Any woodworkers?

Thats me too. I can't even figure out sketchup and believe me I have tried. Some older guys get the computer stuff but I'm not one of them. Even my metal working machines just have dials, no readouts. I'm old school and I'm OK with that. I like building things the way I do. Cut a tree down, chainsaw mill it, dry it, process it, make stuff with it, repeat.

 

I had a short day at work so I came home and went down to the shop.
2nd batch of crosses, 37, all sanded.
Walnut, box elder, ash, and maple.

And got them a coat of blo.

The box elder really came to life with the blo.



And I finished the cross for my coworkers 9 year old son. It has a coat of blo, a stainless steel eyelet, and a waxed cotton necklace cord with a clasp. I hope he likes it. My Betty gave me a gift box for it.

 

I got a new shop cart today. $84 and it had a $5 off coupon.
MaxWorks 80855 500-lb Utility Service PP Cart With Two Trays and Wheels 40 inch x 17 inch Overall Dimensions

$85 MaxWorks 80855 500-lb Utility Service PP Cart With Two Trays and Wheels 40" x 17" Overall Dimensions

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CK3DPPN



The shelves are heavily ribbed, nice thick plastic.

Some assembly required, lol. Really easy.

And I filled it right up with other projects and supplies. 500 lb capacity, 5" castors, and even has a paper towel holder.

The goal was to get my outfeed table cleared off so I can get back on my workbench build soon.

 

Boxed up 35 crosses and took them to church, only about 5 or 6 where left.

Started on the next batch today just so I have some inventory.

Eventually the demand for these at church will slow down and I'll have some to give to people outside of church. Then I'll be able to do some other projects.

 

Got the saw out of retirement, hasn’t been used in a while. Clean it, dressed the table. Took care of some repair parts. Saw runs great for being almost 30 years old

 

I think I had that same saw! Mine didn’t have as nice a fence though.

 

Modified addition Biesemeyer system

 

Congrats on getting that saw out and tuning it up. I need to clean mine up and give it some grease before my next project. The blade height adjustment is getting a little stiff.

Is that a giant cross cut sled leaning up against the wall?

 

Yeah made that years ago, saw has seen a lot of wood

 

So after making a cross for a coworkers son I decided to try and make a few more for the kids at church. The good thing is I can just use the scraps from the big crosses for the necklaces. After looking at the first one I made I thought that it needed refining a bit, so I re drew it and shortened the top part a bit. Then I cut a template out of some 1/8" stock. Ther dark piece is the first one I made for comparison to how I shortened it. Then I cut one out of box elder.

And then I sanded it on the belt sander to reduce the thickness a bit.

This is how I trace the patterns onto scrap wood. This is box elder.

I have teeny tiny stainless steel eyelets so I so drill tiny pilot holes.

Here's the second prototype sanded and dipped in blo.

I think the kids at church and elsewhere are going to like a few of these.

 

Yesterdays project leaves me with one more to complete on the deck. I still need a step coming off the side as it's a about 14" drop on the higher side. I had to make four balusters as I wound up spacing them closer that I planned. Some staining and touch up to do.

 

I haven't posted much this year, but I have been building things!

Here's something I did recently.

We have a Little Guy Max teardrop (21' camper). The kitchen counter is MDF with a laminate shrink-wrapped to it.



You can't really see in the photo, but the laminate has started de-laminating at the corner and around the sink. I never really like it anyway, so....



I picked up some beautiful walnut. You know what? The original countertop makes a great pattern! While I was at it, I also upgraded the faucet (I hate plastic faucets.)

6 coats of varnish on the top, 4 on the bottom.



Funky lighting in the last photo - you can see it turned out to be quite the upgrade. (I also upgraded some plumbing under the sink.)

We were camping in it last weekend, and I was kind of surprised how much nicer it is. And really not hard to do.

 

Nice job!

I added a stainless sink to our camper. That plastic small sink had to go. I ended up only having to cut 1/2" on left and right of the sink. And added lots more room.

 

Last fall, I replaced the dinette table as well. It was on a funky leg/stand that allowed it to be a table, or lower for a bed. As a result, the under-table leg room was limited. It was a really annoying design.

For this, I found some Peruvian walnut on sale.





It's hard to tell from the photos, but the color of the wood changed from reddish to brown. It was really red before I sanded it. Oh, and the knot holes are filled with black epoxy. Again, a varnish finish.

For the support, I got a Lagune (sp?) arm. A fancy "everything pivots" mount, that also adjusts table height. Overpriced, but very functional. (I can't find an installed picture.)

This also was MDF and laminate. The walnut tops certainly make the interior a much warmer space.

 

Ours came with the stainless sink. Questionable mounting, but that was fixed as well.

 

What's not to like about walnut! One of my favorites.
Nice job brother.

 

Thank you.

I think it compliments the maple cabinets nicely.

 

I'm still prototyping the small cross necklaces. Also working on packaging to keep them from getting tangled up.
Looking through my magnifying light.

I have different colors of waxed cotton cords for the necklaces. This way I can match them with the different colors of wood.

They fit nicely in the small ziplock bags I have.

 

Next I use the scraps from the large crosses to make the small necklace crosses. But the large stock is 3/8"



Several passes through the drum sander and I'm at 1/4"

Yielded a nice box of blanks material. Small crosses to the left of the box are rosewood.

 

Trying out some rosewood.

Freshly dipped in blo. Kept wiping off the excess oil over 3 days. I think I'm going to try thinning the blo with some odorless mineral spirits and see if it absorbs quicker and maybe cures a little faster.