My First Woodworking Project
Dan writes:
I am the son of a German Jewish Holocaust survivor. My family escaped Nazi Germany like so many others and found their way to New York City where I was born. Not having the elbow room my dad needed, he eventually moved the family to Fair Lawn, New Jersey a sleeper suburb of the big city. We lived in a house next to the old Erie Lackawanna railroad line which took all of the fathers into the city every day to work. My brothers and I called it, “The Daddy Train”.
My dad was a very handy fellow and on the weekends he would take great pride in fixing everything that my brothers and I managed to break that week in the house. Almost every Saturday morning we would go to the center of town, a place called “Radburn”, to the local hardware store and pick up the needed supplies to complete the projects. The store was called “Kronkies Hardware”. This was back in the day before the big box stores took over. You would walk in and a kind and elderly Mr. Kronkie would say to my dad, “Hello Henry, what did the kids break this week?” We would then walk around the store and I was just amazed with all the neat tools and gadgets that were on display. At the checkout counter old Mrs. Kronkie would always offer me a big sugar cookie from the oversized cookie jar sitting on the counter. For a boy who was just 7, it was love at first sight.
When we returned home, I would help my dad fix the things I had helped to break. This was a real bonding moment between my dad and me. He taught me a lot through hands on experience and when I help my boys today, I can’t help to think about those wonderful memories of the days gone by and how much I miss my dad.
I went to Thomas Jefferson Junior High School and in 1962 and signed up for my first woodshop class. It was neat! After learning all the basics, like how NOT to cut your fingers off or get splinters in your hands, the teacher turned us loose to make something for the holidays. I decided to make a Star of David tray for my grandfather and grandmother.
The bandsaw was fun to use and it cut the outer shape just perfectly, leaving the nice sharp edges that were required. Next it was time to carve out the inside of the tray, by hand. It went well until I got too aggressive and actually cut through the bottom. (If you hold it up to the light, you can see where I goofed.)
I was proud of what I made and it gave me great satisfaction to see the look on my grandparents faces when I gave it to them. Much to my surprise, they decided to hang it up on a wall for everyone to see and to display their faith rather than only use it occasionally as a serving tray.
They are all long gone now. Only memories remain. I have the tray still. It reminds me of the sacrifices that they made in getting to this great country of ours. It reminds me of how I fell in love with woodworking.
Many of you have purchased and have made our seasonal bowl and tray templates. Be assured, the Star of David is on the list and I hope to have it you in time to make it for Passover.
Whatever your faith is, may you and your family have a warm, safe and joyous holiday season.
No Fireplace Mantle To Hang Your Christmas Stockings On?
Problem solved!!
Just pick up a length of 1” X 10” select pine, a dozen large Shaker pegs and some decorative molding.
I chose barley twist trim, because I wanted to paint it up like a candy cane. How easy can it get? And to make it a little more memorable, do as Grandma and Poppy have done. Use it as your grandchildren’s growth chart to see and record just how quickly the little ones are sprouting up.
Happy Woodworking From Bruce at Eagle America!
Quality Father & Son Time Continued…
The fun with this rocker project was the time that I got to spend with my son over the Thanksgiving holiday.
After he finished scaling the drawing from Matt Nauman’s picture and making the AutoCAD drawing (misstated on first posting) we made up a mockup out of plywood. This was a pretty rough affair but was done only to make sure of the position of the person rocking wasn’t too high. I didn’t want my son or anyone else tipping over!
This is what the mockup looked like:
OK, so it is pretty rough looking. This mockup was to determine function, not aesthetics’. It worked, but we added a “stopper” at the back of the rocker to keep from rolling over onto your head. And we added arm rests, just because…. This rough looking rocker will be used for patterns for the final products. We are currently in the process of cutting material and gluing it up. More to come in my next post…
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Quality Father & Son Time!
Tom writes:
A year or so ago, my son was home browsing through one of my Fine Woodworking magazines. He saw this Rocking Adirondack designed and made by Mathew Nauman, a student at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. My son asked me if I could build it and I said sure. My confidence in my abilities was probably a little overblown!
I scaled out the design from this picture and made the attached CAD drawing.
We made a mockup out of plywood to make sure it would rock since my son actually wants to use it. We added arm rests and changed the rockers a little to accommodate them. The mock up is serving as a pattern for the rockers and I have started the task of making them.
My son is coming home for Thanksgiving a day early to help me out. I am looking forward to the quality time we will be spending together!
More to come as our project progresses…
Tom
Festool “Drool”
Bruce writes:
You just have to love Festool!!
While showing off our Festool display to a local contractor recently, I could sense that he was getting very excited about the time he could save by using Festool products.
He was particularily excited about the C-12 portable drill kit, I know the feeling! I have one myself ! The right angle and offset attachments in themselves put the unit light years beyond any other drill on the market.
When we got to the TS55 rail saw he was blown away.
He left with a Festool Catalog and is going to mark it up for His Christmas “Wish List”
Do you have your Festool list made?
Attic Treasures
We’ve all been there. A few years ago I lost an old “family” Aunt back in New Jersey. She was a girl friend of my mother and I knew her all of my life. “Aunt” Marge and “Uncle” Harry loved to cruise the world and teach crafts on the ships in exchange for passage, room and board. Not a bad way to spend your retirement years. Harry died back in 1990 and Marge passed away just a few years ago.
As she had no family to speak of, I was asked to help clear out the house. The house was like a time warp. It was always 1955 when you walked in and sat down. It was comfortable feeling. The house smelled old with oriental rugs and things hung on the wall that when you finally removed them the wallpaper still looked new under it.
It was hard packing up all these fond memories. When the main level of the house was cleared, it was time to go into the garage, up those old pull down stairs, you know the type, and climb up into the world of all forgotten things. There I found steamer trunks from the 1920’s along with lamps, books and other items that have collected dust over the years since it was probably put there when they moved into the house in 1952. Slowly things were lowered down and an isle was cleared.
Way back in the corner under a sheet I found this old Lane cedar chest, still giving out that wonderful aromatic smell that us woodworkers love so much.
When I opened it, hoping to find a lost treasure or a map to some mysterious location where I could find one, it was empty except for and old parchment “instruction” sheet explaining the virtues of female moth eggs. I started to read it, laughed and then decided it was time to put it in my truck and bring it home. The chest, after all, was the real treasure all unto itself. I had to refinish this piece!
I wish I could have shown you a picture of the “before” condition but that was before we started this “blog” thing. I was amazed to find that under the “dirt”, there was a beautiful inlay design on the lid and on the front corner, accent pieces.
So, summer came and I tackled this job with loving care thinking of my Aunt and Uncle with every pass of sandpaper and brush stroke of polyurethane. I used Murphy Oil Soap to first clean the old chest and then used Citristrip Stripper/Wash to remove the old finish, or what was left of it. The wood was really in great shape. After touching up the inlays, I selected a satin polyurethane finish and gave it 3 loving coats.
The chest now sits proudly at the foot of one of our guest beds. I wish that old Aunt Marge could see what I had accomplished. I wonder what she used to put in it. I open the chest and it is empty, or maybe not. It is full of wonderful memories of my childhood and Aunt Marge and Uncle Harry.
Anyone out there have any idea how old this chest is?
Woodworking And A Wedding
My son recently married a wonderful woman this summer. As my son was telling me about the wedding arrangements, he asked me if I would make them something special to put envelopes and cards in at the wedding reception. I offered them a wishing well I made 26 years ago for my wedding. No, they said, it seems wishing wells, gift wrapped boxes and painted mail boxes were what everyone was using and they wanted something different.
After spending what seemed to be hours trying to come up with something different and out of the ordinary, I came across a wedding card box made from picture frames on the internet. I could make this, only with a few improvements. The hard part was getting the approval of my wife and future daughter in-laws mother. To my surprise, they loved the idea, and it was time to get started. Just one thing, I wanted to keep it a secret from the bride and groom until they walked into the reception hall.
After a trip to the local Amish lumber yard for some oak boards, and the local craft store to purchase four inexpensive picture frames (they came with the glass, photo mat, and frame back I needed- cheaper than buying them separately) I was ready to get busy.
I started out making my own picture frames, something I have never done before. The box has four vertical supports on the corners, made in two pieces. I routed a slot in the center of each piece so when I glued them together they made a hole for a threaded rod to pass through. Then I cut a dado on both sides of each one to allow the picture frames to slide into them.
I attached the threaded rods to the base, slid the vertical supports onto the threaded rods, and slid the picture frames in place. Then I drilled a counter bore to fit a cap nut to hold everything together and conceal how it is opened. It can all be taken apart, and the picture frames can be used separately. Finally, I routed a groove in the bottom to attach a lazy susan so the box would spin around and the pictures on all four sides could be seen.
The box was beautiful and everybody was pleased with my design and effort. Now the real test, what would the Bride and Groom think?
At the reception, I stood at the door with my wife and the bride’s parents greeting the guests as they came in, listening to the comments and complements on my box. However, I was waiting for the Bride and Grooms comments. As they arrived at the reception they saw the card box and thought it was amazing. They were surprised and happy with what I came up with.
That’s how my woodworking skills became part of my son and daughter-in-laws wedding.
Steve Province – Ohio
Installing Cabinet Hardware Easily
Miki writes:
My mom was refinishing her kitchen cabinets. My sister and I thought it would look great if we added knobs and drawer pulls to her cabinets. We decided to purchase and install them for her birthday. Mom was excited about the idea and agreed with our choice of knobs and pulls. So one weekend morning, my sister and I went out to my mom’s while she was at work and installed them.
We used the Euro Handle-It Jig to install them. What a great jig! It was so easy we were done in about a half hour! All we had to do is decide on a dimension for the knobs on the doors, hold the jig in place and drill. You can flip the jig for left or right opening doors.
Then we set up to do the drawer pulls. That was just as simple. We measured the drawer length, subtracted 3” for the drawer pull length and divided by two. Set the jig, drilled the holes, and installed the pulls. If you are in the market for a well made, easy to adjust jig for installing door and drawer pulls, I suggest the Euro Handle-It. And it’s made in the USA!
What’s Old is New Again!
George writes:
I stopped at a garage sale a few days ago and found a wood chisel that had been severely abused and probably used on everything other than wood. I paid a dollar for the chisel, made in Sweden, took it home and turned a frog into a prince using the Worksharp sharpening system.
The Worksharp is a beautiful sharpening tool that can recondition your chisels or hand plane blades back to their original sharpness and then some. The Worksharp is also great for small touchups and maintaining your tools so you will never have to worry about pulling a dull tool out of you drawer or rack again.
I would highly recommend this affordable sharpening station to anyone!
It pays for itself in no time!
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