A Shop Made Scroll Saw

I have seen many designs for home made scroll saws that were foot powered by way of pedals or a treadle, like old sewing machines. I have always wanted to build my own scroll saw ever since I got into scrolling and seen one of these designs. Because of my ongoing back problems though, I was always worried about building one. If I built it, I wouldn't be able to resist using it, and possibly hurt myself again. So when I seen this design, it was an instant must do project for me. I just had to build it as soon as I got the chance.
A while back, a good friend of mine who knows I like woodworking magazines for when I'm down, saved a huge lot of them from a dumpster with me in mind. It was in one of those magazines that I found this scroll saw design. I like these magazines because when I'm down, even if I can't do much in the shop, I'll put on a cup of coffee and look through them for future project ideas.
This scroll saw design came from the August 1986 issue of WOOD magazine.

I made this scroll saw out of all pecan wood. I chose it over oak, which is recommended in the magazine article, because of it's strength and beauty. To me, when finished with a clear finish, pecan is one of the most beautiful woods around.

All the corner joints in the saw stand has open mortise joints, which are then pinned with three quarter inch hardwood dowels. This, in addition to other interlocking joints in the design, create an amazingly strong frame for the base of this saw.

It has a twenty five inch throat and an eighteen inch wide table for plenty of work area. The plans give clear instructions on how to make your own blade holding mechanism for pinned end blades. However, I had a Craftsman aftermarket set laying around the shop that will allow me to use pinned or plain blades. So I opted to use that set instead. I also made a few other minor changes to the design, but nothing major. The design, as it's printed in the magazine, is a great design if you didn't change a thing on it.

I think the photos pretty much tell the rest of the story. It is an interesting piece. I'm not exactly throwing out my other scroll saws. This will be more or less a conversation piece and a little eye candy for anyone coming into my shop. I hope you all enjoy seeing it as much as I enjoyed building it.

A Journey In Search Of Easier Joints

I love the look of dovetail joints. While I know how to hand cut them though, people just don't want to pay the price for my work to make it worth me going through that trouble. Besides that, most average people cannot tell the difference between a hand cut and a machine cut dovetail. Now don't get me wrong. If someone wants hand cut and is willing to pay for it, I enjoy doing them. For the average person though, the fact that a joint is hand cut does not matter to them as long as the overall quality of a piece of work is up to par. So I went into some research of an easier way to make dovetail joints.
Before I done anything else, I spent two days testing the quality that is possible with a certain dovetail jig I already had. I started to post a photo and name of that jig but decided against it. I instead posted a photo of some of the test pieces I made with the jig. With some time and patience, it can be of use to some people. As picky as I am though, this jig just did not consistently provide repeatable quality that I could ever be satisfied with.

What you see in this photo is the machine I built using plans I purchased from a man known in certain wood working circles as Stumpy Nubs. This machine provides me with everything I want in a dovetail jig. It does so much in fact, that it is not called a jig, but the Dovetail Machine. This thing provides consistent repeatability, tight joints, adjustability. It has it all. A comparable, factory made machine, is extremely expensive. I wound up with around fifty bucks in the building of the Stumpy Nubs Dovetail Machine.

So what makes it so great? Notice the fingers. They slide along the track they are mounted to so that you can adjust the tails and pins of your dovetails as wide or narrow as you'd like. Also, you can even do variable spaced joints to give it more of that hand cut look. This machine also provides a means for cutting sliding dovetails. It is everything I want in a device to machine cut dovetails and more. I am extremely happy with it.

If any of you want to build this yourself, you have to wait. There is more to this story. I will provide links to more info at the end of this post though. First, read on.

And the proof is in the joint. This photo shows the first test piece from the Dovetail Machine. This was quickly whipped up out of scrap and hastily setup of my router. It is tighter than most hand cut dovetails I have done. Even without any glue on it I wouldn't be worried about using it as is. When I use this joint in projects with glue, it will give plenty of strength in addition to the good looks of it.

So after building the Dovetail Machine, my attention quickly grew to another type of joint after looking at what else Stumpy Nubs had to offer, the box joint.

I already had a way to cut box joints. I made a jig for that a long time ago using miter gauges. While it was primitive, it worked. It had it's limitations though. It was set up for three quarter inch fingers. I'd always done just that size because it was such a pain to reset the jig to do anything else. It would have been easier just to do hand cut dovetails. Well, Stumpy offered plans for a machine that offered infinite adjustability and looked like it would work well. So after I had such a good time building the Dovetail Machine, I just really wanted the Box Joint Machine as well.

The Box Joint Machine design using a lead screw system that is controlled with cranks and a handle on the left side of the machine. You can cut any width fingers on your box joints simply by counting different amounts of turns on the crank handle. It is a pleasure to use and opens up a whole new world of possibilities for me for using box joints.

The lead screw controls a carriage that you clamp your stock to that is being cut. This means no more moving my stock for each cut, which was always a pain in the butt. Every time I moved it, I had to take the time to reassure everything was straight and square before making the next cut. With this machine, you clamp your material to the carriage. Then your carriage moves when you crank the handle, while the stock stay clamped in the same place. This, in addition to the fence that keeps everything square, means I can now cut box joints in a fraction of the time it used to take me.

The machine rides in both miter slots on my table saw instead of one. This helps assure everything stays square. I really don't know how much more I can brag on this machine. I guess the best way is to show you what it can do.

This is again just a test piece in scrap wood. These are quarter inch box joints. They provide amazingly strong joints. Now let me tell you, this is the first time I've ever put this small of box joints on three quarter inch thick wood. I've just never had a way to cut box joints accurately enough to make fingers that small. I am overjoyed with this machine and am sure it'll see plenty of use in my shop.

So I recommend the plans for these machines to anyone who likes them. They are worth more than the ten dollar price tag that Stumpy Nubs gets for them. Stumpy, like me, is not trying to make a huge profit on his designs. He just wants to keep his shop running. So if you think you'll like something like this, go watch some of his videos and order some plans from him.

You can watch videos of Stumpy Nubs at Blue Collar Woodworking.

You can go straight to the Dovetail Machine video here.

You can go straight to the Box Joint Machine video here.

You can see the available Stumpy Nubs woodworking plans and purchase them at the Stumpy Nubs Store.

My First Hand Plane

I have a few wood working buddies here in Mississippi. They are big into hand tools, especially planes. I have resisted getting into that because, quite frankly, I can't afford anymore on my hobby than what I'm already spending. Things get expensive, especially when I can't sell any of my work.
Well, this morning, I went to an estate sale. As much as I have resisted getting into this interesting part of the wood working hobby, I just couldn't pass up a plane for one dollar that seemed to be in pretty good shape.
It is a Dunlap plane. All the metal parts are in used, but excellent shape. The wood, not so great, but I am a wood worker, so I knew that was not an issue. Besides, like I said, it was one dollar. I have spent more than that on a cup of coffee. So how could I go wrong?

So I carried it home and tore it apart. Everything, after cleaning it up, was in even better shape than I had imagined. I only found three marking on it. The plastic knob above the blade iron has the word Dunlap on it. The inside of the throat area has a three stamped on it. The blade iron has the words, "Made in Germany" stamped.

The only real issue was the handles. They just simply looked like crap. I thought I could sand the paint off and refinish them. While doing so though, I also noticed some cracks. So I decided to just make some more.

Any of you reading this that collect planes may be laughing at these. I am quite happy with them though. Keep in mind, this is my first hand plane. For a first timer, I don't think these shop made handles are bad at all.

All cleaned up, I think it looks nice. Looks aren't the deciding factor here though, is it?

It works fine. I'm in a situation now. I am a power tool guy. I am also a broke power tool guy. Now though, all I can think about is all the different hand planes I would love to have that I cannot afford.

Patio Furniture

I finally got the patio furniture set out so I could snap some good photos of it.

All the metal got a coat of Rustoleum Hunter Green paint.

Then each chair has fifty oak slats. Each slat has two cleats on the back to hold them in place. That makes for two hundred slats total, and four hundred cleats.

Then all the wood is sealed with Behr Premium Waterproofer.

I am afraid there isn't much else I can tell you about this project besides the fact that is was a lot of work. In the end though, my wife is happy, so it was worth it.

Spring Time Is Here

This week was spring break for my kids. Me and the little ones spent most of it in the shop. I haven't been feeling well, but with their help, I have gotten a lot done.
Most of what we got done though, isn't exactly photo worthy. We done a lot of cleaning and rearranging. As some of you know, my four youngest boys love hanging out in the shop. They have their own tools and build things for themselves. I am proud of this fact for the simple reason that a lot of kids these days wouldn't want to work at building something to play with like my boys do.
However, I also have some good friends that have been giving them tools. In addition to that, they are constantly adding to the things they keep along with their tools that was taking up real estate in the little corner I'd given them. They had outgrown their corner. So it was time to move some things around and give them more space.

I did get a little work done on one of my table saw stations.

When I got the Craftsman setup, I temporarily threw some particle board into the wing extensions until I had time to do better. The plan was always though to build them with substantial hard wood and put a router in the right wing. I finally got this done.

The panels are now made of pecan. The router is mounted under the wing panel closest to the cast iron saw side. This saw also has a function on it I like. It is wired with a keyed two way switch. You flip the key one way to work the table saw, and the other way for the router. This makes it impossible to accidentally, or absent mindedly run them both at one. This is a nice wired in safety feature.

My oldest son has been wanting to have a crawfish boil. I was worried about it because I knew it would be hard on my back doing the work of it. The two oldest boys though, that have left home, both said they'd help, and they did. We had a great time. It was a nice end to the official spring break. I had all my kids, all eight of them, in one place at the same time. I don't know what I enjoyed more, the visit or the food.

I'm sure many of you reading this will understand. You raise your kids right, and you know they'll be alright. There is nothing though like having all of them right in front of you at a given time. When you're sitting there looking out over your yard, and all of them are there, you know that, at that instant, all of them are healthy and everything is right in your world.

Today, as we have finally caught up on everything, I did start a new project.

This is a project I promised to do for my wife some time ago and just hadn't gotten to it yet. Summer is coming though and I think she'd like these done.

This is our patio set. The plastic straps are dry rotted and falling apart. I went and looked at new patio furniture. The prices are way out of my budget, and they are not built as good as these old ones. So I got the idea of saving these.

When I am done with them, I will post the end result and you can see how I save them. I have an interesting idea on how I want to do the job and I think you all will like it.

So that was our spring break.

I have loved spending the week with the boys helping me everyday. I have to admit though, it will also be nice to enjoy the quiet when they leave for school again Monday morning. I hope everyone's spring is turning out to be as nice as mine has so far.

Perfume Tray

This is a small perfume tray I made for my wife. It is one of the present I am giving her this Friday for our anniversary.

It is made of aromatic cedar. It is six inches wide, ten inches long, and five inches tall. It is unfinished except for the bottom because my wife lives the smell of aromatic cedar. I applied Johnson's Paste Wax on the bottom to protect a personal message I wrote on the bottom to her.

If any of you would like to cut and make one of these, the pattern can be found here.

It is designed by Steve Goode. If you are a scroller, be sure to check out his website, Scrollsaw Workshop. There are plenty of free patterns there. However, if you use a lot of his patterns, as I have in the past, and can afford it, please consider making a donation to his site. He puts a lot of time into that site and appreciates all the help he can get with the financial cost of keeping it up. There is a link near the top where anyone can make a donation to his site through PayPal.

The Pole Vice Adventure

I apologize to everyone that I'm playing catchup all at once on my blog. The band saw project consumed me for a couple of months. The only time I was not working on it was during times when I didn't feel up to posting either.
Anyway, with all this catchup, it was brought to my attention earlier today that I never did post my pole vice.
These are pole vices. Ever since I seen on a long time ago, I've wanted one. Every time I run across one though, they're always either already halfway gone from rust, or priced through the roof. These things are older than me. The way they are built though, they are solid as the floor they are mounted above. You see, when you hit on them, or anything clamped in them, the vibration is transferred to the point, all the way down to the floor, bot the table it is mounted to. It is one of those fine examples of how they made things right a long time ago.
So I went to a resale shop a while back. As soon as I stepped out of the truck, I seen the pole vice. I checked it and it worked. I almost fainted when the guy gave me the price, twenty dollars. As I about broke my arm trying to get my wallet out, he told me he had another one out back. Since I have a buddy that is trying to get into doing his own blacksmithing, I wound up buying both of them.
Then I got them back to the shop and they sat for a little while. I was still in the middle of the band saw project and my back wasn't up to tackling these at the time. One day, one of my young ones asked why I hadn't done anything with it yet. I jokingly told him that I was waiting on him and his brothers to do it. It happened to be one of those days when I was hurting real bad and didn't feel up to doing much. He took it seriously. Worse, he, and his brothers, wanted to do it. So, although I wasn't sure how far they'd get, I let them start disassembling it and cleaning it.

So they took it apart and cleaned it up with wire brushes and sand paper. I had to stop them at one point. I just wanted the rust knocked off. They were trying to take it down to shiny metal. I wanted the old patina left. They were doing a good job, too good.

Here it is at the point of them cleaning it all up. Remember, these are my little hard working boys that were doing all this.

They looked tired, rust all over their clothes (their mother was going to kill me). So I was a little surprised when they wanted to know what they needed to do to keep it from rusting up again.

Johnson's Paste Wax, like that Frank's Red Hot Commercial, "I put that **** on everything".

Here they are, waxing everything on it. Once again, they were trying to go too far though. I looked down the table at the youngest one, and he was studying a nut. I asked what he was doing. He was trying to figure out how to wax the inside threads of the nut.

After they waxed it, they put it back together. I helped them make my mounting block for it and they mounted it.

I was proud of them. They tackled a job, worked together, and got it done.

I had to take several photos of them with the finished vice. They have every reason to be proud of themselves too. With some elbow grease, they took a tool that is older than probably all of them put together, and made it perfectly usable again. There are not many kids today who would tackle a job like this if you tried to make them, much less ask to do it.

Here it is. I can tell you for a fact since I've had the chance to use it several times, this thing is solid as a rock. You hit it with a hammer and you feel no vibration at all. When something needs whacked on, this is now my go to vice.

I feel proud of my boys too every time I use it.

Shotgun Lamp

There is a nice old fellow that lives in the neighborhood behind me. He stops by from time to time to see what new project I'm working on. Some time ago, he brought me this old Springfield twelve gauge shotgun. He wanted to see what I could do with it. He had found it sticking out of one of his neighbor's garbage cans. It was no longer any good and the neighbor had stripped all the internal parts out of it that were worth saving.

I made a pecan base for the lamp. I used a lamp kit and threaded the wires down through the barrel and out the ejection port. My original idea was to have the wire running all the way through and coming out of the bottom of the base. The butt stock started cracking while I was trying to hog out the material though. So I had to stop on that and come up with this backup plan.

So, this old guy once made the comment that I could make anything with anything. I didn't want to make him wrong.

Chisels To Be Proud Of

They are not the best chisels. They are definitely not the most expensive chisels. I can now be proud of them though. Through some willingness to learn something new, and a lot of work, I can literally shave hair with these chisels. Also, since I'm developing habits to strop them regularly, and proper honing techniques, I now have the confidence that I can keep them this way.
For sharpening, I am using techniques taught by Mr. Paul Sellers. I find that using both my diamond plates and my oil stones work best for getting these chisels into shape. Now that they're sharp though, I can use just my oil stones to keep them sharp though.
I started off getting my initial shape done on my course diamond plate. I then moved to the fine diamond plate. I done this to all the chisels. This got them pretty sharp. I didn't want pretty sharp though. I want scary sharp.
So I then moved on to my oil stones. I skipped the course stone. The course oil stone is courser than my fine diamond plate, so this would be moving backwards in my opinion. I worked the chisels through the medium, fine, extra fine, and the ultra fine stones. I then polished them on the strop.
The bench chisels towards the top of the photo are my favorite ones. Below that are my carving chisels. To the right are my lathe tools. The other five chisels you see in the photo are ones I don't like. I keep these around though and decided to go ahead and sharpen them for anyone else who may come into my shop needing to use a chisel. For you wood workers out there, you know I don't want anyone else messing with my favorite chisels.

Sharpening Stations

Next I wanted a good way to keep my sharpening supplies neat and usable. I didn't want to set up a dedicated sharpening station like some do with its own floor space. I have problems in my shop making people who come in understand that some things should never be introduced into a wood shop. Oil is one of those things. Since I use oil on all my stones, it was important to me to have a good sharpening station that could be packed away and put up when not being used.
I built three sharpening stations. The one in this first photo is just for some cheap diamond plates I have. I built this one for others to use. I don't like anyone messing with my good stones and blocks. So this is for others. The main ones I have in mind with this one is my kids. They are getting into wood work now, and I wanted them to have a way to sharpen tools as well.
This photo though shows the way I made my sharpening stations. The work surface has a board attached to the bottom that clamps into the vice. This keeps them stable, but can be unclamped and stored away when not in use.

Here is my diamond plates. They are Smith brand sharpeners. The yellow one is course and the orange one is fine. The white you see on the right is a piece of leather. I have not put compound on it yet, but this is a leather stropping pad I made.

These are my favorite sharpening stones. They are Norton bench stones. From the left, I have course, medium, fine, extra fine, and ultra fine. On the far right is another strop.

Lathe Tool Carousel

I wanted something similar to my chisel block for my lathe tools. I actually started making one. Then a thought occurred to me.
If I made the same kind of block and mounted it on the side of my lathe stand, I'd be putting myself and my kids, who are often in my shop, in danger. The chisel block is mounted on a different bench, out of the way of any open areas. The lathe tools though, if they are to be within reach when operating the lathe, would be low and exposed. Anyone walking by them, if not careful, could cut their legs on them.
So, I scraped the block for the lathe tools and made this carousel instead. I actually like it better. It keeps them up so I can see what I'm reaching for without taking my attention away from the spinning lathe.

Chisel Block

This is the first of a few posts that will deal with my quest for sharper chisels. So first, a little explanation of the journey.

I am a guilty man. I am guilty of often working with dull tools, especially chisels.
Getting consistently sharp edges is something that has eluded me since I got into wood working. Most people I talk to or read about with regard to sharpening have suggestions that usually involve spending money on fancy tools and jigs that I just don't have. I have diamond blocks. They aren't the best, but I have a few. I have a complete set of oil stones. I even have a leather strop. However, everything I read on the subject says you need a jig to go along with all this. So I bought a cheap jig. It is cumbersome to set up and maintain a consistent bevel. So some people suggested I buy a Veritas jig. Don't get me wrong, nice jig, but I just can't afford that. So I used chisels that were "good enough" and hit them a little harder, causing chip out and a variety of other problem.
Then I was told to check out Mr. Paul Seller's sharpening method. He teaches a free hand method that doesn't involve fancy jigs or really anything special. As a matter of fact, he states in one of his videos to use what you have available if you can't afford something expensive.
Mr. Sellers is a refreshing voice. He teaches methods that, although they don't require the latest and greatest tools and gadgets, are ones that have been around for ages. I came to realize that he follows something I like to call the KISS method, which I like. For those that don't know what the KISS method is, it stands for "keep it simple, stupid".
So anyway, I'm learning new sharpening methods. Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks?
Before I get too far into sharpening all my chisels though, I thought of something else that I should be kicking myself for.
This has been my chisel storage. It's a coffee can and a vegetable can. This is not the best storage idea for sharp tools by any means. I have noticed a few times that there were dings all in the bottom of these cans where points of the tools have been hitting them. Although these cans are soft metal, that still isn't good for them.

So it was time for me to make a decent chisel block. I really should have my butt kicked for not doing this before now. It didn't take long to make, and it keeps my chisels safely put away where the points aren't damaged.

Shop Made 16" Bandsaw

So here is the new toy I posted about a few days ago, in it's completed state.
The plans I used to build this saw are by Mathius Wandel. You can read more about it here.

It is a sixteen inch band saw. This means that the wheels are sixteen inches in diameter. It can re saw up to ten and a half inch wood. The saw, without the stand is four foot tall. It has a throat depth of fifteen and a half inches.

It runs extremely smooth. It is even smoother than my factory made Craftsman band saw. This is due to careful balancing of everything.

In the above photo you can see it passes the nickel test. If you look closely you will notice that you can't see the teeth on the blade. That's because it's running.

The nickel test is done by placing a nickel on the table with a piece of equipment running. If the nickel will stand on edge on it's on, it passes the nickel test.

So how does it cut? Well I think this photo tells the story. This slice was taken off with ease. It is eight inches wide and the saw slices through it like a knife through hot butter.

This last photo though really tells the story. This is the slice you seen in the previous photo, held up to a light.

My Soon To Be New Toy

I had planned on waiting until this project was complete before posting. I noticed it had been a while though. So I thought I should update you all.
It's been a long winter folks. I'm sorry this project has taken so long. I've had more bad days than good as of late and it seems I just can't get enough done to even satisfy myself.
This is my soon to be new toy though that I've been working on every chance I get since early in January.
It is a wooden band saw.
I needed a good band saw for resawing wood into thin stock. I have been taking three quarter inch boards and running them over and over again through the planer until they were milled down to the thickness I needed them. This is very wasteful though. I usually take over two thirds of a three quarter inch board and turn it to shavings in order to get one single usable piece. With this band saw, I'll be able to take that same board and get at least two usable pieces instead of the one.
A band saw of this size made in a factory somewhere in the world, is very expensive. When it's all said and done, the one I've built will have cost me about a hundred and twenty dollars.
In the photo above, and the next one below, the photos were snapped with the saw running.

Here is the saw, sitting on it's stand. I still have more work to do on the stand. I also still have to build the guards and such that go around it. It hasn't got too much more to go. The length of time it takes to complete now will just depend on my health. I will be sure to post the finished saw though when I'm done.

I know he question in everyone's mind is, will it work?

Well this last photo shows the first test cut. Keep in mind that I have not fine tuned anything on it yet. I just kissed the fence up against the blade and then backed it off a hair. Then I sliced this ten inch wide board.

The slice measures only a sixteenth of an inch thick, which is actually thinner than the eight of an inch I'm aiming for making for portraits. It cut this straight, with no tuning yet, like a sharp knife through hot butter.

I have been needing a saw like this for some time. I have always just worked around it and worked with what I had though. When a good friend of mine approached me with the idea of me building a wooden band saw, I was to say the least a little skeptical. I didn't think there was any way for this to be done safely and with any kind of accuracy. Then he sent me the plans for it. I looked them over. I studied up about the man who designed it. After all this, I can't say I was yet certain, but I decided that it might be doable.

The man who designed this is named Mathias Wandel. He has a website here where you can see some of his work. As far as I'm concerned, the guy is a genius. When it's all said and done, this saw is superior to anything you could buy factory made in my opinion. It has better fine tuning adjustability than my old Craftsman band saw. From his tests, his own saw, made of spruce, is actually stronger in the frame than a metal band saw. Mine is made of oak, which is even stronger than the spruce.

If you want to read more about it, you can go here and do that. If you'd like to order the plans, you can go here and do that. If you study it over and see all the hard work Mr. Wandel has put into designing this, the twenty one dollar price tag is a steal.