Tuesday, March 22, 2005
Old skills, resurrected
Over the course of my youth, I had a series of beater cars (or helped people that had beaters) that needed lots of work every year to pass inspection. As such, I got pretty good with sheet metal, pop rivets, fiberglass and Bondo. Well, this weekend I got to resurrect those skills.
The front bumper/fascia on our minivan got caught on a heavy planter, and cracked/tore. A new one, unpainted, cost $450 from the dealer. I managed to get the old one off and brought it down to my shop. I had to stare at it for awhile to figure out how to clamp and secure the various pieces back together, but with some creative use of C-clamps and bungee cords, was able to do the job. To glue things, I used this stuff called J-B Weld - a 2-part putty adhesive that sticks to everything and sets up like stone in 4 minutes. Gawdawful stinky, but it did the trick. I jiggered everything together, mixed up the glue in small batches and frantically troweled it into place before it hardened - 4 minutes goes by faster than you think. Everything looked good, so I'm letting it set for a day or so before bolting it all back together.
Never a dull moment.
Oh, and I burned the maple sap again while I was at the hardware store buying pop rivets. Dammit! What a freakin' mess!
teebee
The front bumper/fascia on our minivan got caught on a heavy planter, and cracked/tore. A new one, unpainted, cost $450 from the dealer. I managed to get the old one off and brought it down to my shop. I had to stare at it for awhile to figure out how to clamp and secure the various pieces back together, but with some creative use of C-clamps and bungee cords, was able to do the job. To glue things, I used this stuff called J-B Weld - a 2-part putty adhesive that sticks to everything and sets up like stone in 4 minutes. Gawdawful stinky, but it did the trick. I jiggered everything together, mixed up the glue in small batches and frantically troweled it into place before it hardened - 4 minutes goes by faster than you think. Everything looked good, so I'm letting it set for a day or so before bolting it all back together.
Never a dull moment.
Oh, and I burned the maple sap again while I was at the hardware store buying pop rivets. Dammit! What a freakin' mess!
teebee
Plane Update
While I was pleased with the edge I achieved on my plane blades with my stones, I was a bit unsatisfied. The edges were nice, but not mirror-like.
I had heard of this system of using sandpaper, called ScarySharp, and had always wanted to try it. Since I had already ground my bevels, I figured I could skip most of the grits and go right to the fine stuff.
I had some plate glass shelves lying around (I am a typical Yankee packrat). I stopped at the auto parts store and bought a few sheets of 1500-grit paper. I stuck one down to the glass with some 3M spray adhesive, set a blade in the honing jig, and went at it.
Ahhh. There was my mirror finish. I mean it - truly, the finish was mirror-like. I polished the back of the blade, then polished the bevel then the microbevel. I even polished the sole of the plane, just because I could.
So, having said all that and sung praises at the alter of the Plane, I then proceeded to belt/orbit/hand sand the tops for the tables I was making. Why? The grain pattern I ended up with after gluing up the boards for the tops changed direction too much for me to achieve a smooth enough finish using a plane. I used the plane to rough-smooth the finish, then sand to 600-grit to get a nice smooth finish.
I'm no purist. Whatever it takes.
teebee
I had heard of this system of using sandpaper, called ScarySharp, and had always wanted to try it. Since I had already ground my bevels, I figured I could skip most of the grits and go right to the fine stuff.
I had some plate glass shelves lying around (I am a typical Yankee packrat). I stopped at the auto parts store and bought a few sheets of 1500-grit paper. I stuck one down to the glass with some 3M spray adhesive, set a blade in the honing jig, and went at it.
Ahhh. There was my mirror finish. I mean it - truly, the finish was mirror-like. I polished the back of the blade, then polished the bevel then the microbevel. I even polished the sole of the plane, just because I could.
So, having said all that and sung praises at the alter of the Plane, I then proceeded to belt/orbit/hand sand the tops for the tables I was making. Why? The grain pattern I ended up with after gluing up the boards for the tops changed direction too much for me to achieve a smooth enough finish using a plane. I used the plane to rough-smooth the finish, then sand to 600-grit to get a nice smooth finish.
I'm no purist. Whatever it takes.
teebee
Thursday, March 17, 2005
Hard work has its rewards
I have finished all the rough work on the 3 cherry end tables I am making, and was ready to start preparing the wood for finishing. It is at this point where I need to decide whether I want to sand or plane the wood.
Sanding is predictable - the wood always comes out the same no matter how gnarly, twisted or stubbern the grain is. Sanding is easy and brainless - just move up through the grits and you can't fail.
Planing is less predictable - if the grain is too wild, or I didn't glue up the tops right, the results can be tearout and chatter. If the plane iron is dull or the plane is out of whack, it can chatter and skip across the wood, leaving havoc in its wake. However, a sharp and tuned plane leaves a piece of wood with visual appeal that can only be matched by hours of sanding with the finest of grits. Planing is also quiet - the only sound is the whisper of shavings curling up in the mouth of the plane, so you can listen to the radio while you work. You also don't fill the workshop with dust. So I decided to try and plane these pieces.
I rough-planed the tops to see how the grain would work. Not bad, but not great either. This time spent with my smoothing plane also showed me that I need to spend some serious time with my whetstones to sharpen the blade. To do this right takes an hour or so, so I had been putting it off. Time to bite the bullet, if I wanted these tables to look right.
Out come my stones - a fine grit diamond plate, a 2000-grit waterstone and a 6000-grit finishing stone. I also have a fixture for holding the blade flat and at a steady angle, and a jig I made for setting the blade in the fixture.
I started by flattening the waterstones with the diamond plate. No point in trying to produce a flat edge with a rounded stone. This done, I started on the planes themselves. I would be tuning up my #4 smoother and my #9 low-angle plane. This would be a multi-step process:
- flatten and polish the backs of the blades
- flatten and polish the chipbreakers
- spend a little time smoothing the bottoms of the planes ('tho not too long - it isn't as important as the other steps)
- grind and hone a new bevel on the plane irons.
This last step is the biggie. By far the longest portion is spent with the diamond plate, grinding the blade down until it is uniformly flat and smooth across its width. Then onto the 2000 stone to remove the grind marks left by the diamond plate, then to the 6000 to polish the bevel.
Last step is to grind a microbevel at the end of the blade. I increase the blade angle from 25 degrees to 30 degrees, then take maybe a dozen light passes with the 6000 stone. This produces a very narrow (1/64") microbevel across the end of the blade. This is where the actual cutting occurs. This bevel can be quickly re-established with a few passes across the 6000 stone, so the blade can be re-sharpened quickly without re-honing the entire bevel.
I re-mount the iron in the plane and take the first pass and am rewarded by a shaving so thin I can see through it. The piece I am planing has a finish that looks and feels like marble, it is so smooth.
All my hard work and tedium spent sharpening the blade is forgotten as I spend a happy hour planing the 12 legs for the 3 tables. Each face of each leg is now polished like stone, with no noise, no dust and only my slightly aching arms at the end.
Hard work does have its rewards. In this case, it is an armful of beautiful table legs, a floor covered with cherry shavings, and me having spent a cheerful hour doing some old-school woodworking with 1930's technology.
Fun.
teebee
Sanding is predictable - the wood always comes out the same no matter how gnarly, twisted or stubbern the grain is. Sanding is easy and brainless - just move up through the grits and you can't fail.
Planing is less predictable - if the grain is too wild, or I didn't glue up the tops right, the results can be tearout and chatter. If the plane iron is dull or the plane is out of whack, it can chatter and skip across the wood, leaving havoc in its wake. However, a sharp and tuned plane leaves a piece of wood with visual appeal that can only be matched by hours of sanding with the finest of grits. Planing is also quiet - the only sound is the whisper of shavings curling up in the mouth of the plane, so you can listen to the radio while you work. You also don't fill the workshop with dust. So I decided to try and plane these pieces.
I rough-planed the tops to see how the grain would work. Not bad, but not great either. This time spent with my smoothing plane also showed me that I need to spend some serious time with my whetstones to sharpen the blade. To do this right takes an hour or so, so I had been putting it off. Time to bite the bullet, if I wanted these tables to look right.
Out come my stones - a fine grit diamond plate, a 2000-grit waterstone and a 6000-grit finishing stone. I also have a fixture for holding the blade flat and at a steady angle, and a jig I made for setting the blade in the fixture.
I started by flattening the waterstones with the diamond plate. No point in trying to produce a flat edge with a rounded stone. This done, I started on the planes themselves. I would be tuning up my #4 smoother and my #9 low-angle plane. This would be a multi-step process:
- flatten and polish the backs of the blades
- flatten and polish the chipbreakers
- spend a little time smoothing the bottoms of the planes ('tho not too long - it isn't as important as the other steps)
- grind and hone a new bevel on the plane irons.
This last step is the biggie. By far the longest portion is spent with the diamond plate, grinding the blade down until it is uniformly flat and smooth across its width. Then onto the 2000 stone to remove the grind marks left by the diamond plate, then to the 6000 to polish the bevel.
Last step is to grind a microbevel at the end of the blade. I increase the blade angle from 25 degrees to 30 degrees, then take maybe a dozen light passes with the 6000 stone. This produces a very narrow (1/64") microbevel across the end of the blade. This is where the actual cutting occurs. This bevel can be quickly re-established with a few passes across the 6000 stone, so the blade can be re-sharpened quickly without re-honing the entire bevel.
I re-mount the iron in the plane and take the first pass and am rewarded by a shaving so thin I can see through it. The piece I am planing has a finish that looks and feels like marble, it is so smooth.
All my hard work and tedium spent sharpening the blade is forgotten as I spend a happy hour planing the 12 legs for the 3 tables. Each face of each leg is now polished like stone, with no noise, no dust and only my slightly aching arms at the end.
Hard work does have its rewards. In this case, it is an armful of beautiful table legs, a floor covered with cherry shavings, and me having spent a cheerful hour doing some old-school woodworking with 1930's technology.
Fun.
teebee
Wednesday, March 16, 2005
Signs of Spring
- Maple sap is running hard. I gathered 3 gallons yesterday, and 3 the day before. Days are in the low 40's, nights in the high 20's - perfect for sap production
- Going into the office this morning, I heard the first red-winged blackbirds of the season. They like to hang out on the lightposts in our parking lot, challenging all comers.
- Snowpack is disappearing rapidly. It was probably 8" deep on Saturday, and has been reduced by half.
- I heard Dick Vitale's voice on the radio - must be March Madness time!
teebee
- Going into the office this morning, I heard the first red-winged blackbirds of the season. They like to hang out on the lightposts in our parking lot, challenging all comers.
- Snowpack is disappearing rapidly. It was probably 8" deep on Saturday, and has been reduced by half.
- I heard Dick Vitale's voice on the radio - must be March Madness time!
teebee
Monday, March 07, 2005
Skiing, sap and sleep
Skiing:
Instead of going for 1/2 day on Sunday, we split up on Saturday. Emma and I went up early and skiied all day, while Gina and Alex rode up at noon with our friends the Taylors and met us for the rest of the day. An absolutely gorgeous day for skiing - not a cloud in the sky and temps around 33 or so. Snow nice and soft - a bit slow for skiing but very comfy.
Emma's progress continues to amaze me. She still needs work on her control, and crashed rather spectacularly trying to make a sharp turn onto a side trail (was spared any untoward encounters with fauna by the orange mesh fence - phew!) Her confidence and enthusiasm were unfazed. Alex and Gina are still a bit tentative. We'll be signing up all 3 for lessons next time (which may be next year - it is March after all).
Sleep:
I got to catch up on sleep this weekend and feel worlds better for it. I was in bed by 9:00 on Saturday and Sunday nights. Amazing what 10 hours of sleep will do for you.
Sap:
I hung my 4 sap buckets on Sunday afternoon. One on the small silver maple in our side yard, 2 on the neighbor's big silver maple, and one on their red maple. Checked them all this morning and had about 3 gallons of sap already. Let the season begin!
teebee
Instead of going for 1/2 day on Sunday, we split up on Saturday. Emma and I went up early and skiied all day, while Gina and Alex rode up at noon with our friends the Taylors and met us for the rest of the day. An absolutely gorgeous day for skiing - not a cloud in the sky and temps around 33 or so. Snow nice and soft - a bit slow for skiing but very comfy.
Emma's progress continues to amaze me. She still needs work on her control, and crashed rather spectacularly trying to make a sharp turn onto a side trail (was spared any untoward encounters with fauna by the orange mesh fence - phew!) Her confidence and enthusiasm were unfazed. Alex and Gina are still a bit tentative. We'll be signing up all 3 for lessons next time (which may be next year - it is March after all).
Sleep:
I got to catch up on sleep this weekend and feel worlds better for it. I was in bed by 9:00 on Saturday and Sunday nights. Amazing what 10 hours of sleep will do for you.
Sap:
I hung my 4 sap buckets on Sunday afternoon. One on the small silver maple in our side yard, 2 on the neighbor's big silver maple, and one on their red maple. Checked them all this morning and had about 3 gallons of sap already. Let the season begin!
teebee
A very nice post about our church
My friend Henry (of Blogads fame) writes a very nice post here about our church and the UCC as a whole. In reading more on this site, I was unaware of the controversy the UCC advertising campaign was stirring up. Upon seeing the ad, I can see why, especially in this post-Janet-Jackson, media-bending-over-backwards-to-avoid-stirring-up-the-right era. Too bad shrill, pompous and obstinately ignorant aren't character traits of pundits on the left. Whups - did I say that or think it?
teebee
teebee
Friday, March 04, 2005
"If this is correct, press #"
Did our taxes last night. Am still doing fed taxes the paper way - don't have enought confidence in the security of the free e-filing methods, althought they seem to be getting better. I know the feds want everyone e-filing 'cuz it saves them money, but not at the expense of my e-privacy. State taxes done via tele-file which is a bit monotonous but is efficient. Had everything wrapped up by 9:30 or so.
On tap for the weekend: clean and hang maple buckets (Saturday is supposed to be sunny and in the 40's), then 1/2 day skiing after church on Sunday with a couple of families from church.
teebee
On tap for the weekend: clean and hang maple buckets (Saturday is supposed to be sunny and in the 40's), then 1/2 day skiing after church on Sunday with a couple of families from church.
teebee
