Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Air Dried vs. Kiln Dried

We had always assumed that kiln dried lumber was better for furniture then air dried but then we read an editorial in Wood magazine (June/July 2004) that changed our mind. Then we received the newest email from American Wood worker where it discussed nothing but cutting and using backyard mills.

We have been using a small shop-made sled for the band saw (Wood Magazine May, 2007) that we borrowed to cut small logs into usable lumber for our turnings for a couple of years now. In fact one of our future projects will be making a sled that will handle up to 8 foot logs.

We do have a kiln in the works for smaller stuff built from an old refrigerator. However we haven't wired in the bulb and fan yet. It will also only handle smaller boards and wood used mainly for woodturning. 

We still have to get a planer to make these rough-sawn planks usable for furniture but since it takes 6 months to air dry we have some time. We may even buy one of the chainsaw mills since they are relatively inexpensive.

Here are some links to some articles about air dried lumber and cutting your own lumber in your backyard as well as what you can do with rough cut lumber.

Backyard Sawmills - American Woodworker

Simple Lumber Maker - American Woodworker

How to Succeed at Air-Drying Lumber - Wood Magazine

Kiln-Dried Vs. Air-Dried - Timber Ridge Enterprise

Air Dried vs Kiln Dried - Sawmill Creek

Air Dried vs. Kiln Dried - Lumberjocks

Air-dried vs. Kiln-dried Wood - WoodCentral

Rustic Picture Frame - American Woodworker

This is a quote from HookieMojo at Lumberjocks that we think sums up the differences quite well.


"Air Dried
better color
wood is subjected to less extreme temps
potentially less checking
lower cost
less brittle material
less volume constraints (only so much can fit in a kiln at once)

Kiln Dried
pests are killed (like beetles and termites)
fungus can be killed (helpful for special woods like holly)
faster dry times
more control over the rate of drying
lower moisture content is possible which is beneficial for indoor projects"

Monday, November 29, 2010

How Do You Eat a Piano!?

One bite at a time! Some friends tore apart a piano and asked us if we wanted the wood. We are big recyclers so we jumped at the opportunity. These are the photos of the process t0 salvage the wood. Most of the piano was in pieces designated for the burn pile when we rescued it. There is a lot of thick lumber but it is all in small pieces. We are hoping to use it to make small projects with. All of the wood is over 100 years old. We are not sure what kind of wood it is yet but we will attempt to identify it as we clean it up. There is some paint to be removed from some of the pieces.
Some of the pieces
All of the pieces

Some of the beautiful carvings. Only one side was there though. We are hoping to make a lamp out of the center section.
Tools used so far!

Hardware and metal found so far. That wood screw is almost 4 inches long!
Some of the smaller pieces after being de-metaled and separated.

Some of the medium sized pieces with no metal left.

Part of the pedal assembly. Piece on left appears to be Poplar under that paint.

Large pieces waiting to be disassembled.



Cyber Monday Deals 2010

Here are all of the Cyber Monday woodworking deals we have ran across for 2010.

Craft Supplies USA - $5 Flat Rate Shipping with no order minimums (Code CYBER10)

Fine Woodworking - 25% off over 1,000 items and FREE Shipping on all orders

Home Depot - Various savings + Free Shipping

Northern Tool - Up to 60% off certain items

Peachtree Woodworking - 10-25% off Bessey Clamps

Rockler - Various items + Free Shipping

Shop Woodworking - 20% off entire order and Free Shipping on orders over $25 (Code WBS125)

Woodcraft - $10 off a $25 purchase (Code12240) and up to 25% off Jet/Powermatic and other deals + Free Shipping


Sunday, November 28, 2010

Our Completed Projects

These are the projects we have finished over the past few years. Most have been wood turning but we have started branching off into flat work and scroll saw work.

1) Various Wood Turnings
The easiest way to view these is to check out our website for Wolfe's Pens -N- Things. Just click here to view the gallery.

2) Simple clamp rack
We needed a place to store clamps out of the way and so this is what we came up with. It gave us a chance to play with biscuit joinery. Once we expand our clamp selection then we will replace this one with a bigger and better rack.

3) Sharpening Jig for Grinder
We needed a way to sharpen our turning tools correctly but did not feel like spending big bucks for a Wolverine setup. A fellow turner had posted a photo of the jig that he made and we used his idea to come up with one for our use.
4) Lathe Stand for First Lathe
We found this plan while going through some old Wood magazines. It was in the March 2008 issue. It went together quickly and has held up rather nicely. The only problem we have is that it is not wide enough for the lathe and extension.

5) Storage Unit for Turning Stuff
When we bought the second lathe we decided that we needed better storage for all of the various turning stuff that we had accumulated over the last few years. This was what we came up with. Simple to make and has held up well.

6) Square Foot Gardening Boxes
This next spring we are going to plant our garden utilizing the Square Foot Garden way. If you want more info on square foot gardening, click here. This is the smallest box we will be using and it currently has our garlic in it. We are attempting to make these with recycled wood only. We have eight more full size boxes to build.


7) Alicia's Scrollsaw Christmas Tree 
Alicia's first project with a scroll saw. A beautiful Christmas tree that stands a little over 2 ft. She added various foam ornaments to it with the kids help.


What Do You Think Of This?

For those that don't know, our shop walls are cinder block that is painted with some type of water proof paint that is flaking off everywhere. In order to make our shop look better we have been considering covering the walls with some sort of paneling. We have gotten the majority of the moisture problems taken care of so that should not be a problem.

We were thinking of using T11 barn siding and leaving it unpainted. We would attach furring strips with foam insulation in between them and a vapor barrier underneath. This would then make the walls very versatile for attaching various things too.

What do you guys think? Will this work? Will mold form on the backsides of the T11? Is there a more cost effective way to do this?

Here is a photo of the way the wall looks currently. Only one wall is actually flaking off, the other three look fine.

 

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Woodworking Tips/Videos We Have Found

These are some woodworking tips that we ran across and thought they would be valuable to our fellow woodworkers!


Workbench Hold-Downs-When Your Vise and Bench Dogs Won't Work 

3) Tips from Woodworking Magazine
Installing Hinges in Mortises

4) Tips from Popular Woodworking
Amazing Devices for Laying out Complex Joints
Bench Jig For Thin Pieces 
Changing a Planer Cutterhead  
Drilling Perpendicular Holes
Do You Sharpen Too Much?
Fire & Acid Create Aged Hardware

5) Tips from American Woodworker
6 Storage Tips
9 Tips for Beating Router Tear-Out
12 Tips for Better Biscuit Joining
16 Tips for Sharpening
Drill Press Cabinet 
Resawing Setup
Sliding Drill Press Table
Sliding Wall-O-Tools
Swing-Out Plywood Storage
Tips for Building Cabinets With Pocket-Hole Joinery
Tips for Making Book-Matched Panels

6) Tips from Wood Magazine
Basic Finishing: Part 3, Brushing on a Topcoat
Box Joint Jig
Clamp and Sand Panels Flat
No-Skin Varnish Storage 
Prevent and Fix Finish Drips
Turned Christmas Ornaments

7) Tips from Fine Woodworking
A Simple Tapering Jig
Essential Router-Table Jigs: A Veneer Trimmer
Furniture From Reclaimed Lumber
Get the Most from Your Planer
How to Handle Small Parts Without Losing any Fingers
How to Pop the Curl in Cherry
Learn How Shellac is Made
Sealing and Coloring with Shellac
Steam Bending Simplified

8) Tips from Highland Woodworking
How to Sharpen Plane Irons
Sharpening with the Tormek Grinder

9) Quartersawn Animation
Cool video on how quartersawn oak is cut.

10) SawStop in TimeWarp
Amazing video on how the SawStop works.

Our Current Tool Wishlist

These are some of the tools that we are looking to invest in sometime soon depending on what kind of deal we can find used versus new. They are not in any particular order. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated! We will probably be buying mid grade tools unless we can find a good deal on a used tool.

1) Random Orbit Sander (ours disappeared a year or so ago)
Based off of a review in the October 2008 Wood Magazine we are currently looking at either the Milwaukee 6021-21 $69.00 Home Depot or the Ridgid R2601 $70.00 Home Depot.

2) Drum Sander
Based off of a review in the October 2008 Wood Magazine we are currently looking at either the Grizzly G0459 $545.00 Amazon or the Jet 628900 $680.00 Amazon.

3) Drill Press - Floor
Based off of a review in the September 2010 Wood Magazine we are currently looking at either the Shop Fox W1680 $413.00 Amazon or the Delta 17-959L $579.00 Amazon. One brand that was not reviewed but we will look at is the Ridgid DP1550 $299 Home Depot.

4) Mortiser
We haven't decided if we need a dedicated mortiser or just a mortiser attachment for a floor drill press. Apparently the attachment is available from $64 to $130. However if we do get a dedicated mortiser then we based this off of the review in the June/July 2004 Wood Magazine. We are looking at either the Shop Fox W1671 $239 Amazon or the Delta 14-651 $299 Home Depot $276 Amazon.

5) Hand Planes

6) Japanese Pull Saw
We are leaning towards this one: Japanese "Kugihiki" Flush Cutting Saw from Woodcraft $27.99.

7) Pocket Screw Jig

8) Clamps, clamps, and more clamps

9) Brad or Pin Nailer

10) Laser Engraver
We are hoping to find a used laser engraver in the near future but if we can't find one used then we would love to get the Epilog Zing 24 Laser.


11) Dovetail Jig
Haven't read any reviews for this but we know that Porter Cable makes a good jig. Will have to do further research before making a decision.

Our Current Power Tools

These are the current power tools we are working with. Most we bought used over the years. We hope to update some and add more in the future.

Click on links to see tools if available.

(love this box but need to hang it permanently)

Angle Grinder, 4 1/2" Electric -Model 01178

(added the riser and rolling base kit)

(made a homemade sharpening jig for it)

(need to replace badly)

(need to upgrade to a better filter) (Discontinued)

(not using this much since we got the Delta so may get rid of)
(added a laser light to cut with but need a bigger work area to use it) (Discontinued)
(with upgrade kit and dado blade) (Discontinued)
(2 1/4 HP with fixed and plunge bases)

Router #2 - Craftsman - Model
(attached to router table add-on on table saw) (Discontinued)
(way too big and vibrates very badly, also uses pinned blades)
(with upgrade kit and router table add-on) (Discontinued)
(will be getting rid of soon) (Discontinued)

Our Current Shop Photos and Layout

Our shop is currently in our basement. We are fortunate to have a double walk out basement. Our main shop is located in one half of the basement and measures around 16' x 26' with around 7' 8" ceilings. We took some photos to post but must warn you that we did not clean up the shop first!

Shop Tour - Click on link and then the photos for a bigger view.

Our Current Projects

These are the current projects we are working on:

1) State Tree Wood Pen Project - A project that developed from a friend at the International Association of Penturners. We are making pens from wood that came from each state tree as well as the territories. Many fellow turners sent us wood from their home states so that we could be as authentic as possible. We are almost half way through this project and it has been a blast. We will post the completed pens in our Completed Projects post.
12/8/10 - Put the finish on the next 16 pens. Only lost one when we turned it. For some reason white oak burl does not like us. Have lost 2 of this same wood. Next up will be to wet sand and polish - then assembly and photo. After that we will start on the next set.

12/13/10 - Only happy with the finish on 4 of the pens. We will redo the rest and try again. Sometime being a perfectionist is not a good thing.

4/9/11 - Still working on these. Almost out of wood. Need to find the rest of the states!


2) Scrollsaw Christmas Project - this one is a secret for our relatives but we will show photos after Christmas. We can say that we used a lot of Red Oak! Decided to show a intentionally blurred photo as a teaser! We have all of these cut and now on the sanding part. After that will be the finishing.
12/8/10 - Put the second coat on the first three. Still have a ton more to sand. Also have to decide if we are going to have time to do the rest before Christmas.

12/13/10 - Three done, three almost done and the rest are coming along. The sanding is killing us. Keep braking the sanding belts we bought for the scroll saw. Even broke a sanding drum belt that we add in the drill press.

4/9/11 - We finished most of these and handed them out as Christmas presents. Now we are working on some follow up ones. Still having a hard time with the sanding in the tight areas.

3) Bowls and Various Other Turnings - Woodturning is where we started from and so we are constantly turning many things out on our lathes. Woodturning will always be our first love.
This bowl is one we are currently working on. We are having a lot of tear out issues with it and are hoping that a lot of sanding will take care of that. Also we have no clue what the wood is. The guy who gave us the logs thought they were willow but the wood is not that light or easy to work with. Any one have any ideas what kind of wood it is?

4/9/11 - Alicia has really gotten into turning bowls and has made two so far as well as her first tea light. She is also finishing up the bowl pictured above.

4) Carousel Horse Restoration
We have this in it's own separate post but wanted to include this since it is a current project of ours.
Current State of Carousel Horse


4/9/11 - Have not had much time to work on this project and am really not sure where to start to be honest. Still doing a little research on restoring carousel horses.


5) Pen Stands
We are working on making our own pen stands so that we can start doing arts and crafts shows this summer and fall.
In Progress - Walnut 10 Pen Stand

Our Upcoming Projects

These are some of the projects that we will be working on in the future:

1) A Super Sled for my Table Saw based off of this awesome one from Eagle Lake Woodworking - http://www.eaglelakewoodworking.com/post/Super-Sled-Crosscut-and-Miter-Sled.aspx

2) Some Wood Business Card Cases similar to this one from Lumberjocks - http://lumberjocks.com/projects/36867 and this one from Wood Magazine - http://www.woodstore.net/bucaca.html

3) Boxes for Square Foot Gardening - simple 2"x6" 4'x4' frames

4) Assembly Table/Outfeed Table for Table Saw similar to this one from Wood Whisperer - http://thewoodwhisperer.com/tablesaw-outfeed-table/

5) A Bandsaw Log Milling Sled like these - http://lumberjocks.com/projects/33961 or http://lumberjocks.com/projects/23779

6) Carousel Horse Restoration

We will post more to come as we decide what direction we are going to go.

Our Woodworking Journey

Wolfe's Woodworking is owned by Rob and Alicia Wolfe. This is our woodworking journey. We have dabbled in various woodworking, woodturning, and scrollsawing projects. Now we would like to share them with the rest of the world. We would like to show our progress from amateurs to eventually professionals. We hope you like our journey and if you have any questions or comments please free to post them here or email us at: wolfeswoodworking@hotmail.com.