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Recent Posts
Into Each Life a Little Rain Must Fall
When it’s too little you have to step up your …Read More »
Happy Mother’s Day
Happy Mother’s Day. At our house we say that with …Read More »
3D Printed M12 Drill Slatwall Holder
Continuing on the SlatWall custom tool holders, I have designed …Read More »
3D Printed Milwaukee M12 Charger Slatwall Mount + Free Plans
I have some slatwall in the garage and in my …Read More »
Changing Motor Brushes on Milwaukee 12 Inch Miter Saw
The motor brake on Marisa’s miter saw stopped working, so …Read More »
Monthly Archives: August 2018
Corn Cob Pens
Yes, corn cob pens! I’ve made a dozen or so of these over the years, they are very popular around here. We recently brought a bunch of pens in to Legacy Outfitters, a store in Logansport that sells items made by local artists and craftsmen, and several of them sold. One of these was a corn cob pen. The customer who bought it asked if I could make three more. So here they are being made.
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Island Legs
One of the things about little local craft shows is that you might not sell much. You might spend a lot of money on a booth. You sit there all day peopling. You have to pack and unpack and sometimes drive down many a long and winding road. And it all seems like you do it for nothing. I won’t try to tell you that you will always make back what you spent on the booth, drive, and all the food you ate at the venue. It takes some tweaking to find your market and what types of events work best for you. That being said even though you don’t sell at the event you need to get busy handing out your cards, talking to people, make sure that you have interesting things for them to look at and talk to you about. Continue reading
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A Couple of Acrylic Bolt Action Pens
As I mentioned in this article, Sam likes the acrylic pen blanks. He’s wanted to turn these for a while, so we did a little reorganizing in the shop, and made our turning area a little bigger.
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Size Matters
When we were first planning out the new shop a major consideration was size. The idea of a shop started in a rental townhouse which had a barely functional one car garage. It was big enough to hold the small pool table that I and my two brothers-in-law were rebuilding. That table was not salvageable but it built a relationship between us that has stood the test of time.
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Spheres
One thing I’ve wanted to try turning for a long time is a sphere. I love the simple elegance of them. It seems to me that if you are turning things round on a lathe, the ultimate round is a sphere. Sounded like a good project to try in the Small Shop.
My first sphere is the cherry sphere above. I did not photograph the creation of this one, as it was a learning experience. But all in all, it was very successful. I learned a lot and was very pleased with the results.
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Cherry Rolling Pin
I like turning rolling pins. Maybe it’s because of the unique challenges they present, like making a perfectly uniform cylinder. Maybe it’s because Marisa makes many fabulous baked creations with them, like pizzas, pies, and potica.
I made this one because we didn’t have one in Michigan. This became the first project I made in the Small Shop.
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Small Shop
So you’ve seen the big shop. After taking a job in Lansing, MI, I rented a townhouse. It didn’t have much room for a shop, so I made due.
The mechanical/laundry room in the basement is 21 feet by 8 1/2 feet. This room houses the furnace, water heater, washer and dryer, and a deep sink. The ceiling may be 8 feet, but the pipes and ducting hang down to 6 feet 10 inches. There won’t be any breaking down of any sheet goods in here. And my 52″ SawStop will NOT be going in here.
Posted in Shop Tips, Work Shop
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