Sunday, December 20, 2009
A Bookcase for my Mother.
Well my mother wanted a new bookcase to go in her living room. She dreamed up a simple and a bit modern design that featured full overlay drawers and a smoothe clean look all around the piece.
Pretty simple but nice. I used 3/4" and 1/2" birch plywood for the construction and some 3/4" poplar for the face frames. I bought some full extention drawer slides from a local wholesale supplier for about $13 a pair, talk about a deal. I was paying somewhere around $20-$25 a pair, I'm glad I found these!
Anyways, I finished it will some red mahogany stain after I applied a bit of prestain right before. It was my first time using prestain and I think it may help a little bit, but not a really big difference. I then aplied 2 coats of high gloss poly to finish it off and seal the piece. I don't have a photo of that at the moment but I will try to get one up soon.
Pretty simple but nice. I used 3/4" and 1/2" birch plywood for the construction and some 3/4" poplar for the face frames. I bought some full extention drawer slides from a local wholesale supplier for about $13 a pair, talk about a deal. I was paying somewhere around $20-$25 a pair, I'm glad I found these!
Anyways, I finished it will some red mahogany stain after I applied a bit of prestain right before. It was my first time using prestain and I think it may help a little bit, but not a really big difference. I then aplied 2 coats of high gloss poly to finish it off and seal the piece. I don't have a photo of that at the moment but I will try to get one up soon.
Friday, December 18, 2009
Consider Lasik eyes surgery, I am.
I just saw this morning on the news that nearsightedness in the US has risen by 41% since 1971. Thats a pretty big jump and no one really knows why, it's a fast we must live with. Another fact that is a great one is the advances in eye surgerys has advanced greatly since 1971. Sadly, I am definitely a near sighted person although it's not bad enough yet that I have contacs or surgery yet but that time will soon.
One of these surgerys is Lasik eye surgery. Not only is Lasik surgery the most performed surgery in the US, but it can reduce or eliminate the need for contact lenses. For me this would be great, because I love spending time on and in the water and contacts aren't the best things to have around water.
You can find many eye centers across the US who perform Lasik surgery but one in particular stands out, Stahl Eye Center. Stahl Eye Center has been serving their patients for more than 35 years, they have been independently verified by nonprofit Lasik patient advocacy USAEyes to meet or exceed the national norms for lasik surgerys, their doctors are graduates from top universities such as UCLA, John Hopkins and Yale.
So if you are one of the many Americans who suffer from nearsightedness or farsighteness then consider Stahl Eye Center in New York for your treatment. For some good general information check out this link.
Good luck with your choice, I know I will be getting eye surgery sometime in my future, no doubt.
One of these surgerys is Lasik eye surgery. Not only is Lasik surgery the most performed surgery in the US, but it can reduce or eliminate the need for contact lenses. For me this would be great, because I love spending time on and in the water and contacts aren't the best things to have around water.
You can find many eye centers across the US who perform Lasik surgery but one in particular stands out, Stahl Eye Center. Stahl Eye Center has been serving their patients for more than 35 years, they have been independently verified by nonprofit Lasik patient advocacy USAEyes to meet or exceed the national norms for lasik surgerys, their doctors are graduates from top universities such as UCLA, John Hopkins and Yale.
So if you are one of the many Americans who suffer from nearsightedness or farsighteness then consider Stahl Eye Center in New York for your treatment. For some good general information check out this link.
Good luck with your choice, I know I will be getting eye surgery sometime in my future, no doubt.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Simple Lumber Rack Plans
I finally built myself a simple but effective lumber rack system. I built it entirely out of 2x4's and it took me probably three hours to complete, not to bad by myself. It is large enough to store 12' long boards, and plenty of them!
The way it is designed, the lumber is supposed to be slid in and out on end. This works perfect in my shop because it is shaped like a "L". The lumber rack is right on the top of the bottom, flat part of the "L". It was definitely the best spot for my lumber rack and I will go into more detail of why in a later post.
I have drawn a little set of plans on sketchup that better shows how it was put together. I built each unit with pine 2x4's and I nailed them together on the floor with a pneumatic nail gun using some old ring shank nails that I had laying around. You can use screws if you want to take the time but I think the ring shank nails will hold just about as good as a screw would. I spaced the units 16" apart to provide plenty of supports for my lumber to lay flat on and not bow. When you space them 16" apart this lets you nail each on into a stud in the wall which is needed to hold them up. I put one board down the outside of every unit to hold them all together, also it is a just the right height for a small counter top down that side. (I plan on covering the lumber rack and using the rest of the area as a finishing room and the shelf will give me somewhere to set finishing supplies.)
This was a great addition to my shop and really helped me get organized!
The way it is designed, the lumber is supposed to be slid in and out on end. This works perfect in my shop because it is shaped like a "L". The lumber rack is right on the top of the bottom, flat part of the "L". It was definitely the best spot for my lumber rack and I will go into more detail of why in a later post.
I have drawn a little set of plans on sketchup that better shows how it was put together. I built each unit with pine 2x4's and I nailed them together on the floor with a pneumatic nail gun using some old ring shank nails that I had laying around. You can use screws if you want to take the time but I think the ring shank nails will hold just about as good as a screw would. I spaced the units 16" apart to provide plenty of supports for my lumber to lay flat on and not bow. When you space them 16" apart this lets you nail each on into a stud in the wall which is needed to hold them up. I put one board down the outside of every unit to hold them all together, also it is a just the right height for a small counter top down that side. (I plan on covering the lumber rack and using the rest of the area as a finishing room and the shelf will give me somewhere to set finishing supplies.)
This was a great addition to my shop and really helped me get organized!
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Homemade Cornhole Boards
Just today, I finished building my third set of cornhole boards. The first two sets that I built were for myself and the third set is for a freind who is also addicted to cornhole on Friday and Saturday nights.
The boards are made of 5/8" plwood trimmed in 3/4" select pine grade boards with 3/4" oak legs. I used pockethole-joinery to join the pine to the plywood and screws to attach the hinges and the legs. Glue was used on all joints.
The first two sets of cornhole boards I made where not as good of quality as these boards are. I used 3/4" plywood and 3/4" pine for the first set but I didn't join the pine to the plywood flush with the top like I did with these boards, that should make the edges of the board more durable and it looks great also. Also I just screwed the top down into the pine framing leaving the screws exposed in the top of the boards. On my first set I used a simular hinge setup for the legs which never gave me any trouble.
On the second set I build I used some scrap pine 1x12's that I had laying around and I biscuited them together since I had just purchased my first biscuit jointer. This worked fine but I was learning the biscuits and my joints weren't perfectly flush. For the legs I bolted through the 1x4 pine framing, that again wasn't mounted flush with the top of the board, and into the legs that pivoted on the bolt. This method was agrivating because you would have to tighten the wingnut on the legs very tight to make them stay put during gameplay (even then they would close up little by little with each through of a cornhole bag.
So I think I finally did it right this time joining the pine framing flush with the top of the plywood board and hiding all my joinery with pockethole screws. Using oak for the legs should be an improvement also. I really like the hinges and they are good heavy duty ones too. The legs don't slowly fold in on you like the bolted legs because the angle at which they sit is close to 45 degrees.
These are some great boards, I will have to build a set like these for myself! I think I will take photos or maybe video the building process to post on the internet too.
The boards are made of 5/8" plwood trimmed in 3/4" select pine grade boards with 3/4" oak legs. I used pockethole-joinery to join the pine to the plywood and screws to attach the hinges and the legs. Glue was used on all joints.
The first two sets of cornhole boards I made where not as good of quality as these boards are. I used 3/4" plywood and 3/4" pine for the first set but I didn't join the pine to the plywood flush with the top like I did with these boards, that should make the edges of the board more durable and it looks great also. Also I just screwed the top down into the pine framing leaving the screws exposed in the top of the boards. On my first set I used a simular hinge setup for the legs which never gave me any trouble.
On the second set I build I used some scrap pine 1x12's that I had laying around and I biscuited them together since I had just purchased my first biscuit jointer. This worked fine but I was learning the biscuits and my joints weren't perfectly flush. For the legs I bolted through the 1x4 pine framing, that again wasn't mounted flush with the top of the board, and into the legs that pivoted on the bolt. This method was agrivating because you would have to tighten the wingnut on the legs very tight to make them stay put during gameplay (even then they would close up little by little with each through of a cornhole bag.
So I think I finally did it right this time joining the pine framing flush with the top of the plywood board and hiding all my joinery with pockethole screws. Using oak for the legs should be an improvement also. I really like the hinges and they are good heavy duty ones too. The legs don't slowly fold in on you like the bolted legs because the angle at which they sit is close to 45 degrees.
These are some great boards, I will have to build a set like these for myself! I think I will take photos or maybe video the building process to post on the internet too.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Buying some Reconditioned Tools
Browsing the LumberJocks forum, I have found that Hitachi sells reconditioned tools for pretty good deals compared to buying brand new. Reconditioned tools are pretty much new tools, they are tools that have been returned by customers to the retailer. They are all tools that could have had defects, been returned by an unsatisfied customer, returned after a weekend project, some returned brand new just because. When a tools is returned to a retailer, they cannot just put it back on the shelf, instead they have return it to the company. When this happens the company, in my case Hitachi, fixes whatever was wrong with the tools and sells them at discounted prices.
I think this is a great way to buy like new tools for great prices. The tools come with the full factory warranty.
I ordered two tools from Hitachi, both of which have great reviews on different websites like Amazon and LumberJocks. I bought the Hitachi DS18DFL 18V 1.5Ah Lithium Ion Driver Drill for $109 and the Hitachi NT50AE2 2" 18-Gauge Brad Nailer for $53 since both of mine where stolen.
Seems like a good deal to me, we will see once the tools get here!
I think this is a great way to buy like new tools for great prices. The tools come with the full factory warranty.
I ordered two tools from Hitachi, both of which have great reviews on different websites like Amazon and LumberJocks. I bought the Hitachi DS18DFL 18V 1.5Ah Lithium Ion Driver Drill for $109 and the Hitachi NT50AE2 2" 18-Gauge Brad Nailer for $53 since both of mine where stolen.
Seems like a good deal to me, we will see once the tools get here!
Had a Break-In
This past Tuesday when I arrived at my shop I realized it had been broken into in the night. The burglar broke a set of aluminum double doors on the side of my shop and stole about $600 worth of tools out of my shop.
They stole
-Senco Framing Nailer
-Senco Brad Nailer
-Bostitch Roofing Gun
-Dewalt RO Sander
-Dewalt 14.4v Cordless Drill
-Case of Kreg Pockethole Screws
-Face mask Respirator
I was so disapointed when I realized what was stolen. I hadn't gotten my insurance finalized yet so none of the items stolen where re-inbursed. Not much I can do about it now except hope that the police find my tools or that I find them in a local pawn shop. Now I am getting insurance as soon as I can!
They stole
-Senco Framing Nailer
-Senco Brad Nailer
-Bostitch Roofing Gun
-Dewalt RO Sander
-Dewalt 14.4v Cordless Drill
-Case of Kreg Pockethole Screws
-Face mask Respirator
I was so disapointed when I realized what was stolen. I hadn't gotten my insurance finalized yet so none of the items stolen where re-inbursed. Not much I can do about it now except hope that the police find my tools or that I find them in a local pawn shop. Now I am getting insurance as soon as I can!
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