don in brooklin on

When I have a chance I do raised letters by cutting on the angle and pushing out. Works well for signs and see the sports plaque below. I only use free floating letters when I don't have a real choice like the coat racks above. Made with 1/2 inch plywood for weight. I was worried about fitting back into the pattern but I gave the letters 3 coats of craft paint and it fit just fine. That is why I used a fairly large blade. If it didn't fit I was going to use the pattern to trace the letters on in order to get the correct spacing. As you say there are different ways to skin a cat. Don

I have always had trouble affixing stand alone letters to projects. If I can I cut the letters into the piece on a angle and have them stick out. Recently, I had 2 projects were I had to cut out letters separately and then glue on. My issue has been to get perfectly centred in a straight line with the correct spacing. I came up with this easy solution which may be old hat to many of you but it worked for me. Firstly I created a pattern with the spacing I wanted and added a line to the centre. I drilled started holes for each letter I cut the letters out using a #7 blade. Painted the letters. Lined up the pattern on the piece. Centered using the line I had put in the centre and had a board cut to line up the bottom. Taped in place and sprayed with accelerator. Put a few dabs of medium CA on the back of each letter and pressed in place. Removed pattern and I got the letters where I wanted them. A few dabs of CA seem to be holding just fine as the first project was to personalize a head board and they are fine so far. Project below.

http://online.rapidresizer.com/ This is the online version. I think there is a desktop version too. As an alternative I create my patterns in PDF and then use the posterize function of the Adobe Reader XI. Works create. Don

Just made the track & field for a friend who has a very athletic daughter. My pattern. You can't really see it but the letters are raised. Wood is Poplar and they sprayed. I did a Gymnastics for same girl awhile ago. Don

They look great. A friend of mine used to say that even if the show was a dud he would always pay for his table with the little cars. He used them as a draw to get the parents to come and look at his booth. Make sure you have a big SALE sign. What else can you buy for a kid a loonie or two. Good luck.

Creating the stack with stickers is most important and then having the right place for the stack of lumber. Here is a article that shows it well http://www.wikihow.com/Dry-Wood-for-Woodworking I think the rule of thumb is one year per inch but having a moisture meter is essential. Don

No plywood. Rules stated no accent wood. Resawed 1/4 inch for face and did fret work and backed up with 1/2 inch from the same board. Then mitered the corners. Don

This was my other entry to the 2 x 4 challenge. Both boxes made from 1 2 x 4 of clear pine. (3 1/2 by 1 1/2 by 96 inches.) Not a scrap left over. This was my first time I have flocked the inside of a box. don PS: Runner up in the best in show category.

Our club had a 2 x 4 challenge and this is one of my entries. All done from 1 piece of construction grade 2 x 4. Door topper pattern by JGR that I turned into a bookshelf display. With all the knots , I only used probably 60% of the wood. 124 pieces in the flowers alone. Don PS: Didn't win.

Hi I have the 6 inch variable speed grinder from Lowes. $79 when I bought it now 69. Seems to do a good job. Wouldn't mind if it went a tad slower. http://www.lowes.com/pd_78808-46069-PCB525BG_0__?ipTrail=99.239.191.200&catalogId=10051&catalogId=10051&productId=3162491&pl=1&selectedLocalStoreBeanArray=%5Bcom.lowes.commerce.storelocator.beans.LocatorStoreBean%401c8c1c8c%5D&currentURL=%3FNtt%3Dbench%2Bgrinder&storeNumber=0645&Ntt=bench+grinder&langId=-1&langId=-1&storeId=10151&storeId=10151&errorURL=UserAccountView

I am organizing the 2 by 4 challenge at the Durham Woodworking Club and we decided that the winners should get a ribbon so I made them out of what else ... wood. There are 4 divisions so I have made 2 more the same. I'll post my entries after May 12 as I don't want do give away any ideas. don

The envelope box is for my nephew and wife. The best part of this wedding is that they wanted me in the wedding party. Quite an honour for some one someone twice their age. Patten by Sue Mey. The box is MDF and the plaque 1/8" BB.

Welcome to the village I am Don from Brooklin, Ontario Canada. I love your neck of the woods as we have travelled to Tennessee as few time and love it. Don't know how far you are from Seymour, TN but it is worth the trip to see Judy Gales Roberts studio if you want to see Intarsia. It was the highlight of my last trip. To take a course or visit her open house is on my bucket list but just to tour the studio was fantastic. Her web site is http://intarsia.com/ Enjoy your retirement. Don

My first project in a class at my club was done on 3/4 inch poplar. Pine sometimes has very defined grain is a little harder to cut. Poplar It doesn't stain well but it does paint well. My next project was using Baltic Birch (comes as 5 x 5) as it should not contain any voids. Use either 1/4 or stack cut 2 1/8 pieces for better stability. My very first project is below.

We had a good discussion in other works about cutting boards and I decided to combine scrolling to the topic so I posted here. I am doing a demo on making cutting boards at my local club and I needed a board to show finishing and since I will end up with 3 regular boards once done so I decided on doing the cheese board attached. The pattern is adapted from Steve Good. Maple and cherry. There is no finish yet but will use mineral oil in demo. The cheese knife was make using scraps

I suggest you watch the video in my post above for the answer on why end grain. With the end grain it is easier on knives and it heals itself. Routing - I use a 1/8 round over on the all the sides of the bottom and 1/4 inch roundover on the 4 sides of top. The router won't round over all the handles so I round over with sandpaper. The profile used by Luis on the original post is really cool and I and going to give that a try on next board I do.

I made my first ones based on the Woodwhisper video found here. Just 2 colours but makes up nicely. http://www.thewoodwhisperer.com/videos/how-to-make-a-butcher-block-cutting-board/ If you look at the quick looks on the left see CBdesigner software. It is a free program. I run on my vista machine as you have to install a ocx file. I can;t seem to work on Windows 8. http://www.lastalias.com/cbdesigner/ Don PS: At the current time I am coordinating a group buy at our club of the material to build the end grain cutting board. So far we have 79 boards in maple/walnut, maple/cherry and maple/purple heart combinations. Will post my boards that I am doing for the demo in a couple of weeks.

Very nice. I really like routed upper edge. I have done quite a few cutting boards and never used soft woods like pine and cedar. Did you use CBdesinger or did you make the pattern up on you own, Don

Call General in Montreal. I had blades coming loose so they sent the bottom assembly the same day. It was under warranty. I still had the problem with the screw coming loose so I put som locktite on it and haven;t had a problem since. Great guy on othe end was really helpful. Don

Hi fellow Canuk I am on the other side of the GTA just north of Whitby in Brooklin. Our club has 7 of the DeWalts and I have and Excalibur at home. I have use both quite a bit but I still prefer my Ex-21. I have the foot switch on the EX-21 and that does make a difference. I have had my EX-21 for almost 4 years and the only time I a problem with the clamp I called general in Montreal and they sent me a new clamp the next day. We have not have had any issues with the Dewalts and they do get a work out. I think it really depends on your budget. I got mine from Federated in London when the Kitchener Wood Show was on as they had a 10% off deal plus they shipped it for free. Check with them to see what they will offer. You often see used Dewalts for sale on Kijiji or Cralglist. Good luck Welcome to the Village Don

I hope you love it as much as I love mine. When I assembled the stand I added a shelf, It is easier to do as you assemble. I also raised the back legs as high as they will go. Happy scrolling.

Hi Darcy I had no idea where Pitt Meadows is but I see you are real close to KMS in Langley. If you really want a new EX-21 I would give them a call to see what if they know what is going to happen with the price next month as the current flyer goes to Feb 28. The 849 price is the same in the USA and in Canada at this time but the Cdn $ has dropped recently so the prices maybe changing. Don

Did you try KMS tools they are in your part of the country? I dealt with them a few years ago to buy a Nova lathe and they were great to deal with even shipping across the country. I see they have the Ex16 on their web site but they are General dealers. I bought mine 3 years ago from Federated in London Ontario for the 21, stand and foot pedal for about $780 as part of a woodshow promotion that I never went to but they gave me 10% off and threw in the shipping. http://www.kmstools.com/ The current price in the General Canadian Promotion flyer is $849.99 and if KMS is close enough you might be able to make an offer. http://www.general.ca/promo/Flyer-promo-wood_ENG.pdf Don Just outside of Toronto, Ontario

Scroll Calligraphy is close but the D is different. You might be looking at a router template.

I have a Lee Valley store about 10 miles away. (it is right beside a store called Woodchuckers). Both are like candy stores for Woodworkers. I now usually browse the online site and pick up my order as I can't be trusted to go inside. Lee Valley is the nicest company that I have ordered from. Once I got a cheque in the mail to $6 as the item I had ordered about 3 months before had been reduced in price in the new catalogue so they sent the difference un announced. To order a catalogue go to https://www.leevalley.com/en/home/CatalogSelect.aspx Don