Adventures in Woodworking
Eric lives in Malaysia and butchers beautiful and exotic wood in his 6×8 workshop. His blog chronicles his journey into woodworking with hand tools, with most of the curse words edited out.
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Hand Planing and Hand Sanding
November 16, 2008
On Saturday (the day after our baby was due, and he’s still not here!), my wonderful wife said, “Why don’t you go do some woodworking?” Since I was actually in the mood to tackle the next task on my Lego Table, I went for it! So the task of the day was to prep the table pieces for assembly. That meant planing and (some) sanding. The boards are in decent shape, being pretty much flat and square, so I only had to smooth them a little and take off the top layer to remove some...
My Saw Bit Me. Three Times!
November 2, 2008
In my video for Woodworking Safety Week 2008, I repeatedly reminded my viewers to keep fingers out of the path or potential path of the blade. Hmm, this gets tricky with a ryoba and two sides of the blade - thus two potential paths. For some reason, this weekend my saw bit me three times. In all three instances, I was holding a board with my left hand and cutting it with my right. When the saw finished its cut, the saw sprung upwards, and the top part of the saw (the rip blade) dug into my index...
A Tough Day in the Shop
November 2, 2008
So yesterday I went to the lumber yard and bought all the wood I expected to need for the lego table. I was pleasantly surprised at the price. I bought 12.5 board feet of kapur (30′ of 1″x4″ and 10′ of 1″x3″) for $18.25 and a 4′x8′ sheet of 1/2″ plywood for $13.75. I tried to pick boards that were straight and not warped, and at least in that respect, I succeeded. Today I had some good dedicated shop time. My first task was to cut the boards down...
Lego Table - Sketchup Model
October 25, 2008
Over on LumberJocks, they’re having a Halloween Challenge and I thought that I’d enter. They’re giving away three prizes to randomly-selected entrants - the first prize is a $50 gift cert from Lee Valley. Anytime the prizes are given away randomly, instead of based on skill and craftsmanship, I’m all over that! But my wife didn’t particularly want me spending a lot of time in the shop merely for the chance at a $50 gift certificate for tools (and DEFINITELY not for a plane holster...
Hey Brother, Can You Spare A Vote?
October 12, 2008
I’ve entered my step stool in a contest on SmartFlix (think NetFlix for DIYers). While I do believe in “May the best man win,” I’m no fool: all the other contestants are probably trying to get votes just like I am! So how about it? Click on the link to go to the contest page. Thanks in advance for your vote! P.S. I plan to do a write-up on SmartFlix in the near future, so stay tuned for that. Read More →
Finally, Some Shop Time!
October 12, 2008
Since we’ve moved to Kota Kinabalu, I’ve been sick almost the whole time. Nothing serious, but bad enough that I’ve had no desire to get in the shop when I’ve had free time. I’m finally starting to get well. And today, my wife (out of the blue) suggested I go get some shop time. Yes, ma’am! So today I finished unpacking my miscellaneous boxes that arrived by mail and by boat. My shop’s fairly organized, but a couple shelves will really help a lot. I also...
My Transitional Shop
September 13, 2008
We’re finally in Kota Kinabalu, the capital of the Malaysian state of Sabah, on the island of Borneo. It’s a great little city, with very easy access to incredible snorkeling and diving, and within a couple hours of the mountains. There’s also a great Italian place in town that I’m itching to go back to. For the immediate future, we’ll be staying at the home of some colleagues, who are in the States until June. So there’s no real rush to go out and find a home,...
Last Post from the Mainland
August 31, 2008
Well, we’re moving in three days. We put 16 boxes on the boat, and I’ve dropped 12 boxes in the mail so far. I think we’re about 5 boxes away from being done. On Tuesday, they come to pick up our car, which will be loaded with awkward-shaped things and other stuff that doesn’t look very steal-able (like the step stool I made). Today I cleaned out the shop and did a final sweeping. The shop is now officially closed. I already know what my first major woodworking project is...
Marking Knife - Almost Done!
August 27, 2008
So I had a good couple days in the shop before I packed it all up the other day. Besides doing the cushion frame for my friend, I did a lot of work on my marking knife. The first task was to get the blade satisfactory. In the end, I did this by cutting a 30(ish)-degree bevel on a piece of scrap, and then filed the bevels of the blade along that angle. It’s not perfect, but it’s pretty good. I then honed the blade on my waterstones, which was a real bear with no honing jig. By the way,...
Reverse Engineering Complete
August 26, 2008
A few weeks ago I shared about my problems resawing with a handsaw. Several people suggested various jigs, and more than one told me just to go buy a circular saw. Well, I decided to try to give myself a nice long straight edge to guide the saw. Ended up getting more and more complex, until this is what I ended up with: In the end, it didn’t do that great of a job. So I put off doing this until the day before I had to pack up all my tools. I figured it was now or never, so I just slapped a...
Leaving My First Real Workshop
August 25, 2008
We’re moving in about 10 days to a different part of the country. Tomorrow the movers come to haul off some of our belongings. We’re mailing what we can, as it’s much cheaper, but some things (like a TV) are best moved by professionals. Our stuff is traveling by boat and should arrive about a week or so after we get there. Today I had to dismantle my workshop and pack everything up. It was fun in a way, as this was my first real workshop and I had some good times here. I’ve...
When the Bit’s Too Small for the Brace
August 22, 2008
Still working on the marking knife. Now I need to drill a small (3/32″) hole for the tang of the blade. Got the bit, but it’s too small for the chuck of my bit brace. I decided to “mount” the bit inside a dowel, and either put the dowel in the bit brace, or just twist the “dowel drill” by hand. First, I hammered a nail into the dowel, since it was easier than trying to twist the drill bit into the wood by hand. I wasn’t sure if it would split the dowel or...
Shot Through the Heart
August 22, 2008
I saw this in a projects book recently and took a couple hours to knock it out. It was a very doable project for me, despite my lack of toolery. The head of the arrow is about 3/16″ or so larger than the hole. The entire project was done by hand - I think I used my ryoba saw, a chisel or two, a pocket knife and a rasp (oh yeah, and my bit brace, duh!). I was pleased with how cylindrical the shaft of the arrow is, considering it was purely done with a bench chisel! The heart is kempas and the...
Found: Another Woodworker in Malaysia!
August 12, 2008
A week or two ago, I got a private message on LumberJocks from a Malaysian (named Masrol) who had recently signed up. Turns out he only lives about 30 minutes away from me (which, in a large city like Kuala Lumpur, is nothing). Masrol is a recent retiree who has been woodworking for a few years (at least). Most of the tools in his shop, including the power tools, were purchased overseas and shipped to Malaysia; in at least one case, the shipping was double the cost of the tool! During our subsequent...
Making a Marking Knife: The Stock
August 8, 2008
I was wading through my old woodworking bookmarks, and stumbled across this great guide to making a marking knife. It looked like a fairly easy project, and cheap! Looks like I can take that Japanese marking knife off my wish list. So here we go: The blade is taken from a jigsaw blade, and it didn’t take too long to file off the teeth: For the handle, I took a 6″ section of kempas scrap that I had lying around. Incidentally, you can see on the bench that I filed the point of the blade...
I’m #21! I’m #21! I’m #21!
August 8, 2008
The results of the LumberJocks Summer 2008 Woodworking Challenge are out, and my step stool managed to get 21st place! What? You’re not impressed? Well I’m happy with it. And I don’t think my daughter minds either. P.S. In all fairness, my entry was certainly not the 21st best one out of the 58 submissions. I do think that my active participation on LumberJocks has helped. I’ll take it! Read More →
Yeah. A Bandsaw Would Be Nice.
August 4, 2008
Today I began a little reverse engineering project for a friend. He saved a sofa from the junk heap, but it was missing one cushion support frame. I told him it shouldn’t be too hard to make a matching one. So here’s what the original one looks like: The width of those outer boards is pretty close to 2″, so I figured it would just take a couple rips of a 2×4 to get these parts. I ran a line down the 2×4 with my marking gauge (although it’s never satisfying trying...
Dovetail Box - Reflections and Lessons Learned
July 30, 2008
Way back in January, I said that I wanted to make something before building my workbench, and I said (here comes a direct quote), “What better project for my beginner skills than a simple dovetail box?” Yes. I said the words “simple”, “box” and “beginner” in the same sentence. How little I knew. So here are some reflections on my 6-month journey into box making, and some lessons learned: Find something you do well, and build your confidence off of...
Step Stool for My Kids
July 28, 2008
Note: This project has been entered in the LumberJocks Woodworking Awards Summer 2008 Challenge, under the “One Man’s Junk” category. I in no way expect to win, but I’m pumped to have been able to submit an entry! My buddy found a mattress “pallet” (pine?) from an Ikea bed (see the pic here) discarded on the side of the road, and passed it on to me. I was happy to take the opportunity to make something out of a wood that wasn’t a tropical hardwood (about...
The Finished Box!
July 28, 2008
It only took six months… Rather than do a double-post (with LumberJocks) like I normally do, I thought I’d just provide the link to the project page in LumberJocks for this box, since it presents the material better than I could here. So click the picture above to see the full-size pics and read the post! Read More →
Making Chalkboards
July 27, 2008
This weekend my family went with a fellow church member to a sister congregation located among one of the minority indigenous communities. Our purpose was to provide them with a couple chalkboards - one for the sanctuary and one for the Sunday school room. I brought all the tools and the chalkboard paint, and our friend arranged for the plywood to be delivered. The first step was to cut the sheets down a bit. I didn’t have enough paint for two 4×8 sheets, so I cut them both down to 3×6. Next...
Giving the Tenon a Wedgie
July 24, 2008
I know, I know. Juvenile title. I can’t help it. So it’s time for the wedges. By the way, I followed Ian Kirby’s technique as described in Woodworkers Journal (October 2007) and in a bit less detail on this website. First, to cut the kerfs in the tenon. Kerfs should be less than 1/4″ from the edge of the tenon, and should stop about 1/8″ from the shoulder. Likewise, when you open the mortise so it angles out, the opening should begin 1/8″ in from the inside of...
I Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Jigsaw
July 23, 2008
When I was contemplating my curves and complaining about my coping saw, Marco suggested that I could easily make a curve by first making a series of cuts, and then cutting the waste away with a chisel. I had learned that technique at Homestead Heritage (Waco, TX) but hadn’t yet had enough confidence to try it. It seemed too easy. But doing the curves for the supporting piece, I decided to give it a go. So here is the piece after I’ve made my cuts: And here it is after my chiseling: I...
Hand-Chopping a Mortise (with Video)
July 20, 2008
After I posted about doing my first hand-cut mortise and tenon, Scott over on LumberJocks wanted to see how I chopped my mortise. He said, “The only time I tried to chop a mortice I left most of a 1/4” chisel broken off in the wood.” Well, when I read that, I kind of freaked out because I hadn’t considered that I could have broken my blade! But I decided to trust in what I was taught, and to remember that I had, indeed, done one successfully. So I decided to keep at it for my...
How I Fixed the End Grain
July 15, 2008
From all the feedback I got on my end grain finishing problem, Kaleo’s had the biggest word (oxidization) so I think he’s right. :^) However, I couldn’t bring myself to apply his solution, which was to sand the box down and then to put a finer grit on the end grain. Actually, my wife instantly vetoed any solution which involved removing the finish I already had on it. She loves the box, and isn’t concerned about the flaws. But I had to do something. So here’s what I...
First Hand-Cut Tenon
July 12, 2008
Today I was able to do both tenons for the supporting rail (rail? stile?) for the step stool I’m building. It’ll be a through tenon and have wedges when it’s done. I also had time to do one mortise today. This one looks pretty fabulous, if I do say so myself. However, TOTAL DISCLOSURE: The other one didn’t go as well. My line on the cheeks weren’t very straight so the tenon narrows at it nears the shoulders. This, my friends, is not good. I might not need to fix it,...
