Here's my PineWood Derby Story... don't judge

If I told you about the utter randomness of the pieces I've been working on lately, you probably would think I'm crazy for accepting them. But - to be blunt - sometimes you (of course, meaning me) just get sick of building furniture. The thought of firing up the mortiser, or cutting 47 tenons just makes you (ummm.... me) want to scream (or cry). We all get tired of what we do, from time to time. So when a frustrated mother stopped by my shop with two of these kits,  she just hit me at the right time, in the right headspace. 

If you're not familiar with these kits - they're small race car kits that Cub Scouts are supposed to build and race, usually with a parent. I've worked on one years ago with some of my cousins, but WOW - things have gotten serious in the field of Pinewood car racing.  So this mother felt out of her league - she didn't have the tools, had zero experience, and yet - wanted to give her son a fighting chance to at least have a decent car with which to compete. 

Jamie to the rescue. 

Well, the internet too - I did some research and within minutes, found a really helpful (and frankly - interesting and captivating) video about research done on Pinewood cars, and how to make them winners. 

Some people really get into his competition, I had no idea!

The most important goal in making a good derby car is weight - and in this case - it has to be located about an inch in front of the rear axle. So I laid out the locations, and drilled some holes. 

Next, it was recommended that the shape of the car be altered to make it "reasonable aerodynamic" so again - some sketching and wham! Two cars with sleek profiles. 

The next part gets a little fuzzy, but there's a way to polish the axles, so that they allow the  wheels to spin with less drag.

 So I put each axel (i.e.... a cheap nail) into the drill press and used a variety of files, sandpaper and finally a buffing cloth to polish the axles.

 Next - I concentrated on the weight. The maximum is 5 ounces for each car, so I put them on a scale and added washers into the holes, until they were a hair under that target. Once I sealed the hole with a wooden plug, the weight was perfect. 

One plug was a little tight, and split the car, so...a little glue and we were back in business. 

And -  finally, pulling it all together and making one last tweak. Apparently, with all the testing that's been done on these cars, it has been proven that they race quicker by riding on three wheels, instead of four. Less drag.  So a simple bend in one of the axles will accomplish that. 

 There are other tricks you can do to the wheel, but I figured - I'd already done most of the tweaks, so this was the last one I would include. I'm still waiting for the race results and picture of the car, after it was painted.  But I suspect this one might have actually had a fighting chance! 

By the way, I feel like there are going to be people who will think this was wrong, and that the parent should have done this work. On some level, I agree. But - this parent at least gave their kid a fighting chance, and lacking the skills to work on a derby car, took the proper steps to make their kid a contender. There has to be some merit in that attempt. From the research I did, rare is the derby car that is actually completely made by the child. It's well known that parents usually work on their kid's car kits, because let's face it - how much does a Cub Scout know about aerodynamics or center of gravity or weight distribution?

Anyway - I'm sure this will bring up some conversation amongst my fellow woodworkers - let the dialogue begin!...

MakersFaire in Henderson this coming weekend

The Maker culture is alive and well, and will be especially visible this weekend, in Henderson, NV. 

What's that, you say? You can read more about it here, 

and here's a great article that explains more about the Maker Movement.

But for a much more personal experience, maybe you might want to consider attending the MakersFaire on Sunday, February 28 at the Henderson Convention Center. 

This event is shaping up to be pretty special - Makers from all over will be setting up booths and sharing their talents. My buddy Braxton, from Timber Manufacturing, will be setting up shop, and sharing some of his cool techniques, as well as his charming persona. 

As the Maker website says:

Maker Faire is the Greatest Show (and Tell) on Earth—a family-friendly showcase of invention, creativity and resourcefulness, and a celebration of the Maker Movement. It’s a place where people show what they are making, and share what they are learning.

Yours truly (me) will be joining a discussion panel at 4:30 at the Faire, we'll be discussing:  

Making “Making” a Business

 Doing what you love takes financial security. Meet a panel of locals who have been there, done that, and have special insights into making Making into a business, patents, and kick starters.

Click here for more info: http://www.makerfairevegas.comhttp://www.makerfairevegas.com

(BTW - I have a couple of free tickets to give away - if anyone needs one, let me know.)

But for a lighter look at Making, check out this fun clip: 

It's never boring in my shop...

It's hard to believe this is my tenth year of blogging. 

I'm not sure where the time went, but I do know that I've worked on some really amazing projects. 

Like this Wheel of Fortune, which might be one of the most romantic Valentine's Day gifts ever. 

The gentleman who ordered this for his wife put the names of cities around the world on this wheel. When she spun the wheel, he'd buy airline tickets to the city that won - anywhere from Paris to Rio to Honolulu. 

Like I said... romantic!

I recently had the chance to work on some very cool Mid Century Modern Sectional Sofa pieces; they reminded me of the old Dick Van Dyke TV show. The cushions sat very low to the ground, almost difficult to get out of, so the owner asked me to raise them up about 6". 

Call me "Legs R Us"...

New legs made all the difference in the world!

These pieces are quite in demand by collectors, and from the research I've done,  the designer was a stud back in the day. 

Note the simplicity of this design, and its modularity, as well. 

Very Cool.

You can configure the seats and table tops to any desired position, depending on your room layout. Working on it gave me all kinds of inspiration for a future piece to build. 

These pieces needed a little TLC and some small repairs to get them back into shape, but I believe that they're now back to what the designer had in mind.

I don't take on a lot of repair work, because it's hard to tell what you're getting into... there can be some major headaches, like locating missing hardware, or trying to remove broken screws. But on this particular job - it was both enlightening, and rewarding. 

In other words, I got lucky on this one!

Speaking of unique orders, wait till you see what I'm working on next!...

The Amazing Expanding Table

It's pretty common for students and customers to send me links about furniture; they're usually about pieces they want to build, or they want ME to build. 

But - I've gotten emails about this expanding table design so many times, I've lost count.  I've never had enough time (or desire) to figure out how to build it, but thanks to one of my woodworking buddies - I finally know how this thing goes together!

This has to be one of the most requested pieces I've ever - and someday... I'll find the time to attempt one of these. Congrats to this guy for an amazing design and follow-through.

Wooden Expanding Table: A Brief History

Mentors

Mentors. 

I was thinking about mine the other day, when I was struggling with a project and wondering what direction I should follow. It was one of those "WWGD" moments, as in - What Would Garold Do?

Garold was my first woodshop teacher,  and was perhaps the first person to actually suggest that I could make a living at working with wood. 

I was about 15 at the time, and he seemed so much older and wiser - when in reality, there  was only about ten years difference in our ages. (Twenty-five years later, we discovered that we actually share the same birth date - how's that for irony?!)

He was big on brainstorming and sketching, and pushed me to build things I would never have attempted on my own.  I often find myself with pencil in hand, working out details on a napkin or scrap of paper. Or even giant sheets of cardboard. 

Later in life, he left his teaching position at my high school and joined Kent State University, where he was involved in their wood program. Some of my best memories involve giving lectures to his freshmen classes, discussing the role of women in the woodshop. Afterwards, we'd share a meal and a beer, and catch up on life.

He's retired now - if you call building a cabin, and working part time - retired. If I'm lucky, we speak once in a while, catching up on old friends or what we're building. 

So - Happy Birthday, Garold! Wishing you many more years of creativity and good health!

I would live here in a heartbeat!

Bamboo Bikes

Thanks, Jimmy

So it's been 13 years since my dad died, and I sure do miss him. 

He had the first woodshop that I ever worked in, but I don't ever remember him actually teaching me to build anything. It was more like him saying "stay away from that tool!" which I totally ignored.

He was always working (like I do) and usually too busy to do fun things (like me). But his shop was always filled with mysterious looking tools and good wood, and it was there that I built my first rubber band machine gun

or my first skateboard ramp.  

Even though he'd yell if I used too much of his lumber, I believe he was proud that I was able to cobble together small projects so nicely.

So here's a tribute to the man who taught me so many things - loyalty, work ethic, family values, and how to swing a golf club.

And here's a favorite quote that comes to mind when I think of him:

People living deeply have no fear of death. ~Anaïs Nin,  1967

An uninvited guest...

This is just crazy - can you imagine having this fellow poke his head into your kitchen window?

Hey do you have a apple?? lol
Posted by When I Laugh on Tuesday, January 19, 2016

#DStrong in the woodshop

It's so easy to take ourselves too seriously. We think what we're doing is just so life-or-death, when in reality, our stuff is pretty ordinary. We're not re-inventing the wheel, or solving life's mysteries; we're just all going about our day trying to pay the bills, feed the kids and critters, and hopefully sleep well at night. 

To me, it's the simple things that really make me happy. An ice cold beer in summer. Pretty tulips sprouting up in the yard in spring. Stella running up to greet me when I walk in the door. 

So I've been trying to beautify things in my surroundings. Simple stuff. Check out this log -  I have no idea what kind of wood it is (I may send it off to be identified)...

  but it's very pretty. Yellow pretty.

 The re-sawn plank is perfect for my latest project - and one of the cutoffs allowed me to make a couple of pegs. 

 And boom -  another tool holder for the shop - this time, holding the brand new Lie-Nielsen draw knife. 

 Speaking of important things - have you heard about the #DStrong campaign? Now THIS is important. 

A 15-Minute Hammer Hanger

When they say diamonds are a girls best friend, they obviously weren't talking about me. As far as I'm concerned, there isn't a better way into my heart than to buy me tools!

So when I got this new hammer for Christmas, I decided to give it some special love – and hang it on the wall in my office.

A while back, we had a huge log delivery at the shop, and I saved a few smaller logs for projects exactly like this. I sliced off a few small slabs, it almost looked like I was making potato chips. 

Some of the slices were actually translucent.

 Once I had one that seemed perfect, I took the scrap end of the log and made a few long pegs with my tenon cutter. 

I'm not sure how it happened, but the plugs were actually a little crooked. It added a lot of character to this hammer hanger! 

To soften the front edge of the pegs, I put them in my drillpress and touched the edge with a little bit of sandpaper while they were spinning.

Since the plugs were half-inch diameter, I drilled a few half-inch holes in the right spot and glued the pegs in place. 

 Since the hammer has a little bit of weight to it – I added a few screws from behind to hold the pegs in place. 

And here it is – the 15 minute hammer hammer!

 I love doing little projects like this, they're creative and fun, and keep my skills sharp.

 Now if I can only figure out how to hang this baby!

Our year end wrap up!

Whew! What a busy 2015!

Many thanks to all that made 2015 such a successful year - from the students to the amazing woodworkers who created amazing pieces - thanks for all of your support!