More Storage for Lathe Stuff

Those who have been reading this languid journey for a while will know that one of my favourite solutions to tool storage problems involves a sheet of wood on the wall, and a bijillion shaker pegs all over it. It's the old-timey peg-board.
I've got the sheet of wood set up, and now I'm trying to arrange upon it the things that I want to store. No doubt I will change my mind a bijillion times during this process, but I'll get there eventually.
I haven't had much time to work on this recently, having had many call-ins of late, but I'll get it done soon enough, and then my workshop can be tidied properly and all will be well again.

New Medallion saws

These are my two new Medallion hand saws that followed me home recently. The bottom one is a five-point rip saw, breasted, with progressive rake. Lovely saw. The blade is ground for minimal set. The tote, shown below, is of a figured apple wood, and has plenty of real estate for a good two-handed grip for heavy ripping.

The other saw is an eight-point cross-cut saw with a caramelized birds-eye maple tote. Just lovely. This saw is also ground. It cuts like a laser, but like a fine dovetail saw you only get one chance to get your line right on the cut. It's not easy to correct the cut once it has been started. Of course, this is only a problem when cutting joinery where you're cutting with the line of the saw teeth perpendicular to the face of the board. If you're cross-cutting normally where you have the teeth at a 45 degree angle to the face of the board it's no problem to keep it in line. In the photo below, note the nib on the rip saw below the cross-cut tote. Both saws have nibs. :)
Beautiful saws with beautiful totes (check out those lamb's tongues on the totes!) that are hand-made by a guy who still cares about quality. Just lovely.

Experimental Rack is finished. For now.

Yes, this rack is done. Sort of. I mean, I finished cobbling it together, and it works, but it needs some tweaking. The bottom rail needs to be moved up a bit to give the chisels a bit more force inwards, for one thing.

Additionally, the 5/8" bowl gouge (second from the right) actually touches the wall when it's in the rack. This is sub-optimal. Another obvious issue is the little 1/4" spindle gouge, which looks ready to fall right out of the rack, though in actuality it's probably more solidly placed than any of the others. I think I'll make a couple of 'bushings' to adapt individual pockets for the two tools that don't fit right, then it should be golden.

This, of course, is only the first of a series of storage devices that will be required for the lathe. I need to store tool rests, chucks, centers, and all manner of goodies. Can't wait. :)

Turning Tool Rack

It is time to make some racking/storage for my turning tools. My shop is becoming a nightmare with stuff piled everywhere. The general concept of this rack comes from American Woodworking, March 2008 edition, and more particularly I found out about it from a fellow turner on the Canadian Woodworking forum. This is a picture of the rack that he made, based on the aforementioned plans:
This is a very simple rack and yet it appeals to me for several reasons. Firstly, it doesn't really matter how long the tools are, and turning tools can vary a fair bit in length. Secondly, the bottom board being angled is very clever because it not only sheds shavings but it 'pushes' the tool handle into the recesses to hold the chisel in place. I think it's very clever, so I'm trying the idea out.

First, to make the 'corrugated' cross-pieces. I take a board and lay out the hole centers and drill about half way through with a hole saw in a brace and bit.
Now I flip the board over and finish the holes from the other side. By drilling them part way from each side they won't splinter out on the back. After drilling I planed each side to get the worst of the whiskers off, then I re-drew the line through the hole centers and ripped the holes in half. Now with another rip cut I will have two corrugated boards.

All I need now are the sides and the bottom piece. Easy peasey. I'll probably finish making it in the morning and post it then.

It's been a while

Yes, it's been a while, gentle readers.

Several circumstances conspired to keep me from my appointed blogging. The first circumstance was that I totally butchered one of the dovetails on my chest of drawers. I chopped a tail when I should have chopped a pin. I didn't have enough material to re-make the piece. Disgusted with myself, I haven't looked at the project since. Every now and then I thought to myself that I really should get back to it, and get back to the blog. Needless to say, I didn't.
Then I had a bit of a focus change and the shop didn't see much action for a couple of months. My interests can be cyclical.
Now we find ourselves in a deeply wood-ish phase, but not with flat things. No, I find myself draw to the dark side: wood turning.
Oh, I had a wood lathe. Two, actually, but one hardly counts as it is a nasty off-shore piece of garbage. The other wood lathe that I had is the one that I blogged about back in late October / early November 2008. It's a very solid bit of kit with a great deal of character, but that character comes with a price - the headstock spindle thread is a rare one, and every other aspect of it tended to be non-standard, making purchasing accessories an exercise in irritation. I played with it for a while, then I bought another one. A made-in-Canada classic General 160-1
Above we see my lathe, ready for action with a partially-turned bowl in the chuck. Yes, the chuck. I was able to effortlessly buy a proper chuck for it because it has a bog-standard 1"x8tpi spindle thread. Nice.
For the first week I didn't have the chuck yet so I was doing spindle turning, but once I had the chuck I was able to start on bowls, as well as boxes and other cup-chucked items. The world is my burrito. :)


Above we see a few items I have turned so far. There are two beech bowls, one box of an unknown wood, one maple froe-club at the back, a maple carver's mallet at the right, and in the left-front is a spinning top which I made as an experiment.

So turning seems to be my new thing. I'll try to be a dutiful blogger and keep you abreast of developments, gentle readers, as I embark on this new and unusually addictive aspect of woodworking.

Mike