Happy 2017

I want to thank you all for your support. Happy new year from me and Scrapy!

Making a turned box, from a strange beautiful wood

I found this piece of wood and I figured that it had pretty awesome grain patterns.

I decided to make a wood box with it and see how it responded on the lathe.

First of all I cut it in half on the bandsaw.

Then I used my draw knife to rough flatten one side. I finished the job, with a hand plane.

With one side flat I screwed the face plate in place.

I mounted it on the lathe and used a round chisel as a roughing gouge to round over the side. To flatten the front I used my skew chisel.

I used my bowl gouge to establish the outer shape of my box. I used a flat chisel and a skew to shape the bottom. To the bottom I also made a tenon so I can reverse the box on my chuck.

I sanded the outer side using 100 grit sand paper. I gradually moved to 500 grit. I finished the piece by wet sanding it at 500 girt with mineral oil.

I also found a crack during the process. I filled it with super glue and sanded over it, to fill it with dust.

I reversed the piece using my chuck. I drilled a starting hole with a forstner bit on the lathe.

I started hollowing using the bowl gouge. I then moved to a spindle gouge and finished a few difficult areas with my swan neck curved scraper.

I made the cap of the box using a flat chisel and a skew. I measured the boxe’s opening with a caliper in order to create a tenon on the cap that fitted snuggly.

I am pretty happy with the way it came out. I really like that wood, even though I don't know what it is! 

How to make a simple segmented pencil holder on the lathe

I wanted a minimalistic pencil holder for my desk. I came up with this design. I made it out of scrap spruce pieces.

The holder was made out of 12 segments. So I need 15 degree miters. I tilted the blade of my table saw at that angle and made all the rip cuts.

To cut the segments  to size, I used my cross cut sled with a stop block, so I can make all the cuts with accuracy.

To joint the segments, I placed a piece of sand paper on a plexiglass and sanded all the miters.

I then glued all the segments. I used blue masking tape to clamp them.

I then cut the pieces for the base on my table saw. I glued 4 pieces to create a panel.

After marking the base’s size with a pencil. I rough cut it on the bandsaw.

To joint the base and the segmented ring, I sanded them on my home made disc sander on the lathe.

I glued the two pieces together and screwed in the face place on the bottom. I then mounted the whole thing on the lathe.

I used a flat chisel to turn the piece. I rounded over the piece. Cleaned up the open edge and rounded over the mouth’s corners.

I sanded it with 100 grit, then moved on to 240, then 320 and finished it with wet sanding at 500. As a lubricant and finish I used mineral oil.

At this point my pencil holder was ready, I hope you liked it!

How to make an experimental acoustic string instrument

I wanted to make an instrument using the lathe. So I came up with this 3 string instrument which I call a hybrid of a Greek bouzouki and a banjo. I made it out of spruce.

The body of the instrument is actually a segmented  bowl. For 12 segments I need 15 degree miters. 

I cut the miters on my table saw, using my miter sled.

I then sanded the miters on my DIY disc sander for the lathe.

I used blue tape and rubber bands to hold the miters while the glue set.

For the body’s bottom I glued a few pieces together. I also glued two pieces of wood for the instrument’s neck.

After the segmented ring was dry, I sanded it’s edges on the disc sander. I used the bandsaw to rough cut the bottom to size and glued the ring and the bottom together.

I then mounted that piece on the lathe with a face plate and turned it round.

To fill the gaps I applied glue and then sanded over that. This way the gaps were filled with dust and glue.

I glued wood blocks to the bottom. This way I have a little more meat for the neck’s joint and also my structure became stronger.

I then used my bandsaw again to rip a few thin boards. I grain matched them. To joint them I used a piece of sandpaper on a flat plexiglass. This way I sanded them flush and then glued them all together.

I rough cut the top on the bandsaw. Using a hole saw on the drill press I created the sound hole. I also glued a brace under the top for support. I shaped the brace with a sharp chisel.

I then created two flat spots on the body using the disc sander. I glued the top and the body.

I cleaned up the neck with a hand plane. I trimmed it to size on my table saw. For the cross cuts I used my sled and for the rip cut I used the fence.

I then cut the basic shape of the neck on the bandsaw. 

The neck is glued on the body with a dovetail joint. I shape the male piece of the dovetail on the neck. I made two stop cuts with a saw and a miter box and then shaped the rest with a sharp chisel.

Using a spoke shave I rounded over the back of the neck. I then sanded the neck. To shape a few difficult areas I used a sanding block as a rasp.

I then drilled the holes for the keys.

To make the female dovetail on the body, I made a few parallel cuts with the saw and then chiseled out the rest of the material.

I glued the neck and the body.

To make the fretboard I need the scale length. My scale is 52cm. I went to an online fret position calculator and printed out the measurements of my fret board.

I then made the fret slots using a miter box and a saw. 

For fret pins I used bamboo sticks.  I also used two pins to avoid the slipping of the fret board during glue up. I glued the fret board in place. 

I then glued the rest of the pins in place and cut them flush with my flush trim saw.

For the side fret marks I just burned a few points.

I used a cutter to cut the frets to size. Using a clamp I pressed the frets in place. To secure them more, I applied a few drops of super glue in the fret slots.

I rough cut the frets to size with a rotary tool and a cutting disc. I sanded them flush with a sanding block.

I finished the instrument with a spray acrylic clear varnish. I applied 5 coats while light sanding between coats.

Using my angle grinder, I cut a metal piece to act as string holder. Using a screw driver as a guide, I used a hammer to bend the metal in place. I made the the holes needed on the drill press.

I cut two ( plastic ) bone pieces for the bridge and the nut on the bandsaw. I shaped them on the disc sander. 

I clamped them on my vise together. I used a saw to make three cuts. Then I used a file to open up the holes that would receive the strings.

I cut a piece of iroco on the bandsaw to act as my bridge. I shaped it on the disc sander and cut out a groove to receive the bone.

I screwed the string holder and the keys in place. I added a couple of string guides and my instrument was ready.

I tuned it in D A D. 

I hope you like it!

How to make a rack for the woodturning tools

For a while now, Ι wanted a holder for the lathe’s tools. I wanted it to be mounted on the wall, so my bench would remain free.

I made it out of scrap pieces of spruce and plywood.

First of all I cut all my pieces to size on my table saw. For the rip cuts I used the fence and for the cross cuts I used my cross cut sled.

The sides of the rack are a bit tapered. I made that cut on the bandsaw.

I used a block plane to plane the two sides flush.

To mark the hole positions for the base I used a 40mm forstner bit.

I opened holes for the tools to sit in, using my drill with the same forstner bit.

For the top piece, I drilled holes with the drill and then cut one side out on the bandsaw. My bandsaw is small so I finished the cuts with my jigsaw. 

I then used corner clamps, to keep everything together before I drilled pilot holes and screwed everything in place.

The rack is mounted on the wall with a french cleat. I tilted the blade of the table saw at 45 degrees and made a rip cut on a piece of plywood.

I used wood glue to mount one piece of the cleat on the rack.

I sanded everything with 100 grit sandpaper.

I drilled holes on the cleat that would be mounted on the wall.

I marked the positions of the holes with a pen and a spirit level.

I used upat as a mounting method. I drilled the holes on the wall. Before that I gave a small punch on the drill to create a small guiding point for the drill. After that I placed the upats in place and screwed the cleat in place. 

The rack was now ready I hope you like it!

How to make a swan neck hollowing wood turning tool from an old file

With a tool like that you can hollow forms because it can penetrate in really difficult areas.

I made it from an old file, because files are made of tool steel, which should work nicely on a project like this one.

First of all I cut the steel to size with my angle grinder. I also used the angle grinder to remove most of the file marks.

I finished cleaning on my belt sander.

I then used my tilting base on the grinding wheel to grind the bevel of the tool at a consistent angle.

I heated the tool to red hot with my propane torch. I used two metal bars mounted on my bench, and while it was still hot I bended the steel to shape. I repeated this process a few times, until I was happy with my tool’s shape.

I then placed the steel in my home made foundry and when it became red hot I dipped it in oil to harden it. To reduce the tool’s hardness and prevent it from snapping I put it in the oven for 2 hours at 180 degrees Celsius.

I cleaned the tool with sandpaper and oil. I also used my rotary tool to clean the curvy parts.

I cut a piece of maple on my bandsaw, and used my chisels and a mallet to carve a groove for the tool to sit in.

I glued the pieces together using wood glue and clamps. 

I mounted the handle on the lathe and used a spindle gouge to round it over. 

I used my rotary tool to cut a piece of metal tube.

I created a tenon to receive the tube. I used the scraper to make a curve and the skew to round over the back. I used a spindle gouge also. I sanded the piece on the lathe and finished with mineral oil.

I used my home made disc sander to sand the metal ring flush with the tool handle.

I glued everything together with two part 5 minute epoxy glue.

I sharpened the tool using several grits of sand paper, a wood sanding block and oil. I finished with a piece of leather with polishing compound. Every time I created a burr I removed it and moved to a finer grit.

At this point my tool was ready. I think it will come out really useful in future wood turning projects.

I hope you liked it!

How to make a DIY lumber rack

I needed a place in my shop, that would be dedicated for storing lumber.

I made this rack out of spruce boards and screws.

I cut the pieces of the same length all together. I clamped them together and used a mallet to set them in line. I then used my circular saw with a guide rail to make the cross cut.

I begun the build by making the sides. I made pilot holes and screwed everything in place.

After the two sides were ready I added the cleats, again with screws. I also used a 90 degree straight edge, to make sure everything was straight.

I then cut the inner braces to size, with a handsaw and a miter box. To hold them in place before screwing them in, I used a piece of rope and a piece of wood in the way a bowsaw blade tension can be adjusted.

At this point the carcass of the rack was ready. I can add more shelves or compartments in future if I have to.

I hope you like it.

DIY pallet wood toy warrior on the lathe

I had a long thick block of wood from a pallet and I decided to make a wood turning project with it.

First of all I cut the piece to size using my bandsaw. 

I used a draw knife to remove as much material as I could, before mounting the piece on the lathe.

I then rounded over the piece on the lathe. I used a  carpenter’s curved chisel as a roughing gouge to do that.

I then made a template of my piece on a piece of heavy paper. I used the template to establish my basic lines on the lathe. I then used a skew chisel to kind of carve the basic shapes on my piece.

I measured the template with my caliper quite often to establish the basic shapes on my blank.

I then used the skew chisel, a spindle gouge and a flat chisel to turn the body of the warrior.

I sanded the piece and removed the tailstock to turn the head. I sanded the piece with 100 grit sand paper.

I drilled the holes for the arms. I enlarged the holes gradually, by using several drill bits. I also made two holes to act as eyes.

I cut the body to size on the bandsaw and sanded the bottom on my lathe disc sander.

I then turned the arms and the sword. The sword is attached to the arm with a hole, which I made on the drill press. To flatten the blade of the sword, I used my disc sander again.

I then turned the shield of my toy warrior. I drilled a hole in the center using the lathe’s tailstock with a drill chuck. I removed the shield with my parting tool. I cleared the back on my disc sander. I also turned a small pin that fits in the shield. 

I glued the pin in the shield. I also glued in the arms. I wanted the shield and the sword to be removable.

My little warrior toy was now ready. Pallet wood is not ideal for wood turning because it chips really easily.

But I think it was an interesting project and turned out nicely in the end!

Pine bowl on the lathe

I made this a bowl from a piece of over 40 years old pine tree.

No video for this one, it just came out really nice. The top is made of scrap plywood and spruce.

I finished the pine with mineral oil. The top is painted with acrylic and clear varnish.

The grain patterns are really impressive on this piece, I hope you like it.