Step stool...

I took an "Introduction to Woodworking" class at the local military base. The class acts as a "safety course" for access to the base's wood shop. In the course of learning how to use particular machines, you build a step stool. The class lasted 4 hours and in that time we used a range of tools and learned how to safely operate them. So, I'll detail the process to make the step stool.

1. Cut the board to length on a nice 10" Craftsman RAS. The board overall was around 3'
2. Ripped the sides and the rail to width on a sa-weet 5hp Saw Stop Cabinet saw
3. Used a big Powermatic drill press with a fostner bit to drill out the hole for the sides (think feet)
4. Cut the sides to length, splitting the hole, on the RAS
5. Cut the stile to final length on a Rigid 10" SCMS.
6. Used a template to trace the pattern onto the sides
7. Cut out the sides on a Minimax 20" bandsaw
8. Used a floor standing Jet Spindle Sander and belt sander to clean up the sides
9. Used a nice Jessem router table setup to round-over the top edges
10. Screwed everything together.

That was pretty much it. With the safety info weaved in there, it took a total of about 3 1/2 hours of a 4 hour class. So, in case you missed some of the equipment I used, I'll make a full list of what I saw in the shop at the bottom. If you have access to your local military installation, be sure to see if you also have access to the local wood shop. Ours costs $3 per hour to use, but once you see the list of equipment, I think you'll understand why.

• 2 x 5hp Saw Stop cabinet saws
• 2 x 20" Mini Max bandsaws
• 1 x 18" Laguna bandsaw with a Resaw King blade (they were just setting this up)
• 1 x 10" Craftsman RAS
• 1 x 10" Rigid SCMS
• 2 x xx" Floor standing drill presses
• 1 x Powermatic Mortiser
• 1 x Powermatic 24" Planer
• 1 x 8" Powermatic Joiner
• 1 x Router table with pretty powerful motor
• 2 x Oscillating Spindle Sanders
• 2 x 6" or 8" Belt Sanders
• Various other toys.

Sleigh update...

So, I realize I haven't posted the last of the sleigh pictures. Here they are...

I ended up removing the iron pipe and making a set of "skis" from 2x4s. I used a jigsaw to turn up the front of the ski and roof flashing to protect it. With the flashing protecting the end-grain it made the skis very slick. This this is FUN to ride when being pulled by a horse. Fun.

Here's the final sled with, no kidding, wrapping paper stapled to the sleigh.

Table saw maintenance...

Spent an hour or so working on the table saw. When the garage flooded a few weeks ago I guess the humidity in the air caused the saw top to oxidize a little. There was a fine dusting of rust. So, I took some time and washed it down with mineral spirits and a scotch pad to get the rust off. Then I applied a nice coat of paste wax and buffed it out. Now the top is slick and ready to cut wood!

Next project...

Looks like it's going to be a quilt rack for my sister in law. Right now, I'm going to try and make it out of poplar, and stain it with pecan stain. If the poplar does not work, then I'll switch to maple. I'm using a plan I found on Lowes' website. I've attached a pic of my Sketchup model. I'm going to give wedge tenons a shot.

Toy sleigh project...

Wifey informed me she wanted a sleigh for a Christmas play. "Nothing huge just a toy sleigh that can be pulled by a horse.". Did I mention it had to be pulled by a horse? Here's the quick 1.5 day sleigh I came up with. Fortunately, I didn't have to paint it. The kids in the play will paint it. No big write up on this one because I didn't document the build process or anything, but here are the pics. Did I mention it was horse drawn? I seriously have my doubts about whether this thing will hold up. Not pictured are the eye bolts used to hitch up the pulling harness.

Paper shade...

I just finished the paper shade. It doesn't look too bad. Some oopsies here and there. I'll see if I can't get some of my more crafty friends to help me out in the shade department. I made a video of the lamp in action. I used some of my software expertise to create an Red, Green, Blue, L.E.D. circuit and write some software that makes the colors randomly change. A video example is below.

Shellac and oiled...

Here's the finished piece, shellaced and oiled. I usually screw up a piece when I finish it, but this one turned out ok. I used a 1lb cut of shellac as a sealer, and did a fine sanding with 400 grit. As soon as the shellac went on the walnut really popped. Once the shellac coat was sanded, I applied a coat of Danish Oil. The walnut really came alive. I followed the Danish Oil directions from a Fine Woodworking article, wiping off the excess that seeped out. I ran out of time and had to let it set for a week. The next weekend I applied another coat, again following the Fine Woodworking article directions. This is the result of 1 coat of shellac as a sanding sealer, and 2 coats of Danish oil.

Now all that is left is to apply the shade. I'm not 100% sure how I'm going to do that yet. As of right now, my plan is to cut a piece of material to fit each of the "4 frames" and place the material in the frame without glue. If I have to use glue I will. Any ideas on what material to use or how to attach it would be appreciated.

As for the pictures, I'm no photographer. I do know that over a distance parallel lines will look somewhat curved because of the curvature of a camera lense. So, the curve effect in the full length picture is an optical illusion. Another optical illusion is the bottom stretchers. The angle in the picture is just weird. If there are any other mistakes in the piece, those are optical illusions as well :).