Segments take time...

Part I.

I first talked about segment turnings back when I started this blog, here.

Given my absence, it has been quite some time since I did any segment work. As I looked for my last segment project, I quickly realized that it’s been over three years! So I can’t really blame it on the deployment as that doesn’t cut it with the timeline. It is funny how that happens. One day we try something new, then next thing we know its’ been a few years since we did the old stuff. Well as I sat in the barracks each night looking for something to do, I realized that this would be the perfect time to work on segment projects! So, during my weekend time, I pulled out the cross cut sled and proceeded to spend about an hour at the table saw running just over 100 cuts. The results were several bags of segments.

Back at the barracks, each night I would take out a bag of segments and begin the process of building rings. The first run involved 3 full rings. Each ring consisted of 18 individual segments.

A single segment. 18 segments make 1 ring

Pair glued together and "clamped" with rubber bands

Pairs of segments are glued together to make quarter rings (or close to it).
The two in the back are half rings

Before the full ring could be assembled, all pieces went to the disk sander for final shaping. As I currently do not own a planer, thickness adjustments were also accomplished on the disk sander. Individual rings were then assembled with glue and rubber bands. I then waited 24 hours for the glue to cure.

Set time vs cure time. The instructions on Tightbond II state to allow 24 hours before "stressing" the joint. However the product fully sets in 4 hours. So basically, if the next step was to just add another section, I waited 4 hours. If the piece were to go to the disk sander, I waited 24 hours, as the torque from the sander would "stress" the joints.

Full ring after clamps

With three rings completed it was time to begin stacking them

Three rings stacked.

With all three rings completed, it was time to return to the table saw to start over. The second set would include 72 segments (enough for 4 rings). Unlike the first set, in which all rings were the same diameter, the second set diameters will reduce by half an inch with each ring. So we will have an 8", 7.5", 7.0", and 6.5". The base was also cut and prepped.

As this is more or less a practice piece, I wasn't as concerned with the visual appearance of the wood used. Therefore, I used what was in stock which is primarily Cherry and Walnut with a Bubinga base.

For part 2, I will stack all rings and mount to the lathe. I may even experiment with my first video for the turning part...no promises though. :)

Until then,

Kevin

Work the wood you shall....

See the Wookiepedia for more images

The process of going through a military medical retirement is a lengthy event, which requires little input from me. As a result, I find that I have ample down time. This gets translated into a variety of woodworking designs. Coupled with the repeated viewing of science fiction TV such as Doctor Who, Star Trek or Star Wars, Firefly, to name a few, the next generation of woodworking designs begins to take on a pre-industrial, science fiction flare. 

As Master Yoda battles Count Dooku, my Sketch up cursor bounces between multiple screens working on everything from a new butcher block counter top to a lumber storage rack in the shape of the TARDIS. I have even designed a dog house for Kaylee in the shape of Serenity.  As I wonder what project should fill the weekend, I search the web for inspiration.

Among the more traditional projects, I find several that fit my current mood:

A steampunk light sabre turned on a lathe:

Found here

A TARDIS Bookshelf....That could easily be made into a drying rack

or even a dehumidifier kiln! That would look good in my shop!

For plans see Mystery Fanfare

For the Trekies out there this is a fine example of sci-fi inspired craftsmanship:

For more on this click here

These all go to show that woodworking can plunge deep into the depths Geek-dom!Whether one craves the pre-industrial style of steampunk or just wants to add a splash of Dr Who to their workshop, there are infinite projects out there which will challenge our skills and yield incredible results. It all starts with a little inspiration and imagination.

I swear those Squirrels are covered in Chrome!

Click Here for this and other shiny squirrel items

I am going to stop planning weekend projects. Oh, I will continue to do a project every weekend, just it never seems to be the one(s) I planned on.  I will have to admit, I may have been a little over zealous in planning last weekend. It seemed plausible at the time. Looking back, it was never going to happen. I was going to burn the brush pile, build the glue table and test the concept for the Steampunk Pen. At the end of the weekend, I had burned enough brush to fill a 55 gallon drum with ash. No table, No pen. I did spot several squirrel nests up in the trees. I figure that’s where the chrome colored ones are that keep distracting me. 

Funny thing though, just a month ago, I made the comment that I was out of turning / project stock. Not entirely true as I still had my scrap bin to fish through and a couple of exotic pieces. Then something happened. Trees began to fall. Big trees took out little trees. Oak trees, Hickory trees, Cedar Trees, Birch Trees, and even a Poplar tree all made their way into my drying racks. But the fun did not stop there. My Dad called. He had trees down. A Bradford Pear and a Red Oak, each over 18 inches in diameter, made their way to my drying rack too. Then another tree fell. This one would be a willow tree. It too made its way to the drying rack. Now my racks overflow. Logs sit waiting to be milled or stored for drying. I’ve never had this much stock at one time, nor have I had this much variety! The band saw had to be tuned up, it’s about to get a workout!

The Band Saw. I was cussing it back during the holidays. I had grand plans the desperately needed the band saw. The first day I turned it on and a key part broke. The saw could not function. I had to order the part. The part would show up on the last day of my holiday leave. My first weekend after the holidays was spent repairing the band saw. Since I had to dismantle it anyway, I decided to add the lift kit I’d been saving. A new blade, a 17 inch throat, new parts, and all of a sudden the Bandsaw is ready to re-saw logs. I just did not have any logs at the time.

It’s funny how things happen like that. They say, “Be careful what you ask for”. I guess because sometimes we fail to see the big picture and get too much. But I believe that the good Lord provides what we need when we need it. Sometimes it’s easy to look in the bottom of the scrap bin and say, “I’ve got nothing”. But that’s just impatience talking. In the weekends that have passed since I made that comment, I really haven’t had time to work on a project. The things I did work on produced stock which will be used in future projects. As for the band saw, had the part not broken, I probably would not have added on the lift kit or tuned it up. It would not have been ready to saw logs into lumber. So my plans are just a pecking list. Maybe that’s the key. We just need to realize that our plans don’t really mean squat without the good Lord putting in his 2 cents.

Until next time, 

Kevin

What is in a name?

Apparently everything! If Shakespeare had the internet, Juliet would have known better!

When I originally started this blog, the idea was to start off on blogger and then move it to a dot com where I could add things like plan down loads, videos, as well as my shop. The name, at that time, didn’t exist anywhere. Then I mothballed it. The blog went dormant.

Now I have returned. As I look at the world of social media, I find that the name, “Homemade Workshop” as well, “The Homemade Workshop” already exist in dot coms, Facebook, Twitter, and many other areas. Funny thing though, no two accounts belong to the same person! 

Maybe it is a good thing. The Homemade Workshop doesn’t really sum up what I do and I don’t think it draws people in. I would like to think that someone out there actually wants to read my blog. So, I need a name that will grab their attention. 

Now don’t go changing your RSS feeds just yet (all two of you). For now, I will continue to publish on this site. However, change for the better, is coming. 

Have an idea for a name? Send it to me. If I use it I’ll send you one of my Wood PensJ. Just to make sure some joker doesn’t steal suggested names, I won’t be publishing any comments until after the change.

Coming next week - The "Glue Up Table" project begins and The Steampunk Pen Update....long overdue!

Until next time,

Kevin 

Chalkboard...Part 2

Once the dry fit was complete and all the joints looked good, it was time to begin "distressing" the frame. As I mentioned in part 1, when I researched this process, I came across several different ways to achieve the same results. However, four different methods were repeated often. Since the base color was down to two colors I decided to make a sample board.

sample finishes

Four of the colors used a base coat of Rustoleum Golden Mahogany Stain. The other four used a base of Minwax Chestnut Stain. All of them had a final finish of one to two coats of satin polyurethane. The difference lied in how the distress marks were highlighted.

After applying the base coat and allowing to dry (in accordance with directions on each can) I used a variety of tools to bang and mar the sample.

Next came the highlighting. The four methods used were as follows:

       1. Rub Black Shoe polish of the surface and then wipe off, allowing it to fill the marks.

       2. Apply a dark stain and immediately wipe off.

       3. Apply a dark gel stain and immediately wipe off.

       4. Re-apply the base coat. Allow to stand for 3 to 5 minutes then blot dry.

As you can see, each method is very similar. Though it was mainly a matter of which product to use. They say that some of the best inventions happen by mistake. So was the case with this project. Holly decided she liked method #1 with a base of the Minwax Chestnut, the best. So out to the shop I went to stain the frame.

base coat applied

You'll notice, in this shot, there are two cans of stain. One was left over from another project. It was a darker stain (Minwax Pecan). After marring the surface, I wiped it down with a coat of shoe polish. The shoe polish darkened some areas far more than I liked. So I wiped it off and dabbed it with more stain...only I did not realize until I was done that the stain I used was pecan instead of chestnut.

I wiped off the pecan (it had sat for about 5 minutes) to reveal the perfect color, aging, distress that we had been looking for. I showed it to Holly who approved by stating it looked better than the samples! Woohoo...score!

Now some may be wondering why I finished the frame before assembly. I decided to wait on the Poly until after assembly, but in order to avoid messing up the chalkboard, I thought this would be best. Also any scratches made during the assembly would only add to the distressed look. Had I been going for a clean, non distressed finish, I probably would have waited.

On to the clamps...

Glue and Clamp

You will recall, from previous post, that I have yet to build the glue up table. Given the size of this project, I had to move it indoors. I think Kaylee may have gotten he snout out of joint (her kennel was the best "table" for this). 

If I do this again, I will use a different joint for the corners. For this purpose a dowel joint was used. On the plans I will be switching it to a lap joint. 

Glue (tightbond II) was applied to the rabbet all around the frame. The chalkboard was then placed and clamped down. Any glue squeeze out was quickly wiped up. Underneath, a substantial amount of squeeze out had dripped onto the cardboard. This was easily removed once dried.

Once fully assembled, I went back over the frame with Minwax Wipe On Poly. Two coats with a light sanding in between. I also noticed that somehow I had missed staining the ends of each frame section and went back and touched those up.

To hang it, I used picture wire. Though I have a feeling will change, to a cleat, in the near future. Apparently, another project has gone on the list, that will require the chalkboard to change position....Wainscoting....for the kitchen.

So how did we fare for this project. Originally, we were looking at a discount store to buy a similar product. The ones we found ranged from $50 to $100. Shopping online I found chalkboards without distressed frames ranging from $40 to $150.00 plus shipping.

As I already had many of the materials used, my cost were:

Chalkboard paint (quart)    $7.50

1x3x96 pine board x 3        $7.11 (I had one left over for future use)

Stain (pint)                          $4.99

 Total                                   $19.60

Had I not already owned the rest my total cost would have been:

Supplies already mentioned           $19.60

Primer (qt)                                      $ 7.64

Polyurethane                                  $ 9.99

brushes / roller                               $ 6.00

24" x 48" x 1/4" plywood                 $ 8.37

Grand Total                                     $51.60

So, if I had to buy everything from scratch, I would break even. However, keep in mind that by building it ourselves, we get the satisfaction of building it as well as getting exactly what we wanted.

In the end, Holly got her chalkboard, I had a lot of fun building it, and we saved about $30 to $50 dollars. I call that a "WIN".

Until next time

Kevin