Crosscut Sled

I made my first crosscut sled for the table saw today- a handy little jig no doubt. It is helpful for cuts that would not otherwise be safe on the miter saw. This one here was just a quick and dirty job. The runners are a bit tight, but nothing some wax won't solve. Until I get around to making another, this hunk of 3/4" birch ply and 6/4" sugar maple will do the trick.

Glazed Ceramics

So, what ever came of Saturday Ceramics? I had tons unfinished pieces lying about and finally decided to glaze them. Here are some of the final pieces that I was pleased with:

(and a big thanks to TayWray for photographing my work)

Now it's Game Time

Last weekend I finished my undergraduate studies! The past couple of months took a toll on me, but now it's time to rest up and get back to my projects. Since my last blog entry I've finished some maple butcher block, pulled some pieces out of the kiln, and packed up my shop. During the next week I plan to get the shop set up at home (and buy a table saw!) and get some of these projects posted. Stay on the look-out.

PS, thank you Ohio Dominican for a few years of adventuring (:

Feel the Clay

More Saturday ceramics this morning. My new approach to throwing is going well. I was so caught up in throwing the perfect pot that I wasn't having any success. I now understand that you have to throw a lot of bad pots before you can throw a good one. Out of eight blobs I ended up with eight pieces, not great ones mind you, but nonetheless. My journey continues.

My First Plane!

I got my first hand plane this week- like my card scrapers, it has changed my life (kind of- makes me smile anyways). I spoiled myself with a Lie-Nielsen low angle block plane (#102). It is absolutely gorgeous and such a joy to use. It makes trimming joints flush and removing milling marks a breeze. Time to go practice, cheers.

Saturday Ceramics Update!

I pulled some handles for the cylinders I threw yesterday! Not a terrible attempt at some mugs.

Saturday Ceramics

I got back on the wheel this weekend and had better luck. I threw twelve 12oz. blobs and ended up with eight pieces, not too shabby. Last weekend I was trying to throw identical cylinders and ended up trashing most of them, so today I took a more 'just relax at the wheel' approach and it worked out for the best.

Ceramics

One of the perks of being a student is having access to a ceramics lab. Last semester I spent a lot of time throwing on the wheel and got okay at it- unfortunately, I have fallen out of practice and am slowly starting over again. I threw about 12lbs. of clay today and had little success. I will post more pictures as I get back in the flow.

Assembly Table

Today I had some extra time and scrap MDF; what does this mean? Torsion box assembly table! This torsion box is only 24"x36"x2 1/2"- though a flat surface this small could have been more easily achieved by laminating some sheet good together, I wanted to try my hand at this design. Using stop blocks and spacers made everything fit together tight and square. I mounted a clamp in the table (left side to suit the needs of a lefty) and wrapped the outside in some cherry I had around the shop. All in all, I'm happy with the way it came out. For the time being it will sit on saw horses; the final height is still to be determined.

Wooden Foldie Chair

This past summer I picked a wood folding chair up off of someone's curb. Besides a couple loose dowel joints and cobwebs, it was a pretty handsome chair. After some cleaning up, this chair became one of my favorite seats. To my dismay, it had (seemingly) seen the last of its days. I had to drill out and replace three dowels and add a strip of cherry to bring this piece back to life. I'm sorry I don't have any pictures of the repair process, but here is the fixed chair.

Dorm life.

Card Scraper

I just used a card scraper for the first time- it changed my life... Well, maybe not that dramatic, but I will definitely default to the scraper from now on, when practical. I obviously cannot completely do away with sanding, though scraping leaves a finish just as smooth as a 220 grit paper.