Reasons to always use a face shield
When stuff flies off my lathe, I hang it on the wall to remind me.
If you don't already have one, it's time to get a face shield!
June 3, 2010
May 26, 2010
The Earlex 2900 HVLP Sprayer is Really User Friendly
What the heck is HVLP anyway? Before now I never really knew but I suspected it was some sort of social disease, or maybe some new computer software site that I was missing. Turns out it stands for High Volume, Low Pressure, as in a paint sprayer. Well, so what? Let me explain.
Awhile back I bought a name-brand high pressure airless sprayer and it works well, but I am about half scared of it. When I opened the box, it had more warnings than you have ever seen about the pressures involved. This thing operates at something around 2000 psi. There is actually a little plastic card to take with you to the emergency room if you happen to stick this thing in the palm of your hand and pull the trigger. The little card instructs the surgeon who to call and warns that paint injected into your body with this thing can only be removed by amputating the affected part. What if you shoot yourself in the head with it? Are you kidding me?
Enter the Earlex 2900 HVLP paint sprayer currently available only at Highland Woodworking. They loaned me one to try out for a few weeks and I like it. I felt great relief and relaxation when I was using this thing. When I first turned it on and it was blowing this gentle breeze from the nozzle, in spite of all my negative instincts, I very gingerly stuck my hand in the air stream. Nothing!! When I first filled it, I used a bottle of water because I didn't want to clean it. In the past I have spent upwards of two hours cleaning my high pressure system and if this sprayer was going to take that long to clean, I wasn't interested.
When I sprayed it, the water went out about two feet in a nicely formed spray. No trauma, no high pressure, no fear, no amputations. I played with it enough to use up the bottle of water and then I figured I would try some real paint. I had a new quart of interior white latex and thought that might be a good test. Without any fine furniture underway that I wanted to paint white, I had two metal sawhorses that I very much dislike at the shop, so painting them white seemed to be ample revenge for all those pinched fingers while setting them up. After using the viscosity cup as directed in the instructions, I wasn't satisfied with the results, so I thinned it down a little more and tried again. Now those nasty metal sawhorses have never looked so good. I put two thin coats on, had most of the paint left in the cup and was ready to paint anything else I could find.
I got done painting, all the while dreading the cleanup. I took the cup to the kitchen and rinsed it out in about two minutes. After that I filled the cup with clean water and sprayed that through the system and it was done. I kept looking for something else to clean, but I couldn't find it. I was going to take the gun apart and clean it, but it didn't need it. I was going to take the hose off and clean that, but no paint goes there. I was going to take the needle out and clean that, but it was already clean. No more than ten minutes max and it was done.
This really fine Earlex sprayer is available from Highland for $149.99 including a book on spraying and a demo DVD. Get your wife one of these for her birthday and she can stain the deck next time it needs it. Shouldn't take her more than ten minutes to clean the sprayer after she finishes.
CLICK HERE for more info plus a short video
May 16, 2010
Shopping for a Router and Router Table
Do you remember a few weeks ago when I talked about buying a new router with the profits from my furniture making exploits? Well, I decided to go for it, and when I went to Highland, I was really impressed with the Triton 2-1/4 HP plunge router.
The thing I like best about this router is that you can crank the bit all the way up or down using the router handle. There is a ring inside the handle which, when depressed, allows you to move the bit up and down. You can move it a fraction of an inch, or you can move it the full range of motion in either direction. There is also a fine motion screw on top of the motor which operates for the full range of motion of the bit. When you crank the bit all the way down, a lock engages the collet and you can then use the wrench to remove or install the bit with one hand. It's a beautiful thing.
In addition, when you mount the router upside down in a table, there is a crank handle which fits through the top of the table and attaches to the crank mechanism on the router, which you can use to adjust the bit very precisely from above the table. When you need to change the bit, simply crank the bit all the way up (or would that be down?), it locks in place and you can change the bit with one hand from above the table. And with 2-1/4 HP, this thing will do pretty much everything you want to do in the average woodworking shop. (For heavy production work, there is also a 3-1/4 HP model.)
About 15 years ago I made myself a wooden router table that was just awful. It is still sitting in the shop and almost never used because it was not well made and the router is very difficult to adjust from under the table. I'm going to throw it away this week. So while I was at the store looking at the routers, they also showed me their Kreg router tables. Kreg's basic model is a benchtop style which works very well with the Triton router.
I ended up buying
Kreg's deluxe precision floor mounted model. It comes with a set of very sturdy legs, which you can purchase wheels for if you like. The top is extremely stable, plenty big, and has a pattern of bumps on top of it that makes wood slide easily. It comes with a sophisticated precision fence, and has universal mounting hardware to fit most popular routers. When you drill a single hole in the right place in the top, then the crank handle that comes with the router will operate the height adjustment flawlessly. It effectively eliminates any need to buy one of those expensive third-party router lifts.
When you compare this total outfit price wise to one of those router lift mechanisms you see elsewhere, pricewise it comes out looking very good indeed. I really like this package, and am excited to have one in my workshop.
May 12, 2010
Woodworker's Safety Week 2010
It's Safety Week 2010 for Woodworkers - a good time to consider some of your own shop safety practices and think about what you might improve. One of our customers, Howard Van Valzah, contributed this great safety tip that could be valuable to some of you. We've also included some links below to other blogs that are also 'celebrating' safety week with links and tips that could help improve your workshop safety.
Got tips of your own? Share them in the comments!
Enjoy and be safe!
A Two Minute Safety Tip
by Howard Van Valzah
As a veteran woodworker age 80 I have finally learned something I should have learned many years ago. Recently it became obvious to me that the majority of my woodworking injuries were on my left hand. The worst one was on my left thumb that wandered by itself into a table saw blade. Stitches didn't work so a skin graft was needed to complete the cure. That happened four years ago.
Recently I have been working on some large projects and observed on completion that I had three band aids on my left hand. Nothing major like the thumb incident, but they were scratches, bangs, and nicks. And then the realization came that this seems to happen after every major project, and to a lesser extent on smaller jobs. Then I looked closely at the way my hands get work done. In most cases I found that my right hand is directing work to be done. That would make you think that the right hand might be injured more frequently. Further study showed that my left hand was often used to steady or hold the work piece putting it right in line to be struck by a slipped tool or anything else that might go wrong. The right hand guiding the tool was perfectly safe. (The hand eye coordination required to get the work performed was the responsibility of the right hand. The left hand was used in support but the operator's eye was concentrating on the performance of the right hand, leaving the left hand unattended.)
Now that I knew that, I began to be more conscious of the left hand, but still got nicks, dings, and scratches on it. It quickly became clear that it wasn't enough to just be aware of the problem and hope I could correct it. Just about that time I purchased a pair of bright yellow cut-resistant Kevlar gloves from Highland Woodworking. I didn't purchase them for use with power tools - I bought them with the idea of using them when I occasionally have to hand carve a piece of work. Seeing them sitting beside the workbench one day I decided to try something. I put one on my left hand (they are reversible) with the thought that the bright yellow color might alert me to be cautious, as does the yellow light on a traffic signal. It seems to be working because I have not yet had a scratch or ding on my left hand, but I did bang it hard once, but no blood, just a severe "ouchie". I would encourage others to wear a "yellow caution light" on their left hand as a reminder that it is an accident waiting to happen.
A couple of safety links for you
The Wood Whisperer
Matts Basement Workshop
May 8, 2010
Highland at Lie-Nielsen Hand Tool Event in Atlanta
Chris Black is shown demonstrating how to restore and sharpen an old handsaw in the Highland Woodworking booth at the Lie-Nielsen Hand Tool Event on Friday, May 7, 2010 at Peach State Lumber in Kennesaw, GA (20 miles north of Atlanta up I-75). Hands-on instruction in sharpening, tuning and using hand planes by Lie-Nielsen employees (including owner Tom Lie-Nielsen) is available throughout the day.
The show continues from 10 AM to 5 PM on Saturday, May 8. Admission is free.
April 26, 2010
Woodworker Dilo Fernandino Featured on Brazilian TV
More well-deserved recognition has been visited upon Dilo Fernandino, the man who builds full-size rosewood baroque masterpieces by hand in his 42 square foot workshop. After his first solo exhibition in Belo Horizonte, Brazil in February, TV Globo, one of the world's largest television networks, featured his signature work and interview during a program on April 3, 2010. Here is a video of the interview, along with a transcript of the audio translated into English:
###
Introduction: (0:13) Antique furniture and the greatest Brazilian sculptor, Aleijadinho (known as the Little Cripple) have inspired the work of a contemporary Brazilian sculptor. Our TV team followed his creative process, which starts with research and design.
Narrator: (0:27) The origin of it all is what was written in books. Dilo is a researcher of the old woodworking techniques. There are complicated methods that are described only in foreign literature.
Dilo: (0:41) The English-language books, for example, teach elementary things that our old woodworkers used to know, but that most of the young ones do not know any more. For example, how to sharpen a chisel or a scraper.
Narrator: (0:56) Practical knowledge and a keen eye for a special art period: the rococo.
Dilo: (1:03) The carved decoration of a rococo artwork is balanced concerning its vertical axis, but it is asymmetric. One side is different from the other. So I think this "finesse" pleases the eye and is a challenge to the carver.
Narrator: (1:20) Research and talent guide his work. The first lines begin in his study. The project must be precisely drawn.
Dilo: (1:31) Whatever I can draw on paper, I create it in the wood accordingly. If it is not good on the paper, it will be bad in the wood. Sometimes it takes months. My trial sketch has to be laid aside for some time so that my mental concept can ripen. I come back and take a look. If I do not like it, I remake it three or four times, until the moment it pleases me.
Narrator: (1:55) From the study to the tiny shop inside his apartment. The drawing of an ancient Greek god is glued on a board.
Dilo: (2:05) People usually draw it by hand on the wood. However there can be a transposition error in this step. Whenever you transfer a drawing from the paper to the wood, you make a little mistake. The drawing gets distorted. My procedure of gluing the paper to the wood keeps the drawing like the original idea. That one is a glued photocopy to keep its fidelity.
Narrator: (2:31) Dilo is a master of "ebanisterie," a specialty that melds cabinetmaking with sculpture. The particular way in which the work is accomplished makes this craft more extraordinary - done only by hand utilizing traditional tools.
Dilo: (2:47) The feeling of cutting the wood by hand is very pleasant to me. I think the machinery would steal this pleasure from me.
Narrator: (2:58) His tools look like ancient tools.
Dilo: (3:02) I have rasps and files in this toolbox which are used for removing the wood by friction. Those other toolboxes contain chisels. These are English micro chisels from a factory that has been producing chisels for over 200 years. These are Japanese chisels that were made with a very important technology called laminated steel - the same used for producing samurai swords, because it keeps a very sharp edge.
Narrator: (3:44) For carving this way, skill and strength are necessary. The artist sorts from old salvaged wood only the noblest and strongest: rosewood and "pau marfim."
Dilo: (3:56) If you carve in a very soft wood, its fibers will get torn or smashed. The hard wood is difficult to cut, but it accepts the high level of detail you want to define.
Narrator: (4:12) The Poseidon mask is Dilo's most recent work. The first ones were this reliquary [a receptacle for displaying sacred relics] and the crucifix. At that time he was still a sixteen-year-old boy looking for his own style. Afterwards he built the bed, the side tables and other pieces of furniture. He spent five working years to build this cabinet decorated with scrolls, sculptures and masks. His signature written in Latin increases the nostalgic impression.
Dilo: (4:43) I began by sculpting the frontispiece followed by the façade. Afterwards I made its laterals, the Atlases and the abutments. The abutment design was based on my research of Aleijadinho's works found in a Mother Church.
Narrator: (5:06) This Mother Church is famous due to its rich set of Aleijadinho's preserved 18th century artworks: 3 altars and 2 hanging pulpits. The ground pulpit was built by Dilo. It was a challenging commission.
Dilo: (5:20) I was panic-stricken at first. I hesitated to accept such a big commission because my shop is so small.
Narrator: (5:29) However Dilo accomplished it in a record period of time: 45 days. We can imagine how proud he was. Now we can understand the real meaning of the word "achievement."
Dilo: (5:41) I wanted to reach the level of Aleijadinho's feet, and in a way I actually have. Everyone who visits that church will see Aleijadinho's hanging pulpits, and mine standing below them.
(6:09) [Narrator previews a future program]
More articles telling Dilo's story:
Readers Respond to "My Unusually Small Workshop"
Solo Furniture Exhibition in Brazil
Dilo can be reached via email at dilofernandino@gmail.com
Visit Dilo's woodworking website at www.carving-in-wood.com
April 23, 2010
Saw Milling
I love my truck when it's full of wood. Look at all that walnut lumber. I had just about as soon have my truck full of walnut lumber as to have it full of hundred dollar bills. Look at that stuff!!
Let me tell you about this little adventure. Some friends down the road who know I enjoy wood working offered me two walnut trees off the family farm. The trees were out by the barn and blacksmith shop and had some electrical wires through one of them, so I knew taking them down was beyond me. I hired a professional tree service fellow to take them down and haul the good parts over to a friend who has a portable sawmill. Tree guy came out last week with his bucket truck and his small tractor and trimmed them up and then put the trunks on the ground. The grapple hook on the front of his tractor made short work of loading the tree trunks and they were soon at the sawmill.
Now understand the problem with walnut trees and particularly trees close to a house or a barn and in this case, a blacksmith shop, is metal. People hang horseshoes on limbs (that's good luck for most people--just not for sawyers), drive nails in tree trunks, and nail fences to them. The sawmill guy is willing to saw them for me, but he knows about metal and before he starts, he wants me to stand good for the blades at about $30 each.
We struck a deal and he started sawing while I was still there. I walked around the mill a good bit trying to figure the safest place to be when the saw blade found the metal I thought was in there. I had visions of metal chips and blade chunks flying everywhere, but thank goodness I was wrong. When the blade hit the first piece of metal, it sounded like a bug zapper. Just a little short "bzzt" and it was through. After several more hits, that blade was done and he reloaded a new blade. There was some beautiful lumber in these trees and after a couple of slabs off the top, we started getting 12 to 16 inch wide boards at an inch and an eighth thick. We sawed one trunk right down the middle of the pith to make bowl blanks. Those bowl blank boards are so heavy, I will have to use the chain saw to cut blanks off the end of the board while it is still on the truck. Otherwise I will not be able to get it off the truck.
When I count up to see if this whole deal was worthwhile, I think it was. I spent about $600 and I have 23 boards which average 12 inches wide and 6 feet long. That computes to around 138 board feet. Plus I have enough for about 20 bowl blanks four to five inches deep. Even allowing for waste, I think you could not buy this lumber for $600. Maybe I can sell some of that dern metal and recoup part of my cost.
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Recent Posts
- Reasons to always use a face shield
- The Earlex 2900 HVLP Sprayer is Really User Friendly
- Shopping for a Router and Router Table
- Woodworker's Safety Week 2010
- Highland at Lie-Nielsen Hand Tool Event in Atlanta
- Woodworker Dilo Fernandino Featured on Brazilian TV
- Saw Milling
- The Power8: A Workshop in a Suitcase
- Earlex 2900 HVLP Sprayer - Versatile, Affordable and Easy-to-Use
- Wood News April edition hits the stands!
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