Laser Engraver in Woodworking
- Read Time: 10 mins
- Hits: 10864
Despite that fact that woodworking in one form or another has been around since the dawn of man, and word "traditional" is thrown around like mainstay in the industry, there are always new tools, techniques and ideas being introduced and adapted literally every week. Many years ago, when working in another industry I discovered that a company down the street from us could provide us with some promotional products, including some very cool clear glass coffee mugs with our logo engraved on them. When I went to place the order, they showed me the machine that would be used. It was of course a laser etcher and I had never seen one before. That year was around 1995 ... and I wanted one of those machines from the first time I ever saw it. They were, and still are expensive for the commercial versions and I could never really justify the expense ... but move forward 20 years and technology has changed and now there are "hobby" or "home" versions of laser engravers that are affordable for non-commercial use, and the one that I am using was provided by www.banggood.com
Laser Engraver in Woodworking
I received the engraver in large cardboard box, well packaged in plastic packing and all in pieces, which is what I expected. Because of such a large international customer base there are NO instructions in the box, you go to their website to watch the video for assembly and how to download and use the software that drives the etcher. Think it took me ...
How to Make a Custom Guitar Stand
- Read Time: 4 mins
- Hits: 13463
Many musicians yearn to be different and unique and although a custom guitar stand might not improve their guitar playing techniques it will certainly be an eye-catching accessory. Custom guitar stands are not new but they are somewhat rare, at least compared to the hundreds of thousands of off-the-shelf versions that abound in the music industry.
In my case we are taking what, at first blush, appears to be the top end cut off Fender Stratocaster guitar, and manufactured into a guitar stand, and that is what it is supposed to look like.
How to Make a Custom Guitar Stand
Unable to find any kind of a plan for this project, I did start off my making a very rough mock-up to get some ideas of angles and shapes. I discovered that the backbone of the stand in the shape of an inverted "Y" was an easy and strong solution.
Making a Jewelry / Keepsake Box
- Read Time: 5 mins
- Hits: 9238
It's always fun making new things and seeing how they turn out, and if you get the chance to make something a second or third time, or even more, each version gets better and better because you learn quicker ways or building and you learn how to master the finer details too. I saw this little jewelry box somewhere and the design stuck in my brain as something I would like to build some day ... and someday has come.
I liked that it had substance, but also that it hand some curves to the design. It's not just a square, flat sided box, and it's nice to vary things once in a while. I started off with some rough sawn Alder and planed it down to 1-1/8". Since I had no plans, I just guessed at a size that I felt would look good.
Making a Jewelry / Keepsake Box
The sides would be joined edge grain to edge grain, which is not the best way to hold wood together but by adding splines to the corners, the box would be very strong. The one thing I knew from making picture frames with 45 degree corners is that each of the opposite sides needs to be identical in length ... so the left and right sides need to be exactly the same length AFTER the 45 degree cut is made and the front and back sides also need to be identical in length. If they are not ....
Making a Tripod Dolly
- Read Time: 6 mins
- Hits: 7252
Anyone who follows my YouTube Channel will know that from time to time I am out doing vids in other people's shops, art galleries, shows and so on. I always use a tripod when I video tape, either inside or outside. When shooting inside I have often wished I had a tripod dolly with me. I checked them out on-line and found that most of them seem to start around $100 price and go up from there. After carefully looking at them, I think I can make something at least as usable as what I have seen but for a lot less money ... and for the amount I need it, the cost of a 3 wheels and a few nuts and bolts it should be fairly easy to make.
The only real disadvantage of mine is the arms will not be adjustable, which I really don't need or care about anyway.
Making a Tripod Dolly
It will fit all my tripods and that's all I care about. To figure out the size, I dropped a plumb-bob down from the center shaft of my favorite Slik Tripod and adjusted the legs to where I would like to have them for indoor shooting. I discovered that the length was 21 inches from the centre ...
One Tree Woodwork Exhibit
- Read Time: 2 mins
- Hits: 7710
Not everyone has the gift of "vision". It is one of those attributes that comes from true artistry and there have been many in the past who had ideas and visions of what they wanted to accomplish and some have become well know names like Frank Lloyd Wright, Charles and Henry Greene, Gustav Stickely, Thomas Molesworth, George Nakashima, Harvey Ellis and many many more.
Today, we have even more exceptional woodworkers with a flare for new and innovative ideas and once in a while we get a chance to see some of their creations and modifications all in one place. Such was the that at the recent One Tree Exhibit hosted by the Robert Bateman Centre in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada and in association with Live Edge Design. Robert Bateman of course is know world wide for is exceptional paintings, so who better to show of the works of fellow artist woodworkers.
One Tree Woodwork Exhibit
The whole concept of the One Tree Exhibit was based on the concept that all the artists would use the one from the same tree. In this case, a big old Broadleaf Maple that had died some time ago which left portions of it spalted, some figured ...
Building an Album Table
- Read Time: 3 mins
- Hits: 4938
Well ... you may choose to call it something else, and you would not be wrong with whatever name you gave this handy little table. I has many uses and many names. I have been unable to find it earliest source or where it originated from which probably means version of this go back so far it is beyond recorded history of furniture making.
I have always wanted to make one of these little tables but always had concerns about the wood movement in the legs. Depending on the moisture content and the type and cut of the wood the legs could have a mind of their own in terms of bending and bowing. I knew the best way to combat this was to laminate the wood in the legs which goes a long way to keeping the legs stable, straight and very strong.
This method is nothing knew, I first discovered it when I had the opportunity to see in person some original Gustav Stickley furniture. One of the things I noticed on some pieces was that the legs were composed of 2 pieces of wood glued together. I was told, this was not because they didn't have the wood in the correct sizes, or could not get it, but that the pieces that were glued together were actually more stable as laminated wood with less tendency to bow and bend when subjected to varying humidity levels.
Building an Album Table
The information wasn't new to me, but what was new was that for some reason, to have Gustav Stickley using this technique seemed somehow legitimize the methodology. For some reason in my mind, I never really thought about the fact that all these amazing woodworkers of past had the same wood movement problems we all still encounter today ...
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