Classroom Project, Furniture, Furniture Projects, This Week In the Shop, WoodworkingLeave a comment

This Week in the Shop: The Library Book Nook

September 8, 2018 woodshopcowboy

This Week in the Shop, I build a library book nook for my school. My school librarian came to me with her coffee bar theme for a renovated library and she wanted a circular book nook to take advantage of a certain space in the library. This book nook had to incorporate a column and reclaimed table top, be made under budget (roughly $500), have a professional look, design and materials. I looked at her requirements, looked at the space and said…yeah….I can do that. Follow along as I show you how! Installing a Laminate Countertop My toughest challenge was … Continue reading This Week in the Shop: The Library Book Nook

Finishing Techniques, Furniture, Furniture Projects, This Week In the Shop, WoodworkingLeave a comment

This Week in the Shop: The Fossil Cabinet

February 24, 2018 woodshopcowboy

This Week in the Shop we build small cabinet. Cabinet making epitomizes fine woodworking, as it rewards accuracy, consistency, and attention to detail. Cabinets can be found in the workshop, in the kitchen, as furniture, as built-ins. Great cabinets add value to the home and definitely have the wow factor.

While cabinet making may seem like a inscrutable dark art, basic cabinets are a breeze to put together if you have a few select tools. This cabinet build relies on the table saw and the router and showcases the versatility of shellac as a finish.

This particular cabinet will hold my son’s growing fossil & gem collection. Shallow shelves with scoops hold common tool boxes. This would also be a great workshop project and the skills are transferable to other pieces.

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Home Makerspace, This Week In the Shop, WoodworkingLeave a comment

This Week In the Shop: Open Shelving

February 5, 2018 woodshopcowboy

Every woodshop, makerspace or garage could use more storage. If you have an unfinished wall in a shed, garage or basement, this project is for you! This Week in the Shop we build open shelving using simple brackets made from 2x10s with a table saw, power drill/driver and miter saw. This project easy to build, cheap to build and useful. Check out the build video!

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Tool Primer, Tool Safety, Tools, WoodworkingLeave a comment

Tool Primer: The #Table Saw Buyer’s Guide

August 3, 2017 woodshopcowboy

In the modern woodshop, the table saw is king. A table saw can rip, crosscut, bevel and miter. It can create coves, tapers, even cut circles with the right jigs and fixtures.

Table saws allow more accurate, precise and repeatable cuts in a multitude of materials. Even more complex joinery, such as tenons and finger joints, can be created on the table saw.

Which table saw should I buy? Why buy used? Why shouldn’t I buy used? How do I pick out a great table saw? How do I avoid bad table saws?

Glad you asked. In today’s Tool Primer, we will walk through the various types of table saws and discuss the different features. Then, I’ll break down which features I find most useful in the shop. Lastly, I will discuss the used table saw market. Lastly, I will make a recommendation of which saw to buy.

Lets get cutting!

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3D printing, Classroom Project, Education, Home Makerspace, Maker Eduation, Woodworking1 Comment

Home #Makerspace: DIY Air Hockey Table for Under $40

May 12, 2017 woodshopcowboy

This is a scaled down, fun-filled air hockey table is a perfect summer project.

Two employees of Brunswick Billiards Co invented Air Hockey in the 1960s. The game field consists of a low-friction (usually by means of an air blower creating an air cushion under the puck) playing field with two goals. Each player has a striker, and smashes a puck at the opposing player’s goal. First player to a set number of goals wins. Air hockey tables are staples of entertainment in billiard halls, arcades, boardwalks, rec rooms and other places of ill-repute. Which is why I just had to make one.

I utilize a 5-gal shop vac as a blower, marker board, 1/4 plywood, one 10’ 1”x6” and some pin nails. A 3D printed part certainly helped with the fitting, but isn’t essential by any means. I also utilize 45 degree miters for a very clean look, but butt joints and screws might make a stronger, stiffer system.

Let’s play some air hockey!

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Home Makerspace, Small Projects, WoodworkingLeave a comment

Home #Makerspace: The DIY Folding Board

April 28, 2017 woodshopcowboy

Some things are impossible, such as unicorns, bipartisan agreement on the greatness of bacon and getting small boys to fold their clothes. While I didn’t do the impossible this week, I certainly made it easier to master.

A folding board is a cool little device that helps you fold clothes quickly. This is great for young children and people with mobility issues as it minimizes the physical effort while maximizing effect…it makes folding fun. Better yet, a folding board can be made with plywood, cardboard or any other stiff, flat material. There’s no need to spend $20, just use some scrap wood.

Here’s a picture tutorial of how to fold a T-shirts.

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Classroom Project, Education, Home Makerspace, Maker Project, Small Projects, WoodworkingLeave a comment

Home #Makerspace: A DIY Carrom or Marbles Game Board!

April 21, 2017 woodshopcowboy

This week, we built a game board which you can customize to play marbles, skittles, carrom, billiards, pool, shuffleboard, crokinole and more!

My game board features two games, marbles and carrom. Marbles has been played for thousands of years in various forms. Carrom is a “strike and pocket” game that evolved in East India. Both games provide hours of entertainment for young kids during rainy days and family game nights. Carrom Company of Ludington, MI has a 100-in-1 version of this board that many, many grown kids remember.

This game board uses vinyl stickers for decoration, 45 degree miters reinforced with pin nails and grooves. This construction technique can be used to make large playing surfaces. I used the same technique to make The DIY Knock Hockey project a few weeks ago, and it will show up in next week’s project.

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Home Makerspace, Small Projects, Woodworking, Woodworking1 Comment

Home #Makerspace: DIY Knock Hockey Set

March 10, 2017March 12, 2017 woodshopcowboy

When the ice melts from the first burst of spring, the hockey fun doesn’t have to stop. Take hockey inside with DIY Knock Hockey, a wood table-top game which makes for hours and hours of fun.

This tutorial utilizes a table saw to create the necessary rabbets and miter joints. These are great intermediate table saw skills to learn, practice and utilize in your work flow. Strong, clean joinery really sets your project apart from the pack. While kid-focused, this project isn’t really designed to be made with young maker help.

I use this game to help teach basic concepts of physics, such as momentum, rebound angles, and friction. Game play teaches turn-taking and sportsmanship. Lastly, the rules are incredibly simple…but “house” rules unleash cooperative play and teach fairness.

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

This Week in the Shop: DIY Height Gauge

February 18, 2017February 21, 2017 woodshopcowboy

A quick jig can make the difference in a woodshop. This height gauge helps measure and set cutting tool heights and thicknesses for rabbets, dadoes, chamfers, etc. Since it incorporates a digital caliper, the dial is easy to read, precise and accurate.

This tool came in handy building the light box project – I hit the rabbet depth and thickness dead-on each time.

In the next few weeks, I will be developing new projects for NoVA Labs and this blog which utilize more intermediate woodworking skills. Build this jig now and it will be used over and over again.

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Home Makerspace, Small Projects, Woodworking2 Comments

Home #Makerspace: How to Make a Light Box for Art and Play

February 10, 2017February 10, 2017 woodshopcowboy

This week, art class happened at night. Using some leftover holiday string lights and acrylic sheeting, I made a light box for my two young boys to draw, play and design on.

Light boxes lend themselves to lots of different explorations. Bits of colored paper become kalidescope-like confetti, simple photographs become complex tracings, colors combine unexpectedly and learn the physics of light. Plant life and structures light up to the biologist. Plus, with a little red and yellow construction paper, you can light a fire for ghost stories!