Installing the beehive

At this point Lefteris (the beekeeper) has applied a few coats of linseed oil to all the parts of the hive. He also painted the exterior with bright colors.

Next we wood burned the number of the hive using a burning stamp.

We went to the bee place and Lefteris prepared smoke using dry pine needles to keep the bees calm.

Next he took ready made frames from a grown hive and placed them in the new one.

We examined the bees for a while and we were pretty much done.

I want to thank Lefteris and Giannis for all the help.

You can also watch how the beehive was done here:

Part A

Part B

How to make a miter sled for your table saw

This sled is actually a jig that allows you to cut accurate 45 degree miters on your table saw.

This is actually my version of Steve Ramsey’s sled. You can check out his project here.

I made my sled from a scrap piece of MDF which I cut to size on my table saw.

I then added a few washers to in my saw’s top grooves. Those act like spacers. I measured the distance from top to washer with a caliper and transferred my measurement to the tabs saw’s fence. Then I cut my sled’s rails from a piece of wood who’s thickness is the same with the grooves of the saw.

I added the rails in the grooves, applied glue and added the top. I also glued two MDF pieces to make a security block for the blade.

After a couple of hours, the glue was dry enough to add screws. I predrilled and counter sinked the holes, before adding the screws.

I made my first cut with the sled. I cut about half the way. I then used the 45 degree angle of a triangle against the blade and marked a line. 

I applied glue and added the first fence of my sled, parallel to the line I drew before. After a couple of hours I cut the excess material of the fence. 

I used the first fence to cut the miter of the other one. Again the same procedure only this time I use a 90 degree square to make sure that the two fences are facing each other at exactly 90 degrees.

I used a saw to cut off the excess rails. I then secured the fences in place with counter sinked screws.

I used my cross cut sled to cut the security block to size. I glued and screwed it in place.

In order for the sled to roll nicely, I applied a couple of coats of beeswax and olive oil finish on the rails.

I make another half way cut and my sled is ready.

The way the miter sled works is fairly simple. You make the first cut on one side of the fence. To make the other cut you place the other piece on the other fence. This way when you bring your two miters together you get an accurate 90 degree angle!

I hope you find it useful!

How to make a spline jig for the table saw.

I wanted to make a jig for making splines. I want to use splines to reinforce 45 degree mitered joints that are usually end grain to end grain. This technique is really useful especially in making picture frames and boxes. 

I used a scrap piece of 20mm thick plywood. The jig will be fitted on my table saw’s fence. I made my measurements using a caliper and cut all my pieces to size.

For the cross cuts, I used my cross cut sled and stop blocks when needed.

I glued and screwed the pieces of my jig’s base. I predrilled and countersinked all the holes on my drill press.

I used a compass and a 90 degree square to find the center of my base. I then used the 90 degree corner of a triangle as a guide to glue and screw two stop blocks. I used a handsaw to trim the edges flush with the jig’s base.

Now, I was ready for a test. I made a wooden corner and clamped it on my jig. I adjusted the table saw’s fence and made my first cut. I then flipped the piece over and made another cut.

I used a caliper to find the width of my cut and cut a piece of spline on my bandsaw. The spline was a bit snug. So i clamped my block plane upside down on my vise and planed the thin spline down to the width that I wanted.

I applied glue to my joint and added the splines. After the glue was a bit dry, I used my flush trim saw to cut the splines flush. I then used a sanding block to finish my joint.

I hope you find this jig useful.

Off course many people have made jigs like that. Check out a few of them here:

Make Something

Nick Ferry

Jay Bates

Jon Peters Art & Home

How to make Scrapy, my wooden animated puppet ( quick and dirty )

First of all I have to say that Scrapy should always be made out of scrap wood.

I made this one using a piece of 2x4 and a scrap kind of 1x1 I had laying around in my woodworking shop.

I begun by rough sketching the basic idea of my character. I then use a piece of paper to cut out the templates for half of my design. Scrapy’s front view is symmetrical. So all I have to do is create templates for one side and then I flip them over to draw the other one.

I then transferred my templates on wood, and cut them out on bandsaw.  

To join the foot I need to cut a mortise. To do that I used the tenon and mark my cuts. I completed the task on the bandsaw again. 

I then rounded all the parts I had to, with my belt sander.

All the parts are screwed together. Before that I made pilot holes with my rotary tool, to avoid wood splitting. I also added two nuts between the legs and the body to act as spacers. 

The eyes and ears of Scrapy are just screws.

I made a hole on the head on my drill press. I glued in a dowel and that’s my head and neck.

To join the head with the rest of the body, I just drilled a hole and placed the head in without any glue.

My little wood buddy is ready. I hope you like him!

How to make a geometry compass

I had a few pieces of spruce which I cut to size on my table saw.

I decided to make a compass for my permanent marker.

I used my miter box and a saw to make all my cross cuts.

I marked the size of one piece and using a chisel I made a through mortise to the other part. I first remove as much material as I could using my drill press.

I connected the two parts and added a few nails, to secure them in place.

My compass Is just a pole with a few movable arms.

I marked the positions of the holes of the arms using an owl and drilled them on my drill press.

I marked the size of my sharpie and used a large drill bit to make hole to receive it. 

I removed some material on my bandsaw to create a relief gap. This way when I tighten the bolt the sharpie stays in place.

I assembled the compass, using bolts, washers and winged nuts.

I used a center finding jig to find the center at the end of my compasses pole. I made a hole with my drill. I cut a big nail with my hacksaw and hammered it in place.

Because I hammered on the tip of my nail. I used a file to sharpen it.

My compass was now ready. With those flexible arms it can create both small and big circles. With a few adjustments I can also use a pencil, a pen or a piece of chalk instead of the marker pen.

I hope you like it!