Building a Sliding Mitre Stand

Read Time: 5 mins

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Smaller workshops are always looking for space saving ideas and projects, and this project, no matter how large your workshop is, can benefit a variety of storage constraints. Many modestly outfitted workshops these day either have a sliding mitre saw in them. These a great, handy saws, but all of the stands that are available for them are designed around the idea that the saw and stand need to be portable. If you are a carpenter, that may be true, but if you are a woodworker you may seldom if ever, have a need to move your saw. Of course the problem with all metal stands for these saws is when they are set up, they take up a lot of room with little useable storage underneath unless it is wood, which is still hard to get at.

I recently upgraded my compressor to one of the quieter models, and I love the compressor, but it's always in the way sitting on the floor of the workshop. I thought that if I could build a nice stand for my mitre saw and use the space underneath the saw to store my compressor I could solve 2 problems.

Like many woodworkers, I HATE throwing out wood, even small chunks, and my neighbors know this so a couple of years ago when one of them did a basement reno, they gave me a number of very good sheets of 1/4"  plywood that could easily be used for backing on cabinets and so on. But I had other ideas for it ...

Reviewing Quiet California Air Compressor

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Workshops have 2 things in common, dust and noise and the more you can reduce both of these, the healthier it is. We all know that controlling dust is a priority, but we seldom think much about controlling noise. Audiologists and Eat Doctors tell us the noise above 85 decibels will cause hearing loss and even something like a 90 decibel sustained noise, like the sound of an idling motor, over time will cause hearing loss. And we all know the the louder the noise the more damage it will do.

I always wear hearing protection (and eye protection) even when I am just making a quick small cut. It does 2 things for me, if helps preserve my hearing, and it makes me slow down, take my time so I don't cause myself an injury.
When I am cutting wood on the table saw, planing wood or jointing wood, it is often in runs. There are normally several pieces so for those I don't mind using hearing protection, but when all the cutting and sanding and trimming is done and now it's time for the assembly, NOW is the time I don't want to have wear hearing protection any longer. I want to enjoy the assembly process.

But if I am using a compressor, and one of my favorite air tools, a 23 gauge pinner, if the compressor is LOUD it's still imperative for me to wear hearing protection.  And THAT is why I have updated my compressor to one of the new Quiet Versions that have come on the market in the past few years.

I recently sold my older very loud compressor to a roofer, who uses it outside and doesn't care because it's far away from him and suits his work perfectly. For me, in my workshop it was way too loud ...

Touring The Kinsol Trestle Bridge

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A number of years ago, the Canadian government made a commitment to create a multi-use trail from one end of Canada to the other. The most westerly leg of this trail is on Vancouver Island and part of the trail includes an impressive journey over one of the longest wooden trestle brides in the world. The trestle began live as a rail road trestle for carrying logs and ore from remote regions on Vancouver Island to the coast for processing and shipping. Construction began in 1911 but due to the First World War, completion was not until 1921.

Originally named the Koksilah River Trestle, but for the locals the trestle's close proximity to the old King Solomon Mine, the trestle started to be referred to "Kin Sol" trestle, and the name stock to what it is today, the Kinsol Trestle.

Sharpening Plane Blades and Chisels

Read Time: 8 mins

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Working with sharp tool blades is a MUST in the workshop. Not only is is safer, it is much easier on the woodworker who not only doesn't have to work so hard, but it also makes woodworking much more fun. There is nothing more frustrating than trying to plane a board, or carve out a mortise when you have a dull tool.
Sometimes we think our tool or blade is sharp but really it isn't. When you take a blade that you thought was sharp, then really sharpen it, you will not believe the difference in how easy it cuts and how much less work it is. For years I struggled with what I thought were plane blades that were - sharp enough - . I knew they weren't the sharpest, but I never bothered to take the time to sharpen them properly and always assumed that they were ok.

One day, while visiting another woodworker, who had just sharpened his plane blade, I asked him if I could try it out. I was completely astounded what a difference a really sharp blade was like. It wasn't long after I encountered a more mature woodworker, who I knew was an expert in sharpening, and asked him if he would sharpen my blades for me ... and I would pay him. A week later he called to have me come and pick up the blades and while I was at his shop, I asked if he would give be a lesson in how I could get good results, with the least fuss, and this is what this video is about.

What he showed me is the same thing I am going to show here, what I think is one of the easiest and cost effective ways of sharpening chisel and plane blades and similar blades. This is the best way that works for me, but other people will have many other ways that are also just as good and maybe even easier and I am confident they will all be sharing their expertise with us. There are MANY MANY different ways to sharpen chisels and plane blades, and some people make a real art out of sharpening. It becomes - their thing - in woodworking, and so this article details what I learned that afternoon. The first thing you need to do is ...