Shop Safety

For the last week I have been feeling sort of down in the dumps. My nose is plugged and my eyes are watering and sneezes sneak up on me without warning.

So, to fight back I have been taking sinus pills and cough syrup.

A season or two ago I resolved when the sinus pills came out the shop shut down. In the interests of leaving this life with all my fingers (attached) I do not operate machines, including my motorcycle after having taken pills or had a drink of booze of any sort.

There are folks out there that claim their judgement and skills are not effected by one beer. They are better men than I, or.....they haven't really thought about it much. Having twice had incidents with the table saw and come away scared, and scarred I am really trying to avoid a third experience.

I suspect that there will be a Saw Stop in my future.

Poplar, Aspen. Cottonwood etc.

The trees of the Poplar family are fast growing and very common in the North eastern US and Canada. In terms of hardness it is about twice as hard as pine and half as hard as oak.

Many of my shop projects are made from poplar. I have a very good source of rough lumber in Brant Custom Woods and I find the wood very consistant and easy to work with either hand tools or machines.

Another bonus to poplar is that it is not a commonly used wood in many applications and so very reasonable to buy. It is also available in wide boards. I have commonly seen 16 inch wide boards 2 inches think and 10 feet long.

If you look through my blog the crib and dry vase are popular. The wood has a slight greenish tint but that is easily hidden by stain. The greenish tint and varied grain pattern probably tell against it when people choose the wood for their projects. The interest and variety is an advantage to me, I like grain.

New Template Design

Is it ever maddening when I get an inspiration to make a small change.
The current Template is new, and not bad. Probably not what I would do if I worked from scratch. If I build this from zero I suspect that I wouldn't have anything to write in it.

wooden dry vase

The most recent project from my shop. The vase is 14 inches tall and 2 inches deep.

9x9 puzzle solution

K In A Box

Toy box for the little guy's stuff. Panel construction with pocket holes.

9 x 9 puzzle

The latest efforts from the work shop. Instead of making these from 1inch squares they are made for 1by3, 1by2 and 1by1 squares.