bench

as part of my art making preparedness plan (or AMPP if you like to abbreviate things) i decided i needed a small and at least somewhat mobile workbench that was still robust enough to take a beating so i wouldn't need to consider building a new one for a long time. and as part of my router table plan (that's the RTP) i cut a spot for a router table insert. here are some pictures:

here are all the legs stacked in the ultimate clamp-up machine at the shop (that's my dad's buisness shop, not the garage). it originally had iron handles that you spun to tighten each clamp, but those have been replaced by those little wing jobs that are tightened with a pneumatic motor. usually i try to avoid using the bigger tools at the shop as i don't want to be in the way of the real work and i don't want to get too dependent on tools that i will never have in a smaller shop setting. but this is the right tool for the job and they weren't using it at the moment.

i also glued up the top in the big ol' clamper. because it is just wider than even the largest tools at the shop, i flattened the surface by hand. i could definitely see where a larger #7 or #8 jointer plane would have worked better, but my #5 did a respectable job. all i had to do was completely and evenly remove all those pencil marks...

and then the surface would be flat. of course, the closer you get to flat, the more material you have to remove to get it flatter. this picture is from about half way through the planing step. because it is a workbench, i stopped well before i got to "dead flat" and even left a lot of tear-out made by the plane. i finished with the belt sander in an attempt to remove some of that tear out and got a surface that i find acceptable.

then i routed out a recess for the router insert (that blue metal thing).

and used some screws to level it out.

after the top was finished, i built the apron out of poplar and attached the legs. then i spent about a week living with it, deciding how i wanted to take care of the racking issues (i.e. wobbly-leggedness). i decided to go with a strong plywood toolbox screwed on to rails installed 6 inches below the apron, along with lower foot rails on the short dimension. now i have a pretty tough table that can be packed up flat. too bad it still weighs a ton.

wooden spoons and beeswax

the lady friend decided recently that all the wooden spoons in her house were gross and worn out. so we fixed 'em up! it was also a good excuse to make a new batch of my homebrew wood finish that i label as "soft wax."

here's the basic idea- melt some beeswax. stir in a measure of citrus oil. cool. done.

here's some specifics- by blending citrus oil into beeswax, you get a softened wax that can be applied with a rag and some elbow grease. then, as the citrus oil evaporates, you are left with a nice satin wax finish. maybe not the most durable or perfect finish, but a quick, all natural, easily rejuvenated one.

i think 2 parts wax to 1 part oil, by weight, is a good place to start. melt the wax in a double boiler made of the storage jar and a saucepan, turn off the stove (the citrus oil is super flammable!) and stir in the oil with a stick. seal the jar and let it cool. if you keep it closed between uses, it will stay soft a really long time.

note: don't try to make more wax in the same jar as you don't want to heat the oil. remember, even though it is made of fruit, the oil does give off more vapors when heated and those vapors are not particularly good for you, even when they aren't on fire.

so here are the spoons (and a cutting board) to be fixed up. we sat down with some files and sandpaper and our freshly minted wax and got to work.

and voila! can you tell from the pictures that they are better than they were before? because they are. promise. after a few days to cure, they are ready to resume service. anyway, i haven't used my wax on cooking spoons before, so i'm interested to see how they hold up. i also coaxed sarah into letting me finish a couple with a corn oil and citrus mix as a point of comparison. hooray for human test subjects!

also note: there are other recipes for "natural spoon oil" and the like online which i, personally, would avoid. mineral oil is a petroleum distillate and therefore doesn't fit my definition of natural. still, we have no proof that my solution is any better. so there's that.

the end of etsy

i've had an etsy shop for a while, but i think i may be done with it. or at least, i am done with it for foreseeable future. if you are interested in having custom work done, please contact me directly.

files

for some reason, even after they have had an owner, files never have handles. just pointy metal tangs. but this is a problem i can solve! turned maple; shaped beech on the right.

pickled carrots

i mentioned these a long time ago. they are awesome. but i kinda forgot to keep making them until my friend allyce sent me this picture:



i'm not sure what recipe she used (did i give her this one? i can't remember.) but this is the one i use (i don't even know where my recipe came from).

step one: prep 1.5 pounds carrots.

step two: prep spices. 6 sprigs thyme, 5 sliced garlic cloves, 1.5 teaspoons each cracked peppercorns, mustard seeds, red pepper flakes and salt.

step three: bring 1.5 cups of apple cider, 2 cups of water and .25 cups sugar to a boil. add all the spices and simmer for 10 minutes. cool slightly and add another .5 cups apple cider vinegar. pour over carrots:

step 4: cool for a while, then pack into jars, topping off with 2 to 1 vinegar water if necessary. store in the fridge. start eating after 3 to 5 days.

the recipe yield is 2 quarts, but i got pretty much all of it into this single one liter jar. also, remember that these are just quick fridge pickles. they need to live in the fridge and be eaten within, oh, two weeks.