began to stick to the chairs they were turned back on!
     First up was a reminder about the 2 x 4 x 8 construction board challenge, aka:

     This is where you design and make anything you can come up with from a single 2x4.  You can add fasteners and paint but no other material is allowed.  We will bring these items to our Christmas party for judging --- today is the 200th. day of the year so that means only 159 days until Christmas and the party is before that so you better get going!
     As promised, here is a LINK to the AWFS fair.  Click on it to get information about the dates, registration, exhibitors, education, etc.  I'd also like to show a picture of  Jamie starting the meeting last Wednesday but notice it's from a different perspective, it's showing her back:

The reason for that is that if at all possible, let's back her up because she's been invited to be on the panel of a presentation that will be held in the theater (not sure of the exact location) during this years upcoming AWFS fair --- quite an honor to be asked to join that!  Here is the info from the fair information:

Women in Woodworking

Thursday, July 25 at 12:00pm | Location: AWFS® Theatre

WoodworkingNetwork.com sponsors a panel discussion and “speed networking” to talk about the challenges and advantages women hold within the wood products industries. Come find your peers or potential mentors among women involved in the furnishings, cabinetry, case goods and wood industries suppliers businesses.

Ted beginning his Dust Collector Talk

     Our presenter this month was our own Ted Warren.  He's been doing a lot of research as he set up  shop in his relatively new home.  A problem he encountered was how to utilize all of the large equipment he had in his former, commercial shop into a space that's much smaller.  All of us that work with wood know the hassles of dust control especially when it comes to power tools.  Hand tools don't generate a lot of dust other then when you're sanding so the problems isn't as great.  When you add power tools to the mix dust collection can improve your health, safety, clean up time, and life expectancy of your machines.  The system he presented was Oneida which has the huge plus of being made right here in the USA rather than off-shore.  Ted mentioned how good their customer service is and how was able to talk to actual people even though he initially bought his system over 8 years ago.  I don't think there's any argument that dealing with a company that has good customer service really adds to the value of their product.
     Proof of Oneida's good customer relations is evident by all of the brochures and technical information they provided Ted so that we can each have our own copies.  As the writer of this blog I'm really grateful because that means I don't have to try to explain all of the technical details Ted touched on in his presentation.  Let me refresh your memory on some of the highlights though.  The objective of dust collection is to suck up the dust at the source.  That means it isn't floating around in the air to find its' way into our lungs.  A question that you'll run across is knowing how many cfm's (cubic feet per minute) are needed to capture the dust from various machines.  On page 3 of the Installation Guide he gave us, there is a listing of that as well as what the recommended size of ducting would be for different machines.  The main problem with dust in our shops and lungs isn't the large particles we can see, rather; it's the small micron sized ones that get in our lungs.  It's this small sized dust that's also the cause of explosions similar to what you hear about happening in grain elevators.  If I remember correctly, a micron is about 1/25th. the size of a dot made by a pencil point so you need a good filter medium to capture that before you inhale it.

HEPA Filter Medium

     By far, the best filter medium to capture that is what's referred to as HEPA.  The one you see on the left side of the table is an example.  The design of the filter is such that it's pleated and the material used allows the air to go through but still doesn't allow those micron sized particles to pass.  Yes, they're more expensive but isn't your health worth it?  When properly taken care of with good maintenance they'll outlast the cheaper materials so when you spread the cost over their lifetime it's a good investment.
     The progression of ways to collect dust are via a ceiling unit, a single stage bag system, a two stage collection system, and then the cyclonic set up that separates the fine dust from the larger particles.  You can also use a portable shop vac and connect tools such as routers and sanders directly to them via a hose.  You can upgrade a single stage dust bag system with a HEPA filter canister that replaces the upper bag.  From personal experience this dramatically increases the efficiency of your dust collection.  There are also separating systems you can add to your existing set up.  As I mentioned at the beginning of the blog, I'm really glad that Ted and Oneida provided the catalog and installation guide for all of the members.  Use that to get specific answers to your questions and breath happy!  Judging by the number of questions and amount of discussion this presentation generated it was a well received talk, thanks Ted.
    

   Our show and tell session began this night with John, who brought in some of the pens he makes and sells.   Here is a LINK to his website.  These are not your ordinary, run of the mill pen you can pick up at OfficeMax.  He uses a range of materials including wood, acrylic, ground up gemstone, and even gold and silver.  Prices can range from $50.00 to $350.00 or more!  If you had the chance to hold one of these in your hand you can really appreciate what a fine writing instrument feels like --- goodbye BIC stick!

     John participates in many craft shows and also will bring his pens to you.  Here is a look at some of what he brought in to share with us.

     I brought in a toy truck recently completed for my grandsons' upcoming birthday.  It isn't until September but I saw this truck on the cover of a book and just knew is was for my car and truck loving little guy!  

Monster Truck Coming …….

….. and Going,
Just had to carve in his name to make it special

     I have to admit that this was a real challenge, even more so than building a piece of furniture in my opinion.  Now mine is a toy but Bill brought in a TOY, check this out:

Bill's Excavator 

     This was fantastic to say the least.  It took him about 3 months and it was his way to fill his days after surgery.  He built it from plans and a parts kit that was minimal to say the least.  The tracks rotate and work as they should.  He needed to turn the cylinders on his small lathe to the exact diameter needed to allow them to work like an actual hydraulic unit would.  The details are pretty amazing, all the way down to pedals and shift levers in the cab.  He has more of these projects in the works and will bring them in to wow us as they get built.

     Another great meeting, be thinking about the 2 X 4 challenge and if there is a topic you'd like to have presented at a future meeting contact either Ted or Dennis.  I'll leave you with this tired phrase and corny ending:

Can you dig it??

Never too old for toys!

Sin City Woodworkers Meet this Wednesday -- 7/17

   

Is this you at the end of the day in your shop??

     If it is then you sure won't want to miss our July meeting tomorrow night at Wooditis.  The meeting will be the regular time starting at 7:00 pm.  Ted Warren is going to give us a demonstration and talk on how to curb some of the dust problems we all probably have in our shops.  He has been in the process of setting up a new shop and in his research has discovered Oneida Air Systems.  They design and manufacture their systems and components in the USA which is always a plus in my opinion.  Ted will share with us what he's learned after a lot of research and talks with the folks at Oneida.  This is a subject that any of us that work with wood are aware of.  Although I joke sometimes about "dying of wood lung" having a dust collection system in our shops is pretty vital.  Come and learn from Ted ways to make our shops a cleaner and safer place to work.  Oneida has been in the business for a long time and the brand is probably familiar to you.  Here's a LINK to their website if you want to check them out before the meeting.

     As always, bring a chair if you need one and invite some one new to visit the meeting.  It's always interesting to have a brief showing of any of your latest work and projects so bring that to share with the group if you have something.  If you're a procrastinator like me or just have those senior moments don't forget this:

  Seems like I need to be reminded every meeting.  Jamie brings it up, the wheels in my head start turning, but then by mid-day Thursday I seem to have forgotten until it comes up at next months meeting!  Maybe I need to tie a string around my finger or pierce it with a sliver of wood so I remember.  Speaking of remembering the meeting is:

 * Tomorrow * Wednesday * July 17 * 7:00 pm *

One of our members, making us proud!

Brian Foster hasn't been to one of our Sin City Woodworkers meetings in a while, but he has a good excuse. He's been busy training to become an EMT.

Here's a video featuring a terrific deed that he performed on the job.

Las Vegas EMT takes care of patient's dog - www.ktnv.com