So here we go with the box. Now this box is going to be a simple box, with miters with either keys or splines. A nice veneered top and maybe a nice tray with some suede lining.In this episode I introduce the box and “Grain Flow”. We’ll do the rough dimensioning and get our piece ready. Thanks for watching.
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First of all Happy Memorial Day to everyone out there. I’ve been planning this day ever since I got back from Australia. Australia was great, but the one thing they don’t do at all like us here in the states is BBQ. S o this weekend has been full of two things making an extension/router table for the Unisaw and BBQ’n some ribs.
So on Saturday I went to the local BORG (home depot) and got a sheet of 3/4 MDF and proceeded to make a 4 x 4 table top and some legs. The table sits even with the Unisaw top, so it will work as an out feed table. At the far end of that table I plan to make it into the router table.
The second thing that I did this weekend was plan for the BBQ’n. My brother-n-law and I made a dry rub. We soaked the ribs in apple juice for about 3 hours and then put on the rub, then let them sit overnight. In the morning at around 7 am, I started to make the sauce, which consisted of Dijon mustard, molasses, vinager, jalepenos, onions, salt and pepper and a little brown sugar. Then I soaked some hickory wood chips in some beer for about 2 hours and started up the grill. Put in the chips and let it heat up and then the ribs went on. And 5 hours later, we had the best ribs that I have ever eaten. Better that any resturant that I have been to.
So I hope everyone had a great Long Weekend, here’s to a great summer of woodworking and BBQ’n
So I know that it has been a few days since the last post. It has been a very long week and I am looking forward to the long weekend as well. I actually picked up a side job this week making some windows and window shashes. This should prove to be interesting.
As for the box series, I am working on the editing for the first episode this afternoon. I hope to get it out Sunday or early Monday. I have not yet decided if I will have a couple of 10-20 minute long videos or break them up and release them faster. We shall see. So be on the look out for the next episode of Kaleo’s Workshop.
This has to be one of the coolest things I have ever seen. I don’t know if any of you guys have seen this. But it is by a guy named Daniel Rozin. I guess that he is known for making mirrors out of non-reflective materials. Well this one is made from wood. He took 830 pieces of wood and connected them to 830 little motors. Then with a video camera and I guess so pretty sophisticated software, the camera reads the reflected light off a surfaces and moves the individual pieces of wood to make an eerie representation of that thing. Check it out and let me know what you think.
Just a quick video of the mess made from the flooding.
So I spent the entire day on Saturday in the shop. When I say the whole day I mean for about 9am to about 8pm in the shop. I have been trying to finish up a coffee table that I am making for my brother in laws frame shop. They are having a big city wide open day on Saturday next week. And he asked me to have a few items to display. So I got this table together and one coat of finish on the top.
So that is that, I went to bed last night and spent the day today with the family. It started to rain here in Virginia pretty hard around 4pm. It hasn’t stopped yet and it is almost 11pm. So as my family and I packed up and were getting ready to go back to Maryland, we went through the shop to get out. And what did I see, the shop was flooded. FLOODED I tell you, my unisaw was almost floating away. So I spent the next 3 hours just getting the water out of the shop, using the shop vac and a small sump pump. But like I said it’s still raining, so the water is still flowing. I made a temporary damn with all the saw dust that I have made over the last few weeks. But I’ll be back down there in a couple of hours to make sure that at least the water doesn’t make it into the basement. We’ll see…
I mean only you can prevent woodworking accidents. Like everyone else in the woodworking world this week, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about safety. There has been and will be ton written on this subject over the next few days. With an all encompassing desire to write about something different, something that no one has thought of before, I continued to think. I thought all day long. While I framed in a bath tub. Even while I mindlessly cut filler blocks to put between joist where the kicthen cabinets are going. Then I got home and still nothing new or earth shattering had come to me.
As I sat down and stared at the computer screen, I felt my eye begin to tire. My body was telling me to go to bed, or at least go lye down and relax. And then it came to me, nothing mind blowing and nothing revolutionary. But ureka I had it.
The biggest and best tip that I could possibly give is this:
THINK
That’s right, think about it. When you go into the shop you need to stop and think about what you are about to do. Think about the processes you are going to go through. Think about what could happen, think about what you want to happen.
I have found in the last few years that taking the time to stop and think has made all the difference. No matter what machine or hand tool that I was going to use, I would stop and think about it. Think about the forces involved, think about the true purpose of the tool, know it’s limitations. Don’t push the tool farther than it is meant to go. Because a game between you vs. Machine, machine always will win. (except in the cause of MEGATRON)
I saw a guy in one of the forums the other day that said he was deathly afraid of all his power tools. I think that is a wrong attitude to have towards your tools. This is because when you approach something in fear, you are tense, you need to be relaxed and confident. If you know your tools and think about what you want them to do, then you will make the best decisions.
I hope this post makes sense, remember this all came to me while my mind was telling me to go to bed.
PS. This is MEGATRON as if you didn’t know
