Woodworkers Thread

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JHUNSY

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Aug 31, 2013
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Des Moines, IA
What got me back into it was building a backdrop for our wedding a few years back. Totally not advanced, but was a nice easy way to get back into the routine.

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JHUNSY

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Anyone ever heard of a coffee staining method? Tempted to do it on an old table I built back in college now that I have space to move it in. Just wondered if anyone had tips or advice.
 

Isualum13

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I recently bought a knife blank and have been spending awhile shaping the edge. I dont have a grinder and dont really want to buy one just for this. Once I have the edge shaped I will heat treat the blade in a cheap propane forge I made. then, I will temper the blade in the oven. After all this I carve the handle out of wood. I have some scrap leather too that I can use to make a sheath.

Once everything is done I will sharpen the edge and probably lose the knife within a month.
 

jabisu

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Aug 25, 2012
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Moved into a new house a little over two years ago that has been a massive time drain fixing problems and working on some major renovations this summer that are still ongoing, but was able to make this tractor (for my son) and wagon (for a nephew) for first birthday presents this summer. I was the one that made CWs basement bar several years ago that has turned into a few other projects that I’ve sold as well. If the snow melts before the ground freezes I am scheduled to get 220v power run to my 2 car detached garage I use as my shop so I can get it heated and hopefully I can get the home remodeling stuff wrapped up this winter and move onto other projects again
 

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AgronAlum

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Moved into a new house a little over two years ago that has been a massive time drain fixing problems and working on some major renovations this summer that are still ongoing, but was able to make this tractor (for my son) and wagon (for a nephew) for first birthday presents this summer. I was the one that made CWs basement bar several years ago that has turned into a few other projects that I’ve sold as well. If the snow melts before the ground freezes I am scheduled to get 220v power run to my 2 car detached garage I use as my shop so I can get it heated and hopefully I can get the home remodeling stuff wrapped up this winter and move onto other projects again

Looks great. One of the best things I’ve done is hang one of the 220v electric heaters from Menards. It was a little easier to install having the panel in the garage.
 

jabisu

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Looks great. One of the best things I’ve done is hang one of the 220v electric heaters from Menards. It was a little easier to install having the panel in the garage.
Heater is already hanging there, electrician is going to wire it up when he runs the wire, hopefully next week. Garage was already insulated when we bought the place
 

jabisu

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A pic of CWs bar and a couple of my other favorite projects. The altar is for my church back home, was actually done as a memorial to my grandparents. The cross, Alpha and Omega symbols were made out of walnut from a tree on my dads farm a half mile from the church that was cut down years ago. Rocking horse was my older son’s first birthday present 381AFCD1-ED36-4419-B540-EEF7E9B4092D.jpeg 91395A13-8D2A-44AB-B05E-77A611EEA297.jpeg C717007D-2C5E-44DC-B0FB-766D4FD7407A.jpeg
 

AgronAlum

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Up until the middle of August I was doing everything out of a cramped basement shop. I just about killed myself and a couple of my friends getting all of the stationary power tools and my bench hauled out. Now I've got an over sized (heated) garage stall that I'm slowly setting up. Once I'm all settled in it should be a great space to work in.

Here are some before and afters of my shop area. Just some sheets of ply and a sheet of MDF.

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BoxsterCy

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Seems like a good place to ask if anyone's got ideas on what to do with some (1) salvage 2x4 redwood decking (16" o.c. screw holes* and some end rot and shallow bottom surface rot...can be planed down) (2) maple butcher block counter tops - several 30x30 and one 30x80 something. * Can drill those out and fill with redwood plugs.

I am not a finish carpenter, more deck builder skill set kinda guy. The maple is separating in some places. Thinking of cutting into 11x14 cutting boards with a routed edge and 1/2" diameter nylon glides as "legs" and giving them to friends. Maybe 20 boards of the redwood that was salvaged from 12' lengths. It's too deteriorated for decking but not bad enough for me to toss (yet). Did use the unused scrap from the original decking of 20 years ago to build a little garden bridge last year.
 

throwittoblythe

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Aug 7, 2006
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Great thread. I got into woodworking in earnest a little over a year ago. In addition to the standard tools (mitre saw, table saw, etc), I bought myself a scroll saw last year. I've been getting into making signs and other things using that. This is some of my work. Slowly building a little side business to provide extra income for fancier tools! I'd love to get into furniture building some day. I love the Greene & Greene style.

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AgronAlum

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I'm still at the early stages for sure so not quite near the same level.

I did build a few outdoor chairs and a table two years ago for our balcony when we lived downtown. They weren't my plans but I modified both for fit and looks to get what I wanted. SketchUp was really easy for me to pick up and has definitely been useful for visualizing projects before I start.

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They held up great through the brutal winter and heavy snow. The chairs were done entirely with a small Kreg R3 pocket jig. Didn't want to glue anything in case I had to assemble/disassemble to move in and out.

Those are great looking chairs.

I’ve tried using sketch up but I didn’t feel like helped me a whole lot. I mostly just draw it out by hand and go from there. It never ends up like how I drew it out anyway so I’m not sure if it really matters. Lol
 

AgronAlum

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Jul 12, 2014
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Great thread. I got into woodworking in earnest a little over a year ago. In addition to the standard tools (mitre saw, table saw, etc), I bought myself a scroll saw last year. I've been getting into making signs and other things using that. This is some of my work. Slowly building a little side business to provide extra income for fancier tools! I'd love to get into furniture building some day. I love the Greene & Greene style.

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I’d love to make some money off this stuff but people are so used to buying cheap stuff from target, Walmart, homemakers, etc. that the cost of real wood turns them away.

I had to buy a scroll saw for a couple projects I did for Child Serve but haven’t gotten much use out of it otherwise. I’d like to do more though.
 
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throwittoblythe

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I’d love to make some money off this stuff but people are so used to buying cheap stuff from target, Walmart, homemakers, etc. that the cost of real wood turns them away.

I had to buy a scroll saw for a couple projects I did for Child Serve but haven’t gotten much use out of it otherwise. I’d like to do more though.

Yeah, I can't imagine trying to make a living doing this stuff. I've seen some folks on instagram that make it their living, but with this type of stuff, you just end up being a mini-factory. Make the same stuff over and over and put it on etsy. I don't like making the same thing twice. I'm not in it to make a bunch of money, more just expand my skills and put a little extra change in the pocket that will go toward upgrading tools and such.
 
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jabisu

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Those are great looking chairs.

I’ve tried using sketch up but I didn’t feel like helped me a whole lot. I mostly just draw it out by hand and go from there. It never ends up like how I drew it out anyway so I’m not sure if it really matters. Lol
I am a design engineer for my day job so have thousands of hours in high end CAD programs. I used sketch up some and didn’t really ever get the hang of it to be efficient in it. For woodworking stuff I have been pretty happy using Onshape which is a free web based program. Seemed more user friendly to me than Sketch Up and had features more like what I am used too at work. It also has iOS apps, (maybe sketchup does too, never looked into it) I don’t think I would want to design in the app, but is handy for pulling something up and double checking measurements or something if I don’t have the laptop with me
 
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mramseyISU

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Yeah, I can't imagine trying to make a living doing this stuff. I've seen some folks on instagram that make it their living, but with this type of stuff, you just end up being a mini-factory. Make the same stuff over and over and put it on etsy. I don't like making the same thing twice. I'm not in it to make a bunch of money, more just expand my skills and put a little extra change in the pocket that will go toward upgrading tools and such.
The Woodwhisperer did a video talking about making a living doing what he does and he said he couldn't do it because like you said nobody wants to pay for real nice furniture or at least not enough people will that allow you to support yourself and that's why he started doing the videos. The youtube channel and the plans he sells makes up 95% of his income now.
 
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throwittoblythe

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The Woodwhisperer did a video talking about making a living doing what he does and he said he couldn't do it because like you said nobody wants to pay for real nice furniture or at least not enough people will that allow you to support yourself and that's why he started doing the videos. The youtube channel and the plans he sells makes up 95% of his income now.

I read this book a couple years ago: Why We Make Things and Why It Matters. It's written by a guy who has built a career making fine furniture. I'm talking like stuff that's displayed in museums and high-end galleries. It made me never want to try and be a full-time woodworker as my job. That dude's life has been struggle after struggle after struggle, and he's considered one of the best. I'll keep my day job and do the woodworking as a side gig/hobby.

And you are 100% right. The people like Wood Whisperer, Jimmy Diresta, etc, don't make much money from the things they make at all. Those guys are 100% content creators and they live and die from youtube clicks and sponsorships. To get into that world, you really have to get into making videos and that's just not something I'm interested in.
 
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JHUNSY

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I am a design engineer for my day job so have thousands of hours in high end CAD programs. I used sketch up some and didn’t really ever get the hang of it to be efficient in it. For woodworking stuff I have been pretty happy using Onshape which is a free web based program. Seemed more user friendly to me than Sketch Up and had features more like what I am used too at work. It also has iOS apps, (maybe sketchup does too, never looked into it) I don’t think I would want to design in the app, but is handy for pulling something up and double checking measurements or something if I don’t have the laptop with me
Yeah, I initially downloaded the app but have since used their web based version. It's not exactly user-friendly at first but the more I used it, the more it seemed to click. I've only ever had CAD exposure in like a 6 week class years ago in high school so I can't really speak to how it compares to other alternatives.

But I guess I might be a little more computer savvy than some and I've learned how to pick up new software a lot over the years from sound engineering to graphic design.

The biggest key for me was once I was able to get the grouping tool figured out I could just draw up a board, copy and paste, reposition, and skew from the end to the size I need.
 
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JM4CY

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I’m looking at buying a Kreg Jig K5 master system. I see there $169 on Amazon. Thoughts? I looked into the the K4 but a buddy recommended the K5