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This studio, a space I make things in,
is a place of sawdust... and music. It is a basement originally
inhabited by such eloquent items as the canning stove, water
heater, coal furnace, laundry, and other facilities formerly
used to keep the house running. Now such tools as power
saws, sanders, joiners, and routers now quietly inhabit this
place.
It is when they feel my presence they can
sing forth while helping create useful works of art and function.
They have aided in making possible many hundreds of items including
desks, chests, tables, chairs, cabinets, beds, couches (futon
frames), shoe cabinets, shelves, trays, holders, drawers, doors,
stands, and… hundreds of other things.
My tools are old and by "Norm" standards, are probably deemed
outdated. But, they are somewhat unusual tools that I
am use to. My biscuit joiner is an old Elu from the 1980s,
like Norm once had. One of my sanders is a rare Skil Sandcat
2½ x 16 belt sander. I currently have no Sears power tools.
I mostly have garage sale finds i.e. a B&D 1960s drill.
I also have lost of old hand tools handed down from my father
and several uncles. I doubt that there is anything of
any antique value.
The jigs I have are all home made. The
box joint jig, the sliding panel cutter for the table saw, and
the router table (similar to Norm's) are what I constructed.
 The
dust collection system is all home made including the automated
Rube Goldberg blast gates. These gates are powered
by 25lbs of compressed air and is activated by a two way solenoid
refrigeration valve. The actuator is a 3/4" air piston.
The blast gate it self is a $6.00 4" from the Penn State tool
catalog. The springs were from a flea market.
The valves and pistons were from
Mendelsons Surplus in Dayton
Ohio. I installed a relay in each stationary tool
so that, when powered up, it closes the circuit and opens the
refrigeration valve, which allows air to pull open the blast
gate. When the gate is fully opened, a small micro switch
closes a circuit that energizes a relay that sends power to
the dust collection motor. As the gate is de-energized
the residual air is passed back into the other side of the piston
keeping dust from getting into the piston. I found that
if it weren't for the automated blast gates, the dust collection
system would never get used.
This is a fun woodshop. The real ordeal happens
in the finishing room. This is also where the real miracles
occur.
My Beliefs on
Pigmented Stains
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