Tag: Workshop

Small Display Case | A Dad & Son Project!

I absolutely love that my son Ian came to me with a project idea that he wanted to build with me.

While the negative is that he broke his wrist a few months ago, after getting signatures from us, the kids at school and his teachers, it turned into a bit of a badge of honor. He got the idea for this project after seeing a trophy case, and wanted to build a display case for his cast. And as usual when he joins me in the shop while the camera is on, he is “the goofball”!

This was definitely some good quality dad/son time where he had fun and hopefully learned a few things along the way!

by Jim Ashley

Simple Sawhorses

Sometimes everyone needs to do some shop builds. I used to have four of the plastic sawhorses, but I killed two of them when I built my workbench. I decided that my next set would be ones that I built.

For these ones, each sawhorse gets three pieces of 2×4 cut to 32″ for the “I beam” top and 4 pieces cut to 30″ for the legs. There are many ways to do sawhorses – this type I was introduced to by Paul Meyette. Some may recognize them as well as the type Jay Bates did a few years back. I’ve linked to both of them below.

Paul Meyette sawhorse video: https://youtu.be/YnMgYdXXLJY

Jay Bates sawhorse video: https://youtu.be/zxf6xMe_PKY

by Jim Ashley

Argh! Rust!

I recently went into the shop after a few weeks of not being able to spend as much time in there as I would like, only to discover some rust on my combination square!

So, this video talks about what I think happened, how I fixed it, and what general steps I take to try and prevent rust on my tools.

What do you guys do to prevent rust in your shop? Leave a comment!

Links to the products I mention are below:

SlipIt
Jojoba Oil
Sandflex block (Fine)

by Jim Ashley

Shop Tour 2015 & What’s on the Bench

It’s been quite some time since my last video, and even longer since my last shop tour. As mentioned in my last post, 2015 hasn’t seen much shop time until just the last couple of months.

A lot has changed in the shop in that time. Now that I’ve been getting back into the shop, I wanted to show you around, and give you a quick update on a coffee table I’ve resumed working on.

I changed up the format a bit from my last videos, let me know what you think!

by Jim Ashley

Happy New Year! Some New Year Goals for 2014

First things first… Happy New Year! I hope that you have a great and safe New Year, and that you all had a great Holiday season!

In looking back over the last year, I have made some improvements to the shop, attended Fine Woodworking Live, and completed a couple of projects, but I wanted to outline some goals I have for 2014…

  • Since I’ve turned my table saw around 180 degrees from what I had before, I now have the space available for a true outfeed table. The roller stand I have is nice, and will certainly use it elsewhere, but it will be even more nice to not pick up offcuts off of the floor. The outfeed table will add safety and convenience.
  • This improvement is already in the works: I finally ordered an RF remote unit for my dust collector. No longer will I have to walk over, turn it on, then walk to the tool with the hose connected and then turn it on. Because of where the dust collector is, after I build the outfeed table, this will be a huge gain in convenience, since once the outfeed table is in place, the dust collector will be that much harder to get to.
  • A workbench. What I have now is not impossible – it’s an MDF top on a metal cabinet base. It’s flat, well, except the corner that got wet and is now swelled. It does though, seriously lack in workpiece holding ability. While I haven’t ironed out all the details, I do know that this will be a “bench on a budget” so to speak. I don’t expect to have the resources for a large Roubo with expensive vise hardware, but I do think I can complete a bench that will be a huge upgrade over what I have, and not break the bank. I am coming from no specific experience, and therefore bias, toward certain vises or other wood holding systems, or styles of bench. My “vise” has  been a wooden screw clamp that is clamped to the bench top. I’m leaving on the table the various types of vises: metal jaw,  twin screw, leg vise, etc. Face vise with planing stops? Face vise and end vise? Some combination? Expect some further posts on this as things roll along.
  • In keeping in what I try to do with every project, whatever further furniture projects I end up doing, I will continue to incorporate some new joinery that I haven’t done before, or perhaps some other new technique I haven’t tried.
  • Continue to attend some woodworking events or classes. While my personal circumstances with a special needs child may prevent me from any significant travel, I do hope Fine Woodworking will have FWW Live close enough to home that I can make that drive again, and offer day passes. The Woodworking Shows will be coming to the area in the next couple of weeks, as well as perhaps the Design Build Show in Boston in February. I understand why WIA doesn’t typically move much beyond the Cincinnati area (there’s a LOT of stuff to move), but if they did find their way to southern New England, I would certainly try to attend that. There is also the fairly new Woodcraft in Walpole, MA that is now offering classes, so I plan on looking into their offerings as well.
  • And of course, anything can happen during the course of a year, so will keep an open mind to anything that comes along!

So Happy New Year everyone! Take care, be safe, and happy sawdust in the new year…

by Jim Ashley

Shop Updates Since The Video Tour

When I posted the Intro and Shop Tour video, I had some plans on how I could improve the shop. Since that video, I’ve been able to do a few things in the shop to get things further organized. I thought now might be a good time to share some of those updates.

The French Cleat wall is a bit more populated, with still room to grow.
Remember that ugly blue-green pegboard? It was there when we moved into the house almost 10 years ago. It was hung poorly and was not all that stable. It’s now gone. I framed out a section for some better, more stable pegboard space.
When doing the new pegboard section, I did a small “L” shaped piece that takes advantage of what would otherwise be wasted space.
As part of the new framing for the pegboard, I reserved a section to the right for hardware storage. This section ties into the MDF storage shelf framing for added stability. I also added some pegs to the MDF unit to store rolls of tape.
Another view of the hardware storage section. I turned the light off for less glare. There is a shelf at the top for miscellaneous hardware. Underneath that are speakers and my Kreg jig on a peg (grey case). Next to the right speaker I built a small holder for my smartphone, so I can listen to music, podcasts, or audio books while in the shop. Underneath this are a few rows of hanging containers for screws and nails. I also have miscellaneous hardware in the black cases next to the small subwoofer, along with some more storage in the red drawer unit. Sitting on a couple of 2×4’s on the floor is a bin where I keep rags.
The small partition next to the table saw now has some storage. There are three hanging bins that hold extra hex keys and wrenches for the tools, as well as accessories for the Grr-ripper you see hanging on the pegboard portion. Also seen on the pegboard are the other accessories.
by Jim Ashley

Video Introduction & Shop Tour

After doing a couple of “alpha” test videos with the Narex chisel videos I did, I thought it would be cool to start adding video content more consistently to The Wood Lab blog. Here is the introduction to this video series, and then cap it off with a tour of my shop! Let me know what you think!

by Jim Ashley