Changing planer blades (again!)

It's about to get a little crazy in the shop, with lots of classes starting and projects being completed. So I thought it best to do a little maintenance around the place. Sending blades to be sharpened is the first place I start.


You know you basically have no life when the highlight of your week is having your three favorite sawblades sharpened and ready to re-install.


Sharp jointer and planer blade are icing on the cake.


I've gotten pretty quick at installing the planer blades.


Keeping the manual and knife press gauge handy helps!

This diagram tells me just about everything I need to know about installing the blades at the correct height.

And all I need to do this blade replacement are two very important things - a cup of coffee and a wrench. The coffee isn't essential, but really helps.


Install the springs that go under the blade,

slide in the gib, that holds the blade in place,


and slide the blade into place. Remember, it's very sharp. Then put the height gauge over the blade and press down.... GENTLY!

You don't want to ding your blade, do you?


Here is a short video to show you how simple it is.



Time for another cup o' joe.... good luck replacing your blades!

Snow in the New Year

It snowed here in Vegas this week, not necessarily a good way to start the year, in my opinion. Everyone has a picture of snow in their yard, or wherever they happened to be when it was coming down. Here are my two obligatory shots - from the back yard - my raised bed garden, which sure looks different with a layer of white on it.


And the grill, which of course, didn't have it's cover on. I think it blew away in the windstorm, and is probably laying in someone's yard down the street. The wind here was brutal.


The next morning, I was stuck in a snowstorm on the freeway, on my way to jury duty. Everyone was driving like they'd never seen snow in their lives, and probably hadn't. The traffic was cluster-fucking-unbelievable; I was late to the courthouse, which didn't make a good impression on my new buddy, the courthouse clerk.

Stella, on the other hand, had a marvelous time in the snow. She played for a few hours, and I just couldn't find it in my heart to make her come inside. I mean, how often will she ever get the chance to play in snow? Here she is, in all her messy, muddy glory. You can bet she went straight into the bathtub after we took this photo.

Finally, later in the evenings, long after my woodworking duties are done, I've been playing with clay again. Here are a few new layered glaze experiments. I'm quite pleased with what has been coming out of the kiln, now that is a good way to start the year!

The Fabulous Thunderbirds Helmet Project

This may be one of the coolest projects I've built in a long time. Oh wait, there was this, and this, and this. Or this... which is hanging in a Saudi palace!

OK, but this has to be in the top one or two.

One of the Thunderbird pilots stopped by my shop last month, asking if I could build a display case for his flight helmet. Hell yes!


This is one bad-ass helmet, the back has their patch on it, which I didn't notice at first. I was too busy looking at the air hose hanging from it, and all the details, like the visor or the memory foam padding inside.

Each one of the pilots has a nickname and a number; his is Aktion.


I came up with a few simple sketches, and we agreed on everything, so I started working. The only real pressure was that he was transferring overseas, so this case had to be built pretty quickly. I started by laminating the top and bottoms. My first idea had a solid top and bottom, which was changed about midway through the construction.



I kept envisioning a "cage" of glass around the helmet, so I started machining the rails that would hold the glass


and the corner posts, into which the rails would be attached.

When assembled, it started to take form.

Right around then, I spoke with my new pilot buddy and he asked if I was going to use a mirror on the back panel, to show off the artwork. Umm... yup! Believe it or not, this town doesn't have very many convenient glass shops. So finding mirror cut to size was my next challenge. Luckily, a friend gave me the name of a mom and pop business that was near my shop, and I had the mirror the next day.

Here the corner posts are attached to the base, and you can see the back area, where the mirror will be held.


I love the angular details of everything, crisp and contemporary. But the base seemed a little heavy to me,


so I made some feet to elevate it a bit.


At first I was tempted to have them positioned slightly on the outside of the base, but after I played around with their location, I decided I really liked them tucked back, out of sight.


They're just barely noticeable, but elevate the piece perfectly.

Next was the top, and right around here, I said to myself - what the hell are you thinking? You need glass in the top!

Remember, I originally planned on a solid wooden lid. So I cut a few pieces of wood and experimented with dimensions, overhangs, and joinery. By now, I had put so much work into this piece, I was earning about $8 an hour. But at least it was fun!

On a side note, a lot of my woodworking buddies and I lament the bidding process. Sometimes you really blow it and underestimate how long it will take you to make something. But sometimes you overestimate your time. My feeling is that it all works out in the end.

Or if it doesn't, at least you'll know next time what to charge, if you have to build something similar. I keep pretty good records of everything (thanks, mom!), so I can look in my files and know how look it took me to build a sideboard in 1995, or a bed in 2001. Accurate record keeping is really your friend when you're in this line of work.


I knew right away that I wouldn't use a mitered corner/ Even with a spline, it's too weak. But these pieces helped determine the sizes of the parts.


In the end, I chose one of my old favorites - a half lap joint, which is strong and visually attractive.

Here the parts are cut, and double-checked to make sure they're the proper size.


The key to a good half lap is four clamps that match. These ensure that the piece is glued perfectly flat, and with enough clamping pressure to eliminate any gaps around the joint.

Once it was dry, I rabbeted the back for a piece of glass. Of course, the rabbet bit gives you rounded corners,


so I had to chisel them square. I'm down to working for $6 an hour by now.


Then I grabbed my favorite bit (a chamfer bit)


and added some detail around the top and bottom edges of the frame. Once again, the bearing on the bit leaves you with rounded corners, so I had to do some hand work to make the corners look proper. Woodworkers will know what I'm talking about, but most people would never notice this detail. It's the little things like this that raise your work to a higher level of professionalism.


Finally, I marked the screw holes for the corner posts, and drilled them.


And roughly assembled everything.


By now, all my buddies were stopping by asking if I was done with that damn box yet! Tom just laughed and shook his head with understanding; he's gotten himself into a few jobs like this, so he gets it!


And finally, the finished case.


This has been a labor of love, like so many other pieces I've been building for members of the military.


Sure, I could have cut some corners, could have put it together much more simply, and with cheaper materials. That wouldn't be my style. What's that proverb about any job worth doing, is worth doing well?

That would be my style.

Merry Christmas! (or Mele Kalikimaka)

This holiday season seemed to kick my behind a little more than usual! It might have been the half dozen different orders I was working on, or the fact that I was working a little handicapped, but regardless, I managed to complete almost everything I started.

One piece I didn't expect to complete was this sushi board; I'd started it months ago, and couldn't decide on a few of the last details about it - specifically - the feet and the grout. But someone wandered into the shop, saw it, and purchased it on the spot. That's good enough motivation for me to make some decisions and finish it.

Every time I tried to work on this, I'd end up getting distracted, so I would finish each session with a coat of oil. I'd venture a guess that this board has fifteen coats on it, the surface is amazing. Better yet, the color you see is it's absolute natural color - there were no dyes or stains used whatsoever.


I'd would love to tell you more about this wood, but I can't. This board was purchased at an auction, as were many others. Most were unmarked, but identifiable. This one? At first I thought it might be Sapele, and later, I decided it could be Bubinga. Truth be told? Those are only guesses, and the one small scrap I had is long gone. Unless the owner will let me slice a small piece from the bottom of this board, I don't think I'll ever know.

Anyone who is familiar with my tiles knows that I love recesses in them, perfect for holding things - in this case, pickled ginger or wasabi. This tile was slumped in a mold, textured, thrown on the wheel, and managed to fire perfectly round and flat.

Working with clay is nothing like working with wood. With wood, you pretty much know what you're going to get at the end. With clay, you can envision your results, but unless you can control every single factor along the way (which I can't!), you don't know what you're going to get until the very moment you open the door to the kiln. Most potters equate a kiln opening to Christmas, and I completely understand that!

This stoneware tile was fired to ^6 in an electric kiln, and was glazed with multiple layers of Waterfall Brown and Waterfall Green glaze.


It is a magical glaze on textured work.


Speaking of magic, have yourself a wonderful Christmas!

Mystery wood solved (again!)

There have been a lot of great books on my nightstand lately, but one of particular interest was The Big Burn by Tim Egan.


It is about the worst fire in our county's history. It is also a painful look at our country's debate on starting the National Forest Service, under Theodore Roosevelt. I had never heard of Gifford Pinchot before, but if you're a fan of our nation's public parks and forests, you can thank him.

So when I received this envelope in the mail, it's return address wasn't lost on me, as it was the first time. Gifford Pinchot was a pretty interesting fellow, way ahead of his time in terms of his vision for the forests that covered much of our nation. It's very cool to see that he's been remembered over the years.


Do you remember a while back, when I sent a sample of wood to be identified?


I finally received the answer, and - once again, I'm a little surprised. The wood was identified by professionals, who slice a thin slab of wood and identify it on a cellular level, in a microscope.

They can't make mistakes, right?

All those boards I have in the loft are Eucalyptus diversicolor, commonly known as Karri. It primarily grows in Australia, in the wetter south west regions. With all that moisture, this tree grows to be quite large.


You can read more about it here.

Or here, just click on the image below.


The bigger question is.. how the hell did those boards end up in Las Vegas?


Since I only have a few boards, maybe 50 board feet total, it will be a challenge to design and build something that will suitably honor this wood. That might sound silly, but boards like this are once-in-a-lifetime finds. Sort of like this wood I worked with last year.

Anyone have an interesting piece in mind?

A little holiday goat cheer

It's OK to be cute once a year, right?

Foodgasms

People ask me all the time if I watch any of the woodworking shows on TV - and truth be told, I really don't. It must be because I'm on woodworking overload by the time I get home. It's the last thing I want to see at the end of the day.

You're more likely to find the Food Channel on my TV, I'm a sucker for a Bobby Flay throwdown, the Ace of Cakes, or an episode of Chopped. And Guy Fierri? Be still, my heart.

So here is a little collection of Food Network foodgasms for your Saturday viewing pleasure.