Up until now my cabinet scrapers have been sitting in the plastic packet that they were bought in, which is far from ideal. I decided that they needed live in a small wooden box in my tool cabinet. Continue reading “Two-piece Box”
Two-piece Box
Bits and pieces
This post is a bit of a hodgepodge, just an update of what has been going on recently. First of all: The Biltong Slicer. I delivered it to my friend and it is fair to say that he was tickled pink. He says that he doesn’t want to use it because it’s too beautiful. That might be an overstatement on his part… Continue reading “Bits and pieces”
Biltong Slicer #3
Time to cut all the pieces to something approaching their final shape. I was able to use my shop-made turning saw for this job, and it worked a treat. I had to experiment a bit with the tensioning cord but after a few extra turns I was away.
Biltong Slicer #2
In thinking about the hardware for this project I had more or less settled on a solution for the blade. I have a #5 ½ blade that had been sharpened so many times that it was well past its useful service life as a plane iron, but would have been suitable for this project, albeit a little wider than necessary. However, the chap who commissioned this project had a better solution. He had previously tried himself to make a Biltong Slicer, but found that he couldn’t do it. His intention was to build several of them and sell them on, and to that end he had a number of blades made up. He suggested that I use his blades instead. They are a little tarnished and the bevel has been crudely ground with and angle grinder, so they will need a little honing and polishing before they can be pressed into service, but I think they will be more suitable for the project than the plane iron. Continue reading “Biltong Slicer #2”
Biltong Slicer #1
I haven’t had time to post for a while – lots going on – but I thought I should drop down a couple of lines on how the Biltong Slicer project is going. Continue reading “Biltong Slicer #1”
Mystery Project: Revealed
It’s been a few days since I announced my upcoming mystery project, and asked if anyone could guess what it will be. Well, there have been a few responses – good guesses all – but all incorrect, and since I doubt that there will be any other guesses I thought I’d reveal true answer. It’s not a herb cutter. It’s not a cigar trimmer. It’s not a device for making dolls house shingles. It is in fact…
Sawyer’s Bench #6
This is my last post on the Sawyer’s Bench because, barring further coats of finish, the project is complete.
I wasn’t sure what finish to use on this project. Tom Fidgen didn’t put a finish on his apparently, but I asked him for advice and he said that he would use a boiled linseed oil and wax mixture.
Luckily, I had a few blocks of 1oz. beeswax and some linseed oil so, when I was ready to finish, I set about making my own concoction. I went for an 8:1 mix of oil and wax, mixing them by heating them in an old wok over a pan of boiling water on an electric hob. A gas hob is not advisable as boiled linseed oil is flammable. Continue reading “Sawyer’s Bench #6”
Sawyer’s Bench #5
Well, its time for the final glue up. I have decided to use glue and dowels to fix the aprons to the leg assemblies, which will be a two stage operation.
First I glues the aprons to the assemblies and clamped them good and tight, removing as much excess glue as possible with a damp cloth. I did this first thing yesterday, before the school run, and left it to go off for a few hours.
Sawyer’s Bench #3
I got to work on the bird’s mouth for the top boards of the bench this weekend. They were quite difficult cuts to do in my little vice. I really could do with some kind of saw horse to do these kinds of cuts on. Maybe one with a removable fence and a bird’s mou…
…oh, yeah, right.
Sawyer’s Bench #2
I completed the joinery on my Sawyer’s Bench today, by tackling the half-laps that join the legs to the top boards. Continue reading “Sawyer’s Bench #2”
goatboys woodshop 