I’d love to have enough room for different work areas in my shop. As it is, the shop is too small for more than one workbench. I prefer the bench top to be clear, so mounting a metal working vise wasn’t an option. I still need a metal vise from time to time, so here’s …
Dang it’s hot outside… While building my shop, I framed an opening for a little window unit I’ve had for a few years. I never got around to installing it, though. Until today, that is. I’ll still open up the big double doors when needed. My shop is just too small to keep all the …
I didn’t get a lot of shop time this past weekend. I did get some new lights installed in our garage and my wife’s craft room. I was able to multi-task a little, though. My dad made a set of these poplar stools from the left-overs from shutters he made for his house. My wife, …
My latest project calls for a wood circle bigger than I can turn on my lathe. You can get close with a bandsaw, but I wanted a true circle, and I’m not quite that good yet. Time to make a quick jig. The first step was setting up the belt sander, making sure the belt …
Like most families, we didn’t get out much last week. People are keeping to themselves as much as possible, which I guess is the right thing to do for now. But, these are strange days and everyone is handling it the best that they can. Our schools were closed last Monday, and they’ll stay closed …
Somethings you just can’t say no to. When your 5 year old brings you a board and says “You need a sign that says Dad’s Shop, let’s make one”, you make a sign. I taped over the board, and handed him the pencil. With a little spelling advice, we got the lettering done in his …
Mistakes happen, this isn’t even my worst one of the day. I went to make a handle for one of the little marking knives I made the other day. I turned the handle, drilled a hole for the tang, and fitted a piece of copper tubing for a ferrule. After a little sanding and a …
I’ve given this a couple of tries, so I figured I’d report on it. My wife gave me a small starter CNC router for Christmas. I wanted to try it out and see if it was something I would want to expand on. With something new like this, I won’t get a whole lot out …
One constant across every workshop, no matter the craft, is the workbench. Some are metal, some are wood, some are a mix of materials, but every shop has one. Before I built my shop, I kept my tools in a little hot water heater closet off of our garage. I had room for a small …
So yeah, I’m getting a little out of my comfort zone here. Starting a blog wasn’t something I was expecting to do, but here we are. I’ve been fortunate enough to know several craftsmen in my life. By far and away, the most influential of these would be my dad. I started off learning carpentry …