Another New Tool & A Project

(July 10, 2012)

Remember the Bosch Router Table that I got? Well... like I said in that post... my Skil router wont fit in it because the plate isn't predrilled for it and the holes won't match up. So I got pretty frustrated. I had started my first project and couldn't finish it because I'm just not in a place where I can do what I needed with out the router attached.
Having said that... I guess I should show you the project. It's a picture frame. (I know you can't tell... but I'm still so excited about this that I'm jumping up and down like a little kid... at least on the inside LOL)

 On the right, is the front of my frame. I was pretty happy with how well my miter joints came out. Especially since this is my first attempt. I keep wanting to call it my first project. My "James" sign was. But it was sort of practice. So I guess this sort of is my first. I used blue painters tape to hold them together until I could glue them up. I needed my router attached to a table to do the groove on the back.

As you can see... the right is the back and there's no groove. This is the back while it's still just taped with the blue painters tape. 

(July 10, 2012)

So... what's a girl to do? I had my router table all put together and couldn't use it. I looked into a replacement plate for it but couldn't/wouldn't pay the price. Soooo.... after talking to another woodworking friend (Mike, he's a scroll guy. Awesome work.) I heard about a router table/router combo at Sears. So off to Sears I went. I think the thing retailed for $139 or something. Maybe more. But it was on sale for $119. I didn't need a router. I already had one. But I was curious and asked the sales person to give me some more info on it. It was the last one and there was no display model. I almost didn't find it. When they pulled it up online it said $107. So I asked the girl if I could have it for that price. She of course said yes. At first I left and didn't get it. But I ended up going back and picking it up. I just couldn't pass it up. 

Here it is. James helped me put it together too. 

The router is a Craftsman 1 3/4 HP, fixed base. One thing I do kinda like about it is that it has an interchangeable collet. I don't know if it's going to be too easy to switch bits out... but I can change the collet from a 1/4" shank to a 1/2" shank. All the bits I have right now are 1/4". But I was looking for a 1" flush trim bit the other day at Lowe's and the only flush trim bits they had at all were 1/2" shanks. Anyhow... I'm pretty happy with the whole set up. I've decided to keep my Skil router as well to do signs and inlay and... well... whatever else I may need to use a plunge router for. :)

So... I got to make my groove in the back and I got my frame all glued up and stained it. As you can see, I missed some of the glue in the bottom right hand corner. This whole project was a learning experience. But I'm still quite happy with how it turned out. 

I did notice, however, that when doing my glue up, I didn't get my joints as aligned as I did when I was taping. I don't know if they slipped when I was putting the clamp on or if I just didn't get them as aligned. 

Still... happy with it. I used the Early American Minwax stain on it. 

After I got this one all stained and ready to go. I went after the rest of the piece of wood. This wasn't made with pallet wood. But not everything I make will be. Besides... that pallet wood I have is not ready for any project that requires wood that is square. 

I'll share the next frame with you tomorrow. Until then... :)

Some Odds & Ends

These are just some of the tools that I've acquired. I thought I'd share them with you. While I took the pictures all the same day... (July 14, 2012)... I've been picking things up along the way. 

This crow bar is actually the FIRST brand new tool that I bought. It saved me ALOT of time. 

I picked these router bits up the same day that I got my Bosch Router Table. I wasn't sure what to buy but I had my first project in mind so I just bought the bits it called for. The project called for a 3/4" roundover bit and a 1/2" straight bit. But I saw these sets and got these instead. Again... taking picture with my phone so they aren't the best. My good camera is back in action so hopefully I'll be using it again. 

Three straight bits and three roundovers.

This thing comes in real handy. It's simple but I love it. I have to work in the yard because of the lack of space in the garage. So having to drag the extension cord out every time was becoming a pain. I didn't even think about this. The hubby found it and suggested it for me. Notice it has 4 plugs? I was pulling this cord out... plugging in my miter saw and making a cut... then unplugging to use my router... then unplugging the router to plug in the sander.... then plugging the miter saw in again... and so on and so on... it was a pain. This really helps :)

Here are some things I scavenged from my hubby. The clamp on the left I actually bought at the flea market. I use the other two clamps (he has 2 more) and I've also found his double sided tape to come in quite handy.

More things that I've picked up at Lowes. Some paint brushes, my OWN safety glasses, a metal square, some gorilla glue, a scraper for removing the excess glue and some MinWax. On the right is my stain that I just picked up and I got some polyurethane. My son Kyle actually picked the stain color to match a table that he built in shop class at school. I think it's called Early American. And he said that I'd need the polyurethane, so I got some of it too. The black and red clamp looking this on the lower left is a Bessey clamp that I got. Mainly I got it for picture frames but the hubby said he'd probably have some uses for it at some point too. I'm sure it will get used. Also, above that is two small clamps. 

More stuff that I scavenged from the hubby's garage. The blue tape is just painters tape. I used it on a project (I'll be sharing what project later)

I made another trip to the ReStore and picked up these items. More stain, steel wool pads, a sanding block and some zip ties. I totally plan on using those zip ties to attach an extension cord to the work bench I plan on using. I saw that tip in a YouTube video. Guess how much all this cost? The Minwax that I bought at Lowes was like $6.77 or $7 something. The stain here was $3.89 and was a full unopened can. The steel wool was .75, .25 each for zip ties and .98 for the sanding block. Not bad, huh? Under $7. I got all this for the same price that I paid for just one can of stain. 

Side note: Guess what I found out when I made this trip to the ReStore? I asked if "the back" was open. They said that it was a one time special event. Usually they just use that warehouse to move stuff up as they sell things. I just happened to go on that day and didn't even realize it. They move stuff up quite often so I need to be going every Friday and Saturday. They are only open two days a week. Guess where I'll be going next Friday?

More tools that I scavenged from the hubby. He has all kinds of sandpaper like this. I have decided that I don't like his sander that uses this paper. But I can use it to hand sand. So I'm glad he has such a big stock. There is more in the garage. AND... he tells me that he has one of those finish sanders. He called it a mouse sander. I don't know what it's called but I know what it looks like. The Kobalt tape measure is one that he just picked up. It's more for him. I like the smaller one anyways. And this hammer is one of the three that I keep using. He won't let me use the rubber mallet on the pallets. Not that I want to... but i can see a need for it in the future.

 And of course... I'm always on the look out for more pallets. Found this little guy.... ummm.... actually I don't remember where. LOL! But I have found three places that have pallets come in pretty regularly. One has some really NICE looking ones. Then I found that the newspaper in town has a steady supply (if you get there before someone else does) and I found quite a few at the local pool supply store. They said anytime I see any by the dumps to go ahead and pick them up as I wish. I saw a bunch the other day. But I had too many kids with me and couldn't fit any in my van. The lady kind of looked at me funny when I told her I'd be back with my van to pick them up. I just lay the back seat down and they fit perfectly. 

I also found quite a few odd sized one behind the family dollar store in town. They said I could take them... haven't been back yet. Actually... that's where I got this one. Just couldn't fit anymore because of the kids. :)

I look forward to sharing a project with you on my next post. 

It's Router Time!

(July 5, 2012)

After things got back to normal it was time to play with some wood again. My hubby isn't into woodworking. He's not really against me doing it... but he's not totally for it. I think it's mostly that he doesn't think we have the space (which is kinda true) and that he doesn't know if I'll stay into it. We've only been married for 4 years so he didn't know me when I tried to get into it before. So... I was surprised when he bought me this....

It's a Bosch Router Table. YEAH!!!!

James helped put it together. Sorry for the blurry pictures. These are with my phone. 

 He was pretty excited that he got to help put it together. Hubby lined the screws up and James tightened them.

Above he is telling me to stop taking pictures because he's trying to work. LOL!

 He listened very closely when his daddy was explaining different things to him. He was pretty proud of the work he did. So was mommy :)

So... Table gets put together and it's time to install the router. Oops... hubby forget to check and see if my router fit it. And it didnt :(

But... to reward him for his hard work... mommy went out and played with the router anyways and freehanded a sign for his room. He was so proud of it. 

Yes.... the "J" is kinda wonky and it's too far away from the rest of the name. But this was the first time I ever used a router. Once I got the bit depth right and figured out how the plunge on it worked... I was in business. It wasn't till after the "a" that I got the hang of it. 

I also rounded the edges with a roundover bit. I used.... ummm.... the V'grove bit? Maybe? LOL! I can't remember. One of those bits that came with it is what I used :)

 I took a sharpie and colored in his name to set it off. I of course sanded it down too. 

Guess what this is made from? Ding, ding ding! Pallet wood! YEAH!!! An ugly piece of pallet wood that would have went to the dump is not a name sign for my little router-table-setting-up-man. :)

More Tools!

(June 23, 2012)

I know I'm backing up in my time line but I had to go back and talk about my new tools. I had passed by this building hundreds of times. I guess it used to be part of the County Highway Garage or something. So I never paid attention to it. It looked plain enough. 

Doesn't look like much does it? Well... I guess one day I finally read a sign and saw that it said "ReStore". I had no idea what that meant and moved on. But as I was scanning the world of blogs about pallets and reclaimed wood there was also this whole "upcycle" community. And I kept seeing posts where someone picked something up real cheap at some place called the ReStore. 

Finally one day I passed it again and when I saw it something finally clicked. So I turned back around and pulled in. Of course... it was closed. :( But there was the sign. 

                                

Now it all made sense. So I checked the times and made a mental note to come back. I stopped in another day and wondered around. It's a small place and I really liked it but I guess I expected more. On this trip I had went with two of my step daughters, Bailey and Jenna, and of course James was with us.  

On the next trip it was just me and my daughter Brianna. We walked in the door and the guy at the counter said "the back is open today too". I probably looked like it was time to open the presents at Christmas. I was like... "the back? there's a back?". Of course we took off and went straight to the back. 

Now if you go back and look at the picture... the entrance to the ReStore is on the other side of that big pine tree. See the big grey building in the back? That's "the back". It was one of those HOT days that we had here that was like 100 degrees. There's a gate and we had to walk to the back. That's not normally an issue. It's not that far. But when it's 100 out, it's miserable. Was it worth it? YES! I felt like a kid in a candy store. They had all sorts of stuff. This was the big warehouse where they take donations and sort everything out. And even better... they had some teen/college age volunteers working it. Some of the stuff was not marked. Brianna found half a can of paint in her favorite color... blue. The guy looked at her like... why would you want that?. He told her $1. She jumped on it. 

They have mostly stuff like kitchen cabinets, sinks, tubs, trim, appliances, furniture. All sorts of things. It was miserable hot so I had decided that it would just have to wait for the next time. Brianna started complaining that it was time to leave. So... I gave up. I rounded the corner to leave the warehouse and I saw this little grey box. Looked like a box for a tool so I grabbed it.... Brianna protesting the whole time that it was time to go. Inside I found this.....

I was like... ewwweeee... awwweee (imagine a kid at the fireworks). A router! I had wanted one. Thought about them, but wasn't really looking to buy one. So I asked the young guy... "how much?" He looked at me and said.... "I don't really know. I think he said I could sell it for $25".

LOL!!!

So... in the next aisle over is this man. Probably in his late 40's early 50's. He hears "$25" and runs over and stares with a look on his face that said "are you gonna buy that?". I asked if I could turn it on and try it out. I looked at the older guy and said "I think I'm going to buy it". He was kinda drooling even more than me. So the young kid turned it on and it worked. The other man was quite disappointed that I took it. Of course he rebounded quickly and started talking to me about. It was obvious he has a love for woodworking. He talked to me about all kinds of things. He even explained the bits to me. It came with 7. 

I know that there are 2- veining bits, 2 - 1/8" straight bits, 1- V-groove... and I don't remember what the other two are. So for $25 I snagged the router. The whole time Brianna is begging me to leave.

As you can tell from the pic. It's a Skil, 2 HP Variable Speed Plunge Router

So as I'm leaving, right next to the router I see this....

 So I ask the guy how much.... again I got the shoulder shrugging that he didn't know. Then he said "$20". I wasn't sure about it and actually left. But I ended up calling my friend Matt and he said for that price I might as well pick it up. So I went back to the store. Brianna is 12, almost 13.... so the eyes were rolling. LOL... Anyways... I love my new tools. This little Skilsaw has actually came in pretty handy. And the blade on it looks brand new. The young kid that checked me out said that a guy had just dropped those tools off.

(June 30, 2012) 

So... another trip to Matt's. This trip was to visit with my sister. My brother and his family also went up and all SEVEN of my kids. Luckily a couple rode with my brother. They live on a lake so the day was spent swimming, cooking out and enjoying each others company. Of course... the trip could not be complete without a visit to the work shop. He didn't have my table saw and band saw ready but he had the scroll saw ready. Here it is. It's an older saw. It's a Craftsman. It has a 3" blade. Which... they don't sell at the stores. Only on eBay. But I got home... plugged it in and cut away. I don't intend to do a lot of scroll work so it will serve my purpose. And another tool to add to my collection :)

It's ran by a foot peddle like a sewing machine. 

I don't know how old this is... but it looks like it's seen a few years. 

All in all it was a good day! Here is a pic of 5 of the kids. The oldest, Kyle (16) and the youngest, James (3) are the only ones not in this pic. This was their last jump in the lake of the day. They all decided to hold hands and jump in at the same time. James is not brave enough to jump yet (thank goodness), and Kyle is too old to join in. It was a great day.

Road Trip - New Tools!

(June 22, 2012)

At this point it was time for a road trip. As you can see in the above picture I had acquired several pallets and had some wood that I was piling up that needed something for me to do with it. 

Here is another picture of more 2"x4"s that I have all the nails out of. It's ready for the next step. But... what was the next step? I had gotten quite a few (in my opinion) pieces of wood but it was dirty and they were of different sizes and different types of wood. So it was time for a road trip. I called my good friend Matt who is more like family. Well... he kinda is family. He's been dating my sister for 7 years now. They live about an hour and half away. I talked to him on facebook and started talking to him about woodworking because I know he has been doing it for years and has his own wood shop. 

(June 26, 2012)

So I made the trip and checked out his wood shop. He showed me all his tools and his wood stash. Wow! He has a lot of wood! LOL. To my surprise most of it was pallet wood. I was amazed at how he took some dirty pallet wood (just like mine), threw it through the planer and a jointer and was making pieces of furniture. It was incredible. And as we toured his wood shop we found that he had a couple of tools that he was willing to part with. So that started the beginning of my true addiction. 

Here are my first two tools that I brought home from him. A Black & Decker Miter Saw and a Black & Decker Random Orbit Sander. I was SOOOO excited. I was even more excited that I got these for only $40. But at that point... it was all over. It was just the beginning. 

On the way home the first thing I did was stop at the store and pick up some sanding paper.

Side note: I have a Lowe's in my town. Usually this was where I shopped. On my way home I stopped at a Home Depot. As much complaints as I may have about Lowes... my hometown Lowe's has EXCELLENT customer service. Home Depot (at least this one)... sucked. Sorry... I just didn't like the whole experience.

So... this did not stop me... I got a package of sanding paper for my new sander. It had 60-100-150 in it. So as soon as I got home... first thing I did was grab some of my boards and start sanding. I kept to the 60 and didn't spend a whole lot of time. I just wanted to see what "could" be done. Here is a picture of my first sanding experience.

 The bottom is what the middle board started out looking like. The top board I sanded half of it just to see the difference. I was totally hooked and just kept sanding boards.

Matt also had a couple of other tools for me that I didn't bring home. He said he had a table saw, band saw and a scroll saw. He wanted to tune them up, clean them up and get them ready before I took those home. But if I was that excited about a sander.... what do you think would happen with a table saw? LOL!