Field Trip!

Some students from New Horizons Center for Learning stopped by the school for a field trip, and I'd been racking my brain, trying to come up with a project for them to make. The best way to get someone interested in something is by letting them get their hands on it, right? 

I decided to glue up a bunch of small clip board blanks for them to sand and finish. Everyone can use a small clip board, right? Good news is that scrap wood piles up fast around the shop, so I had a ton of material to use. Here are stack of sticks, waiting to be glued. 

These kids are probably not going to be college bound. The school works with kids who have not been successful in a traditional school setting . That might mean learning disabilities, or health issues, whatever.

My buddy Eric offered to help with the group. That's a big offer, coming from someone who isn't a "kid" person, nor a morning person. 

Lupe offered to help too, and considering she had just gotten off a plane and was fighting a terrible sinus thing - it was miracle she made it! Since she was on camera duty, I didn't get a shot of her with the kids. But I snuck a photo of her today, while she was working on her massive bookcase. 

(Why do the littlest woodworkers always build the biggest pieces?)

The day started with a stack of clipboard blanks, and a box of safety glasses. 

 

Everyone tried on their glasses

while I explained what we'd be doing. 

We gathered 'round the planer, while I showed them how to take a rough block of wood and plane it down into a smooth panel.  

Then we gathered by the tablesaw while I explained how cool the SawStop is, and how it features flesh detection technology. Damn, if I had planned a little better, I could have asked SawStop for a demo cartridge and blade, and we could have run a hot-dog through it. 

Next time!

Eric passed out sanders while Lupe made sure everyone everyone used the right grit of sandpaper. 

Watching these kids fire up a sander and work on their boards was pretty great. 

It was apparent that some of the kids needed a little help, and you know - some of the classmates put their work down to help the others! It was pretty inspiring. 

We oiled the boards at the community workbench in the center of the room - 

and everyone loved the colors of the woods that the oil brought out. 

Eric was a huge help to some of the kids, 

who couldn't get the hang of the screwdrivers. 

The look on their faces pretty much says it all. I was sort of worried that they'd think this project was dumb; I should have known better!

At the end of the day, we gathered around to share some final thoughts and answer woodworking questions. Honestly, it's so easy to forget that initial rush of satisfaction you get from completing your first woodworking project. I think these kids reminded Eric, Lupe and me.

Before they left, we got a group shot, 

and one of the kids slipped this note into my hand as he boarded the van. I shared it with his teacher, who was surprised he'd written it. She said that she'd never seen him show so much interest or excitement over something like this shop visit. 

To tell you the truth, I think I learned as much from their visit (in a very different way) as they did. What a nice afternoon. 

Thanks again to my partners in sawdust - Eric and Lupe.  And to the kids of the New Horizons Center for Learning for sharing their talents with us. 

You might be a woodworker....

Thanks to my buddy Denny for sharing this!

(Feel free to add some of your own comments below.)

First (Cutting Board) Love

The shop has been humming with activity these past two weeks!

And I think it's important to remember that feeling you had when you completed your first piece in wood. Can you remember it? Was it a combination of pride - and a little frustration at whatever you wanted to improve in the next piece?

In fact - the group of woodworkers that meets at my shop once a month joke about how we all have a tendency to point out the flaws in our pieces when we show them to someone. All woodworkers do that, I'm not sure why! 

In fact, we're talking about a fifty-cent fine for every time we do it. We'll rack up a lot of (beer) money in no time! 

This week in the shop, eight more people experienced the joy of making their first cutting board. 

It might seem like a simple project, but there is a lot going on with these boards. They had to choose their woods, and glue everything together, hopefully flat and mostly wobble free.

This is the perfect squaring-up project - after the piece is dry, they plane the board, and trim the ends. Inlaying a plug is an option, but - check out his plugs! 

Everyone has to eat, right?

Isn't a cutting board the best "first project" ever? 

If you have any doubt about that,

 look at their faces and then tell me it's too simple of a project!

I tell everyone on the first night of class that the Basic Woodworking class is my favorite class to teach. I think it's because of the reaction that people have to making their first finished piece. 

I can't tell you how many people I will run into - sometimes decades later - that tell me they still have their cutting boards in their kitchen. Some of them have still NEVER cut on it! WTF?

All I can say to them is - use it! It's like "saving the good china" for the day that never comes!

Please - use it and enjoy it. Don't save it for a special occasion - EVERY day should be a special occasion.

Thanks for another great class, everyone!

Is it cold in your woodshop?

If you know anything about me at all, then you know I hate cold weather. 

And damn, we've been hit with a real coldspell here. Last night, it got into the 20s here, and let me tell you - there aren't very many people here who think that's fun. There are a lot of reasons I dislike the cold - but the main one is that wearing too many clothes make me like the Michelin man. 

It's no fun using the tablesaw when you can barely bend your arms. 

But - I have to say - I think I've finally figured it out. It starts with this.

This Smartwool shirt might be pricey, but it's the warmest thing I own. 

Wear it right next to your skin (as the tag says!)

for the warmest effect. If it's not too cold, just put a sweatshirt over it - and work in comfort.  If it's as cold as it was today, two layers over this and you're good to go. 

I've tried both the mens and women's versions of this shirt, but I think the mens fits better - the shirt is longer and stays tucked into your pants. The only bad side to this fabric is that it acts like a magnet for sawdust. So it's never going to look pretty after the first time you wear it in the shop. 

If you're not a fan of wool, this Under Armour EVO Coldgear shirt is great. This is my go-to shirt when it's chilly out, but I know it's going to warm up later in the day. It's lightweight, but really warm, and great for wicking away the moisture when you sweat. 

Between these two shirts,  you'll be able to tolerate winter a lot easier! Look around online, you can find them on sale. 

My next winter tip is this stuff, it's amazing. 

I used to get small cracks on my fingers every time the weather turned cold, but once I discovered this - I have not had a single crack or split. 

Seriously, not a single one. 

(I hope I didn't just jinx myself.)

The guys in the Sin City Woodworking group told me about Bag Balm, and although it can be somewhat greasy, it's pretty great for healing chapped hands.  Put it on at night, and wake up with soft paws.

So there you have it - dress warm, protect your skin, and know that Spring is only about a month away. At least here in Las Vegas!

Last year, I put my garden in on February 15; yes, I keep track of things like that.  I'm hoping that in four weeks, I'll be able to start digging in the dirt again. 

I picked these tomatoes on December 9. It's great being able to garden ten months out of the year! 

(Sorry to my old pals in Ohio.)

I'll be back in the shop tomorrow, laughing at the cold. 

Don't you love a good (harmless) prank?

For some reason, mean spirited pranks turn me off. I don't like cruelty, so if someone punks someone and makes them look like an asshat, some of the humor is tarnished. 

But this prank?  

Priceless!

Why can't companies do the right thing?

It's been time for maintenance and repairs at the shop lately - and upgrading some equipment. The tools can really take a beating with so many people using them, so when it was time to upgrade the dust collector on the SawStop, I naturally shopped around. 

I'm going to go off on a bit of a rant here, so if you're not in the mood, then you might want to stop reading. Right now. 

I finally decided on this ShopFox unit. Now - I'd love to buy locally, but considering that there was a $400+ price difference, I decided to use Amazon. I buy a ton of tools online, and I have to say - I've never had a problem.

Until now. 

Oh, the delivery came quickly, and the box looked fine, but once I opened it up, I could see a crushed component. 

Honestly, if it had been a dent in something that was simply cosmetic, I wouldn't have cared. But in this case - this ring is where the dust bag sits - and a dent here means the seal would have been compromised. 

No problem, right? Just call the company and they'll send out a new one?

The part didn't weigh very much. I mean - if I could pick this part up with my fingertips, it can't weigh more than four or five pounds, right?  So the shipping couldn't have been that much. 

After three different calls to ShopFox, I finally reached someone who was helpful and said he'd check into sending me out the replacement part. But - everyone I spoke to told me two things.

First, they said that this part commonly gets damaged during shipment. Ummm - am I the only one who thinks they might want to reexamine their packing method? If this part regularly gets crushed, then maybe their packaging is to blame. 

And next - everyone wanted to complain that Amazon ships this out wrong, claiming that it should be sent as a freight shipment, rather than a ground shipment. 

Blah, blah, blah. 

When they finally got back to me, they said they couldn't send the part out because their computer showed that it was a 34 pound part, and that would be too costly to ship on their dime. 

You know what's costly? 

Having poor packaging for your products, so that this part regularly gets damaged. 

Oh - and you know what else? Losing a customer. 

So - you guessed it - I had to pack everything back up - like these random parts, 

and the motor, 

and jam everything back in the box. Luckily, UPS picked it up. 

I'm still a big fan of Amazon, they handled everything perfectly. The return was easy; they really do have their act together. 

But ShopFox?

Not so much. 

Finding your (woodworking) home in Las Vegas

They say that no one is really from Las Vegas, that we're all transplants. 

That's not really true - I know a lot of people who were born and raised here. Most have very interesting stories about growing up here. 

I love hearing their casino stories,

crime stories,

celebrity stories,

 whatever.

One of the toughest things about settling in to a new city is finding the companies that you can trust, the ones you turn to for your repairs, maintenance, shopping, whatever. Running a business is even harder - trying to find people who service the basics (propane refills, fire extinguisher servicing, security alarms, blade sharpening) is really difficult.  

The two most-asked questions in my shop are these - where do you buy wood, and who sharpens your blades? If you're doing woodworking here, you need to know these things!

I'm not going to tackle the wood supplier question right now - the answer is  long and complicated. And it all depends on your wallet tolerance. But I am going to talk about sharpening right now, since I just dropped some things off to be sharpened. 

But here's a bit of background - for years, I was one of those woodworkers who would just buy new blades, rather than get the old ones sharpened. If I wasn't in love with the old blade in the first place, why sharpen it? 

Then I met my dream blade - the Forest Woodworker II. 



At the time I purchased it (which was a LONG time ago!), I thought it was crazy to spend $100 on a blade - but let me say that this blade changed everything. At the time, I was build a buttload of furniture, maybe 2-3 pieces a month, and this blade stayed sharp for three years. Seriously, three years. I'd clean the pitch off it, and get pristine cuts that almost looked like they'd been run over the jointer.

The funny thing is - that Forrest blade came with a cardboard shipping mailer for returning it to the company for sharpening. When I finally broke down and sent it in to be sharpened, it was never as good as it was when it was new. I'm not sure why. 

Every tablesaw I own is outfitted with one of these, so you know I'm a believer. But none of them has ever cut as well as that very first one did. WTF?

I finally broke down and asked a few buddies about their local sharpeners. What's that line about - ask ten woodworkers and you'll get twelve answers? I tried a couple here in town, and finally decided my favorite company is Nevada Carbide.



They're a little tough to find, located off the beaten path, behind a popular strip club here. Don't get lost, or you might end up with a $20 lap dance. Maybe that's a good thing, I don't know. 

Look for the Cheetah's sign; Nevada Carbide is located right behind their building. Their shop isn't glamorous, but walk in the door and you'll meet some really nice folks, who do a really good job sharpening just about anything - router bits, blades, planer and jointer knives, scissors, mortising bits - whatever. 

Here's something even better - last year, they started doing on-site tool repairs. There aren't too many places here in town that will come out and fix your stationary equipment. It's nice to know they're there, remember them the next time your bearings need replaced in your jointer, if you're afraid to tackle it.

And you gotta love someone willing to put their sense of humor on their card. I love the last line!

So - that's my tip for the start of the new year - get your gear sharpened and hop back into the woodshop. Make some cool stuff. 

Changing the world...one cutting board at a time

It's always fun to look back at the year, remembering all the people that made this journey so memorable. I try to shoot a photo of every single student that enrolls in one of my classes, and over the past four years, I think I've only missed a handful of them.

I hope your Holidays are merry and warm. 

This is a long one! 

Click here to bring it up full-screen on your monitor and put your feet up!

Thanks for a terrific year, everyone!

How is this even possible?

Farm tables

One of the things I really miss about back east is lumber. Choices of lumber, boards with live edges, nice thick stock that makes gorgeous tables. This video made me feel so nostalgic for an old-timey mill. 

 

Dining Chair Repair

Let's be honest - most woodworkers don't enjoy doing repairs. I don't even like repairing something I've built, let alone working on someone else's stuff.

But I seem to have a soft spot for people who bring me broken down dining chairs. (I suppose a therapist could explain that to me!) This is the second chair in this set that I've repaired - and by far, it was in the worst shape. Every single joint on the chair was broken - but what's worse - 

someone stepped on the seat and broke the particle board under the padding. D'oh!

After pulling the seat off, I had to take the chair entirely apart, clean each dowel and hole, and then re-glue it back together. This usually takes a ton of clamps and a lot of patience. And tequila, if things don't go well. 

It's not hard work, but you do have to be careful, so that you don't do more damage. 

After the chair was re-assembled and the stain touched up, I turned my attention to the seat. What a mess. 

Worse than that - the cushion was upholstered with hundreds of staples. 

I am not exaggerating, it took me a half hour to dig them out. My buddy Tom helped, he had way more patience for it than I did.

When we got the material safely removed, we still had to take off the layer of padding, to get to the damaged part. Again - a bazillion staples. 

That's the way it is with most repairs - it's more irritating than difficult. Once all the staples were out, I cut a new bottom (out of MUCH stronger plywood, this time) and started re-uphostering the chair. 

First the padding,

then the fabric. Tom's actually an upholstery whiz, so he took over.

Nice to have skilled friends!

And here's the chair, all back together and looking much better than before. 

Thanks, Tom! Glad to have the help, and the company!

Speaking of chair repair - here's a nifty method for leveling out an uneven stool or chair. This is a really great tip!

(Thanks for the link, Jackie!)