Do As I Say Not As I Do

A few weeks ago for safety week I wrote about a friend of mine who lost two (2) fingers to his table saw. In that post I emphasized that you must respect your tools.Listen to that advice: Respect Your Tools. By that I mean pay attention; know how they work, where they are & what theyre doing.It is important you do as I say, not as I do. For if you do as I do, then youll be an idiot too.

My Birds Mouth Jig

You see, last Sunday I wasnt paying attention,I wasn’t heeding my router any respect. I was routing some birds mouths for some window trim. Completing each joint took many back & forth passes with the router. As I finished the last pass, I wasnt paying attention. My right arm maintained the fluid back and forth motion as the router came off the jig. I’m not sure what my left hand was doing, but the next thing I can remember is pulling my left hand achoice, realizing that I had just made contact between my palm and the 1” x ¾” pattern bit which was fully extended beneath the router base.

Thankfully a trip to the ER revealed nothing more serious than a laceration about an inch long just below where my index finger connects to the palm. Eight (8) stitches later I got back home and finished the trim piece I was making.

My Trusty Old Porter-Cable 6912 D-Handle.

Why’d I make out so well? Just dumb luck. The router I was using was a trigger activated D-handled 1-1/4 HP Porter-Cable, actually the first power tool I ever owned. Thankfully, though the bit was still spinning when the accident occurred, I had already released the trigger, turning the machine off and leaving no power behind the rotation.

Will you be as luckly? We can only hope so. Better yet, Respect Your Tools. Don’t let your mind wander off and your router wander into your hand in the first place.

Have you been an idiot too? Comment here or use the hash tag #WWSW (WoodWorkers Safety Week) on twitter.

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Its Wanderful Part 2 The Begining

Having reviewed the wands with three (3) fellow woodworkers, and having been given solid advice by all three (3) of them, I was still not completely sure how I was going to make the wands. Yet, since I had been  procrastinating like a pro, I decided the time had come buy the lumber and start the making if I was to have any chance of finishing them by the movie premiere. As I’m not familiar with any good local hardwood dealers and the project itself was enough stress, I went to my go-to source for nice wood, Bell Forrest Products. Though I had received advice on good carving woods, I completely ignored everything I’d been told and ordered me up five (5) 1.5”x1.5”x18” turning blanks of hard maple. I know . . . this didn’t make for easy shaping.

Heres a somewhat random picture of the walnut book stand I made for the
2010 Sawdust Chronicles Fall Build Challenge. It doesnt have anything
to do with the wands, but I like it and I dont have any photos relevant
to this stage in the wand saga.

About the same time as I ordered the wood for the wands, I also was lucky enough to have my Slide Out Storage Cabinet featured in the Tools of the Trade section of Popular Woodworking Magazine. The Lee Valley gift certificate I received as a result was put to good use. I ordered a spokeshave, rasp and cabinet scraper. Finally, having received all the advice I could manage and with tools and wood in hand, it was time to start making some wands. The first thing I did was take one of the blanks, and turn it into an octagon by cutting off the corners on the table saw. I then went crazy with my new spokeshave and turned it into a dowel, about ¾” in diameter. Though useless as a wand, this first test piece was set aside for carving practice and dye and finish experimentation.

How did you finally start that project youve been procrastinating about?

Its Wanderful Part 1

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Its Wanderful Part 3

After I spokeshaved the first blank into a dowel, I regrouped and took a full size sketch I had made based on Kenneth’s photos and made copies. Then I took the copies and the remaining four (4) blanks down to my Dad’s shop. I glued on the sketch copies and fired up the band saw (mine doesn’t quite run right now). When I was done, I was left with four (4) square pieces of wood that had the rough in and out nature of the wands.

Two (2) wands fresh off the bandsaw, and one post rasping.

I took the post-bandsaw blanks home and started to make them round. I began with my spokeshave on the thin, long business end of the wands. This quickly knocked down the corners and the round shape began to emerge.

The wonderful Shinto Rasp.

Next I began rasping. The rough shaping was continued with my Shinto rasp set up in course mode. By holding the rasp at about a 75° relative to the length of the wand and working my choice up and down the length while tipping the rasp back and forth over the wand I was able to get all three (3) sections of each wand relatively round. They weren’t perfect, but as they are hand made by eye, they were just the right combination of uniformity and uniqueness.

A wand, post rasping, and the wonderful Auriou rasp I used to fine
tune the work of the Shinto.

I cleaned up the initial rasping with the Shinto set up in fine mode and for the final shaping I moved to my Auriou rasp. I used it to clean up the inside corners and edges as well as create the recessed area in the middle of the handle portion of each wand.

The four (4) wands, ready to be freed
from their bases.

At this point the wands were shaped, but still attached to square stock at the butt of their handles. The square stock had been left to allow them to be clamped in my bench vises.

Time to cut.

I cut the square stock off using my Veritas Carcass Saw. I then went back to the Auriou rasp and made the final shaping to the butt end of the handles.

The four wands, ready for finish (not for cutting).

Once you finally get there, do you often find the scary part of a project actually wasnt so bad?

Its Wanderful: Part 1

Its Wanderful: Part 2

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