woodworkwiki.com

Woodworking vs Blogging - there’s just not enough time!

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 08:17:01 +0000

I started this woodworking blog with all sorts of good intentions but I just haven’t had the time to give it my best - and I hate to do things half-hearted.

So when the domain name comes up for renewal in a while I’m going to let it slide. If you’ve been visiting a while then I’m sorry but my woodworking has got to take priority.

Fortunately there are plenty of other great places for woodworkers to find info online. For up to date bits and pieces I always recommend www.woodworknews.com and for those of you who like wood plan downloads there’s www.woodworkdownloads.com

That’s it from me, thanks for reading. Have fun with your woodworking!

You want a Tough Lathe and Sharp Chisels!

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 10:48:59 +0000

Woodcraft - who I have a great deal of time for - have two offers at the moment which are of absolutely no interest to me at all - because I already have them both!

If you haven’t though, they’re well worth a look.

First is this small woodturning lathe from Record, the DML24 X/C. If you’re a Brit, Record Power will be well known to you. If you’re not, you should know that these are tough and powerful given their small size. I’ve had one of these little beauties for years and years and it just keeps going.

I won’t bore you with loads of details, you can look them up at Woodcraft. Suffice to say that I think they’re a great little tool. If you’re just taking up woodturning it will give years of use. I’ve been turning for over twenty years and I have a big lathe for a lot of my work but I still use this often. There are limited stocks for just $199.99 which is over $100.00 off the usual price! Click here before they’re all gone.

Second up is the Flexcut carving chisel set. I love doing a bit of carving from time to time - although I’ll admit it’s not what I’m best at - and my Flexcut chisels are the first tools I reach for, even though they’ve had many a chunk out of me as well as my wood!

The thing is, they’re damn sharp - and easy to keep sharp. They’re flexible (hence the name) and very controllable so even someone as ham-fisted as me can produce good results. You can fit a good many of them into flexible shaft tools as well (you need to check details of which type fits which tool though).

Anyway. the offer is $15.00 off the big starter carving set shown here which also has a relief carving DVD. Details again from Woodcraft here or you can buy individuals. They take an hour or so to get used to if you haven’t had them before, but you’ll soon be surprising yourself at the detail you can get.

90% off Musical Movements!

Mon, 17 Mar 2008 15:36:59 +0000

It’s not long ago I told you about savings on quartz clock movements over at Clockparts. Well they’ve got another offer - this time on music box movements.

Although it’s perhaps not something you see very often any more, music boxes definitely have some charm, and kids in particular seem to love them.

If you haven’t made one before, now would seem like an ideal time, as Clockparts are offering a choice of 4 music box movements at just $3.00 each.

The units are cased in plastic so they’re nice and tough and you don’t even need a battery - just a wind up key. A little ingenuity and you could incorporate them in all kinds of designs.

I don’t know how long the offer will last so I’d get over there asap: Clockparts.com

News from Teknatool and Nova

Thu, 28 Feb 2008 12:44:16 +0000

You may not have heard of Teknatool, the parent company, but if you’re into wood turning you’ll almost certainly have heard of Nova who produce high quality wood lathes, chucks and accessories.

Their new catalogue is now available from their website at Teknatool.com along with information about a fascinating new product, the ornamental turning attachment which can add an almost endless variety of patterns to turned work.

Not for the beginning woodworker, the ornamental woodturning attachment will cost you just about $500.00 to start and you’ll probably add to that with accesories. However, at first glance it looks like it can achieve things that no other tool will be able to do.

The ornamental woodturning attachment is available direct from the website. Some Nova products are also available from Woodcraft.

Big Savings on Clock Parts

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 13:05:39 +0000

I don’t know about you but I love making clocks. There’s so many different designs you can use and so many different things you can make into a clock. You can add an insert clock to a piece of segmentation or intarsia, you can simply scroll a shape and use a fit-up to turn it into a useful desk ornament, you can make wall clocks using quartz movements in all kinds of styles.

Anyway - the point of all this is that I use Clockparts for all the bits I need and I thoroughly recommend them. Especially at the moment as they’ve got some massive savings on all kinds of clock parts.

You’ll need to be quick though - the current offers end on 29th February.

Save on mini quartz movements

Thu, 25 Oct 2007 14:43:53 +0000

I just thought I’d post this, which I’ve seen over at Woodworknews.com:

Get on over to Clockparts.com and you can pick up these excellent mini quartz movements for 20% off - that’s just $3.96 each. That’s a very good price, but it’s just the start. Order 5 and it drops to $3.16 and the more you order the more you save. Order over 100 and the price for each mini quartz movement is just $1.20!

These mini quartz movements set the standard for the industry and have a 10 year guarantee. They run of a single “AA” battery and are accurate to 2 seconds per year. What’s more the prices include a free choice of hour and minute hand and clock hardware!

We don’t know how long this offer will last so if you want to take advantage of these superb mini quartz movements you better get on over there a.s.a.p. That web page is Mini Quartz Movements

Scrollsaw Segmentation Patterns?

Tue, 09 Oct 2007 08:50:18 +0000

Just a short note to let you know about a price reduction over at ScrollsawSegmentation.com (now that’s a site name that tells you exactly what they do!)

As I write they’re offering 25% off their segmentation pattern books. I bought one of these (Ferg’s Folks) when it was at full price and it’s great value if you’re into segmentation at all. No unnecessary filler just well drawn patterns and immediate download to your pc. The offer is for a limited time so if you want to take advantage I wouldn’t hang about. Here’s the site link: www.scrollsawsegmentation.com

What’s happening in the woodworking world?

Wed, 26 Sep 2007 10:56:06 +0000

I’ve recently come across this site and thought it deserves a mention. WoodworkNews.com seems to be quite a recent site but already provides quite a lot of interest to the woodworker. I’ve already added it to my favorites list.

Apart from the steady stream of new items which seem to be updated on an almost daily basis there are also a number of money saving woodwork offers, a useful links page and, just started, a list of woodwork shows and events.

If you have any news, a show you’d like mentioned or a link you think should be included they would be delighted to hear from you.

Marquetry Patterns – 5 Great Ways To Find or Create Them (especially if you can’t draw!)

Thu, 28 Jun 2007 14:10:53 +0000

Ever had trouble finding marquetry patterns? If you’re anything like me you probably got into marquetry via one of the marquetry kits – the one’s that are a bit like painting by numbers but with a few sheets of veneer, a knife and glue. They’re a great introduction to the art but once you’ve completed your first one, where do you go?

I soon found a good marquetry supplier quite locally and there are many others around the country. If you can’t get marquetry veneers locally there are plenty of mail order and online companies who will provide materials and marquetry tools. The one thing I couldn’t find was marquetry patterns. I don’t have the drawing skills to do my own, and I don’t want to keep buying marquetry kits, so where could I find them? Bear in mind that I’m not expecting these things for free. If someone has gone to the trouble of producing the patterns I’m quite prepared to pay for them.

I did a bit of searching. Typing “marquetry patterns” or even “marquetry designs” into a search engine doesn’t get you very far, but there are alternatives if you think a bit laterally and this is what I came up with:

1. Scrollsaw Sites
I looked at several scrollsaw sites without much success because although you can use a scrollsaw to cut marquetry, the type of pattern offered doesn’t really suit because they’re not the “picture” style that most of us would be looking for. Then I discovered ScrollsawSegmentation.com whose work is much more like a marquetry pattern. They’re also very reasonably priced. Although segmentation is quite different, using raised and painted or stained pieces, you can easily see how the designs could be used to suit marquetry. You can also download them straight to your pc, so no waiting impatiently for the mail!

2. Intarsia Pattern Sites
Many of the patterns at Scrollsawsegmentation.com are actually modified intarsia plans from a site called IntarsiaDesigns.com who also offer instant downloads. Once again it’s easy to see how these translate to marquetry and there’s a range of different subjects to choose from.

3. Clip-Art Sites
There are many, many clip-art sites and whilst I couldn’t find complete “pictures” which suited what I wanted to do, you just need a little ingenuity to combine different elements into a picture form. Perhaps not the most naturalistic way to create marquetry patterns but good for caricature or cartoon type pieces, especially if your drawing ability is as limited as mine!

4. Software Programs
A friend of mine is a graphic artist who uses a software program called Adobe Photoshop which is absolutely brilliant for manipulating photos. I think it’s quite difficult to learn to use well, but if you have a version pre-installed on your computer then why not give it a go. Another program that started life as something for stained glass makers but is also very popular with intarsians and marquetarians is from ConnectedLines.com. In their own words, “The Connected Pattern Maker is the easy to learn and fun to use software program that lets you create unique line art patterns from digital photographs, scanned pictures, and clip art images”. I haven’t yet used it myself but it looks just the trick.

5. Good old tracing paper!
In these days of PCs and digital scanners it’s easy to forget good old fashioned tracing paper. Just take your picture and trace the different areas of color. If you don’t want to use the tracing paper itself as your marquetry pattern you can turn it upside down onto a sheet of plain paper and rub the back so that the pencil marks are transferred to a clean white sheet. This does take a bit of practice to get good at but you can start with simple pictures and move on to more complicated stuff as you get more confident. If you’re looking for photos to work from you can find more than you will ever need in books that you can borrow from your local library or online, and if you have a scanner you can use your pc to resize them if you need to. Just make sure they’re not protected by copyright.

Well there you have it. Five ways to make marquetry patterns ranging from buying them for a couple of dollars to going back to your school days! I hope one of them will provide you with all the supplies you need until hopefully someone will actually start a dedicated marquetry pattern site. Now there’s an idea… if only I could draw.

Ebonizing - a cheap alternative

Mon, 11 Jun 2007 07:43:04 +0000

Ebony is a beautiful wood but there are environmental issues concerning its harvesting and it’s very expensive. Here’s a popular alternative which is by no means perfect but far cheaper and a bit of fun too.

The idea of ebonizing is just like any other staining process in wood - really it’s nothing more than applying colour to wood and waiting until some of it soaks in! In order to make it as even as possible we usually use a rag, sponge or brush, although some people immerse their wood entirely (which is OK for small pieces) and then we wait until it dries.

If you use water-based stains you may have to lightly sand after staining because water-based stains tend to raise the grain a little. It depends on your final finish and, of course, your personal preferences.

Here we’re talking specifically about ebonizing - making the wood as near black as we can. There are commercial stains you can buy, and you can even use boot black (it’s a wax polish, after all, although it doesn’t soak in very well), but how about a stain you can make with things you almost certainly have lying around the house?

Here are those ingredients:

A jar (best if it has a plastic lid so it won’t rust, but not vital)
A piece of coarse steel wool or some old nails (not galvanized - it won’t work)
Some ordinary vinegar

That’s the lot! Put the steel wool or nails in the jar, add enough vinegar to cover them and close the lid. Now just leave it for the vinegar to do it’s work. Two or three days should be fine but you may want to experiment. Finally, strain the liquid through a cloth (or a coffee filter) so you don’t have any particles and apply to some wood using your method of choice.

As you can see, this isn’t rocket science, and varying the proportions of vinegar to metal will effect the stain as will the length of time it brews. The other thing to remember is that different woods will absorb the stain differently so you might need more than one application, and the colour will vary. Always follow the golden rule: test it on a scrap piece first. You’ll also probably find that the wood will continue to change colour for a day or two, possibly longer, after you have stopped applying the stain. There’s nothing you can do about this except be patient. There’s unlikely to be any change a week after application.

I’ve experimented with wax as a final finish over the top, and with poly, both without problems. I haven’t yet tried Danish or Tung oil, though I suspect they’ll be fine. If in doubt, back to the golden rule again!

Unfortunately ebonizing using this method is a bit inconsistent so you’ll find it very difficult to get two batches the same. Always make up enough for the job in hand in one go. If you want to be safe, go to the store and buy the stuff they’ve got there, but if you enjoy experimenting a bit this is great fun.