john
10-18-2009, 06:57 PM
I guess I'm back. I haven't done any real woodworking since last Christmas so the Weekly Blog has taken a long rest. I still have not got back into it, but have signed up for a Christmas craft show at a local high school in early December so I guess I will have to get busy.
The first step was to clean up my workbench, again. I have a habit of using a tool and then just putting it on the bench to return to it's proper place later. Later never seems to arrive so the collection just grows and grows. It was amazing how many different tools, brushes, finishes, etc I used over the summer repairing the lawn swing and doing other outdoor maintenance.
The next step was to purchase a larger jointer. I have an old 4" benchtop Craftsman that never really did a good job for me, never could get the fence square to the table. I looked into the SS one, but at $600 here in Canada for a 4" cut, I decided it was not what I wanted. Besides much of the wood I work with is wider than 4" and all the rough lumber I buy seems to have a cup that needs staightening. In the end, I purchased a 6" King model stationery unit. That is an offshore brand that is widely sold here but I'm not sure about south of the border. I haven't got it yet but did pick up the mobile stand so I could put it together in advance. As with much of the off shore products, one of the pieces has a defect so I cannot finish the assembly before returning to the store for a replacement part. Isn't that a familiar story.
The next step is to make room for it. The only place is in the furnace room and it means taking apart the stand for my bench top planer that takes up the only spare room there. I figure the planer can be set-up on on my Workmate when I want to use it. Oh yeah, I had made a nice hardwood mobile frame for that stand, that maybe I could have used for the jointer but it dosen't have locking wheels. Maybe I could have saved $70 and a minor headache.
By this time next week, I hope to be back making sawdust and my list of projects is already longer than time will permit making.
A belated welcome to all the members that have joined over the last few months. Hopefully The Blog will help motivate them to make some of their own sawdust with their ShopSmith.
Have a Safe and Fun week!
John
The first step was to clean up my workbench, again. I have a habit of using a tool and then just putting it on the bench to return to it's proper place later. Later never seems to arrive so the collection just grows and grows. It was amazing how many different tools, brushes, finishes, etc I used over the summer repairing the lawn swing and doing other outdoor maintenance.
The next step was to purchase a larger jointer. I have an old 4" benchtop Craftsman that never really did a good job for me, never could get the fence square to the table. I looked into the SS one, but at $600 here in Canada for a 4" cut, I decided it was not what I wanted. Besides much of the wood I work with is wider than 4" and all the rough lumber I buy seems to have a cup that needs staightening. In the end, I purchased a 6" King model stationery unit. That is an offshore brand that is widely sold here but I'm not sure about south of the border. I haven't got it yet but did pick up the mobile stand so I could put it together in advance. As with much of the off shore products, one of the pieces has a defect so I cannot finish the assembly before returning to the store for a replacement part. Isn't that a familiar story.
The next step is to make room for it. The only place is in the furnace room and it means taking apart the stand for my bench top planer that takes up the only spare room there. I figure the planer can be set-up on on my Workmate when I want to use it. Oh yeah, I had made a nice hardwood mobile frame for that stand, that maybe I could have used for the jointer but it dosen't have locking wheels. Maybe I could have saved $70 and a minor headache.
By this time next week, I hope to be back making sawdust and my list of projects is already longer than time will permit making.
A belated welcome to all the members that have joined over the last few months. Hopefully The Blog will help motivate them to make some of their own sawdust with their ShopSmith.
Have a Safe and Fun week!
John