New Testingstan

Crosscut sled for the table saw:



With that out of the way, I'm thinking that I'll make another Japanese toolbox next weekend (but with features) and/or a saw bench with accompanying saw horse. Though, I'm also going to need to bottle and brew and maybe make some salsa (or something else...) to keep on track for the rest of the year. I'll have to see how I feel and how plans fall together.

Forgot to add: I do still have some trimming to do, but the sled is otherwise ready.

Old fashioned saw bench with accompanying saw horse.

The bench isn't quite finished being assembled; the saw horse is upside down because the glue is still drying. The big thing is going to be getting the legs leveled once the assembly is complete. Other than that I just need to add some braces between the legs.

Anticipating the first question to come, the notch is for starting rip cuts.

OH! I also made a cherry dopplebock last week that I'll bottle tomorrow and yesterday I made a English Pale Ale that I'll bottle Saturday.

I'll report back when they're ready to sample.

Spartan : DIY Apostle.

I am beginning to learn at the feet of St. Roy.

And by feet, I mean his program on PBS: The Woodwright Shop.

I'm not going to go straight up hand tools, but I do want to start incorporating them into some of my work.

I'm plotting to start making my own homebrew beer, probably at the end of the year. It's more of a fun/mental exercise, as I don't drink beer. My ultimate plan is that it could be something I could make for friends' parties and such.

This thread's been way helpful. Thanks.

SWEET! SO many smilies begging for use...

Also:



I've no idea how to use it correctly yet, but that's part of the fun.

Oh... and I broke the sawhorse...

I needed to adjust one of the legs and so I had to use some water to dissolve the glue, but I didn't do it right and tore the wood up. Which ruined the leg and the top.

SO I tried to salvage the other legs and ruined them too.

Saw bench finished (save for a few nails that I've since added):


Close up of the end where you can see the little bit of joinery I did:


How it's used:

My first two attempts at dovetails. The first (on the left) doesn't quite fit, though I may go at it again and see if I can pare away the pieces to get it to work. The second has a few gaps, but fits together well enough otherwise that I'm calling it a success.



Lessons learned:
1. I need to practice more
2. Before that I need a proper chisel mallet
3. and a coping saw. My hands are still shaking a little.

Edit: Oh, and I have a pale ale to bottle today, too.

Dovetail attempt number three. Much better this time. I used a coping saw to remove the bulk of the waste which made for much cleaner lines. Only big mistake was not quite trimming one of the pins enough and it split the tail piece.



Closer up:

A bench I made:


Close up of the end:



Top joinery:


A fix I made for a too-wide joint cut:


How the legs fit into the crosspiece:


A few little mistakes here and there, still, I can sit on it with no fasteners and glue only holding the legs pieces together.

What kind of wood is that ?

Southern Yellow Pine

New Japanese style toolbox to hold my hand tools. Much larger than the last one I built also.


Interior shot:


I don't really want a toolbox of this style (I'd prefer a European/American style chest), but I needed somewhere to put the hand tools that was quick and easy so I built this. Plus, it was good practice and will last plenty long until I can get my skills up to build a proper chest with joinery and dust skirts and so on.

That said, I'm going to add a set of blocks to hold the saws properly and probably a set of tills/trays to hold my other smaller tools. It'll make the chest more useful and, again, give me more practice. Plus, I may need to make a cart that I can push it around on. It's only about a foot high and stooping to go through it is a pain *AND* it's too heavy to (realistically) lift up on to anything I currently have once I fill it with the tools.

First attempt at a Roubo Bookstand:

I broke it...


Roughly how it should look:


Lessons learned:
1) Christopher Schwarz' sawing method works really well for me (see his appearance on The Woodwright Shop episode "Sawing Secrets"; particularly his discussion of cutting tenons.)
2) I shouldn't try to use my table saw to make shortcuts. (I tried to use it to cut away a bunch of waste and it threw my subsequent cuts off enough to screw things up)
3) I need a keyhole saw. I "have" one, but it's part of a utility knife set I got about 10 years ago that uses slots on the blades/handle that make blades from other manufacturers unusable and they don't make blades for mine anymore.

BOOMSHAKALAKA!!!!!!!





I need to trim the joint a bit so that it opens correctly, but otherwise... I DID IT!

Upgrades to my tool chest. First pic is of the saw tills; just bits of 2x4 with slots cut in them. Second is of the tray I built. Third is how it all fits together.

I have every woodworking hand tool I own in there with the exception of my chisels and mallet. And there's room for them, too, because the .50 cal ammo can on the left (below the yellowish box) is empty right now.

I'll end up reorganizing it for sure, but I'm still pleased with how it turned out.







And tomorrow I need to keg a batch of Maibock I brewed a few weeks back and I'm going to test a pair of sauerkraut batches I made (a ginger one and a mixed veggie one) and, if they're ready to go, can them.

Well, the ginger kraut didn't work out. The top layer got exposed to air (instead of staying under the brine) and rotted, which, in turn, contaminated the rest.

The mixed kraut, which I'm calling кислая смешанные овощей (kislaya smeshannyye ovoshchey: sour mixed vegetables if I got the translation right). It's pretty tasty.

Mesquite Tomato Butter:


Painted the Bench:


Two coats of milk paint and a coat of boiled linseed oil. Next weekend I'm going to paint it with blue latex paint; apparently that will cause the latex to wear off and give me a distressed look that's two tone. This is sort of an experiment to see how well that works so I can then turn around and do the same thing with a pair of benches and a table for the Texans' home games.

You can't really tell from the picture, but I've added a couple coats of wiping varnish to the exterior of my tool chest to give it a little protection:

After the varnish is dry, I'll rub it down with paste wax inside and out to add a little extra. This is also practice for when I start making indoor furniture where I want to really display the wood.

Oh, and I also brewed a batch of a Kolsch.

Picture of the chest with the finish and paste wax applied (and a piece of bare whitewood on top to show the difference):


The inside refilled with tools:


I'm really pleased. It really brought out a character in the wood that didn't really exist previously (since whitewood in general has all the character of a piece of chalk).

The bench is now blue:

If it works the way it's supposed to the blue will wear off and let the red from last week show so that it has a natural "distressed" look.

Dovetail practice (incomplete):


Start of chipotle sauerkraut:

Assuming it takes...

That sauerkraut looks far too delicious considering I like neither sauerkraut nor chipotle seasoning.

What did you put in the tomato butter besides the obvious?