Here's What's New!
10/30/2005 - I have completed the
mahogany tenor. The final pics can be seen HERE. I am not real pleased with the strings I
put on it so I will be experimenting with finding the right strings
for this instrument prior to posting any sound clips.
10/4/2005 - Here are couple
more pics of the mahogany
tenor progress.
9/25/2005 - Here is a simple jig
for obtaining a good tight neck, heel to body joint on your next
ukulele or guitar project. INFO
is HERE.
9/24/2005 - Progress is underway
on my second tenor ukulele. You can see some pics HERE.
10/3/2004 - I completed my first
tenor ukulele. You can see a few pics HERE.
9/12/2004 - Pics
of a footrest for Classical Guitarist made of cherry.
5/17/2004 - My first ukulele kit
project is complete. She doesn't sound all that great but it sure was
fun and I learned a lot in the process. You can see how it turned out
HERE.
5/16/2004 - Progress Update
#2 on Soprano
Ukulele
5/11/2004 - Shop-Made
Drum/Thickness Sander for
dimensioning ukulele tops, backs and sides.
3/27/2004 - Progress Update on the
Soprano
Ukulele
3/13/2004 - Building
a Soprano Ukulele from a Kit.
12/30/2003 - Looks like it is
going to be several months before I can return to the woodshop. I am
home recovering from open-heart bypass surgery that was performed on
December 16th. How bout that for a Christmas present? I have been
home for a week now and getting stronger each day.
12/7/03 Update - Seems like it has
been forever since I have been in the shop. And it has. This past
weekend I did find time to knock out a few small projects. I gave a
gift certificate to one of my good friends (for his 1 year old
daughters birthday) good for one Child's
Rocker from my workshop. I
used a plan from an old country furniture book and it shows up on the
internet when doing a search for a child's rocker.
The second project is a prototype
of a Classical
Guitarist's Footrest. The
prototype was made for Muriel Anderson and I will modify the design
if necessary based on her input.
I still have not completed the
blanket chest that I promissed my wife back in February. So
hopefully, I will find some time over the Christmas holiday to tackle
that project.
4/27/03 Update - Nothing new to
report on the Woodworking front. I have not had the opportunity to
spend any time in the shop over the past few months. The last thing I
was working on was my first double dovetails with the Incra system.
Hope to experiment with that again as well as attempt to cut my first
DTs by hand. Missed the Woodworking Show in Sacramento this year. But
hey, there is always next year.
1/28/03 Tip for installing
Hidden
Barrel Hinges
1/05/03 Today brings me to the
finish of the Pendulum
Clock that was supposed to
be a Christmas present for my wife. She still thinks it's Christmas
even if the decorations are already down. Hope you enjoy the
pics.
12/20/02 Family is expected to
arrive tomorrow for the holidays. I just completed a Night
Light for my niece. It was
featured in Issue
#71 of Woodsmith Magazine.
I think it is going to take a while to get good with the scroll saw.
Time will tell.
10/27/02 This weekend I attempted
my first
scroll saw project. I
found an article on the net about scrolling pictures. By converting
them to gray scale and changing the contrast you create the pattern
from your photo. I chose to use a photo of my dog "Bandit". It was an
enjoyable little undertaking. I used some scrap cherry ply for the
scrollwork and scraps of cherry left over from the curio cab for the
frame. Went through many blades in the process. The #2s seem to break
very easy. I have purchased the lumber and have received the clock
movement for the Pendulum clock. Will let the wood acclimate to the
shop a little longer before getting started.
10/7/02 Not much real woodworking
getting done as of late. We have been busy fixing dry rot around all
of the windows on the front side of the house. Some of the cottage
style siding needed replaced as well as the facia boards. Two down
and one more to go. The last one will be a bit more challenging
because it is on the second story. Going to have to setup some
scaffolding for this one.
I did, however, make 3 small
jewelry boxes with sliding dovetail lids. Two were made with KOA, one
for my sisters belated birthday present, and the third one was made
from some cherry scraps left over from the curio cabinet. And earlier
this evening I roughed out some KOA for a walking cane for my wife's
sister. She is going to Ohio in a couple of weeks to visit and will
take it with her.
Next on the list is a Pendulum
clock for the family room. I have ordered the movement and other
parts. I will need to make a run to the hardwood outlet and see if I
can find some good looking cherry. Thanks for visiting.
Sandbox
Excavator 7/13/02
Cherry
Curio Cabinet 7/2/02
Old
Projects - Many have
requested photos of my older projects. Follow the link to some of the
photos -2/23/02
Dutch
Door Modification 1/21/02
KOA
Walking Cane -Completed 1/16/02
Dizzy's
Jointer Jig and my Crosscut Sled - 1/15/02
Tablesaw
Alignment Jig - 1/16/02
I have been spending time in the
shop again over the past few years. Trying to keep that balance
between my other hobby/obsession which is my music. I play twice a
month in various clubs and private corporate events with my classic
rock band "Rockslide". Click on that link if you care to check
out some of the pics or sound files.
Click on the following links for
some photos of the shop
Shop
View #1
Shop
View#2
TOOLS
Radial
Arm Saw The Radial Arm Saw
was the first major tool I bought. It was purchased from Sears in
July of 1989 and just last week I received and installed the recall
kit (New Blade Guarde System) which comes with a new spacer and front
and rear tables. I think I finally have it dialed in for accurate
crosscuts only.
Air
Filter I made this from a
PLAN that appeared in an issue of American
Woodworker. I built this shortly after getting the Radial Arm Saw. It
is only a single stage design. At some point I will either modify it
or just build a smaller one that has multiple stage filters.
Table
Saw The tablesaw was
purchased from Nemy Electric Tools in August of 1990.
Drill
Press The drill press is
from sears. The original column was replaced to get more working
travel. The cabinent, fence and table are from an old issue of
Woodsmith.
Work
Bench with Storage This
bench was in a Popular Science issue from September 1987.
Jointer
and Planer The planer was
purchased in January 1994 at Home Depot and the jointer was a gift
from my wife this past Christmas 2000. She purchased it (with my
help) at Post Tool. The planer stand is from ShopNotes Volume 2,
Issue 9.
Dust
Collector The dust
collector was purchased from Woodcraft Supply in 1996.
Incra
TS-III Fence System The
incra system is a new addition as of March 2001. It was purchased
from Hartville Tool from Ohio. At the same time I purchased the right
side extension wing and leg set from Woodpeckers and purchased the
Freud FT2000E Plunge Router for mounting in the wing.
Band
Saw The bandsaw was also
purchased at Woodcraft Supply in March 2001.
Benchtop
Mortiser The mortiser was
added this past March 2001 and will get its first real workout on the
curio cabinet.
Pegboard
storage The bin system is
from an issue of ShopNotes.
PROJECTS FOR THE
SHOP
Here are some of the projects I
have recently completed as a part of getting the shop up and
running.
Flip-Top
Tool Stand On 5/27/01 I
completed this roll around tool stand. I purchased the last 3 pieces
of equipment to complete the shop (for at least a while) but was
starting to run out of space. I purchased the Delta
31-780 Oscillating Spindle Sander, the Delta 31-460 4" Belt/6" Disc Sander and the
Delta
40-540 16" Variable Speed Scroll Saw. The spindle sander is temporarily mounted on my
mobile wood storage cabinet. Will work Ok for now but it is a little
too high for comfort. I needed a place for the scroll saw and disc
sander and the plan that appeared in the Woodsmith issue 111 seemed
like a logical choice. I only had 1 plastic wing nut with 5/16 thread
on hand so I made the wing nuts with T-Nuts and oak scraps. The disc
sander is mounted on one side and the scroll saw is mounted on the
other. All I have to do is loosen the wing nuts and rotate the top,
re-tighten the wing nut and that is all there is to it. A few
strategically placed rare earth magnets keep the wrenches from
falling out of the storage slots when in the inverted
position.
Tenoning
Jig The tenoning jig is
from one of the early issues of ShopNotes. Issue No. 6.
Drill
Bit Storage Box The drill
bit storage box is from a free plan that came in the mail trying to
get me to buy a subscription to Weekend Woodworking Projects.
Router
Trammel This jig is from
one of the most recent issues of ShopNotes. Volume 10, Issue 56. This
jig works great. I used it for the larger plywood disks needed for
the air hose reel. It worked great. For circles smaller than 6" in
diameter you will have to use a circle cutting jig on the band
saw.
Air
Hose Reel The air hose
reel is from a new issue of either Woodsmith or ShopNotes. I can't
seem to find it right now. It works just like it is supposed
to.
OTHER WOODWORKING
PROJECTS
Coffee
Table (Top View)
(Side
View) We have family
coming for Thanksgiving so my wife wanted me to build a coffee table
(to replace the particle board one we had) to match a set of other
tables I had built for her. Thanks to Jim Hopkins, aka Rookie, on the
WoodNet forum for his suggestion of glueing on triangular blocks to the
legs to enable the use of mortise and tennon joinery, the table is
now complete. The first tables I built for this set I duplicated from
an old antique we had. I reproduced them exactly as they were
constructed and I was never really comfortable with the way the
legs
attached to the top. And
for the coffee table this would not have been strong enough to
support the wait of someone should they decide to sit on it.
With
the mortise and tennon joinery and the outer apron as additional support the table
is rock solid. It is made from Oak and finished with Minwax Tung Oil
Finish and a top coat of Johnson's paste wax.
Wall
Mirror This is a
reproduction in Mahogany of an old mirror my wife bought in Modesto,
CA in 1989. The joints were gone and the beveled mirror was about to
fall out. It was actually a pedistal mirror. It still had the brass
inserts in the sides where it attached to the pedistal frame. Well,
it sat in the corner for 12 years before my wife demanded that I fix
it or else....... It was beyond repair so I used the frame as a
pattern to make the reproduction. I used miter & spline joinery.
It was the first time I used a gel stain (Bartley - Jet Mahogany) and
was pleased with the way it works. The finish is sprayed with 3 coats
of Flecto satin varathane. This project was completed in March,
2001.
Oak
Panels for Kitchen This
project does not showcase any great craftsmanship and is presented
here merely for the concept of the project. We had recessed can
lighting installed in the kitchen last January. The wiring and
flourescent tubes were also removed in the process. My wife got tired
of looking at the plastic inserts and suggested that I make some
panels to replace them. Last weekend we heard of another couple who
are relocating from the bay area to Roseville. They are having
recessed lighting installed and were wondering what to do with the
ceiling. My wife told them of her idea and they plan to do the same.
I simply measured the openings and made the panels about an inch
larger all the way around. I trimmed them with some scrap on the back
sides to help keep them flat. I sprayed 3 coats of polyurethane on
them with my new critter air sprayer and that's it. This project was
completed the weekend of May 5, 2001. Unfortunately, I did not take a
before picture prior to throwing out the plastic panels. A before pic
would have been very appropriate in this situation.
Rocking
Horse This is what got me
back into the shop last Christmas (2000). I made it for a friend's 2
year old and I decided then that I was going to spend more time in
the shop.
I will post some pics of other
projects as I complete them.
If you have any questions or
comments feel free to email me.
Have fun, and safe
woodworking.
Dominic