Portable Woodworking

I bought this cheap Ryobi table saw a few weeks ago.  I've been thinking about some sort of power saw ever since I broke that little bandsaw I got last year.  A casted part simply snapped on me, and replacement parts don't exist for that model.  A real shame.  So I finally broke down and picked up this table saw, for now it will do what I need.  I am mostly using it for long rips, such as ripping stock to width.  I've also used it to cut the shoulders of a couple of cross grain rabbets on some wide boards (12") that I couldn't easily do with my handsaw.

The stock blade that came with it is far inferior to the Diablo blade I picked up for the saw.  The Diablo blade is thinner, which helps to make up for the less-than-monstrous motor, and it feels like the Diablo blade has less vibration and tendency to jam.  Overall an inexpensive upgrade that makes this saw cut noticeably better.

Here are a couple of pictures of my portable planing beam I've been toying with.  The first picture here is it on the floor, without any cleats to raise it.  It's not terribly comfortable to use, I think cleats will help some.  It would also help to have some sort of stick to brace it against a wall so that I don't have to hold it in place with my foot.

I'm also trying it on horses, this time with a stick keeping it off of the wall so I can just focus on planing.  The trouble with this setup for edge planing is that if the opposite edge isn't square, it's hard to make the top edge square.  I may try getting a couple of wood screw clamps to hold the two faces of the board, so it's held perpendicular to the workbench.

I tried attaching this cheap little vise, looks like it was originally designed for a kid's bench, and it worked okay but it doesn't have a ton of holding power.  Maybe some grippy cloth in the jaws would help.  For now I pulled it back off.

Just for fun, I moved my planing plank inside to the kitchen sink and glued up some legs.  

I'm having a bit of trouble getting my new Japanese plane to cut a straight line, it seems to like to make hollows.  I need to take a closer look at the sole, maybe it's not quite as relieved in the right places as I thought.  Anyways, I'm not giving up on my #8 jointer just yet. 

Garland Mill Video

This is a video I took at the Garland Mill at the TFG NE Gathering a couple weeks ago.

It's Been A While

It's been a while since my last post.  Once Spring kicked in, work picked up, so I've been working a fair amount.  I've been goofing around with spoons a bit, but nothing worth posting.  I've also gone on a couple of camping trips, spending time with my friends, running and biking quite a bit more than in Winter.

This week I'm going to be heading up to Chester, New Hampshire to participate in the covered bridge project that the Timber Frame Guild is putting together.  It will be a 9 day project, during which an entire covered bridge will go up.  I'm really excited.  I've started to put together my packing list, which includes all of my tools and maybe an extra shirt or two.  I had the thought that it might be handy to take my Underhill-Roubo bench, but I don't think it would be that useful.  It would also be very difficult to get into my little car.

In the next couple of days I will probably be spending some time sharpening, oiling, and tuning up all of my tools, or I might wait until I get up there since I'll be a day early.

For this project, I just bought myself a nice new RazorSaw 10 1/2" dozuki blade and a 220/600 grit 2x6" DMT plate.  Looks like I might have bought a blade that's not compatible with the handle I have, though, so I might have to whip something up.

That's all that's happening for now, I'll try to stay on top of this blog more.  I'll definitely be taking some pictures at the bridge project, so keep an eye out for those in the next couple of weeks.

Oh, and the bandsaw I got broke right after I bought a nice new 80" resaw blade, didn't even get to put it on.  If anyone wants to buy the blade (or the saw for parts, for that matter) drop me an email.  The carriage that the top wheel rides on snapped in half, old cast iron...  Most of the other parts are in good shape though.

First Furniture Making Power Tool

It's true that I have a circular saw and a battery powered impact driver, but this is the first power tool that I can use for the kind of woodworking I do in my spare time, which tends toward more intricate stuff than framing walls.  

Last week I got my grimy mitts on a bandsaw.  It's a 1940's Craftsman bandsaw, with what appears to be the original 1/2 HP motor that was bought with the unit.  It comes with a custom made (cobbled together) wood base.  It works really well. 

I had to replace the tires, so I went with Urethane because I've read that they're good.  Mine are bright orange.  They cost $45, bringing my total investment in this saw to $45.  Yes, that's correct.  I met someone, and a few hours later they gave me this saw.  He said he never used it, and I looked interested.  Did I mention that it came with several brand new, never used wood and metal cutting blades?  Oh yes, this is the jackpot.  The upper guide is broken on one side, but I ran the saw anyways and it seems to cut flawlessly. 

It only has a 1/2 HP motor, but it didn't seem to struggle at all resawing some semi-green Maple (on the right in the picture below) at full cut capacity.  I think I can thank the sharp blade for that.

There is one bummer, and that's that this saw doesn't appear to accept a riser block, because the top and bottom halves are attached via a big pipe.  No big deal, I guess, because a 6" cutting height is more than I had before!  Oh, and spare parts don't seem to exist for this saw anymore, but with the way it's running, I think I'll be long gone before it needs any major repairs.

Some test cuts above.  Making some Krenov style veneer (or parts for a small box) from Curly Maple on the left, a whimsical curvy cut in the middle, and some more serious resawing on the right.