The Woodshop Shed

Dan Dragon's Torii Table Part 3: Legs, Stretchers and Panels.

Furnished content.
(from Popularwoodworking.com)


After portioning out some of the Paulownia logs into smaller units Dan set up his lathe and began the turning process (read about the genesis of this great project here: part 1, part 2). He turned the raw …Source

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Long Tool Rest

Furnished content.
(from Popularwoodworking.com)


For turning spindles, there's nothing like having a really long tool rest. You never have to move it! I made my own with parts from the hardware store. This rest is just a length of square steel tubing with …Source

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A Perfect Handle Handle Restoration

Furnished content.
(from Lumberjocks.com)


I picked up this 11” long Perfect Handle screwdriver for a $2 at a building reclaim place. It's would make a cool restoration project—the wooden for the handle is a wreck—and will come in handy considering all of my old hand planes require flathead screwdrivers.It was easy enough to remove the pins that used to hold the wood handles in place. I didn't see a point in trying to salvage the wood. Moisture loss and wear over decades made them too small to fit. Instead, I decided to make new wood for the handles from some scraps of maple I had laying around.Fitting the new wood took some effort to fit into confined spaces. The wood had to be cut to length as well as either end of the blocks having 55 degree bevels before the wood can be glued in. (Removing the old handles also revealed the maker's mark, IAB Co, which is Irwin.)Once fitted, the wood blocks were glued using epoxy. I'll mention here that the maple blocks I used for the handles each had two holes in them, so I made short dowels out of some scrap bubinga to plug the holes. I decided not to include new metal pins to hold the wood in place, figuring that the epoxy will do the job. The bubinga dowels are only there to plug up the holes and for aesthetics.This next part of the project, i.e., shaping the handle was super fun. It basically amounted to the same process as roughing out and rounding the wood when woodcarving in the round.The first step was to trim excess wood on either side of the handle on the band saw.Then I drew the handle shape I wanted.There are many ways to shape the handle. My preference is to use rasps and files whenever possible. They allow me to remove material quickly while providing me with a lot of control of the tool. In this case, I used a Shinto rasp, which I LOVE using. I highly recommend having one in the shop. It made quick work of rounding out the handle.Important note: I stopped using my rasps before the wood was flush with the metal of the handle to avoid gouging into the metal or ruining the rasps. I planned to shine up the metal by sanding it using my 1×30 belt sander. The wood would be sanded flush to the metal at that time. This was a bit tricky. The sander was perfect for cleaning up the metal and getting it to shine, but it was too aggressive for the wood, especially because I'd be sanding cross-grain. This led to a few burn marks in the wood, which were a pain to remove. (I had a few burn marks, usually close to where the wood and metal meet. I ended up sanding those marks out with sandpaper and small files. The belt sander was to aggressive and imprecise for spot sanding.)Once the shaping of the handle was done and hand sanded to 220 grit, I french polished the handle (using amber-tinted shellac) followed by applying paste wax with 0000 steel wool. This is my favorite finish and gives the tool a great feel in the hand.I'll mention here that the rest of the screwdriver was shined up using the 1×30 belt sander followed by using a fiber wheel, then buffing/polishing. My fiber wheels go on my 4-1/2” angle grinder, but you can also buy them for bench grinders/buffers. I'll note to be very careful when cleaning up the head of the screwdriver with power sanders and grinders. It's VERY easy to turn that flathead screwdriver into a chisel or to mess it up in some other way that makes the head useless as a screwdriver. (Ask me how I know.)Thanks for reading my post!

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Teardrop Trailer

Furnished content.
(from Lumberjocks.com)


I built this classic style teardrop trailer on a 4×8 ft cargo trailer frame. I cut the sides each from a single sheet of plywood and finished them before I began any other assembly. I also cut the holes for the doors at this time.




The bottom was a thin sheet of plywood that I sprayed a rubber undercoat on before installation. There is a 1×1 frame on top of the subfloor. There is blue foam insulation in this gap and I ran the 12 volt wiring through here for all the signal lights to keep them protected. Make sure to use a solid piece of plywood for the floor so it won't sag while you sleep. I place the sides and a bulkhead in place to begin building out the rest of the camper.

This is a good time to put down some type of flooring before any dividing walls are put in place. I used linoleum so that it was light weight and would protect the wood from any spills. I built the cabinets next. There is a set of cabinets over the head of the bed and over the foot area. The cabinets over the foot are built on the same shelf.


I chose to run a 12 volt electrical system that runs all the lights, fan, and some power outlets inside and in the galley. I added a 110 volt shore power system for the nights at a campground. This just gave power to the outlets and recharged the battery for the 12 volt system. All the wiring ran through between the roof and ceiling.

I built storage for water, a two burner cook stove and storage for the propane cylinders. The rear door frame needed to be built while the wood was clamped to the side to get the curve right.


i got the aluminum sheet for the roof from an industrial metal supplier. The cut the large roof piece and the piece for the rear door for me. after finishing up the interior, I added the side doors cabinetry and made some segmented wheel wells just because. The battery that runs the 12 volt system and a cooler are mounted on a frame on the tongue. I used some old metal crutches to make some removable tables that attached to the sides. This allowed the tables to adjust for uneven ground.
I had always wanted to build one of these but after I moved and no longer needed this frame to haul, I found the perfect chance. It is a great road trip trailer because it was light and did not require any set up when I stopped to catch some sleep.

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What'dya Know? A Priest? Really?

Furnished content.
(from Lumberjocks.com)


So, I'm working in the cockpit of a boat at a marina when a guy steps up and introduced himself having talked to some of the other boat owners I had done work for wanted to know if I might make him a “fish billie”. Now me, being a man of the world, I turned to him with my most intelligent expression and said; “Huh”? Well with a bit more information forthcoming I found out that he was a new fisherman and when his catch was brought aboard, he would like to send it to fish heaven with a quick bash between the blinkers. With me so far? So, after some more chatter I asked him if he'd like to come up to my shop and turn this fish killer himself. Well, this was met with great enthusiasm because sometime in his youth he had run a lathe. Unfortunately, he was headed out of the country for an extended period. I thought I'd just wait till his return and offer again. Then a thing happened to me that must happen to us all at least once if not more. I was bitten by the project bug and now I needed to create this halibut hammer. After doing a bit of online research I discovered that another name for this implement of Piscean mayhem was also known as a priest! Go figure! Now I HAD to make one. So, using an English design I turned this from Burmese teak and lignum vitae. They blended quite well together, joined by a blind hardwood tenon with wedges and glue. I knew that with the lignum vitae it was sure that any fish that took a smack from this thing would be off to salmon Valhalla in a flash. In the end Tom (remember Tom?) came back to the marina and has been presented with his new “fish billie”. He seemed quite pleased, (you can tell from the picture) even if he didn't get to turn it himself.

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