Splintered Board Podcast

Episode 39 - Anniversary Episode

Rick Waters — Tue, 26 May 2009 01:13:34 GMT

Hey Everybody!
It's my birthday today, so that makes it the Splintered Board podcast's anniversary too.
I couldn't have gotten this far without all of my subscribers, so this one's for all of you!
Thanks for everything, and I hope to make the next year even better.

-Rick

Episode 38 - Safety Week 2009

Rick Waters — Tue, 05 May 2009 17:46:00 GMT

A few weeks ago my in-laws were visiting from St. Louis. Whenever my in-laws visit, it means work. Not just clean-out-the-garage type work. More like let’s-check-every-single-shingle-on-the-roof-then-get-in-the-attic-and-check-every-square-inch-of-insulation-then-clean-out-the-basement-then-dethatch-the-lawn-then… You get the picture.

Anyway, so my Father-In-Law was visiting and on some previous visits he had been in our small storage area of the basement. It’s crammed with stuff since both my wife and I are packrats. Beyond the storage area are the furnace, water heater and sump pump. Beyond those is the crawl space. The crawl space is roughly 4.5’ off the ground, and measures roughly 12’ wide, 3.5’ high and 18.5’ deep.

My father-in-law’s idea was to build a floor for the crawl space so we could store our stuff in there and have it more organized. This involved 7 sheets of ¾” plywood, 3 2x4’s, and 2 2x8’s.

6 of the sheets of plywood were fine as is/was. The last, though, have to be cut into 4’x28” strips. One even had to have a corner notched out of it. The 2x8’s also had to be cut in half.

My miter saw is a 10” non-sliding miter saw. That translates into less than a 6” cut across a board. 2x8 lumber is actually 7” wide. This left an arc cut into each of the 2x8’s about 1” from the opposite edge.

Safety tip #1: If you are attempting to use a miter saw to cut partially through a board, flip it and cut again, you will, not may, you will face injury unless you remember this safety tip. Bury the blade in the wood and release the trigger without raising the spinning blade. When the blade has stopped, raise the blade. If it gets stuck on the board, you have several ways of freeing it safely.

Safety Tip #1a: Stuck board on miter saw: Unplug the saw. If you have a saw where the arm height locks, you are SO lucky. You should donate that saw to me! Also, you can raise the arm slightly, lock it in position, and gently pull the board toward you and away from the saw. Do not angle the board right or left as this may bend or break the blade.

Safety Tip #1b: Stuck board on miter saw: Unplug the saw. If you don’t have a locking arm, get a bungee cord or rope and tie the arm down. You may need help doing this as the arm is spring loaded and you need to leave the saw to get the cord or rope. Repeat the procedure as above.

Was I safe? No. What I did was dangerous. I buried the blade again, held the board down hard to the saw bed, turned the saw on and rocked the arm up and down about a ½” at a time until I got it free from the board. Not safe, I know. I had 3 other people helping hold the board though. Generally there are never that many people around to help though.

The next most dangerous incident that almost happened was a while later after we measured out how much of the final plywood sheet needed to be sawn down – the 28” strips. My father-in-law was expecting me to throw the full sheet of plywood up, sideways, on the short extension wing of my table saw and crosscut it that way.

Now, I know that there are generational differences between us. After all, he’s 76 and I’m just shy of 36. But I was hoping he wasn’t too old to learn something about safety. In the time it took to explain most of the reasons why I wasn’t going to try the impossible balancing act on my puny contractor table saw, I could have completed the task my way, twice, by myself.

Here are some facts about my table saw: The blade’s orientation to the fence is questionable. The fence locking mechanism is damaged. The zero-clearance insert is recessed at the top right curved corner – meaning some pieces get caught in it and are forced into the blade as I push forward. I have no support stands.

So, why is it so dangerous?

Safety Tip #2: I would have been left to support the short end of a full sheet of plywood myself. While cutting! You are asking for the sheet to become uncontrollable as it is being cut and pushed. If the spinning blade doesn’t throw the entire sheet off the blade, you may be looking at a potentially dangerous/life-threatening kickback situation.

The answer to the problem that my father-in-law gave me: ‘Don’t be a wuss! Just push it at an angle into the fence’ is still not safe. Once the strip is cut off the end, even if it stays on the table without being flung backwards by the blade, the larger piece of the sheet is still being pushed into the fence. Or better yet, at this point, it is being pushed into the blade itself. You are asking for a damaged piece of plywood and for the rest of the sheet to be picked up by the back of the blade and spun out of your control to the right (assuming you are trying to control the sheet from the back left corner.

So, my solution won and I just zipped along with my circular saw. 1 minute of setup, 1 minute per cut, we were done in less than 5 minutes.

One minor safety infraction almost happened during this project happened when my 14 year-old son used a cordless drill for the first time. In the cramped area of the crawl space, after the plywood floor had been laid, we needed to screw the plywood down to the frame we built.

My son had this odd way of using the drill though. For some reason he kept tilting the head of the drill at a shard angle and expecting the star-shaped bit to still engage the screw at this angle. What kept happening was that the bit would slip and he would pound the bit into the plywood and the screw would go flying.

Safety Tip #3a: Always wear eye protection when using tools! A sharp #2 screw in or around the eye is not something that any of us would like to experience any time soon! It’s a good idea to wear gloves too…

Safety Tip #3b: Know how to use your tools. Get the feel for how you cordless tools work. Don’t assume that what you are going to try is the correct way. Whit my son, he was getting a lot of direction and instruction from my father-in-law and me. Yet, he still pounded the bit in a couple of times…

Episode 37 - Woodworkers Safety Week 2009

Rick Waters — Tue, 05 May 2009 16:42:00 GMT

A few lathe tips for Woodworkers Safety Week 2009

Episode 36 - Not a whole lot going on

Rick Waters — Tue, 05 May 2009 00:46:42 GMT

Episode 36 - Not a whole lot going on

I just wanted to update you with everything that I've been doing for the last 7 weeks. Stay tuned for a couple of Woodworkers Safety Week episodes.

Episode 35 - Hollow Chisel Mortiser

Rick Waters — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 16:35:00 GMT

I just got a new/old Hollow Chisel Mortiser.

I thought I'd share that with you all!

Episode 33 - Part 2 - First video episode

Rick Waters — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 03:42:00 GMT

My first video podcast episode! Part 2 anyway.
I show a salvaged tree stump that I want to eventually carve a chair from.
I show my improvised bench, shop and everything I’ve been talking about for months.

Episode 33 - Part 1 - First Video Episode

Rick Waters — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 19:43:00 GMT

My first video podcast episode! Part 1 anyway.
I show a salvaged tree stump that I want to eventually carve a chair from.
I show my improvised bench, shop and everything I’ve been talking about for months.

A Great Woodcraft Experience!

Rick Waters — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 13:15:00 GMT

I had a great experience at Woodcraft yesterday! So great that I feel I have to blog about it.

Yesterday was a little weird for me, as it didn't fit the same tired schedule of get up, go to work, go home, so let me set the scene for you. Yesterday I received a phone call from Joe Hurst-Wajszczuk, from Woodcraft magazine, but since I was stuck in meetings I didn't get a chance to talk to him. I'll be calling him back today, and hopefully you'll be hearing much more about and from him on The Sawdust Chronicles in the future. Joe's message put me in a great mood to leave work early even though I was leaving to go to the police department to get my car inspected because a local meter-maid cop had a bug up their butt last week.

Anyway, I left work early and after wasting 30 minutes at the police department, I decided to stop at Woodcraft on the way home. Yup, it was actually on the way! I currently don't have any pressing needs for specific tools, but I just like looking around to see what the local store has to offer. I especially like looking through the buck-a-board table.

After perusing the store and not seeing anything that really screamed out at me to buy it, I made my way to the buck-a-board table. I immediately saw two turning blanks of Padauk! I couldn't believe it! I snagged them right away. I also picked up a severely checked block of zebrawood and 12" 6/4 piece of walnut with a nice grain pattern. I made my way to the counter expecting to walk out with a few pieces of small stock and spending less than $5. Boy was I in for a surprise.

Joe, the sales associate who several months ago gave me an application and really wanted me to apply for a position at the store, didn't recognize me, but remarked that I was lucky to have seen the Padauk on the buck-a-board table. He said it was probably their mistake, but he'd let me have it.

I thanked him and as I pushed $5 towards him I told him that I call the store a few times a month to see if they've got new cut-offs out on the buck-a-board table. He froze. He pushed my $5 back towards me and told me to follow him. Joe then walked me into the back room toward the GIGANTIC triple thick corrugated box full of cutoffs. Joe said that the box had just come in that day and hadn't been sorted out yet. He said he was giving me first crack at it all.

I was like a kid in a candy store! I quickly picked up a cardboard box and started filling it with zebrawood, mahogany, bubinga, purple heart and a little walnut. Then as I was finishing up, I started to back away and saw something shine at me from the back of the box. I looked at it from a few different angles and saw that it must be some kind of figured wood.

I grabbed it and my jaw dropped! This was a 24"x2"x2" blank of deeply figured reddish brown Bubinga! And there was its brother sitting right under it! Holy Smokes! I didn't know what to do, so I grabbed them both and acted normal as I took the whole load back to the counter.

To my disappointment Joe couldn't let me have the Bubinga blanks, but we had a great conversation about them. Joe said the store could probably get anywhere from $20-$60 for them depending on how they cut and sold them, so letting me walk out paying $2 for them would probably land Joe in a bit of trouble. Knowing that I don't currently possess the talent to do those pieces justice, I had to let them go and didn't plead or haggle with Joe at all.

All in all, I had a great time , as usual, visiting Woodcraft yesterday!

Episode 32 - Long Time, No Podcast

Rick Waters — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 19:24:00 GMT

Hi Everybody!
It's taken almost a month, but I'm going to try and get this out one last time. GoDaddy has been less than helpful with this episode... And thanks to GoDaddy, I had to remove several more episodes so I could upload this one.

Because of all of the trouble with GoDaddy, and even though I still have over a year of service paid for, I'll soon be switching to another provider (or providers) that will allow me to do what I want with my podcast page and not charge me an arm and a leg for it!

Take THAT GoDaddy!!!

You can see some of my chisel-cut mortise and tenons here.

The assembled changing table can be seen here and here while still on the assembly (coffee) table.

Here is the table standing on its own! Finally!

In this episode I reviewed Tom Hintz's book, The New Woodworker Handbook from Fox Chapel Publishing.
You can find Tom Hintz's website at NewWoodworker.com

Episode 30 - December Updates

Rick Waters — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 16:28:00 GMT

Happy Holidays to all!!!

Hey everyone! In this episode I update you (in long form) on the birth of Mason Donald Betz-Waters!
Also included are updates on the construction of some Christmas presents, the changing table, the WoodRat videos, and a new segment of the Splintered Board Podcast in the future.

Special thanks to Rubber Band Banjo for the music in this episode.

Episode 27 - Baby Update, and Some Woodworking Too

Rick Waters — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 02:48:00 GMT

Baby Update, and Some Woodworking Too

We spent Thanksgiving in the hospital waiting to see if they were going to deliver the baby. It didn't happen, but they did manage to ruin our holiday for nothing...

I handcut some dovetails!!!

Take a look at this wooden, laser-cut business card!

My Shop Pics.

Baby changing table pieces.

Music in this episode by Rubberband Banjo.

Episode 25 - Surprise, Surprise, Surprise!

Rick Waters — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 18:27:00 GMT

I'll be at The Woodworking Shows Schaumburg show on Nov 22nd. If you're in the Chicagoland area, drop me a line and I'll meet you there!

Don't use your hand as a featherboard!!!

A surprise in the mail, from Pete Bretzke.

Episode 24 - WoodRat Update

Rick Waters — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 01:01:00 GMT

Really quick update about the WoodRat and a little about woodworking class last night.
Look for a video episode coming soon!!!

Music in this episode from Podsafe Music Network.

Episode 23 - Announcement From Splintered Board

Rick Waters — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 04:21:00 GMT

I have a great announcement about a possible partnership between Splintered Board and WoodRat!

Episode 22 - What is it That Inspires You?

Rick Waters — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 03:56:00 GMT

In this week's episode I discuss inspiration in design and fitting in all of the projects that you want to do for yourself - outside of obligatory work. Also, an update on the desk restoring project.

Find pics of the baby changing table pieces here.

All music in this episode was obtained from mangatune.com.

Episode 21 - Artistic License in Design

Rick Waters — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 03:02:00 GMT

Episode 21 - Artistic License in Design

Furnitology's Neil LAmens joins me in an energetic and in-depth discussion about artistic license in design. We cover many aspects and examples of art throughout the ages.

Two of the main sources of information to accompany this discussion were Creating Modern Furniture and Droog.
We also reference Silas Kopf and Edgar Allen Poe's A Cask of Amontillado, Albrecht Durer.

Audio readings of A Cask of Amontillado available in iTunes from BJ Harrison's The Classic Tales podcast, and Patrick McLean's The Seanachai.

Music in the podcast (Odd Bird by The Lascivious Biddies) from Podsafe Music Network.

Don't forget to take my survey too!

Episode 20 - What Is In You?

Rick Waters — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 14:32:00 GMT

Episode 20 - What is In you?

Please don't be offended or put off by what is said in this episode. My intent is to explain my reckoning of what is inside me, what my woodworking style/direction has become. I will be challenging you to explore what is in you also.

Intro and Outro music for this episode by Chris Greene Quartet, obtained from Podsafe Music Network

Update 7.31.08 - Sorry for lack of episodes this week

Rick Waters — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 13:58:00 GMT

Splintered Board Listeners/Readers,

I’m so sorry for the absence of episodes this week. In the past two weeks I promised you 2 episodes for this week – a What I learned This Week episode, and an episode on the results of the Opinion Poll from a week and a half ago. This week has been exhausting for me, and even though I recorded the WILTW episode, I don’t think I put forth much effort in it and I just can’t will myself to pollute your MP3 players with it. I still haven’t gathered the results for the Opinion Poll.

So, how am I going to redeem myself? On Friday night I will stay up as late as I need to in order to record both episodes for this week (and I’m not dismissing the possibility of a single, long episode). There will be a little news, a lot of wrapping up of the XLeg Table prototype project, and more.

Stay tuned! I’ll be back shortly!

-Rick

Brief XLeg Table Update

Rick Waters — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 13:34:00 GMT

Technorati Profile
I got out the jigsaw last night after 3 hours of chiseling out the mortise for the Thick Leg. Unfortunately, I don't have the experience to be able to pull off a successful angled mortise and tenon.

Not a big deal, really. I will definitely have to learn how to do this in the future, but as I need to finish this table withing the next 3 weeks, I have to make it work sooner rather than later.

So, anyway, I cut the tenon on the Thick Leg to be square with the bottom of the Table Top. Much like everyone has been telling me would have been easier to do. Well, I hope you can't fault me for at least trying...

Thanks for all of the comments and encouragement!