Kaleo's Workshop

Jonesing for some woodworking…

kaleo — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 00:50:18 +0000

So for those of you that are on Twitter you know that recently I had absolutely no desire to go into the shop. I kept telling myself all day, SELF: you need to go into the shop and get some stuff done. I’m still in the middle of making the box for the podcast. I’m trying to make a few stands for some pottery to be displayed on. Just recently I had a friend of a friend find out that design and make furniture. So I think that there might be a few projects coming my way.

But even with all the stuff that I could and should be doing in the shop, I had no desire to go down there. Have any of you ever had this experience? I mean I love it when I am down there. And because I know that I will love it when I get down there, I usually make myself go. Well I learned my lesson while at school. There were just some days that I felt like not doing anything. And those were the days that I should have stayed home.

One such time was at the end of a long day. It was crunch time, a project was coming due at the end of the week. We were all putting is some really long days. One night I was taking the clamps off the project. I had glued corner blocks onto some construction paper and then onto the carcass. This was to be able to clamp the miter corners. Well the clamps came off and the piece was looking good. It was about 10 pm and something told me “that’s enough for the day”. But I wanted to get the corner blocks off and get all the construction paper off as well. So I proceed to pop off the blocks, and thought I’ll sand off the paper. I started to sand a quickly figured out that it was going to take forever to do it this way. So I grabbed one of my chisels and proceeded to pair away the paper. Oh did I mention that this was a veneered piece. Well needless to say, my eyes grew tired and my hands and my brain weren’t communicating. The chisel got away from me and I took out a nice chunk of veneer.

Now I did end up being able to fix it, so that it didn’t look that bad. But of course to me I will always see that flaw first whenever I see that piece.

The lesson is follow your gut. I have found that those time when you do not feel like being in the shop are the times that you shouldn’t be in there. Things just go wrong, you might mess something up that you have spent hours and hours doing. Or worse yet, you might not be thinking straight and end up hurting yourself. So if you don’t feel like it, then take a break and watch some cartoons with your kids. If you don’t have kids, then just watch the cartoons anyways, I just use my kids as an excuse.

3 tool reviews and a twist… Episode 17

kaleo — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 08:50:13 +0000

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This week I talk about some of the sweet tools that I had the chance to work with this week. They are the following:

Lie-Nielsen small brass spokeshave
Fein Multimaster Tool Rigid Oscillating Spindle Sander
Zem Hearing Protection

The updated Shop

kaleo — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 23:32:59 +0000

So over the 4th of July weekend, I got to spent a little more time in the shop. Although the time that I got to spent wasn’t just my own time. At the moment at work I am making a huge curved floor molding to go around a oval shaped cut out of the floor. So over the weekend I had to joint and edge glue some 12 inch wide Red Oak boards. Yes I know it seemed like a waste to me also to make this molding out of such wide stock. But I had to cut out the initial curve and then glue on the off cut to the back to be able to mark out and cut out the same curve only 4 1/2 inches wide. So that’s how a spent a couple of hours in the shop.

But I also spent some time cleaning and arranging tools. The first thing that I noticed was the my very simple and cheap router table was sagging. So I took the router out and braced the table flat again. But this has lead me to believe that I need to make a real router table. So that will be soon. ( my brother in law has a craftsmen bench top router table that I can use if I am in a pinch.)Then I mounted my planer onto a rolling cabinet that I had and leveled it to the extension wing to the UniSaw. The other big thing that you will notice is the huge snap on tool chest in the shop. That also belongs to the brother in law. But man does it look sweet in the shop. My one experiment last weekend was trying to rig up some poor mans dust collection. At the moment I have access to 4 shop vacs. I guess I should say 3 because my Festool Midi vac, does not qualify as a cheap shop vac. So I hooked on up to the planer and that worked beautifully. I hooked another up to the miter saw and that worked beautifully also. Then I tried to hook one up to the jointer. Let’s just say that blue is a miracle worker in the shop, but it has ti’s limits. And one of those limits is attaching a shop vac hose to the DC port of a jointer. Did I mention that this was a poor mans attempt at dust collection. I am saving up for a decent hopefully used and nicely priced something soon. But until then I’m stuck “jerry-rigging” and blue taping stuff together.By the way there will be a new episode of This Week in Wood, hot and fresh by Monday morning. So look forward to that Monday at work, I know I will!!!

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Eww Veneer Episode 7, (repost)

kaleo — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 00:44:01 +0000

So here’s the latest update to the box making series. In this part we discuss veneers. Where they come from, how they are made, how to prepare them and how to get them ready.So I said that I would post the recipe for the flatten solution. Now there are many different ways to do this. The way that I do it is this: 4 parts water to 2 parts glycerin. Now many people add alcohol, this is believe to help the solution penetrate the wood deeper. Also they add a little bit of Plastic Resin Glue. This I do not know why they do. But you can also buy this solution pre-made at Rockler or at Woodcraft. I hope this helps, also thanks to everyone for using my Amazon link and the Google Ads and Search. I truly appreciate it.

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Woodworking in America

kaleo — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 21:35:35 +0000

So the folks over at Popular Woodworking have just opened up registration for Woodworking in America. So head over there and take a look at all the presenters and exhibitors. Register today to get your spot and be there at the show. Also send in your votes on who I should interview.

Woodworking in America

Box Making post

kaleo — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 01:38:43 +0000

So I haven’t had a lot of time in the shop this last week. In fact I haven’t been home much at all this last week. Now that it is summer my son Kai is taking swimming lessons in Maryland by my mother in laws home. So the family has been staying up there all last week and this week as well.

But I did get a chance to head over to my local WoodCraft store. That was a blast, because it’s been over 2 years since I’ve walked into one of those. I went to get a few things for the box. I bought a new metric and imperial 6 inch rulers. They make a really nice one. I also got some pretty nice zebrawood veneer for the top and bottom of the box. Also a small 1/8 inch piece of zebrawood for the splines in the box.

So hopefully this weekend I’ll get into the shop and do some veneering. Also I plan to make a simple spline cutting jig. So I hope to get some good video of all this.

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Gettin’ in the “Groove” Episode 6, box making series part 2

kaleo — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 10:28:40 +0000

So I haven’t had as much time in the shop as I like in the last couple of weeks. But in this episode we do some basic things. Cutting a groove for our base in the box. Fitting it all together and a few other tips.Thanks for the continued support by using our Amazon link and the Google ads and searches. We really appreciate everything that you guys do for us.

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Father’s Day what a great day

kaleo — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 23:46:36 +0000

So as I hope all of you know that this weekend is fathers day. Well I hope that those of you that are married and have children, that they remember that it’s father’s day. I had a funny experience today when I went to Lowe’s to get a few things. I walked in and I saw a group of women walking out with there hands full. They all had some sort of power tool, mostly Hitachi drills. But that got me thinking what it is that I want for Father’s day. So here’s a little list of things that I thought would be sweet for the blessed day.

1. Festool Tape Measure: This is a sweet little tape measure that allows you to read through the top. Now this might not have many uses in Furniture making. But in the world of remodeling it is a brilliant idea. This tape measure allows you to put it flat against a wall and read the exact measurement on the top, without having to bend the tape and make a guess.

2. Chris Vespar Tools: This guy is an Australian Tool maker. He makes some of the most beautiful bevel gauges and marking gauges out there. I own one of his smallest adjustable squares. I love it and would love to have anything that he makes.

3. Lie Nielsen Tools: Once again I would take anything given me from Lie Nielsen. But I especially would like there long handle chisels and any plane that they make.

Last but not least, the hottest thing out there at the moment: The Wood Whisperer T-Shirt. At least there the hottest thing right now until the Kaleo’s Workshop shirts hit the market. LOL

So I hope that everyone of you Fathers out there has a great day. For all you last minute shoppers you can check out all the other cool fathers day stuff at Amazon by going through the link here. Thanks again

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This Week in Wood -16

kaleo — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 16:53:26 +0000

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Four day work weeks, Clamps and lots of other fun stuff.

Thanks to all of you that have used my Amazon.com link and also clicked on the google ads. Every little bit is greatly appreciated.

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Pouring rain and Pouring some Concrete…

kaleo — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 22:16:04 +0000

So let me start out by saying never have I seen so much rain here in the Washington D.C. area than the last month. You would think that we were in Seattle or something. Even with all the rain in the last two day, the shop has stayed relatively dry. Of which I am very happy. But the real fun came last Friday, it was the first time that I had the chance to pour a concrete counter top. Man was it really cool. It took us about 2 hours to prep and pour and clean up. First things first we had to build a frame, that was built a few weeks ago. But you have to remember when you do this that you are doing everything upside down. So we decorated the top surface with some nice stones and some petrified pieces of wood. This was all done by my Uncle Chris (you can check him out at Concrete Connexion, google it I can’t get the link up now). After which 4 bags of concrete go into a huge mixer along with some dark blue tints and some trade secret stuff. This all mixes for a few minutes and then it’s into the mold which is on a huge workbench equipped with 4 massive vibrators that shake the hell out of the concrete. Then you let it cure for 4 days which brings us to today. It came out of the mold this morning which was cool to see. But now we have to do some griding and then polish and then she will look amazing. I will snap a few photos when that all happens.A new Episode of This Week in Wood should be out by the end of the week. So look out for that.
Also please excuse the spelling, for some reason the computer that I am using won’t allow me to spell check. It’s not my money MAC.

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