October Meeting at John's House

Alright, we had a field trip this month and all met in the garage/workshop of John Rickle's.  He makes a whole slew of custom pens and sells them at various craft fairs and on his website.  Here's a LINK to his site so you can see all that he does.  Before the meeting though, here are the 20+ of our members gathered in his garage waiting for his presentation.
Before getting under way though there were a few items of business that were brought up.  First off there is an employment opportunity for someone who can do work on the table saw and glue ups of this companies projects.  They are located in the general area of China Town and are making wall paneling and other items from wine barrels and grape stakes.  Contact Jamie if you're interested to get the full details.

Speaking of Jamie, we have only two months to go to come up with our project for the 2 x 4 x 8 Challenge.  This will be judged anonymously during our Christmas party and everyone who's interested should bring their creation to that meeting.  What can you create from one construction grade stick of lumber, that's the challenge.  You may add paint, hardware, dowels, biscuits, upholstery, dominos, fasteners, etc. but not any more wood material than what you can obtain from that initial stick of wood.

The past weekend found Diane and I testing the waters with our first ever craft fair.  Quite an experience to say the least.  This is what our tent/booth looked like at the beginning of the fair. It was a great experience,  financially we broke even and showed a profit after the start up costs.  We needed to get the tent, make the displays, banners, table coverings, booth fees, etc.   Diane has already picked up two custom orders for her work and I'm still hopeful that some of those that expressed an interest in my work will contact me.  Couldn't ask for better public exposure and feedback from the fair goers.  Thanks to those of you that were able to stop by and visit.  The fair ended about an hour earlier then scheduled with an unexpected downpour!

The last bit of business dealt with the woodturners club exhibition at the Summerlin Library located at 1771 Inner Circle Drive.  Diane and I visited it today and there are some really good looking examples of turned wood including some from our own Ed Thiesson.  The show runs until the 9th. of November so be sure to stop by and see it.

 Now, on to the main topic of the meeting: John Rickles and his woodturning skills at making pens.  Here he is holding the large gouge he prefers to use when he's working on them.  At first glance you may think to yourself why in the world would you use this massive tool to turn something as small as a pen?  Well, his explanation made perfect sense; with a large cutting edge like that he's able to have a lot of sharpened surface to use before he has to re-sharpen the tool.  He simply rotates to an unused part of it as the edge dulls from wear.  And wear it will, the material of the pen blanks he uses range from plain old wood to resins impregnated with bits of metal and stone.  Prices for the blanks run the gamut from $10.00 to $50.00 and more.  It's pretty delicate and precise work and he's set up his shop so the majority of the work is done at this station:

This work station, along with most of his other tools are mobile so he can actually park a car in the garage --- something most of us probably can't do!

     Once he selects the blank for the pen he wants to make, the first step is to take it and drill it out for the pen mechanism to fit into.  For that, he uses a 2 jaw chuck in his lathe with a drill bit mounted in the tailstock.  This insures that the hole is exactly centered.  

After cutting the blank to the required length it is then mounted on this special mandrel for turning.  This was the pen he started his demonstration with when we first arrived.

After all of the cutting and shaping was complete it's time to sand and finish the barrel for his show quality shine.  For this operation the tool rest is moved aside and works through various grits of abrasives to smooth things out.  To clean and remove any residue from the process he uses a rag dampened with boiled linseed oil.  Now comes the finish which is either CA adhesive by itself or used in combination with some boiled linseed oil.  CA is a type of adhesive most of us know as Crazy Glue but it has been developed to be much more than that today.  It comes in different thicknesses and is used not only as an adhesive but also to stabilize "punky" wood and finish as John demonstrated.  Here's a LINK to the Wikipedia listing on it if you'd like to know more about it.  After multiple coats of this fast drying finish he will sand and polish the pen using micro mesh sponges that range any where from 1500 to 12000 grit.  John mentioned that these are available from Woodworkers Emporium and although I couldn't find them on their website here's an Amazon LINK to what they are.  There seemed to be a lot of interest in them so all I'm going to say is please buy local.

     Okay, back to the demo.  The next step was to mount this mandrel with 3 buffing wheels between centers on his lathe.

A combination of different rouges including tripoli were used here.  John mentioned several times that you really need to be careful to not let the heat build up as you work these on pens.  The resins used will break down if you allow the work to get too hot.  Obviously he knows what he's doing as this completed barrel shows:

After some careful smoothing of the barrels edges what remains was to press the innards into the barrel.  He used a special press for this as you can see here:

 It's pretty apparent that John loves making these pens and has really developed his skills.  They are an outstanding example of woodwork and works of art as well.  Great combination -- beauty and functionality.  If you want to review and see again the various steps needed to make these pens you're in luck!  Here's a link to the video that our intrepid photographer, Lupe,  took while John worked his magic on the lathe:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlKiuj8IaEchttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlKiuj8IaEc

Last but not least, I'd like to thank John's wife Mary for making all of the wonderful refreshments for out meeting at their home.  Hopefully all of you got your sweet tooth satisfied and also saw the amazing train set that John built.  Here's a few photos of that --- see you next month!

Suspended from the ceiling!

Going through the wall!

Track details, I believe he told me it's Poplar.

October Meeting

YaHooo --- We're Going on a Field Trip !!!

     We're in for a treat this month because we're going on a FIELD TRIP to see John Rickles' shop and, if you're a train person you'll really enjoy a bonus side trip that will get you excited too!  John was invited to the group by Ted and if you recall brought his pens to share with us at the July meeting.  To get a preview of the work that he does check out this LINK to that meeting.  John brought a collection of his work for show & tell that month.

     With all of the advances in technology giving directions is pretty easy these days!  Here is John's address:

       7809 Evident Court  Zip Code is 89131

This is in the northwest side of town off of 95 north near the Buffalo exit.  Meeting time will be the usual, 7pm so check Google and plan your time and trip accordingly.

See you then --- John

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: