woodworking tools

I always amazed at just how effective shop made jigs can be. With a small investment in time and the knowledge of how they work to be most effective, anyone can build jigs like this sharpening jig and get good results. Years ago I purchased a somewhat expensive commercial sharpening jig, and it works well and is very versatile, but you know what? When I first set it up to sharpen my blades at 25 degrees angle, I have not adjusted it since then, so all the extra settings and things it will do, I have never used. The sharpening jig I am making in this episode is equally adjustable, but most people who make it will probably do the same thing I did, set it up to sharpen at 25 degrees angle and leave it there because the results are just what we need.

To start off making this jig I used a piece of dowel that was 1-1/4 inche in diameter and 4 inche long. That lenght seemed to a nice size that would accomodate all my blades and still have room for something larger if I ever acquired it...

I love making woodworking jigs, it's fun and intereting to see what improvements of adaptions can be made to suite every different woodworker's needs. This jig has been around for many, many years and has changed little during that time. Rather than follow one of the plans that are readily available on-line, I decided I needed to make this jig to fit my own needs that may or may not be available in the plans someone else has created. My main objective was to ensure that both legs of the jig would straddle the insert throat plate in my saw, after all, that was the whole purpose... to build a jig that would accurately set or measure the distance from the top of a table saw blade to the top deck of my table saw and not to a measurement from the top of the blade to base of the throat plate, which is often the case.

To start off with I would need something thicker than 3/4 inch material for the main body of the jig because I wanted to use one of my plastic off-cuts of mitre slot material. I wanted something harder than many woods as this jig will be used a lot and I don't want the measuring arm to get dinted and chewed up by the table saw blades over time.

Watch this and other similar videos on YouTube - https://youtu.be/wbNhRwEAzTM

I started off with a block of wood that was 8 inches wide, 5 inches high and 1.25 inches deep. From this block, the first thing I did was to carefully cut a dado slot that would fit the plastic mitre slot material I wanted to use as the center measuring post....

Some furniture pieces are timeless and such is the case with these little splayed leg side tables. They are still as popular today as they were decades ago and little has changed. They seem to fit many decors with their tapered legs and small size, they can easily fit in a blank corner, or become a stand or showcase for artworks, plants or pictures, and they are not difficult to build despite their somewhat complicated look with the splayed legs.
Like all small tables, these want to at a comfortable "sitting height" which puts them around the 24 to 25 inch height so they are comfortable to use for anyone sitting down, which is another reason they are often called side tables, as in a table beside a chair or sofa. Most of what I have seen have been a solid color for whatever the wood they were build with, but in my  case I decided to make something a bit more showy by making the legs and the top of different colors.

 
Watch this and other similar videos on YouTube - https://youtu.be/n6gszgwQQG0

I stared off with the legs that were 25 inches long and 1.25 inches square. I set these up on my tapering jig on my table saw so that the blade would leave about a 3/4 ionch square at the bottom and disengage from the top at of the leg about 6 inches from the top. then carried on a cut all 4 legs with this taper.

Working with cash and making change, especially for people who don't work with cast daily, it can be a stressful time... making sure you give the correct change and not keeping people waiting. One of the things that can be be done is just making your cash more accessible and easier to see and count, just the same way retail clerks give change from their cash registers... with a cash tray.
These are easy to make, but they do take a bit of time because there are a number of components, and you don't want to make they too big. The best way to start off is to determine how many slots for cash bills you want, and what the size of your money is. The size of your money and how many bays you want will determine the size of your tray and keeping in mind you may also want some change bins in case you are dealing with coinage.

Watch this and other similar videos on YouTube - https://youtu.be/2eUhWhZWg8g

I mad mine 2-3/4 inches high and that was plenty, I think 2 inches would be a better height if I ever had to do it again. I decided on 4 bays for paper money which also meant 4 bins for coins as these were used for the spacing with of the box.

My list of woodworking projects seems never ending and from time to time and make an effort to finish some of my "priorities", like this tool holder and stand for my woodturning tools. I have had my tools sitting in a cardboard box for to long, yes it keeps them together but the problem is that some of the tools are carbide tipped and if the carbide is allowed to bump against steel from other tools, there is a high risk the carbide will chip or break because carbide is very brittle.

The other issue of course is that cardboard attracts moisture, or at least it retains moisture which means if the boxe is not stored in a warm dry place there is a risk the tools will start getting rusty. I need to avoid this risks by finally making myself a storage place and something I can use whenever I am using my lathe.

The best way to solve this issues quickly is to finally make some sort of working tool rack that can also double as a storage unit and maybe even something that I could put doors on to help keep out dust and to a degree recuse moisture exporsure.


Watch this and other similar videos on YouTube - https://youtu.be/az-W5UOKhUA

I had a quick look on the Internet so see if there was anything I like and I decided there were a couple that fit my situation and with a bit of modification I could make something unique to what I need. The first step was to lay out all my tools on my workbench to see exactly what kind of space I would need and what the dimensions of the storage/stand would be...

I really hate it when I make woodworking mistakes because I waste time fixing something that is my own fault. Sometimes it's from rushing though a task other times I can just plain mixed up with what I am doing so even making a mistake once or twice prompts me to try and come up with a solution so maybe I can prevent it in the future...

Making tables, regardless of the joiner is one of those times where you have similar looking items but that all fit in different areas and sometimes need to fit in a special way to sometimes take a away from defects in the wood, and always try to show it's best side.