Just wanted to drop an update to let everyone know I am still plugging away at my table for the Sawdust Build Challenge, I did change what I was planning building, after building the mock up I got inspired to build a higher quality piece. Not that my Z table isn't, it's just I designed it to hold my portable table saw and I build it out of 2 x 4s and plywood, nothing I would really want to enter in a contest, I know then why enter right, well it was all about the design challenge for me. I live in a small apt and didn't really need any more furniture that I could think of at the time, so I went with the fold up saw table. Then when I learned that the winner can have his piece shown at the New England Home Show, well I thought it might be a good idea to build a nicer piece.
So a couple of weeks ago I designed what I am calling my X table, it was inspired by my Z table, but a lot nicer. I cut most the piece last week and then had to put them away while I finished up some work on some wooden crafts my wife and I where doing for a craft show this pass weekend. We did OK, I got a couple of commissions for things and a sold a custom flute.
Today I did get the legs all glued up, and tomorrow I hope to finish the half laps and get most the base out of my way, the top is mostly done I still have some fusing to do with it, but what has my butt in a kink is doing the finish. I work outside in the yard and it has been so windy I might have to use oil instead of the water base poly that I was planning, or find someone who will let me use their shop to spray it in.
Just wanted to show some you guys where I do my wood working these days. Yes its outside and its exposed to the weather so that can be good or bad. I do most my large work out in the grass on a portable work bench. The worse part of working this way is putting finish on my projects, between the wind which we have no shortage of here, and the neighborhood cats, and my own cats, finishing can be a challenge. I use oil for most of my finishing or shellac.
This is my old bench, I just build a new bench, but it's at my daughter's house where I have been using it to fix some of her furniture. I don't know what I am going to do with this old bench top when I move my new bench over?
Well thats my shop! I hope to show how I make the best use of what I got. I know it doesn't look like much but you will be surprise what can be accomplished with it, remember it's not always what you got, but how you use it.
I have always found the best way to work is to keep it simple, efficient, use quality tools that can be used for more that one purpose, keep your tools sharp and well maintained, and do the type of work you enjoy.
I got a new saw last month and have finally gotten a chance to do some work with it. so look for a complete review in a week or two of this Ridgit 10" portable bench top table saw. I can tell you so far I have been quite pleased with it!
Joey
Theres a change in the air as fall comes to Ohio and here at The Sleepydog Wood Shop. When I started this blog my focus was on starting a day to day working shop, but then the economy went south or somewhere and the shop never happened, and with the way things look now with my health it never will. Over the summer I finally accepted that I am not going to have a shop for a while if ever and started working on a way of start doing more project in the space I got rather than what I was doing, which was saying, I will wait till I get a shop to build in.
Now working out of a closet should not be a problem for me since I was a carpenter, it's no different than working out of a truck, so I am ahead of the game there. One of the first thing I started doing has been downsizing my tools which meant selling most my large shop tools and buying bench top tools to replace them and more hand tools. The next thing I want to do is change the focus of this blog to help the numerous other woodworker out there who work without a shop just like me. I really want to start including some video, but not till I can do it the right way, I do not want to but crappy video on my blog just for the sake of butting up content. I always welcome comment, suggestions and thought from you guys out there and I hope to keep improving my blog in the future, so if your out and your reading this drop me a line even if its just to say hi, or go to hell.
Today, I worked on the mock up for my table. I was going to use cardboard to make the mock up, but found some OSB that I had and I thought I would just use it instead. I decided to build the model @ 1/2 scale. I wanted to play with a couple of different designs one of which has parts that nest into each other when the leg fold up. This is the one I will be building the as a model, while the other design is a little more rugged that design will more that likely will be the full size stand I build for my table saw.
Doing a 1/2 scale drawing on a piece of plywood is not something I normally do for project like this, but I have been trying to show my grandson's how things are designed and build from idea to finished piece; however, doing the drawing did show me a couple of possible spots that are going to cause me some trouble. I noticed that I going have a tough time driving the screws for the hinges in the two upper leg sections because of the steep angles. Now that I know this and will not come as a surprise to me I have time work something out before I build it, and with building the model I can play with what will work and look the best, something you really don't want to do with the finished piece.
Surfaces: That is the the challenge for the build, That Rick Walters at The Sawdust Chronicle's has presented us this year, which fits prefect with something that I have been working on in my head for the last couple of weeks, It started with a friends son going off to college, and him complaining about not having a table to use his laptop on when he is sitting in his chair watching the TV. His dorm is small and the desk is cramped and he can't see his TV from the desk, so to solve the problem they got him a fold up tray that was designed to eat dinners off of, you know the type, every one has them in the closet, the old TV trays! not an idea solution.
Well that got me to thinking, there has to be a better design for a fold up table that has a little more style that could be used as a all propose desk or table and still fold up and placed out of the way when not needed.
Then last week I was ripping some boards with my table saw up on my portable work table which is to high for the task, and I got to thinking that the same type of folding table could be used as a tool stand as well as a portable computer desk.
That night I started doodling while watching TV and after about five sheets of drawings I came up with something I liked, then I drew it in SketchUp just to play with an idea I had, next step I want to get some card board and make a mock up before building the table.
When I do build the first table I think I will use plywood and 2x, because it will become my saw stand, after I know it will hold up I can tweak the design for style. I think this would be a great work surface for college student or any one with limited space, the surface can be used as a computer desk, art desk, dinning table, outdoor tables for the scouts, or a number of other possibilities that haven't even thought about.
This week design is an idea I had for a dog bed. My dogs like soft things to sleep on, now the dog bed pillow works for me and the dogs but my wife wants something that would fit the rest of the furniture in the living room. and well if I have to build a bed for the dogs I may as well a exercise in wood joinery and use a nice piece of wood to do it with. So here is what I came up with. it will have fabric or maybe 2" webbing stretched between the four round dowels. let me know what you think this just my first draft.
