Making a wooden box with threaded lid for my frankincense

Tools and materials I propose: Wood threading kit
Lathe Wood turning tools set
Forstner bit set
No4 hand plane
Woodworking vise
Jointer planer
Table saw
Bandsaw

I made this piece out of a piece of apricot wood. 

First of all I split the wood in smaller pieces with an axe.

Next I cut the edges straight, with a handsaw.

I then mounted the piece between centers on the lathe and turned it true with my roughing gouge.

With a skew chisel I created a tenon that fitted my chuck.

I filled a few cracks on the wood with super glue.

To cut my threads I used a threading kit that can create both male and female threads.

First I had to reduce the thickness of my stock to fit the male threading tool.

I used the parting tool to establish my goal and then used a flat chisel to remove material fast.

Then I started cutting the male threads.

At this point I started hollowing the box with forstner bits. This was end grain drilling, so I took it really slow. I gradually increased the sizes of the bits until I reached the diameter I wanted.

Next I finished shaping the body of the box and moved on to the lid. 

I started hollowing again!

Before using the threading tools it is nice to add oil. The oil helps the thread chasing process.

Then I begun cutting with the tap. My kit has two taps. One that makes a roughing pass and one that finishes off the process.

And it worked nicely!

At this point I cut the lid of the lathe with a handsaw.

I then screwed the lid on the box and started turning the lid with the spindle gouge.

Next I split anotherr piece to make a cross.

I roughly planed the piece with a hand plane to make things easier on the jointer. Next I used my jointer/planer to square my stock. I cleaned the rest of the edges on my table saw.

I then  made my half lap joints on the bandsaw and glued the cross pieces together.

Next I sanded the cross.

I then drilled a hole on the cap. This hole would receive a dowel connected to the cross.

Next I painted the cap black with latex paint. I applied two coats while sanding between coats.

At this point I parted the box off the lathe. I used the parting tool at a slight angle to make the box sit nicely on flat surfaces. The tool left a small tenon, which I cut off with a carving gouge.

Next I drilled the hole on the cross and glued the dowel, the cross and the cap.

I finished my box with my home made beeswax and mineral oil finish.

I made this box for two reasons. First I want to try out my new treading kit. The second reason was to make a nice box to store my frankincense.

I am really happy with the way it came out, I hope you enjoyed this build too!

:)

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, that at no cost to you, I get a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.

Pyrography art tutorial with my new wood burner

My old wood burner was just a soldering iron on which you could change the tips. It was really cheap and it worked. Since I really enjoy wood burning, I decided to invest in a better quality tool.

I got a pyrography station with variable heat. It gets really hot almost instantly. It also uses more sophisticated tips.

I gave it a try on a piece of birch plywood. Before I begun burning, I lightly sanded with 220grit.

Then I set the burner at an average heat and started creating the outlines of my design. This was actually a free hand improvisation!

Then I increased the heat and started filling the darkest parts of my picture. I did that to have a reference point between my darkest spots and also the more bright ones.

I switched back to average heat and started filling the sky with circular motions. 

Next I started shading my design slowly. Taking my time here helped me avoid mistakes.

To shade my design, I had an imaginary light source in my mind. Then it was a matter of light and shadow. Shadows next to lights made the forms I wanted pop up. 

Also the more you insist on an area with the wood burner the darker it gets.

You can work on these art pieces as much as you want. At the point I felt happy with my design I stopped.

It was a really enjoyable project and my new pyrographer performed really nicely! 

See you soon with a new woodworking project!

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, that at no cost to you, I get a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.

How to install a woodworking bench vise

I just got a proper carpentry vise. In this video I document it’s installation process.  

I got inspired from Mr. Paul Sellers, check out his vise installation video here.

Tools and materials I propose:

Woodworking vise

Bandsaw

Table saw

Belt sander

No4 hand plane

Cordless drill

Forstner bit set

First of all I had to fill the front area of my work bench with wood. I did that by glueing and screwing pieces of plywood in place.

Next I marked the screw holes of the back jaw, predrilled pilot holes and added the screws.

Under the bench top I glued and screwed another wooden block. On that I predrilled pilots holes again and added bolts and washers to secure the vise in place.

I next I cut a piece of plywood on the bandsaw to act as the jaw’s frame. I glued and nailed it in place with my air powered nail gun.

I then cut the plywood jaws on the table saw. I used masking tape to make a cleaner cut in the areas were the blade was perpendicular to the grain of the wood.

Next I clamped the two jaws on the vise to get the marks from the back jaw’s bolts. I used a forstner bit to create pockets to hide them.

Then I glued the back jaw in place and screwed the front one. 

I then used a hand plane to make everything flush. 

To make the sides flush I used my belt sander.

Next I cut a piece of leather for the front jaw. I applied adhesive to both the contacting surfaces. I waited about 15 minutes and glued the pieces together. I then trimmed the leather flush with a knife.

At this point I installed the jaw and used the vise as clamp to hold the pieces together over night.

I did some tests and my vise worked really nicely.

This is a huge upgrade for my workshop and it was about time it happened!

I hope you enjoyed this project, as much as I did!

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, that at no cost to you, I get a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.

How to make a DIY electric guitar from an old wall clock

I made this experimental musical instrument out of an old wall clock I found. When I saw this clock I immediately imagined a vintage guitar! So this is how I made it!

First of all I took the clock apart. 

Then I sanded it with the angle grinder. I used a drum sanding bit on my drill for the curved areas.

I removed material from the headstock so I can fit my tuning pegs. I used the router form this job. I completed the process with two passes. 

Then I started shaping the neck using flat and round rasps and files. 

The gender was pretty aggressive, so I used my random orbit sander, to even things up.

To flatten the area of the fretboard, I used an Ikea table leg as along flat sanding block.

I made the pickup holder out of plywood. I first removed as much material as I could, using a forstner bit on my drill press. I finished shaping with some chisel work and sanding with my rotary tool.

I glued the pickup holder in place. I cut the excess on the bandsaw and sanded everything flush.

Using a forstner bit, drilled the hole foe the volume pot. 

The cables of the electronics were placed in a groove which I opened using my router.

I made a jack plate out of copper. I first scored the copper sheet with a knife and then broke it of on the vise. Then I drilled all the necessary  holes. I used a file to round over it’s edges and I bended it to shape.

Then I drilled the holes for the tuning pegs.

To make the fretboard, I first flattened a piece on my planer jointer. Then I cleaned it’s edges on the table saw. 

I shaped the fretboard with rasps and files and rounded over it’s bottom on the belt sander.

The scale of my instrument is 51cm from nut to bridge. I used an online fret calculator to find the fret positions.

First I marked the fret positions with a pencil. I then carefully cut the fret slots using a miter box and a handsaw. It is important to use a saw, that creates a slot in which your fret wire fits snugly. 

Next I used a punch to mark the fret position indicators.

I cut a groove on the bandsaw for the nut.

The nut and bridge bone were made out of plexiglass.

I then  clamped the fretboard temporarily in place and drilled two holes. The holes would receive 6mm dowels that act as fret position indicators. But the dowels will also hold the fretboard from sliding around, while glue up.

Next I glued the fretboard

When the glue dried, I added the rest of the indicators. I cut them flush with my flush trim saw. I used a paper sheet as a shim to avoid hurting the fretboard.

I covered the headstock with a piece of plywood, I cut it on the bandsaw and glues it in place, I then sanded it flush with my rotary tool and opened up the tuning peg holes.

I then cut the fret wire to size and hammered the frets in place. I secured the frets with a drop of super glue.

I then filed the frets flush with a file. I finished them with a sanding block. I then tilted the sanding block so I can add a bevel at the sides of the frets, This made them smoother and safer to the touch.

I also modified the jack plate a little. I soldered a little cap on it and shaped it flush with a file and sandpaper.

I then sanded everything with 100grit.

Using my wood burner, I named my guitar “Clocky” to kind of honor the original item.

Finally I applied the first coat of water based varnish. I applied three coats in total while sanding between coats with 220grit.

Next I applied primer on the jack plate and then painted it black.

Moving on to the electronics. I first added flux and coated everything with solder. I then soldered everything. I temporarily connected everything and checked that they worked.

To connect the electronics, I used a wiring diagram for one hum bucker and one volume from Seymour Duncan’s web site.

Next I screwed the pickup in place and organized the wires using heat shrinking tube and hot glue.

I finished the fretboard with my homemade beeswax and mineral oil paste.

Next I installed the tuning pegs and the string guides.

I used rivet heads as string holders. 

I made the bridge and I shaped the bones. I opened the string slots on the bones using a V shaped small file.

Finally I added a volume knob and set up my instrument.

I leveled the frets with a sanding block and polished them with steel wool.

The set up process still needs work but I was running out of time and stopped here at the moment.

The guitar came out much better than I expected. 

I hope you enjoyed this build, as much as I did.

Tools and materials I propose:

Angle grinder

Router

Sanding drum kit

Flat rasp

Round rasp

Flat file

Round file

Rotary tool

Chisel set

Forstner bit set

Bandsaw

Silver hum bucker pickup

Electric guitar strings

Guitar tuning pegs

Volume pot

Output jack

Fret wire

Jointer planer

Multi sander

Table saw

Belt sander

Cordless drill

Drill

Flush trim saw

Propane torch

Plumber solder kit

Wood burner

Soldering iron kit

Wire stripper

Heat shrinking tube

Rivet heads

Control knob

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, that at no cost to you, I get a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.

How to make a toy bird whistle on the wood lathe

I made this toy bird out of laurel wood ( daphne ). It is an interesting woodturning project because it involves many different turning techniques! It sounds really cool too!

Tools and materials I propose:

Hand saw

Lathe

Wood turning tools set

Bowl gouge

Bandsaw

Cordless drill

Drill press

Forstner bit set

Chisel set

Flush trim saw

Belt sander

Flat rasp

Flat file

Buffing kit

First of all I cut my wood to size with a handsaw.

Then I roughly found the center and mounted the piece on the lathe between centers. 

Using my roughing gouge, I turned the piece true.

With my skew chisel and the parting tool I made the tenons for my chuck. I then cut the blanks on the bandsaw.

Next I started hollowing the first blank with my bowl gouge. I created the tenon with my parting tool. I shaped the exterior using my spindle gouge.

Moving on to the next piece. Again hollowing with the bowl gouge and shaping with the spindle gouge. I used the parting tool to make the mortise. Only this time I used friction to achieve a snug fit. Maybe too snug!

Using similar procedures I made the head. I actually miscalculated my wood and had to make the head, as a separate piece.

Next I drilled the hole for the head on the lathe. 

I had a little crack which I filled with super glue.

To make the mouthpiece I first used the bowl gouge to remove material fast. When the piece became too thin, I used my hand as a steady rest.

Next I drilled the long mouth piece hole. 

I would use a forstner bit to create a hole for the mouthpiece, so I matched the end of the mouthpiece using my skew chisel. 

Finally I shaped the mouthpiece tube as a cone using a sanding block. 

And it fitted really nicely on my test piece.

I then parted the mouthpiece off and cleaned it up on the belt sander.

I enlarged the mouthpiece hole on the drill press using a forstner bit. Not the safest method, but that’s what I did.

Next I made a stop cut with a small handsaw. I then used a sharp chisel to create the opening.

I turned a plug on the lathe, and shaped one side flat on the belt sander. 

I placed the plug in place and did a test blow. 

I continued to fine tune the mouthpiece slowly, until I reached that sweet spot were the whistle actually worked.

Next I glued the plug in place.

Then I drilled the hole for the mouthpiece.

I glued the head in place.

I drilled an escape hole for the air and I glued the body.

Next I used my skew chisel to turn everything flush. I sanded with 100grit sand paper.

I used the skew again to gently shape the head and finished it with sanding.

I used an 8mm dowel as a nose. I used the drill as a lathe and a rasp, a file and sandpaper to shape it. 

I drilled the nose hole and the eyes.

Finally I glued the nose in place.

The glue on the mouthpiece was now dry, so I finished shaping the mouthpiece on the belt sander.

Next I glued the mouthpiece in place.

I started painting the bird on the lathe using latex paint.

Next I masked the lathe and started varnishing the piece. I applied several light coats with a spray can.

To speed up the drying process, I used my heat gun.

The first couple of coats raised the grain of the wood, so I lightly sanded with 220grit.

Using my flush trim saw, I parted the piece off the lathe. I cleaned the bottom on the belt sander.

Finally I used my buffing kit to polish the piece. My kit has three wheels. I skipped the first and more aggressive wheel and used the second and the third.

And it was done.

It came out really nice and I really enjoyed making it!

I hope you like my little singing buddy too.  

But that was it, see you soon with a new woodworking project!

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, that at no cost to you, I get a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.

DIY tool rest for sharpening with the vertical belt sander

I have a grinder / belt sander combo machine. I use this machine, mostly for sharpening. I already have made a tool rest for the grinder and It was time to make a tool rest for the belt sander.

The main reason for this is that the grinder creates a hollow grind. That’s because the bevel of the tool takes the curved shape of the wheel. And also as the wheel becomes smaller over time, the curve becomes even more dramatic.

On the other hand flat grind creates a flat bevel and that’s a better option in my opinion. 

First of all I removed the side fence of the tool. I am gonna use the already existing holes of the tool to add my rest.

Then I used my angle grinder to cut ti pieces of steel to size. 

Then I clamped them on the vise and shaped them together, using files.

Next I moved on the drill press, were I drilled the holes. I used oil to cool down the bit.

I then decided to connect the metal pieces with two metal corners. I remove the excess material from one corner using my hacksaw.

I connected the sides with the corners using nuts and bolts.

I soldered the steel pieces on the machine, using silver solder.

First of all I cleaned the two pieces using my rotary tool.

I then added the flux. I used my propane torch to heat both pieces and then added the silver solder.

To make the plateau I used my table saw and a cross cut sled. You may need to adjust the plateau to our needs. I want to use the belt sander to sharpen my woodturning tools, so I need the extra mass.

The plateau was not that straight, so I added a popsicle stick as him. I then marked the hole positions, drilled pilot holes and screwed the plateau in place.

I then tested my tool rest by sharpening my woodturning scraper. I first tilted the tool rest to match the bevel of my tool.

I then marked the bevel with a marker, so I know how much material I remove.

The whole thing worked and my scraper cuts like butter.

I think it will come out really handy my shop!

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, that at no cost to you, I get a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.