Notes From the Shop

2 Easy Ways to Build it Perfectly Square

2009-10-26T17:56:00.000-05:00

Building a garden shed, garage, deck or any other project requires things to be square and level.That framing square in your tool box can be handy, but when proportions start to get large it’s best to use other methods. Small errors magnify over larger dimensions. 1/8″ out of square in two feet is equal to 3/4″ out of square in 12′ or 1 1/2″ in 24′. Now you can see why a two foot framing square is not accurate enough to lay out a 24′ garage.

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2 Easy Ways to Build it Perfectly Square

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Lumber Grade Stamps Confusing You?

2009-10-23T10:50:00.002-05:00

Next time you are shopping for boards or lumber you can be confident you are getting just what you needed for your next home improvement project.You have heard the mention of lumber grades but you may not know what it means.

Read the rest of the article over at ArmchairDIY.com

A New and Interesting DIY Blog

2009-10-19T18:20:00.004-05:00

Home improvement, how to, and do it yourself blog.

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Radius Window Trim

2008-02-01T12:19:00.000-06:00

This is a small lake side cabin that was remodeled. We made a radius window trim for the gable end lake side window. The construction is relativly quick and straight forward, and looks nice when completed. The basic idea can be applied to interior trim as well, with a few details modified to fit the situation.

Here are a couple of quick photos showing the construction of a raduised exterior window trim.

This particular one is roughsawn pine and is used for a rustic log sided cabin trim, but the basic principles are the same for a more refined version.

I did not plan on going into great detail as the photos are pretty much self explanitory. If you are tackling such a project you probably already have a good knowledge of the basics of wood working.

I am not a math wiz so for such projects I draw the window trim in a cad program and from the drawings I am able to determine the number of segment and the miter angle to use.

Here is my quick homemade trammel. I layout the trim on a piece of melemine or plywood. I then cut all of the pieces and join them together with pocket screws. If I were doing a interior trim I would use a splined miter or a mitered half lap joint. But the pocket screws are quicker with the roughsaw material and hold very well.

Here is a photo with the router trammel setup. I used a 3/4" straight bit and cut the 2" material in 3 passes. To extend the trammel I screwed a piece of lauan to it. This is fine for this application, but for a interior trim I would use something more ridged to be on the safe side. With the half log siding almost none if the edge is exposed. The ridge from routing is fine enough that is could have been sanded off, but a ridged trammel would have eliminated this completely.

This window was a little odd because it was installed a little higher than would have been ideal. As you will notice the window trim intersects with the soffit. I decided to make the window trim extend to the peak to fill the area with one uniform piece instead of placeing a small triangle of siding above the window.

Aluminum T-slot for Jigs,Fixtures, Materials Handeling, and Machine Construction

2008-01-21T19:36:00.000-06:00

Here is a line of industrial products I have been looking at for shop build jigs, fixtures and machine components.

I have yet to use the aluminum t-slot extrusions, but there are some very interesting possibilities.

The possible configurations are almost endless.

The aluminum rails pictures are the base of the system and are available in many shapes and sizes. The accessories available are mind boggling.

Lineal motion bearings, connector plates, clamping systems and on and on.

Some uses I have thought of are machine fences and fence rails. Assembly tables with built in clamping, a high tech work bench if you will.

I have seen examples of the aluminum extrusion used for cnc router builds. Some just for the structure and some have used the system for linear motion as well.

Shop built vertical panel saws, or router rails could be made very sturdy and highly accurate as well.

If you have a use for a specialized application I think these products could be a very useful component. With flexible assembly options and minimal machining a truly high tech, accurate and custom build machine could be created.

http://www.8020.net/

http://www.tslots.com/

Repairing Pot Metal or White Metal

2008-01-08T11:53:00.000-06:00

Due to stupidity on my part I was standing in the shop one day looking at a broken power feeder bracket.

I think I could have ordered a replacement part, but I really needed to use it that afternoon.

I had some aluminum gas welding rod and some flux and decided to experiment a bit.

I used a wire wheel to remove all of the existing paint and dirt from the bracket. I was able to use a bench vise to hold the broken pieces together.

I used an acetylene torch and a small welding tip to heat the parts and weld them together with the aluminum welding rod.

After allowing it to cool slowly, I used a die grinder and a 4" grinder to smooth everything up a bit.

This piece has been in service for a few month now and is holding up very well.

I am not a metallurgist, but I think there are different alloys of what is called pot or white metal. So be careful if you decide to try this. Because your results may vary.

I'll admit, not breaking it would have been much easier, but this quick repair did get things up and running. Even though I spent over an hour making the repair, that was better than waiting two weeks for parts.

Add an Aluminum Face to your shaper fence.

2008-01-08T11:28:00.000-06:00

This shaper fence may not be something everyone can use, but a few might find it useful.

It's a very nice fence, the problem for most is the materials used. The fence is from a extra piece of aluminum rail from a Delta uni saw fence I had in the shop. I upgraded my uni saw fence to the 60" rip capacity, so I had the shorter rail laying around.

The first thing you have to do is rip one face of the aluminum to remove the small ridge. Aluminum cut very well on the table saw with a good carbide blade.

The rail on the right is the original rail, the one on the left is after the small triangle if aluminum has been removed.

After ripping on the table saw I sanded the face to remove the light saw marks. If you look closely at the left hand rail you can see a few areas that still have the factory finish. I was not concerned with polishing the aluminum to a mirror finish. After I sanded I applied a coat of past wax to the fence face.

Notice the T-slot notch at the bottom of the rails. A 5/16" bolt slides perfectly onto this notch. This is how the rails attach to the original cast portions of the shaper fence.

When the nuts on these bolts are loosened, the fence sections can be slid closer or father away from the cutter head.

Furniture Dimension in Google Docs

2008-01-06T21:24:00.000-06:00

Here is a link to the google docs version of the common furniture dimensions posts.
This version you can print out.
Should be easier than dragging the desktop computer out to the shop.

http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dd356k49_3f22vnwgs

Steves Homemade 18" Bandsaw

2008-01-05T18:56:00.000-06:00

Here is a really nice homemade 18" woodcutting bandaw!
I found Steves site a while back and it looks like he did a really nice job of putting this together.

He does not have plans for sale, but he has posted a lot of photos. If your thinking about a similar project you really should take a close look.

The saw looks like it has a very nice blade guide design that could be retrofited to some older saws.

When your saw is built, check out Steves wood chipper!

Nice work Steve!

http://bedair.org/Bandsaw.html Link to Steves Bandsaw Pages

The CNC Router: The Ultimate Information Resource

2008-01-04T11:03:00.000-06:00

Have you ever thought about building or buying your own cnc router?

On the left is a carving done on an ezcnc machine.
Depending on the machine you can router many materials.
Wood. corian or other solid surfaces, aluminum, and plastics.
(Sorry I do not recall who made this, when I saved it I did not intend on posting it)

I am not a router owner or builder, yet that is.It is the plans for the future though. So for now I'll leave you with a link to this site.
There is some very useful information there. A very good collection of shop built router info.

The CNC Router: The Ultimate Information Resource

Forstner bit for angled holes

2008-01-03T19:23:00.000-06:00

I recently needed to drill a large number of hole at about a 45 degree angle. The holes were for some log and twig stairs and accents. It was not feasible to use a drill press, and I wanted to use the forstner style of bit for the clean cut holes.

Using a stock bit was out of the question because, at an angle the center point of the bit does not contact the work piece. So I needed to extend the center point.

This one is a one inch bit.
You first need to anneal the center point of the bit to soften the metal.
Heat it to red hot and allow it to cool slowly. I buried mine in some wood ashes.

Next you need to drill the center. I used a metal lath. With some careful clamping you could do it in a drill press. This one I opted for a 1/8" bit.

Next drill and tap the shank to accept a set screw. I used two opposite of each other. You can see one allen head screw in the photo in between the fluting.

Reference Materials

2008-01-03T19:07:00.000-06:00

I have made every effort to make my reference materials accurate.
I will not be liable for any mistakes, yours or mine. So please double check.

I am trying to find a suitable way to post some of this info so you can download and print it.
Google docs was my first attempt, but there seem to be a glitch at the moment. So we will work though that before I post any more shop references because I have a large number of items.

Please check back soon for the reference updates.

Upcoming items to include. Tap, die, and drill charts, wood sciences information, and some router bushing inlay charts.

Common Furnishing Dimensions

2008-01-03T18:55:00.000-06:00

Common Furnishing Dimensions

Outintheshop.blogspot.com

Standard Dimensions of Adult Mattresses

Mattress	Width	Length
Bunk	30", 33"	75"
Single	36"	75"
Twin	39"	75", 80", 84"
Double	54"	75", 80"
Queen	60"	80", 84"
King	76"	80", 84"

Standard Dimensions of Juvenile Mattresses

Mattress	Width	Length
Bassinet	18"	36"
Bassinet	22-1/4"	38-3/4"
Junior crib	23"	46"
Junior crib	25-1/4"	50-3/4"
6-year crib	27"	51"
6-year crib	31-1/4"	56-3/4"
Youth bed	33"	66"
Youth bed	36"	76"

Standard Thicknesses of Mattresses and Boxsprings

Type	Thickness
Inner spring	5-1/2" to 6-1/2"
Foam	4" to 7-1/2"
Boxspring	5-1/2" to 9"
Futon	3" to 6"

Chair Dimensions For Average-Sized Adults

The following dimensions apply to chairs designed for average-sized adults sitting in an upright or alert posture.

Seat width	16"-20"
Seat depth	15"-18"
Seat height from floor	16"-18"
Slope of seat front to rear	5° to 8° (3/4" to 1" drop)
Armrest height above seat	7"-9"
Armrest length (full armrest)	8" minimum
Armrest width	2" average
Set back of armrest from front	2"-3"
Seat back height	12"-16" above seat
Seat back recline angle	0°-5° (formal); 10°-15° (casual)

Outintheshop.blogspot.com

Chair Dimensions for Children

The following table presents seat heights for children of various ages. Other chair dimensions can be derived proportionately based on the chair dimensions for adults. For most elementary school age children, a seat width and depth of 12 to 14 inches, a backrest height of 9 to 11 inches, and an armrest height of 5 to 7 inches are good starting points.

Child's Age (Years)	Seat Height
1 to 4	10"-12"
5 to 7	12"-14"
8 to 10	13"-17"
11 to 13	15"-18"

Standard Dimensions of Desks

Desk Type	Height	Width	Depth
Children's desk	20"-22"	24"-30"	18"-20"
Computer desk	24"-28"	24"-60"	20"-30"
Lap desk	4"- 6"	20"-24"	12"-18"
Pedestal desk	28"-30"	48"-72"	24"-30"
Rolltop desk	28"-30"	48"-72"	24"-30"
Secretary	28"-30"	36"-42"	18"-24"
Slant-front desk	28"-30"	36"-42"	18"-24"
Table desk	28"-30"	30"-48"	20"-30"
Typing table	24"-28"	36"-42"	16"-24"
Writing table	28"-30"	36"-40"	20"-24"

Outintheshop.blogspot.com

Standard Dimensions of Wall Cabinets

Depth (25" deep countertop)	12-1/4"
Depth (30" deep countertop)	15"
Height with full soffit	30"
Height with no soffit	42"
Height of cabinet above countertop	18"
Height of cabinet above stove top	24"
Height of highest shelf	60"-68"
Width	to match base cabinet

Standard Dimensions of Base Cabinets

Cabinet depth	24"
Countertop depth (1" overlap)	25"
Height from floor to countertop	36"
Splashboard height	4"
Kickspace height	4"
Kickspace depth	3"
Depth of drawer above cabinet doors	4"

Standard Dimensions of Counters

Countertop height	36"
Counter length per person	21"
Depth (one-sided seating)	15"
Depth (two-sided seating)	30" min
For the physically challenged:
Countertop height	31"
Under counter access width	30"
Under counter access height	29-1/2"

Outintheshop.blogspot.com

Standard Dimensions of Kitchen Appliances

The dimensions of most appliances used for residential purposes in the U.S. fall within the ranges given below. Although these dimensions are useful for planning purposes, obtain actual measurements before starting cabinet construction. In general, major appliances are designed to fit beneath a 24 inch wide countertop.

Appliance	Height	Width	Depth
Cooktop	2- 3"	12-48"	18-22"
Dishwasher	33-35	23-24"	23-26"
Microwave	13-18"	21-23"	14-22"
Range, floor model	35-36"	19-40"	24-26"
Range, w/ upper oven	61-68"	30-40"	25-28"
Range, drop-in	23-24"	23-24"	22-25"
Range hood	5-8"	24-72"	12-72"
Refrigerator	55-69"	24-36"	26-33"
Trash Compactor	33-35"	12-15"	18-24"
Wall oven, single	23-25"	21-24"	21-23"
Wall oven, double	39-50"	21-24"	21-23"
Wall oven with broiler	38-40"	21-24"	21-23"

Homemade Porter Cable Router Lift.

2008-01-02T21:07:00.000-06:00

Here is a modification I did on my Porter Cable plunge router.
Now there are better option for a table mounted router, but at the time this was the best I could find.

I machined this one out of metal, the rod is 1/2" thin wall pipe with 3/8" nuts welded on the ends. You Could make the handle out of wood if you do not have a metal lathe.

The 3/8" threaded rod fit into the existing base threads, I ground down the jamb nut to maintain maximum depth of cut.

2008-01-02T20:54:00.000-06:00

Here is the first post of many to come.
Notes from the shop will be a place to pass along useful information.
In the upcoming posts I will be adding some shop reference materials.
Some project ideas and tips.
Tool and machine modifications.
Homemade or shop built tools and machines.
If you have information or ideas you would like to share please speak up.