Christmas Cabinet

And a new online Woodworking Magazine Last week I finished off my new sharpening bench and Im quite happy with the results. Before the oil had a chance to dry I was into another project, this time a small wall cabinet for a Christmas gift. I used up the last of my oak offcuts and also incorporated some walnut and Japanese hand made paper into the piece. I started the project on the evening of Sunday, Dec. 20th and got through it in time for the gift exchange! Who said hand tool work was slow? Its kind of a reflection or continuation in design from the book cabinet with doors project from my book and has two small dovetailed drawers inside.
To speed up the project I used hardwood dowels for joinery instead of more elaborate and time consuming joinery such as dovetails; nothing fancy but it turned out to be a nice little gift. I took lots of pics through the build and will write a full article about the entire process, from the design to the finish. Itll be featured on a new wood working website that is slated to start up sometime in the early new year. Its an international woodworking magazine and will feature different wood workers from all over the world. The Woodworkers Republic is coming soon!!!
Stay tuned and have a healthy and Happy New Year.
Cheers!

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So What Does An Old French Guy Know That I Dont

So with my last two posts, you must know by now that I am trying to define a vice that will adapt to the type of work I do, and plan to do. As I plan to make boxes, everything from jewellery to writing boxes, I expect they will be built in an array of sizes and shapes, not all necessarily square. I also have found a new interest; kinetic sculptures. This is a very fancy name for folk art that has moving parts. A more recognizable term for them is "whirligigs". Some of the more complex ones I have looked at lately absolutely fascinate me. I will leave the topic of kinetic sculptures for another day, but I mention them because they explain why I want a vice that will work out of parallel.So far, my trip into the physics of applied forces hasnt been met with anything that even slightly resembles a, "I say there, Mitchell, I think you might have it, sir". In truth, my plans have pretty much garnered a, "Cute, but it wont bloody work you moron."So I do what I do best...I do more research.For my vice idea, I only had to cruise as far as the Popular Woodworking site to discover one of Christopher Schwarzs articles on vices, one of many, an article entitled, "Meet the Etaux from Old Salems Shop".An "Etaux" is an add-on to a vice and is used for specialty work, much like Moxons Twin Screw Bench Vice. The one Chris was discussing is basically a miniature leg vice.Chris had a couple of images of this vice that were small and showed less than ideal detail. I went off and searched for better ones, but couldnt come up with any, so I did a little work with Chris to get some of the detail between the uprights to display. If nothing else, these adjusted images will show you why you cant enlarge digital image files - they fall apart.Bad images aside, the design of this vice results in the question..."Why the hell will this old French guys design work and mine wont?"

The inset is the original in its original size and the black and white image
is the adjusted one, like I had to explain that one to you :0)

There is no glide connecting these two uprights to keep them
parallel. None, nada, zip. The only parts are a large screw at
the top, and a smaller one at the bottom. Now where did
I see that design before?
Oh ya. It was mine!

Two examples from an early 20th-century tool catalogue, La Forge Royale.

While I have never seen this vice before, I couldnt help but notice that even the bottom, lighter screw comes at things from the back. 

While I cant see it in the photos, the bottom screw may be connected to the front upright in some choice. I have emailed Chris and asked him about this. Ill let you know his answer once I receive it.

Peace,

Mitchell

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They use these things to fly planes you know

About a year ago I purchased a beautiful little Spear & Jackson dovetail saw, circa 1888 from woodnut4 on eBay. Its open handled, rip set, and is just the nicest thing to work with. Since then I have been searching for a cross that would be a match to it, mainly on eBay, but the odd time, when I think of it, Ill just do a general search for one on Google to see if there is any out there that happen to be looking for a new home.

Tonight, I pulled up Google and entered "jackson open handled dovetail cross".

Have a look at what came up as the forth hit on the list...

Sometimes computers are just dumb.

Peace,

Mitchell

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Mitres Hook and all

Bench-top Jigs make quick work for tight cornersIve just started my next project and not too far into it, I find myself having to cut mitres at my bench using hand tools. A quick process that could be a lot harder if it wasnt for a few simple Bench-top appliances.
The first step as is true with all good joinery is starting with straight stock thats been hand planed true. Once youve prepared your pieces, measure and mark with either a knife or pencil. For this project Im using walnut which I find difficult to see at the best of times so for certain cuts I actually use both. I make my knife cut and follow with led, think old school prison tattoos...Actually, it helps to add some contrast my eye can more readily detect when sawing accurately on Walnut.
I alchoices make a 90 degree first with pencil across the work piece; it helps to keep things square when you mark and cut the mitre. I use a Mitre Hook at my Bench top to cut the 45. Its a quick jig made from 3/4" MDF; it consists of a base with a hook glued and screwed to the front bottom that rests against the bench top apron and a fence across the back. For the fence I used a thick piece of hard maple I had in my off-cut pile. I marked and cut out the kerfs for my back-saw to follow when in use. One 90, centered with a 45 degree on each side. This stock is a little better than an inch in thickness so I opt to use my larger 12" Tenon Saw filed cross cut with 13 tpi. I follow my scribe down down through the fibres careful on the exit not to cut into the MDF. That stuff is nasty for saw blades and everything else I can think of save for the jigs around a wood shop. Once I have my pieces mitred I change over to my shooting board equipped with a mitre fence. The mitre fence is a simple accessory made from another off-cut; this time some 3/4" Birch plywood I had left over from some un-fulfilling job where I had to use 3/4" Birch plywood!
Just kidding, plywoods are getting better and better, the quality and overall look and performance; although in my perfect world I think that Id use solid wood for all of my projects and be able to convince all of my clients to do the same. On the shooting board I true up the mitres being careful not to blow-out the fine pointed ends. When Im happy with the results I try matching up the pieces flat on the work bench. I use a small piece of masking tape to pull the pieces together. Looks good; a little glue and this one is done.
For larger applications in heavier stock, this method can be awkward do to the fact that planing stock thicker than 1" can become difficult on the shooting board. Try using a bird-house or donkeys ear jig in combination with the shooting board, this allows the plane to travel across the grain on the 45 and not with it. There are quite a few different mitering jigs out there, look around and find one youll enjoy using.
Reflection Method of Schwarz This is just something I stumbled across yesterday and tried it out this morning while cutting the above mitres.
Christopher Schwarz, Editor of Popular and Woodworking magazines was filmed during a talk at Lie-Nielson recently. He shows how to cross cut a perfect 90 using only the reflection of the stock in the side of your saw blade as a guide. I thought our dear Mr. Schwarz may have been sitting a little too close to the Linseed Oil but hey...voila!
It works; imagine, a perfect 90 cut by eye, my eye, not his of course, that would just be strange...Anyhow, try it if you cant find a square and you happen to keep a bright shiny saw blade tucked achoice in yer till somewhere.
Check it out:

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The Old Mans Reaction

I was thinking this morning about how my old man would have reacted to the current rebuilding of my tool cabinet. Here is how I think that conversation would have played out...

Old Man: What the hell do you think youre doing?

Son: Nothing. Why?

Old Man: Because it looks more like you are building furniture, thats why.

Son: Come on, pop. Im just making a display for my tools that I can enjoy looking at and still be able to use them. 

Old Man: What the hell are you talking about? Tools are only made to be used, not looked at. What the hell do you think they are, artwork? 

Son: Well, pop, they may have been made to work with, but that doesnt mean their designs shouldnt be appreciated. Some of them are really quite beautiful in their own right; like little sculptures. 

Old Man: Awe, bullshit! Do you ever listen to yourself when you talk that artsy-fartsy stuff? If you have to do this kind of pamby-assed thing, just bang a few nails in the back of the cabinet and hang the bloody tools on them. Stop making such a big deal out of nothing, for Christs sake. 

Son: The cabinet sits in my office, remember, not the basement. I dont want to look at something like that all the time. I want it to look good. 

Old Man: Well if you spent more time working and less time looking, you might actually accomplish something.

Son: Im retired, pop, remember? 

Old Man: Your too young for that nonsense, but ok, you want to sissify a bunch of tools; I can live with that, but do you have to spend so God-damned much money to do it? Walnut costs a bloody fortune. 

Son: It isnt sissified, pop. I just see things differently than you, thats all. And as far as building it out of walnut, I chose it because I know it was your favourite wood. The whole thing is sort of a tribute to you, if you must know. 

Old Man: Tribute - Schmidute. If you want to build something for me out of an expensive wood like walnut, build me a damned coffee table!

And with that, folks, he would have turned on his heel and stormed achoice, leaving me standing there shaking my head in wonderment. As he stormed achoice, though, I know he would have been wearing a grin from ear to bloody ear, the grumpy, old codger.
Peace,
Mitchell

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A Dedicated Sharpening Bench part 5

Shaping the Feet and Finishing the FrameIn my last post I finished the leg to bench surface joinery and can now get into the rest of the mortise and tenon joinery to complete the frame work. As mentioned, the stock is 1 1/2" square so Im making 1/2" tenons and mortises. Its a work out chopping through the Ipe but my mortise chisel is up for the task. Remember I usually bore out the waste with my brace and bit but this wood wreaked havoc on my vintage augers and they only went in about 1/8". So lots of hammering and sawing and fitting the tenons. One nice thing about the 1 1/2" stock is the tenons are relatively small so after a few hours of banging around the basement Ill have the frame complete.
Chopping a MortiseFirst thing is to establish the perimeter and I do this with some crisp knife lines. In this first shot you can see where Ive marked the overall size of the stretcher and then in the middle you can see my scribe lines...notice I marked off the center? This would have given me somewhere to register my auger bit but as mentioned, it didnt quite work out that choice.
To begin, I place my mortise chisel at the far end of the mortise area, about 3/16 " achoice from the scribe line. I hammer down, taking small bites as I go. Im holding the chisel so the bevel side is facing my body and work my choice down the mortise section. Im careful to stay inside the lines and not to hammer the chisel in too deep...yet!
Once I get to the end of the mortise section I stop just shy of the scribe line, again somewhere in the 1/8" range. I then go back and carefully pry out the small chips and get ready for a second, deeper pass. This time Im a little harder on the hammer and begin working my choice down through the hardwood.
I continue on with this routine until I get close to my finished depth, checking after each pass. Once the mortise is at its finished depth Ill square up the ends. Place your body in front of the work so you can eye the chisel straight down, square into the opening. If you have trouble chopping square then place a square on your bench top, behind the work for reference. Another mortising trick you can try is marking the finished mortise depth on the back side of your chisel with a felt marker before you begin; that choice you can make sure youre not chopping down too deep.
This process is repeated fifteen more times and when complete Ill begin to saw out the tenons. Refer back to my last post to see my set up for that.
When everything is looking good I go back and re-visit the foot components and shape them.
This being a workbench I could have easily left them square- not like anyone will be looking at them ~ ;) but Ive alchoices liked the look of rounded feet on workbenches. I find it gives the bench a traditional look and there will be much less chance of me tripping on them while I stumble around the shop. My own workbench has square feet but I think that taking the extra 30 minutes or so to round them over adds a nice touch.
Shaping the FeetTo begin shaping the feet I draw out the arch and scribe the lines to determine the recess in the top of each foot. On my bench hook Ill make the first cross cut to establish the small fillet down and then Ill put the stock upright and rip down to remove the shoulder.
Next, I make an angled cut to remove most of the waste and with some rasps and files I fair out the curve.
As you know, my work shop is in my basement and the floor down there is far from flat! With that in mind I decide to remove the middle, underside of the feet to create four contact points where they meet the floor instead of the bench sitting on the entire length of the foot stock. This will make for a more stable bench.
To remove the material I make a series of cross cuts down to my desired depth which in this case is 1/4".
Then I grab my biggest, meanest Japanese chisel and start chopping the waste out between the saw kerfs. I take my time doing this part so I dont blow out any of the wood grain. Working from the inside of the foot I chop down a little over half choice and then flip the board over and now working from the outside, show-side of each foot to complete the cut.
A quick going over with a sharp card scraper and its done. When I have the first foot shaped Ill use it as a pattern and trace the rest of the feet off of it. This will insure theyre all the same without having to measure every time. A bit of sanding and theyre good to go!
With the feet shaped and the joinery cut Ill do another dry fit and well call it a day. I begin by laying out the left front and back legs and insert the cross stretcher and foot. Ill mirror this assembly on my bench top with the right hand side as well.
Leaving the frames flat on the bench top Ill insert the cross stretchers.
Finally, Ill peg the right hand frame onto the end of the stretchers and stand the whole unit upright. Im happy with the results and my joints are looking pretty descent. In this final shot you can see how the work surface will slide down into the front slip joints and sit on the rear stub tenons. When I glue up the frame Ill drill and peg all of these joints for a bench thatll probably be around a lot longer than I will...My mortising is done for today but Ill add another cross stretcher at the top, rear of the frame that will serve dual pupose- itll have a dado running along its length to peg the drawer holders into as well as another pick-up point for the surface to sit on. This final cross stretcher will be made of oak because I want it to be at least 2" wide and as you know, the Ipe came pre-dimensioned at 1 1/2".
In the next post Ill cut the giant hole in the work surface top for the granite insert (the horror-the horror!) as well as make the final stretcher and some last minute details before I glue up the frame assembly and build the under carriage that will hold the granite in place...stay tuned.

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THE 2010 OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES

THE 2010 OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES
So what is the relevance of the games to the woodworking scene in Vancouver? Well a few years ago I received an email from I don’t know where suggesting I sign up for invitations to bid on Olympics related products and services. I filled out a form in which I checked off some boxes for the type of work I do. Although there were no boxes directly related to my business, I checked a few that I thought might include my work. I don’t think their system worked because I started getting “opportunities “to bid on everything from catering to toilets. I stopped accepting the emails.
I was also contacted with respect to producing a conceptual model of an Olympic venue to be presented as corporate gifts. I attended a meeting at a large design firm to “discuss” the project. This turned out to be a kind of job interview. As I was leaving the meeting room I noticed another guy sitting outside with what looked like his portfolio beside him. I never heard back from the design firm but later got an email forwarded from a woodworking group by a guy looking for someone to do some cnc work for a project related to the Olympics, a conceptual model of an Olympic venue. This gives you an idea of how small the woodworking community is here and how everybody is pretty closely connected.
I know I said this blog is not about the construction industry, but if I am going to find something about the Olympics relevant to woodworking I am going to have to go there. There has been a lot of hoopla about the fantastic engineering innovations involved in the wood structure of the Richmond Olympic Oval. Maybe I’m a moron but it just looks like a variation on the old Safechoice stores we used to see all over BC.
The general sentiment around the Olympics at this time seems to be one of trepidation and dread. I don’t know anyone who has a ticket to an event or is renting their home out for a windfall, and I am including everyone I talk to, not just family and friends. Personally, I think that the Olympics are representative of a kind of social madness like the big heads on Easter Island, and I think a lot of people here instinctually feel this, even if they don’t consciously think it.
I think that the extraordinary decadence and wastefulness of the games has given people a feeling of dread and trepidation in the sense expressed by Margaret Atwood in her lecture “payback”.
As far as the weather is concerned, I am glad it is mild. I hope it gets even warmer. This is not to spite the games but simply because the shop I rent is so poorly insulated that to heat it is very expensive. The last year of recession has been tough and I need a break somewhere. Which makes me wonder, how much would it cost to upgrade all these energy sucking, green house gas producing old buildings in BC? Probably a drop in the bucket of the Olympic budget.
A very popular sport here, maybe not an Olympic sport but popular none the less is thinking of all the things that the money spent on the Olympics could have bought. Here are a few of my most recent contributions.
1. I understand that the Olympics (a 2 week party) cost 6 billion dollars. To rebuild the totally destroyed country of Haiti is estimated to cost 10 billion.
2. To bring all of the public schools in the province up to acceptable structural and health standards would cost 500 million. The cost of the security alone for the games is close to 1 billion.
3. And so on, and so on

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Earning their Keep

Nice to have em when you need emThis morning while working on a rabbet and dado joint cut using power tools, I discovered the fit to be a little too tight. It would have taken me hours to re-set my Table saw and start to fine tune this fit; instead I reached for a few Special Purpose Hand Planes. I dont use these tools everyday but when you need them, there isnt anything better.
So Im at the beginning stages of a Platform Bed project using 4/4 Walnut. Its a basic box with solid frame and rails. I wanted to make the side platform rails a permanent fixture so I cut a rabbet and dado along the underside of the stock. I then cut a groove into the top of the 3/4" Walnut plywood that makes up the underside box section of the bed. I used my Table saw with a stacked Dado blade attachment for both operations making sure to set up feather boards on top of the cut and along the length as well to insure a tight fit. The solid stock over its length had a slight twist which made the entire process a little harder than it should have been. The result; a joinery fit that turned out to be much too tight. I could have set up the table saw to re-run the same procedure making sure to take shallow cuts until everything fit as it should. The problem with this is that to re-set the saw, do some test runs and then finally attempt to peel off a sliver at a time from the joint,would turn into hours of prep for something that may not work. I quickly realised this was the perfect time to do some fine tuning with hand tools.
My two Lie-Nielson side rabbet planes were the perfect tool for widening the dado walls ever so slightly. What took me 5 minutes with these hand tools would have taken an hour on the table saw. I followed with my small Router Plane manufactured by VERITAS here in Canada. It was the perfect tool to ride down the edge of the stock, cleaning up the depth of the cut. A quick and easy hand tool fix for a joinery problem from a power tool. Nice!
I dont reach for these tools everyday but when you need them, theyre sure nice to have around.
Tool Chest Update Just wanted to say that the new Tool Chest I built two weeks ago has been performing everything I had hoped for. A great choice to transport my essential tools to a work site its actually been on the road for two weeks now with me. I thought out a few minor design changes and will add them to the next one. Stay tuned...

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A Toolchest from Hartford

I bought this Stanley No.72 Chamfer Plane about a year and a half ago for, I think, $225. Its a nice plane, one I have used many times, but it is the one plane in my collection that bugs me to no end.

My likes:

• The blade seems to hold an edge forever, even though 100% of its wear is limited to the half inch in the middle.

• It is comfortable to use as the tote is the same one used on the No. 3, a size that seems to be just perfect for my hands.

• It also does an excellent job at producing a very true and even chamfer, for miles, if need be.

• The wood has a beautifully patina.

• I think it is one of Stanleys better designed tools, an excellent example of design following function.
My dislikes:
• Registering it properly at the beginning of the stroke is next to impossible (On a power planer, the problem is alchoices at the end of the board and its called "snipe". What do you call the same issue at the beginning of a board when using a hand plane).
• It lacks a blade adjuster, something I truly hate in any plane (now there is a statement you dont want to hear from someone who collects wood molding planes).
• It sells for a ridiculous price.
So all that said, what bugs me to no end with it?
Its condition.
The japanning on the main casting is just...well...sad.

The V-Sole has some lumps and craters that came with the plane from the factory, I believe.

The japanning on the adjustable sole is almost none-existent.

The blade cap isnt too bad, but it has its issues.

Its a "B" casting.

I paid another $225 for the beading attachment, but Im still looking for the bullnose.
The question is, what do I do with it?

I sent my Miller Falls eggbeater off to Wiktor Kuc, over at WKTools.com three months ago. Mr. Kuc broke his wrist just after that, and that put him out of commission for a while, so the return of it is understandably delayed. One of my requests when I set it to him, though, was he not make it look like a brand new drill. That look is impressive, but not the look I like in a vintage tool and remember, to me, looks are half the battle.
So how do you deal with missing japanning without having it come back looking like a repainted plane?
I found a guy who restores planes on eBay and I really like what he does with these old planes, but the problem I have is that they do not look like old planes any more. I emailed him with my thoughts, and Steve assures me he is well equipped and experienced to deal with it within my requested limitations.
If the plane can be redone without looking like a remake, I then have to be concerned about the value of the tool. Will refurbishing it increase its value, or decrease it?
Oh, what do you do with an old seventy-two (sorry, I like that rhyme).
Peace,
Mitchell
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A Toolchest from Hartford
Posted on 03.07 by poli
Last night I received a letter from Greg in Hartford, CT. Greg just finished a version of my cabinetmakers tool chest and I wanted to share it with you. The tool chest is made out of walnut and maple with a simple finish of Danish Oil. He didn’t add any holes for extra work holding appliances but said he would wait and see what his needs will be as he gains more experience in wood working. That makes perfect sense and is probably some good advice for others planning on making a tool chest of their own. -; )
Cheers Greg and thanks again for sharing!

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Senin, 28 Maret 2016

Look Maw No Hands

Posted on 22.07 by poli

So I took everyone’s advice and dumped the guide block while cutting dovetails. I now know how Linus would feel if someone took achoice his blanket.

Here are some of the suggestions I received...

Trust your scribe line – Mike Siemsen

It is amazing how that chisel’s edge grabs that thin, little scribe line. It was just like Mike Siemsen said, “It will lock in there like a screwdriver in a slot“. Mike is the principal behind Mike Siemsen’s School of Woodworking, so I guess, if I am going to listen to advice, I might was well listen to the best. One of these days life is going to get out of my choice so I can get down to Minneapolis/St. Paul and take a course or two from him.

Mark with a knife and have patience – Mark Salomon (Anonymous??)

Mark reminded me that learning to produce dovetails efficiently takes time. He is right; Rome wasn’t built in a day. I would like to point out to him, though, that it didn’t burn very quickly, either. The real deal though, was suggesting that I stop using a pencil for the pins and use a knife instead. I have been doing it with the scribe line, cutting it, and then following up with a pencil so I can see it better. Why haven’t I been doing the same with the pin lines?

Practice – David Cockey

Like the others, but more to the point, David just suggested I practice more, as the more I do, the more confidence I will have.

Stick on a piece of sandpaper – Anonymous

Mr. Anonymous had a great suggestion for using a guide board, quoting James Krenov’s tip of gluing a strip of sandpaper onto the bottom of the guide board to help keep it in place

I would also like to thank the few guys who emailed me their favorite articles and links to their favorite online videos on the subject. They gave me some unique insights into mastering this procedure, even though they have kept me up half the nights since going through them all.

I tried it

So as the image above attests, I did cut four sets of dovetails without using a guide board, as well as taking the other advice given to heart. The results were reasonably better than the last session’s, but not as good as they will be at the end of the next one, I’m sure.

I had a small issue

Here’s the thing, though. I am afraid that the next session of cutting dovetails will have to be accomplished using the guide block again. Its not that I do not see the benefit of dumping it as that point in your suggestions made real sense to me. The problem is, the eyesight thing got in the choice. When you have zero vision in one eye and a limited depth of focus with some serious loss of peripheral vision in the other, your depth perception gets really wonky. So wonky, in fact, that you can’t tell if a chisel is standing square to the board, or actually bent to the southwest. Lord knows I tried, but it ain’t in me, so if I am going to beat this thing and turn out some respectable dovetails, I’m going to have to cheat a bit.

With some adjustments

Thinking things through, I think I might have it by combining some of the other advice you guys gave me with what needs to be done to beat this limitation. I think the choice to work this is to score a stronger scribe line, maybe by following it up with a second cut with a little thicker knife blade and straight-edge. With careful placement of the guide block, making sure it is on the board-side of the scribe, the block won’t end up blocking the chisel’s access to it, so it can be used to “lock in there like a screwdriver in a slot”. That choice, the guide block can just be used as a quick and accurate register for square and the scribe line does the work it is supposed to do – position the chisel for the cut.

We will see how revamping your suggestions to fit the bill will work the next time, but I do have to state that I truly appreciate your help with this issue. You guys blew me achoice with your quick and helpful responses. I hope that when the next issue rears its ugly head, you will take the time again to be as helpful to me with it as you were with this one.

Oh, ya, I still don’t like using a mallet. Too noisy.

Peace,

Mitchell

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The EZ One

Posted on 20.32 by poli

Dino at EurekaZone has come out with a new version of the Power Bench that I am finding to be a great tool.  I havent been able to use it as much as I would like yet because the projects Im working on havent required its use, but what I have done has lead me to really like it.  It is light weight, yet sturdy as a rock.  Its features are fantastic, so as I explore the features Im going to produce a series of videos that highlight them.
Oddly enough, the first video is not just about the EZ-One, but about the ease at which you can convert it to be able to make cuts greater than the size of the bench.  The bench measures about 48" x 27" with the fence extending about 36" to either side of the center cut line.  I needed to cut 7" strips from a full sheet of 3/4" plywood to use in building up a baseboard in the guest bedroom that we are currently remodeling.  I could easily cross cut the sheet, but these pieces need to be the full 96" long.  The answer was to convert the EZ-One to a Smart Table, join two rails together, add repeaters to the rail, and make the cuts.
I didnt video making the first cuts because I just forgot, and I didnt show making all the cuts because it is just boring.  But I do show a couple of cuts and converting and un-converting the bench to a Smart Table.
Hope you enjoy the video and get a feel for how the EZ-One can be used.  As the need to use the EZ-One, Ill be making other videos and passing along to you my experiences using this great tool.

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Christmas Lights Project

Posted on 15.41 by poli

Im helping a long time friend make a lighted Christmas Star for his fantastic holiday lights display. The original idea came from here, but I redrew the plan with SketchUp and made it a bit bigger. This is my plan.
It is longer and uses a few more lights (206). I used the dimensions and angles from the drawing to put the layout lines on a sheet of 0.75" plywood. I used the EZ Smart Rail system to cut and rout the basic star from the plywood (sorry, no pictures).
I developed a method to mount the light sockets that he uses. This was not straight forward, because the main body of the sockets is a truncated cone with a slight taper (0.74-0.79"), but it has a protrusion (0.33" wide) on one side that allows for the side contact for the bulb. This is what I came up with.
I drill a 1.0" in diameter holes in the plywood. I cut a 0.37" slot on the side of 0.75" inside diameter rigid PVC electrical conduit. I then cut it into 0.5" sections to go into the holes. The socket fits into the hole with the protrusion in the slot. When the socket is pushed flush with the face of the plywood and the adapter flush with the back side of the plywood, the socket is held firmly in place.
I planned to have the sockets 2.0" apart. This means drilling 206 1.0" holes. The hole are in straight lines, but not alchoices along an edge, and they are mostly too far from the edge to use a drill press. Quite a while ago, I started planning an in-line drilling jig for the EZ rail. This project pushed me to finalize the plan and finish building the jig.
The drawing above shows what I came up with. A spring loaded indexing pin is mounted to the side of the SRK. The index jig clamps to the guide ridge of the Guide Rail and has evenly spaced holes that the index pin drops into. Here the setup is being used to drill the Christmas Star holes.
Note the futile attempt at corralling all the wood chips that drilling a 1" hole creates (the white stuff around the router). The blue tape on the indexer helps to see the index holes in the picture. I quickly discovered that if I left the bit plunged in the last hole, I could loosen the clamps and rotate the whole jig to line up with the next line of holes. Having two SRKs lets me have the router on one and the other set up as a alignment guide. With the bit the hole I can use the alignment guide to line up the rail parallel to the line at the proper distance.
Here Im lifting the knob to raise the indexing pin. Once it is lifted, I just have to move the SRK a little bit and I can let go of the knob. The pin will drop into the index hole as I pass it, and I m ready to drill the next hole.
It took about four hours to drill all 206 holes. Now I just have to cut 206 adapters. Here is the star with the holes drilled.
Next Ill paint it black. I have to design the roof mounting frame and a frame to fasten to the back of the star for attaching to the mounting frame. Then we can start inserting sockets and adapters, and then my friend can have fun wiring it. Ill post more when the project is done.

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