The Woodshop Shed

Use Car Jacks in the Shop to Lift & Level

Furnished content.
(from Popularwoodworking.com)


I have long used my car's scissor jack for house and shop projects including lifting a settled deck and leveling workbenches. And when I needed to install a new set of cabinets in my shop, I realized that a pair …Source

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Choosing a Finish for Color

Furnished content.
(from Popularwoodworking.com)


Different finishes look different on different species. There are many reasons to choose one finish over another. Usually the most important is for protection and durability - how well a finish protects the wood from moisture and how resistant the …Source

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Thor's hammers

Furnished content.
(from Lumberjocks.com)


Just finished a run of 15 Thor's hammers made of various scraps, (redwood, Douglas fir, alder). The handles are 1-3/8” diameter round stock with a 2” diameter toy wheel glued and screwed to the bottom of the handle. The larger hammer is 4” X 4” X 10”. The custom laser engraving and colorful paracord “Navy fancywork” on the handle is added by my client.

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Finial top lidded bowl - figured maple and sapele

Furnished content.
(from Lumberjocks.com)


I had a chunk of figured maple that I knew was going to have awesome chatoyancy, and it was about the right size for a small bowl. I've never done a finial top lidded bowl, so I figured what the hell?I turned the bowl body first, then used a vacuum chuck to hold the lid blank well enough to cut a lip on it, then used the bowl body as a jam chuck to finish the lid. The cats eye is just awesome. The pics clearly don't do it justice, I had a piece of walnut for the finial, but it ended up being all checked when I got it turned down, so I found a really pretty piece of sapele. I feel like the finial is a bit chunky, but it's my first attempt at it, so I'm not too upset. Sanded to 600 then, finished with homemade friction polish and a little Renaissance wax.First time with this type of bowl, first time with the vacuum chuck and transfer tail stock insert (neat setup!). I did learn the limits of the vacuum chuck, which is probably a good thing too!

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Deck railings

Furnished content.
(from Lumberjocks.com)


My customer asked if I could make a replacement top and bottom deck railing. A 45” long segment was destroyed when a not too competent tree trimmer felled a palm tree. It didn't land where he expected it to land. The ten PVC balusters survived but the thin walled artificial railings didn't. I'm not sure what the material was. I suspect something similar to artificial decking. The replacements are shown next to the damaged originals. Both replacements were box beam constructed from 4 pieces of alder. The ten holes for the 1-1/8” PVC balusters required a router template. I rough cut the holes undersized on the 3/8” thick tops with a saber saw. Prior to the box beam glue up I attached the template and used a 3/8” diameter flush trim bit on the router table to size the baluster holes. I ruled out using 8/4 alder and mortising in the baluster holes with a mortising machine because the balusters had rounded edges. The mortising machine would have made square mortises. By using a router template and a 3/8 inch flush trim bit, the holes had corners with the perfect radius. My replacements probably won't withstand a another tree falling on them but they're a bit stronger than the originals.

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