Crowning Moment

The long awaited tool cabinet for Jet Tools is complete. Today I finished it off with the crown moulding. Here is a simple way to make crown moulding over the table saw.

 I have a blade made for this from CMT designed by Lonnie Bird. You can still do this with a regular blade but it takes more scraping to clean up the saw marks.

 First I set the plywood fence roughly 45 degrees to the blade. I just eyeballed this since I wasn't matching any existing moulding.

 After several passes using 4'' by 7/8'' stock raising the blade about 1/8'' for every pass I get this nice cove. Then using the curved scraper I eliminate the scratches and then finish with sand paper.

 Then I tilt my table saw blade to 45 degrees to trim the sides.

 Here is what you get. Crown moulding made from the same wood that everything else on the cabinet  is made from. The best part is you don't have to go to the big home store to buy it. (they don't have cherry moulding anyway).

 A few miter cuts and I'm in business. All I have left is to apply the oil finish and deliver to Jet. I'll be teaching this cabinet in a few weeks with 3 students. Should be fun!

Wood Rocks!

After days of making chair parts the comb back rocker class was an amazing success. The last peg was driven late afternoon of the sixth day.

 The carving of the knuckles and comb went better than I could have imagined. These guys were here to work.

 Mike's carved knuckle. You would think he had done this before.

 Tom cleaning up the comb getting ready for assembly.

 Pete Galbert's rocker slot cutting jig was a big hit and made these rockers fall in place.

 Tom was very happy with the first chair to come together end of day five.

 John is building his first windsor this week and did a great job.

 Sam enjoyed sitting in the piece he worked so hard on all week.

 John got to rest awhile in his first windsor.

 The rocker jig really makes for a tight clean joint. I owe you one Pete.

 Overall the class was such a great success and four students went home very happy.

 Here is the crew on the last day. These were some of the highest quality chairs I have seen come out of a chair class. Great job guys. Now go get some rest.

Comb Back Rocker Day 1

I have 4 students here this week representing 4 different states starting the comb back rocker. They are  roughing out the spindles and the crest blank. Tomorrow we start carving the crest volutes and steam bending.

 Mike brought his smart head shave horse that he built at kelly Mehler's school that Peter Galbert taught last year. Mike did a great job finishing this horse into a work of art.

 It was a great first day. Everyone looks so serious. Did I crack the whip too hard?

I'll post their progress later this week. Stay tuned......

Happy New Cabinet!

The new year starts much like it finished with many irons in the fire. I have lots of classes to prepare for and materials to gather.This week I am wrapping up the tool cabinet for Jet Tools. Pictured here is the upper cabinet before the knobs are installed.

I have about two more days of details to finish this project. I will be interested to see how Jet will use this piece for their photo shoots.

I have 30 knobs to turn for the drawers and doors. I start with 3'' long blocks of 1.5 x 1.5 cherry. I chuck them into my 4-jaw chuck which I rarely use but works great without the tailstock in the way.

I round them down to 11/16th for the small knobs and 7/8'' for the large.

A story stick is used to keep them somewhat consistent.

I use a 3/8'' wrench to size the tenon. These turn really fast about 2 minutes from start to finish.

Probably no two knobs are the same but you may not notice when installed.

Here you see the knobs installed. I saw a kerf in the tenon, drill the hole and wedge the knob with glue for a very sturdy knob that won't come loose. I can't wait to oil this cabinet down to bring out the grain of the cherry. I have several students coming in Feb. to build this cabinet as a class. I have worked out all the bugs and can't wait to teach this for the first time. It is a good lesson in dovetails, turning knobs and mortise and tenon construction.I'll post some photos when complete.

Anti-Hand Burning Device

As a spindle turner on occasion I have to turn something longer than should be turned between centers. This was the case last week when April made the spinning wheel and we had to turn a wool bar the was over 40'' long and only 1 1/2'' in diameter. Needless to say I almost burned up my hand trying to keep this thing from vibrating. It just flexed way too much.

 I am sure many of you have seen different ways to dampen vibration with a steady rest. There are several commercially made versions that cost more than I could rationalize. Making one seemed the only option. The first thing to come to mind is the old in-line skates that me and my wife purchased in the early 90's and no longer use. I can't believe we still had them. Gravity has made it unsafe for me to skate anymore and my hockey career never took off. So lets see what a steady rest looks like.

 The wheel come off easy with an allen wrench. I took off the spacers and a 5/16th bolt fits perfect. Next I mapped out my design on poster board and cut out the body out of 3/4 plywood.

 Some scrap wood and some hardware and I was in business.

 As you can see the adjustable wheel mounts are set in dados in the body. This keeps it lined up and strong. One wing nut to adjust and it stays very firm.

 I built the base so everything lines up with the drive centers on the lathe. One bolt to hold this in place.

 In use it works really well. I have several cant hook handles to turn which are 42'' long so now I won't burn my hand trying to hold out the vibrations.

 Last week I made a trip to Johnny Watson's farm in Dickson. He wanted to show me the wonderful hardwood forest he has. To my surprise it was covered up with these perfect white oaks. Johnny just became my best friend.

 Here is a shot of one of the sheds at Johnny's farm. He has lots of old tools that need handles. I guess that steady rest will come in handy.

Classes Offered for 2014

Here are the classes I will offer for this coming year. I may add to this later if needed. All chair classes are $1000 including materials unless otherwise noted. Turnings will be provided for every chair class. Lunch will be provided each day. Send an email to hold a class. I can take up to 4 students per class.

Jan and Feb classes are full.
March 10-15- Sack Back
April-full
May 5-10-Sack back
June 9-14 Continuous-Arm

July 7-9 Solid Wood Dovetailed Cabinet....$395   Cherry or Walnut included.

 August 8-10 Windsor Live Edge Bench.........$350 including materials
I will also be teaching this class at Marc Adams School of Woodworking  October 18-19

 November 9-16 Writing Arm (8 day class, longer if needed). $1650 including materials.

Spinning Out of Control

Everyone has probably heard of a spinning wheel but I bet few have used one and even fewer have made one. April asked me if I thought we could build this version of a spinning wheel. As usual without hesitation I agreed we could. I mean, why not? It's just wood, right? Right from the start I thought the biggest challenge would be this wheel but this proved to be one of the easier parts to this extremely advanced project. Don't get me wrong, I have really enjoyed this journey and have great appreciation to those that built these generations ago.

 Wheel assembled and cut out ready to be turned by my good friend Barry Werner(professional turner) who did a fantastic job. My lathe was too small and Barry is a perfectionist.

 Here is the grooves that Barry turned, sweet......

 I have to jump ahead because I did not take many pictures. April did an awesome job on the spindle turnings. There were lots of metal fabrication that we did. Nothing pre-fab here. Everything was made from scratch.This project has taught me a lot and I hope to make one for myself someday. I live next door to an alpaca farm so I could make my own socks.

 April seemed very happy with the results.Tonight  Ziggy and April have moved on to start their new life in Berea, Ky. I enjoyed having them in the shop again and look forward to seeing the finished spinning wheel on my next visit to Berea. Best of luck you two!