First Step

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000

You know the saying: “Every journey begins with the first step,” well this is true for my woodworking projects as well. Last month I attended the MWTCA tool meet in Hillsborough, NC and I purchased a old loom shuttle for $5.00. If you are not familiar with loom shuttles, they are used to pass the horizontal thread through the vertical threads and they have steel cone shaped points in each end. It is these points that I am interested in as centers for my upcoming project - a Spring Pole Lathe. These points make excellent dead centers as they are perfectly round and smooth. I did not mind destroying this particular shuttle because it was made out of some sort a laminate and was not very old. I would have had a much harder time bringing my self to destroy a wooden antique, even for a good purpose. One other plus, I was able to re-purpose the spool in the shuttle as a leather burnisher. It works great for this task.

A Good Day

Sat, 22 Dec 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Mystery Mallet, Popular Woodworking, Saw Box

You know, woodworking is so much fun. I just love the chance to carve up some wood with sharp tools and a little skill; after which, you have something new that you made, and can be proud of. After my previous weekend escapade (see A Bad Day post), I was in the need of some serious fun. The chance came in the form of a class at Roy Underhill’s Woodwright’s School. I was scheduled for the Mystery Mallet class on Saturday. This is a whole day class where you make an intriguing and beautiful woodworking puzzle. The class fit the bill perfectly to balance the experiences of the previous weekend.

Woodwright's School on Olde Tool Workshop

First Step

A Good Day