At Second Glance............

After I assembled the mantle, I began to take a critical look at it. There were some gaps where the vertical and horizontal members joined. The more I looked, the more it bugged me. Since all of it was assembled with pocket screws, except the crown molding, which I fastened with micropins, I decided to take it apart. It only took an hour to disassemble it, re cut the horizontal portion and put it all back together again. Everything flushes up much better now. I think it all began with me watching Japanese woodworking videos. Those guys are so meticulous and patient. It makes my stuff  look like it was made with a chain saw and a sledge hammer. I stained it and brought it up to the house for a trial fit. It's crooked because the left side is resting on the old TV stand/DVD storage cabinet. That will go away once the mantle is ready to install. I'm pretty pleased with the way it looks. There was a fireplace door that I built when we moved in. It never fit quite like I had wanted, but I never got around to fixing it. Now I will have to make a new pair. This time it will be a better fit

Mantle, The Continuing Saga

I, pretty much, finished the mantle today. It turned out to be a pretty simple deal. Though it appears ornate and complicated it is just oak veneer plywood, some store bought crown molding and some trim that I cut on the router table. The fact that I have accumulated a number of tools over the years made it much simpler. The pocket hole jig, a tool that every wood worker needs, a brad gun, a micro pin gun and a good selection of clamps made it a breeze. I still have to make the top, but all that will be is a flat slab of oak. I still have final detailing, sanding, staining and clear finish before I can install it. The off color parts are from a tabletop that I made a few years ago, but was not happy with. There was just enough to make the 12 pieces that I needed for the column bases and tops. I also have to engineer a TV mount, but I think that should be fairly easy

A Place To Hang Yer Hat

I built this drawer for the little wall desk. I had planned it all along, but I got in a hurry when I built the desk. It looked so good, hanging on the wall, that I just left it there, promising to add the drawer later. Later finally arrived. I turned 6 little pegs on my lathe and added them to the side for keys and my, ever present, ball cap. Not a big, monumental project but it looks good and gives us a bit more drawer space in the kitchen

Putting On The Brakes

I have had this router lift for 12 or 13 years. It is a nice piece and I use it often. One problem that I've had, over the years, was the bit raising up, on it's own. This is very annoying and wasteful. I've ruined a boat load of nice hardwood. I always blamed myself. I thought that I didn't tighten the collet enough or maybe there was some debris that kept me from getting a good grip on the shank of the bit. As I was cutting the lock miter joints for the mantle project, it happened again. I did notice that the little dial, that indicates the amount that the bit is being raised or lowered was moving as the machine ran. I assumed it was loose and needed a tightening. I discovered it was tight and that the vibration from the machine was causing the lift mechanism to turn. There are small, ball detents that are supposed to lock the lift in position, but they are inadequate for the job when running large, heavy bits. So, I took it apart and saw what could be done. I cut a clamp, to act as a brake, from a scrap of maple. I then drilled and tapped the lift base and bolted the brake to the base with some long bolts and some spacers that I cut from some aluminum tube from the scrap bucket. I grabbed an old  3/8 socket from the box of junky Chinese tools. The clamping bolt is 1/4 so it has a 7/16 head. I ground it to 3/8, put it in the socket backwards so the bolt extends though the square drive end is, and screwed it into the brake. There is a "T" nut on the other side. The crank to set the bit height is a 3/8 hex, so I can use it to set the brake. After a few minor adjustments, I gave it a test run. I put the big lock joint bit in, set the height, and tightened the brake. It seemed to work well, I couldn't turn the adjuster with the crank unless I backed off of the brake. I ran some wood through it and there was no creeping of the bit. I think I'll call this one a success. Another annoying problem solved.

Hearth And Home

Today, I began a long planned and promised project. A mantle for our fireplace. We finally got a flat screen TV and we want to mount it on the fireplace, but cannot. The reason being, there is no way to hide the electrical and cable hookups. A mantle will solve the problem. The wires will be brought over from the wall, hidden behind a piece of trim and enter the hollow mantle. I can then install a plug inside and pass the TV power cord through a plastic grommet and into the plug, hidden inside. Additionally, I will run power over to the other side for the components. More pix and further explanations will follow. Today, I managed to cut and glue up the two vertical columns. Most of the construction will be oak faced plywood.I will cut as much of the trim as I can from scraps lying around the shop. I will likely buy some precut crown molding for some of the areas that I have envisioned. As with most of my projects, there are no plans. Just build as you go. I have an idea of what I want it to look like, but it may evolve slightly

New Garage

No, not for the car. It's an appliance garage for the coffee maker and the toaster. I made up another tambour, like I did for the little wall desk. Two matching sides with grooves routed in for the door to slide in and a small panel across the front. I cut a bead detail where it meets the existing upper cabinet. Works real slick. I cut a little flower design on each side to give it some pizazz. A coat of stain and some clear lacquer and it looks pretty good

Living On The Edge

My little brother, Dan LaFong, is prospecting for the Boozefighters MC. While I was in my knife making mode, I thought I'd make one for him. I'll give it to him when he patches in, probably later this year. Rather than using a saw blade, like I did for the last little pig sticker that I made, I used an old, worn out, file. I heated it to red hot and let it cool. This annealed it. I cut out the shape with my angle grinder and shaped it with the disc and belt sander. I cut the bevel with a file, using a simple jig that I made to hold the file at the same angle as I worked across the length of the blade. It took a few hours to get it close to a cutting edge. I removed the scratches with sandpaper until most were gone. I fired up my little foundry pot and stuck the blank it. Like the first knife, I let it get red hot and quenched it in salad oil. Once it was cool,I put it in the oven at 400 degrees, for an hour to temper it. I finished polishing out the remaining scratches. I decided to etch his name on the blade. I used clear packing tape as a stencil. I cut the letters with a scalpel, exposing the metal underneath. I hooked up a battery charger and clipped the positive to the blade. The negative side was clipped to a Q Tip. It was dipped in salt water and dabbed on the area to be etched. It quickly began to smoke and black, oxidized stuff began to bubble up. I continued to dip the swab in the salt water and re apply the solution. After a few minutes, I cleaned it up an removed the tape. It left a very nice impression. I suppose I could have gone deeper, But I think It'll be fine. Next, we need to add the scales. The Boozefighters colors are green. We had some green canvas that Wifey used to make a laundry bag some time ago. I cut it into strips and soaked them in clear epoxy. I laid them on top of each other until I had a stack that was about 3/8ths of an inch thick. I clamped them between two pieces of wood and let it set up. After cutting away the wood, I had a nice piece of home brewed Micarta. I epoxied them to either side of the blade and filed and sanded them to shape. I cut some random grooves on the sides for some visual effect and a better grip. I like it. It looks dark it the pictures, but in the sun, it's a nice deep green. I have no leather working skills, so I made a sheath from walnut and some maple burl accents. I did wrap it with some leather lacing between the maple and made a leather belt loop. I sunk two rare earth magnets in the back, under the loop to hold the knife in the sheath