I put the new Craftsman router table together yesterday and it was much, much easier than the Ryobi. Each leg is held on by 4 bolts. The vertical ones just screw in and have washers and lock washers. The horizontal ones have lock washers, washers, and nuts. I found a diagram in the manual for installing the model of my router and it screwed right in with 3 bolts and the height adjustment hole lined right up. I installed the fence and featherboards in a couple of minutes and the table is now ready for testing.
I couldnt get the Ryobi router to fit in the new table so I returned it and bought this Craftsman router
on sale for $50.99. I checked the router table manual before I went shopping for compatible
routers and this one was on the list.
Here is the fully assembled table. It went together much faster then the Ryobi table.
I cant remember what this is called but it is used for routing end grain and smaller pieces. This one is made out of metal whereas the Ryobi one was made out of plastic.
It came with 5 insert plates. The Ryobi also came with 5 but they all had holes. Im not sure what the solid one would be good for.
The included wrench has a wider handle built into the bottom which makes it a little more comfortable to use.
The router has a small push button to hold the shaft while you tighten or loosen the router bit. There is a small plastic shield behind it that you have to remove to reach the button.
The table has a hole in the top for adjusting the height of the router. I am using an allen wrench for now but would like to buy a t-handle wrench for it. Sears had a t-handle kit for $39.95 but I dont want to spend that much money. I just want to get the one to fit the router.
This is the allen wrench coming through the table top and into the router.
The plastic handles on the sides are a nice touch. They make the table comfortable to pick up.
?
Now that the boat was built and waterproofed, the only things left to do before it’s maiden voyage were to take it to the lake, and determine how I would propel it. I, of course, decided to take it to the lake first, and fabricate its means of propulsion in the parking lot next to the beach. |
| Have boat, will travel. |
While Eric used a single oar for his GardenFork.tv boat, I found that with the increased width of my boat it was too wide to use a single oar effectively. I made two (2) oars (like a traditional row boat) instead. |
| I built the oars in the parking lot at the beach. |
 |
| I attached the U-shaped oar pivots on the dock. |
 |
| The oars were cut to length on the dock too. |
 |
| The finished oars. |
Making the oars was as simple as cutting a rectangle of scrap ?” plywood, trimming the corners off and then screwing it to a 2”x2”. To act as oar pivots, I cut two U-shaped pieces of plywood and screwed them to the outside face of the batten with ran down the top of each side. The oars simply dropped in the opening, which was cut with enough room to allow the oars to move. |
| Finally, ready for the open sea. |
Finally, the boat (dubbed the S.S. Sea Man) was ready to set sail.My cousins, Doug and Robert, and I carried it passed the rocks (Lake George is beautiful, but lacks sandy beaches) and into the water. I gave it a brief moment to confirm it was watertight. Then I hopped in and I set off rowing. |
| Row like the wind. |
The boat was in and out of the water for three (3) or four (4) days over the course of our vacation. It proved a stable craft. My kids (and cousin) enjoyed going out on the boat and it proved a stable platform for launching firecrackers. I was able to successfully carry two (2) adults and probably could have managed a third. |
| I did ultimately get the hand of steering it with the oars. |
After the first day, I moved the cross batten further back to reduce the number of times I hit my knuckles on it while rowing. That made it better, but not great. In the end, what kept the boat’s use down were the unbearably uncomfortable square oar handles and the cramps I managed to get from the lack of a seat. |
| To move the batten back, I first added a new one, then removed the old one so the boat sides wouldnt spring back together. |
| 
| I managed to row a good choices into the lake. Had a had a destination, I may have gone further. |
 |
| Come aboard, were expecting you. |
From the boat, I was able to get the usual great views of the lake and shore.
 |
| A panoramic taken with my phone from the boat. |
Though it was my intention to scrap the boat after the vacation was over, my Dad seemed to have taken a liking to it and offered to store it at his barn in Greenwich, NY until next summer. That, of course, has me thinking. I already know how I’ll be adding seats and a better pivot mechanism for the oars next year. |
| The boat survives, to be sailed again next summer. |
While there are inherent risks in boating of any kind, and this isn’t a project you should take on without considering those risks, I’d highly encourage building a plywood boat of your own if you get a chance. The one featured on GardenFork.tv is very straightforward to build (just leave out the bottom window) or embellish it as I did. Either choice, there’s nothing like the feeling of sailing the open seas heading to Mexico in boat you crafted with your own hands.
It’s not quite that time of year again, but Marc’s pre-planning (a good thing with the coming little Spagnolo) his 2012 winter Guild Build already.This year he’s planning to help with your physical as well as educational woodworking fundamentals. That’s right . . . we’re building a bench!
 |
| The Worlds Greatest Workbench. |
I was working on a bench myself when I stopped to participate in this year’s Winter Guild Build: The Wall Hanging Cabinet.
Workbenchs have been a favorite topic of mine since first hearing Dave Noftz discuss them on his (sorely missed) Modern Woodshop. As Im sure is true for many of you also, its high time I got off my butt and built a proper bench. The support, encouragement and friendly rivalry of the guild is just what I need to get back to the bench. You should too. |
| My Timberstrand Bench Slab Experiment. |
If youre bench obsessed like I am, heres a partial list of links worth checking out:Schwartz’s Rules for WorkbenchesMy cross postsChris cross postsMarc’s build or buy postKari’s joinery benchShannon’s joinery benchMorton’s Sourcing the LumberMy bench build postsHeres a blatant re-post of the video I took of Chris Schwarz discussing his Petite Roubo:Dont forget about the +Modern Woodworkers Association Podcast. We talk woodworking with Guests from around the world of woodworking every other week. Subscribe to the RSS feed or iTunes today.
Its Wood Whisperer Guild Build time again. Because Marc is currently dealing with a limited shop as his new one is built, the current build is a one or two sheet plywood bookcase. Its a useful project that makes great use of one of my favorite materials: man made sheet goods. Unlike my projects that often leave the sheet goods exposed, Marc will show you how to hide it and make a damn fine bookcase.
 |
| The One & Two Sheet Bookcase |
Previously Ive talked about The Wood Whisperer Guild and why I feel its a must for any online woodworker. Now, you can watch me go on about the Guild, and why its such a great experience to build a project with fellow guild members. As you watch, Im the one who looks like a zombie.
Varvill & Sons was one of the UK planemaker most active between the late 800 and early 900.
This smoother plane was built likelihood in the last two decades of the nineteenth century. It has a metal sole and a rear handle, screwed into the back of the body. Hard to say if the metal parts are original or homemade, though some rough details lead more to the latter option. The plane conditions were quite good; this allowed the easy repair and tune up. The beech handle had a break at the top, which occurred where a knot was present. 
I removed the broken part and replaced it with a new piece of same wood, then colored like to the old beech. The metal sole was slightly bowed in the length, probably due to the wood movement. I removed the screws and smoothed the wood with another plane. After installing the metallic sole, I corrected it on sandpaper attached to a flat surface. Another issue concerned the mouth width. Almost 2 mm, definitely too much for a smoother. I therefore decided to reduce the opening by inserting a couple of veneer pieces on the seat. I sharpened the blade with a 30° secondary bevel, flat edge profile, blunt on both sides.The plane works fine but I have some general concerns regarding its hybrid structure.
The metal sole is not as great in the smoothness as wood, but is certainly an advantage for two reasons:
1) It adds weight to the plane, useful for cutting with very little iron.
2) The sole resists to the wear and has not need of frequent maintenance.
The first point seems irrefutable. For the second one is necessary to say that the presence of the metal sole prevents natural wood movements and can easily lead to cracks in the plane body, and it is not flexible enough to prevent any warping especially along its length. If planing the underlying wood is a solution to restore the flatness, the wooden mouth increases its amplitude and the opening for the chips will be larger. But even if this does not happens, you have to deal with the tapered blade profile, so that when it is sharpened it decreases its thickness still leads to a wider mouth. In a full wooden plane a larger mouth is repaired by placing a patch to restore the exact opening width. This is not easily possible with a metallic sole. The repair done with shims placed on the seat can slightly alter a perfect wedge insertion. Even the handle has advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is a comfortable grip, but at the same time it is an obstacle to beat with a mallet on the plane back when you have to remove the cutting unit. One is inclined to beat on the handle and perhaps this was the cause of its break.
 |
My Shaker Table from the
1st Guild Build. |
Well fellow woodworkers, Marc is up to his old tricks and another Guild Build is upon us.
For any of you who dont know (can there be any woodworkers who dont know?) the Wood Whisper Guild Builds are a trice yearly build where Marc publish plans & offers step by step instructions while the Wood Whisperer Guild members build along. Bell Forrest Products even sell special kits of all the lumber needed to build a Guild Build Project.
Previous Guild Build projects have been a shaker table, a dresser and a wall hanging cabinet. This Springs build is a Greene & Greene inspired Adirondack chair.
Though its a thing of beauty, Im sad to say I wont be building along due to other time commitments. Dont let that stop you though. Its a community build second to none. You owe it to yourself and your woodworking to give it a try.
 |
My almost finished Bastard Wall Cabinet is my
excuse for a Winter 2011 Guild Build project. |
Now joint the Guild and get to work on that beautiful chair.
I cleaned and rearranged the shop today. Now that the wands are finally (almost) done, I needed to clean and rearrange things so that I could walk, use the table saw and find my bench.
There are a few corrections to what I say in the video:- I think the Port-A-Mate rack was more. I bought is a while ago.
- What I say is cherry on the lumber rack looks like, and is, walnut.
- I say “That’s about it” three (3) times. Only one (1) of those times is at the end.
How’s your shop organization? Time for a cleaning?
Read More..
Read More..
Read More..
