Tag: band saw

Home Makerspace, Small Projects, This Week In the Shop, Tools, WoodworkingLeave a comment

This Week in the Shop: Tool Rack

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This Week in the Shop we build tool holders for my recently installed tool wall. An organized workspace is a functional workspace, especially in community shops. When everything has its place, every part of the shop seems to work quicker. So this week, I put together a few tool holders to put up some screwdrivers, chisels, pliers and nail sets.

Tool Racks

There are tons of storage solutions out there. I prefer tool walls, both in my personal shop and at community shops. The plywood provides a solid anchoring surface and custom tool holders can be rearranged as needed. Tool holders can be customized for each tool and can be made from small scraps for next to nothing. Lastly, they can be painted, stained, chalkboarded and more. A tool wall fits any work are, whether craft, machine, woodworking, leather or whatever else.

I have used pegboard, hanging tool-o-dexes, tool chests and more to help organize my workspace. Pegs fall out, hanging tool-o-dexes cost too much for their value, and tool chests attract clutter. Commercial systems never seem to be worth the bang for the buck (nor are they as much fun to install as designing your own tool holder).

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Home #Makerspace: DIY Drain Pipe Regatta (or Rain Gutter Regatta)

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On a hot summer day, nothing beats a cool, breezy scientific adventure.  The Drain Pipe Regatta is a great investment for a classroom or backyard exploring space, as it helps teach the basics of fluid dynamics, buoyancy, motion and transfer of power.  Connections to the great sailing ages in history, from the Polynesians exploring the Pacific, to Columbus’s crossing of the Atlantic, to the great whalers and galleons of Napoleonic Europe abound.  This project is the base for a great mix of artistic creativity and scientific inquiry.Drain Pipe Regatta

Boats can be made with nearly any craft material.  I have made origami boat challenges, foam board & skewer boats and water bottle boats.  Tweaks can be made with each regatta to reflect learning goals, materials or kids interests.  The Cub Scouts of America hold a raingutter regatta every year.  Scouts design small sail boats and race them down a 10 foot section of rain gutter.

DSC_5679

Pirate-themed get-togethers optional.

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Education, Furniture, Furniture Projects, Home Makerspace, Maker Eduation, This Week In the Shop, WoodworkingLeave a comment

This Week in the Shop: The Split-Top Bench with Plans

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split-top-bench

This week in my home shop I finished up a new bench project I developed for class at Nova Labs in Reston, VA.  While simple in design and execution, it does involve the full suite of woodworking tools and a custom jig to complete.  This great intermediate project uses the Fab Five of a powered woodshop:  table saw, band saw, miter saw, jointer and planer.

starred-photos1I built the entirety of this project at Nova Labs, Inc using their woodworking tools.

Nova Labs is a membership-driven all-volunteer makerspace based in Reston, Virginia that was founded in 2011 with the purpose of empowering everyone to Rediscover the Joy of Making Things!

The current 10,500 sq. ft. facility located at 1916 Isaac Newton Sq West houses classrooms, workspace, incubator offices and a shop that includes both common tools and advanced fabrication equipment. Members enjoy 24-7 access and help co-manage our space by teaching classes, maintaining equipment, and promoting making in the community.

I cannot say enough good things about the membership and openness of the culture they have built up.  It’s rare to find a makerspace that has such a grassroots structure and active volunteer culture.

If you are interested in learning woodworking, you can join me in class in 2017.

Nova Labs members support a wide range of open source development projects that benefit both the local community and the world! Consider joining today to learn how and meet the people behind these projects!

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This Week in the Shop: Kid’s Play Table

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The finished play table I first blogged about last Friday.  If you look close you can see some screw holes on the top.  I used short 1″ #8 wood screws to get everything together…but when I put the pieces together, I found the fit snug enough that I didn’t need the screws.  I’ve included an interior shot to give you some picture of the joinery. Remember, you can pick up a Google Sketch Up Model of this project here. Make it safe & keep the rubberside down this weekend. Continue reading This Week in the Shop: Kid’s Play Table

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This Week in the Shop: Tangled Up (Dining Set) in Blue

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In the past few weeks, I’ve had the chance to photograph my completed big fall project from 2011.  I put together the table base over a few weeks in August and built the top over a couple weeks in September.  I don’t remember much, other than my wife traveled overseas during that time.  I remember my stomach tightening when she said “well, the country is in a state of emergency, so I might need a bodyguard” and the guys  at the lumberyard telling me “a great story” about said country which involved his friend being smuggled out of a military dictatorship. I built the … Continue reading This Week in the Shop: Tangled Up (Dining Set) in Blue