Every Journey Begins With the First Step

So The ground hog said 6 more weeks that's ok with me. Not that I like the snow and cold (not that we have had much here in the buckeye state) but, because I am still trying to get tools together and setup. I have some older planes that need to be gone over to see if they will still cut the mustard also bought a couple of saws off  E-bay that need to be sharpened etc.. But, the biggest reason is find someplace to set up a shop. You see at the moment my lovely wife and I are living with my brother due to health and economic reasons, and with the way things are going with jobs in Northeast Ohio the wife is having a hard time finding work so that we may move into our own place.

That being said it does not mean that I will be doing nothing. I have a friend that has offered me the use of his shop space but he is a machine man and I wish to be a hand tool person. So the real challenge is going to be how do I move my tools and supplies back and forth between to places. I could leave them there with no fear of them being stole but as you all know If you leave it over there you will need it here. And that in lies the problem it is not like he is next door in fact it takes about 25 minutes to drive to his place which again slows me down due to the money issue.

But all is not lost I am working on a small break down bench that I can set up outside on nice days to do material prep. and tool sharpening etc.. I do own a table saw and may do something with it but not sure yet.

So any advice or suggestion would go a long way here. Ho and here are a few pictures of the spoons I carved and the knives I made to do it.


 



 
 

Comments

  1. kgooldFebruary 5, 2012 at 12:34 PM

    Those spoons are amazing! I hope I can get into carving and whittling someday. The wonderful thing about hand tool woodworking is you don’t need much space at all. I have done all my work over the last few months on just one workbench in my small bedroom. One of the major aspects of a hand tool workbench is it needs to be super rigid, and I’m not sure how stable a break down workbench would be. I guess if you were to have the side of the bench against a wall or something it would make it more solid. Good luck, and keep the posts coming.

    Kgoold

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  2. Stephen RobertsFebruary 5, 2012 at 6:07 PM

    Thanks for the praise and I'm sure you will do fine when you try it your self. The knives where made from old sabersaw blades. and the handles are just some old scrap from a clock someone through out. I'm big time into green woodworking (not as in green wood) I recycle other waist. all the spoons where made from old palets and wood from a head board of a bed. I know I will need to buy new stuff for some projects but I'm trying help save the planet.

    As for the bench think Roubo with 4x4 legs and lamminated top. There is a place close to where I live that repairs old pianos and well some are just not doable, so they throw them out I go and get the wood from them and this is what I plan to use. And thanks for checking in and offering your input. The Bowls and candle sticks look great. remeber to wear a dust mask when turning.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. kgooldFebruary 5, 2012 at 8:15 PM

      Going to the piano shop sounds like a great idea. You should be able to score some sweet hardwood from them. If I were to build a bench that would be moved around like you described, I would probably build a traditional European cabinetmakers bench, with trestle legs. I would make all the joinery with bolts (like a bed) so it could be easily taken apart. The only problem with the bolts is they can be pretty expensive. I think a workbench is a great first hand tool project. You learn joinery on a large scale, and when you take it step by step it is a pretty simple project. The roubo was my first project, and I didn’t have too many problems putting it together as a novice. No matter what bench you decide on, im sure it will turn out great.

      Delete
  3. Stephen RobertsFebruary 6, 2012 at 10:42 AM

    Thanks for the vote of confidence. I was thinking of a high-bred version using through mortice and tennion joints with though wedges to hold it tight. the bench it self will prob be left outside under cover unless it is going to rain. then I will brake it down and move into the storage shed. kinda sucks but untill a more preminate shop can be built it will have to do. I am looking into a storage unit to move my stuff out of the garage and that will open up alot of space to set up a small shop in.

    ReplyDelete
  4. The Bearded WoodshedFebruary 13, 2012 at 9:31 AM

    Wow, great carving. I love the use of recycling wood from unwanted items. It is something I must look into. Welsh Love spoons maybe i will attempt them at some point in the future.
    Paul

    ReplyDelete

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