The Woodworking Thread

Since there are seem to be several members who are into woodworking on an amateur level and we have a resource like suapyg (that's mister Swahpig to you), I figured we could have a woodworking/carpentry thread on here for everyone to share their tips/tricks/blunders and ask any questions.

I'm a hobbyist more than anything, and I'm entirely self taught, which means I fuck up stuff and start over more than I would like.

Here's a couple things I've built. The first is a jelly cabinet I built for my wife for our first Valentine's together. It looked nice until she stained it pea-snot-green. She likes "primitive" style stuff.



The next is my computer desk.



My current project is my basement. I have a 24 x 36 foot basement that I am finishing. I will have an 11 x 16 workshop space, and the rest will be general use. I am putting in two bookcase "hidden doors" to work around awkward spaces where I have shit that can't be moved, i.e. the furnace, the electrical box, the oil tank, etc.

As far as tools go, I have the full Ryobi "plus" system for battery powered stuff, a Shopsmith Mark V (combo table saw, drill press, lathe, disc sander for those who haven't seen one before), a Shopsmith belt sander, Shopsmith bandsaw and all sorts of air powered stuff (every nail gun from brad to framing).

So, show us what ya got, show off your skills (or lack thereof) and ask away for advice/opinions. Don't be afraid of suapyg, he doesn't bite... hard.

 

"For this project we're going to use the cabinetmaker 5000. Just take a collection of old scrap wood, half a tree trunk, and throw it in the intake. And there you have it! Next time on the New Yankee Workshop, we'll be building an antique dry sink, with the antiquedrysink 4000"

 

That is a dvd cabinet my dad made for me, it is all made out of old pallet boards i have collected from work. I cant wait to get my basement finished so i can get my shop up and running, so i can start to try and make stuff like that.

 

I posted this on the old board. It's a tv/dvd/whatever unit that I made a few years ago.

Edit: Sorry for the image size, but I'm technologically retarded.

 

I'll share some more about my tools etc. later, but if you haven't seen the Guns and Ammo thread, I make custom gunstocks and do the majority of the work by hand.

Spoiler

If I'm not using a sanding block, there's a good chance one of these tools will be in my hands.

 

Dude. I totally spaced your dog-damaged repair job. I suck, I'm sorry. Let me know if you still need help on that one and I'll dig up the email. Everyone else, it's true - I'm an asshole but I really do like helping people do better work, so as long as you're patient I'm happy to help.

In the meantime, I thought you guys might like a shot of the wall above my back bench:

 

So... many... tools... How big is the magnet strip holding up your chisels? I've wanted to do that for awhile.

Another question for ya- what sharpening equipment do you have to keep all of those blades up to snuff?

 

Yeah, I still need the help. Here's the pictures.

This is an antique cedar chest.


This is what Tonka did to the antique cedar chest.


Another view.


Here's the undamaged side.


Basically, I need to copy the undamaged side and replace the damaged side. My Shopsmith has a copying tool for the lathe, but I've never used the lathe, let alone the copying tool. I was hoping to be able to repair this myself.

No, I'm not going to kill the dog.

 

Alt-Focus Tool Reviews! First up, tell us about that Shopsmith Mark V. Let's not have this turn into a dick swinging about who's cordless drill is better - we all know the Panasonic 15.6V rules the roost.

 

This is basically my Shopsmith. I have that bandsaw too, but it is mounted on it's own stand instead of putting it on the Shopsmith.



It's a combination table saw, disc sander, drill press, lathe and horizontal bore. I've barely used it, and have yet to really master any of the functions. I bought the bandsaw, Shopsmith and belt sander from my wife's uncle for $1050 when he gave up woodworking. Not a bad deal when you see that the Shopsmith goes for $3500, the bandsaw is another $550 and the belt sander is $430. It came with a book of lessons on how to use each function, so I'll be doing all of those to make sure I know exactly how all of them work. My uncle bought every possible accessory for it, and I haven't even unpacked them all to see what they are. I figure there's an extra $1000 worth of add-ons I haven't played with yet. He also gave me some books with projects to build with the machine, stuff like old school wooden trains for kids, that kind of thing. I'll probably pick projects at random out of the book to build for practice.

 

It's a 24" magnetic strip - I'm thinking I need another one, I just keep acquiring more chisels and gouges and it's already too crowded.

Sharpening - I have a slow-speed Baldor grinder with a couple of aluminum oxide wheels on it, I put a hollow-grind on most bevels. I'm an oilstone guy, I have a few natural oilstones and I think there are a couple synthetic stones in there, too. Generally I just use a soft and a hard Arkansas stone, and then I have a nice 4000 waterstone that I use dry just to polish - you can see it on the bench in that picture, right at the center. I also use a leather strop to touch up the edge as frequently as possible, just to keep from having to go back to the stones more.

Usually, I try to teach the idea that the sharpening method (oil, water, ceramic stones, superfine sandpaper, diamond stones, etc,) doesn't matter as much as an ability to create a consistent bevel and flat back with whatever's at hand. If you learn to rely on jigs and patterns and tool holders, you'll be lost without them, and I guarantee that you'll be without them when you need 'em. And keep a slipstone in your chisel roll, you'll be pissed as all hell to need one and not have it.

(please tell me if I'm speaking tool-speak gibberish, by the way)

 

Well, no guts no glory, brother. Maybe the thing to do is start by trying your hand at some turning, get a feel for how the lathe works. You know what you have to do to fix the thing, there aren't any magic solutions - you're going to have to cut off the damaged bits and replace them with fresh wood. Which means you're going to have to figure out how to use that copying tool on the lathe, which you don't know how to use.

So you should probably start by learning how to use it. Chuck up some scrap and put yourself in danger. Let us know how that goes.

I know. I'm some kind of supergenius...just call me Wiley.

 

Yeah, learn by doing.

Suapyg, put up some pics of your work for those who haven't had... the pleasure. Yeah baby, yeah!

 

Here's a few:

 

Those are cool. Did you get those at Ikea?

 

Yes, they come flat packed, you have to put 'em together with a little allen key.