Maple Grove Woodworks » maple grove woodworks

Weekend Update

Dennis_MGWW — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 17:15:52 +0000

I actually managed to accomplish a few things this weekend in the shop. The temperature outside was around 30 degrees Fahrenheit so I was able to get the shop up to about 60 degrees. I cleaned up most of the shop except for the lathe area and the lumber storage area. I don’t know if I will ever get the lumber area organized to my satisfaction unless I start burning some of my scraps.

I even did a little woodworking. Just a little. I made a couple more clamp racks and attached them to the wall. Many of my clamps have been laying on bench tops or just clamped to the sides of a bench, so the additional racks will really help in staying organized. I did not get back to the mission style lamps that I wanted to work on, but hopefully I will soon.

Unfinished Projects

Dennis_MGWW — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:52:28 +0000

I finally found a couple of hours this weekend to cleanup my garage/workshop. It had been slowly becoming a disorganized mess over the last few months. I haven’t had enough time to start a real project, so most of the work done in the shop had been quick little fix-it or modify-it type of work.

Generally when I am working on things like this I am trying to work quickly because I just want to be done with it. It is not the kind of work I really enjoy. Because of this, I rarely clean up after myself and I eventually end up with a very cluttered workshop that is impossible to work in because I can’t find anything. It almost begins to feel claustrophobic.

After putting everything back in place, I began trying to reorganize a few things. When doing so, I came across several unfinished projects. They are all personal projects that I was working on at one time or another, when something more important would come along that I needed to make. My project would get set aside in a corner or on a shelf, while I finished the “important” project. Then… it was forgotten.

I found two partially made mission style lamps that were to be for our living room. They were about half completed.

I found three marquetry mirrors that are about 80% complete. At one time I had made several of these mirrors, either for clients or friends, but apparently I had started a few more and did not complete them.

I found a business card holder that was only about 25% complete. There were some small intricate parts that, at the time, I did not have the proper tools to make safely.

I found the parts of a chisel mallet that is about 75% complete. I just need to finish gluing the handle to the head and then sand it and it will be completed.

Actually, come to think of it, my router table has never really been completed. When I first started woodworking, I had ordered the plans for Norm Abram’s router table. It is about 95% complete, but I never finished the large bottom drawer. All of the wood is cut, and the drawer slides are sitting where the drawer would be.

Maybe my new years resolution this year should be to finish up the unfinished projects. The next time I am bored, (which rarely happens these days), I can’t blame it on not having anything to do.

Bent Lamination Fishing Net

Dennis_MGWW — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 16:54:10 +0000

This is a fishing net I made several years ago. I made it from plans out of the June 2001 issue of Wood Magazine.

The frame for this net made out of laminated Walnut and White Ash. The inlaid fish is also made out of Walnut. The plan called for 3/32″ thick strips, but mine were closer to 1/8″.

I made an MDF form to use as a clamping fixture. This was my first attempt at bentwood lamination, and I made a few mistakes in the planning of it all. First, my clamping fixture could have been designed a little better. I didn’t have enough room for the number of clamps that I ended up using. I also should have done a “dry” glue up to see how everything was going work. It was definitely one of those chaotic mad dash glue ups.

I also used too much glue and it ran everywhere. Everything was slipping and sliding all over the place. After it dried I had a LOT of dried glue to remove and uneven strips to sand down. It was a lot of work, but well worth the effort.

To attach the net I drilled small holes all around the frame and then pushed a loop of the net through each one. Then I took a piece of leather shoe string and put it through one hole in the frame and tied it off. Then wrapped the leather around the outside of the frame going through each loop of the net as I went around. At the other end I push the leather through the last hole and tied it off.

The frame has a small groove around the outside, but the leather string I used was thicker than the grooove was deep. A soft cotton net is what I really wanted to use but I couldn’t find one, so I settled for a nylon net.

I have made a couple of these now, and have given them away at Christmas to family members.

Workshop Design #4

Dennis_MGWW — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 15:54:46 +0000

Front View (Click for larger view)

Here is a quick update of where I am on the workshop design. If you remember from my first article, the footings and frost wall already exist so I cannot modify anything with them, but every thing else is fair game.

I am not quite as far along as I had hoped to be at this point with the design, but here is what I have so far. As you can see from the pictures, I have the wall studs up on 3 of the sides. I have to research the rough opening sizes I’ll need for the doors before doing the fourth wall.

I also have one of roof trusses drawn. Actually, I haven’t decided if they will be premade trusses or if I will just build them on site. You can now see what I mean by a center aisle horse barn. The difference here is that my workshop will not be raised on the interior, the raised section will house the second floor.

Iso View (Click for larger view)

The next step will be to finish the front walls and the rest of the roof trusses. Then I will start adding the sheeting on the outsides of the walls and drywall on the inside of the walls.

Mary Kay Give Away Display

Dennis_MGWW — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 16:20:48 +0000

Mary Kay Give Away Display

A couple of years ago, I had a client who sold Mary Kay cosmetics. She wanted me to build her a display that she could place near the cash registers at local businesses. People could fill out an entry form and place it inside the display in order to win prizes.

She wanted the display to be a little nicer and have more class than the usual cardboard box or fish bowl that you normally see for these types of things. She also did not want it to have a very large footprint. Business owners would be more likely to let her place it on their counter if it didn’t take up too much room. It also couldn’t be too small or else it wouldn’t be noticeable.

The display also needed to have some sort of “back” to it so that a pad of entry forms could hang from it. Above the entry pads, their had to be enough room for a sign explaining what the entry forms were for.

I decided that even though this project was not going to be a very large one, I really needed to go through the entire design process. The design needed to be more than just a rough sketch before I started building it.

Cad Design

The first thing I did was to make a prototype out of some cardboard. This was just to determine the overall size of the display. I wanted to get a good visual of the size to show my client. I ended up making a couple of different sizes to present. This part of the process really only took about 1/2 an hour. I basically cut up a few pieces of cardboard and taped them together to form a box for the different sizes. I also mocked up the “back” with some cardboard as well.

Once this was done, I began modeling the design in my CAD software. This allowed me to get all of the joints figured out, as well as give a nice visual representation of the style for my client. Between the cardboard mock-ups and the 3 dimensional CAD design, I felt that I had enough to show the client and see if she wanted to move forward from there.

Display Closeup

From the very beginning, I had a certain image in my head as to what the box should look like. I didn’t consciously design it with an Asian flair, but that is how it turned out. The curved legs, and curved edging of the top accomplish this. I also wanted to add some marquetry to it as well. I decided on a very simple rose pattern for the front of the box.

I have always liked the contrast between walnut and maple and decided to use them on this project. In this case, I would use some curly maple that I had left over from another project. I would also use purple-heart and cherry on the rose.

Rear View

My client loved the size and design that I had come up with, and gave her approval for going ahead with the project. It was at this point that I decided I would need some jigs and patterns made up so that I would be able to make several of these. In order to come up with the jigs and patterns, I built a prototype of the box out of MDF and pine.

The prototype allowed be to work out some of the challenges of creating some of the curved pieces and the joinery. The legs of the piece are curved on two faces, not just tapered. Once the prototype was complete, I began making boxes.

Workshop Design #3

Dennis_MGWW — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 15:58:38 +0000

Now that I have my wish list for the general construction of the workshop, it is time to focus on the interior of the shop and make a list of its features that I would like to include. This list will focus on things like; whether to have drywall or wood walls, flooring, cabinetry, pegboard or upper cabinets, lumber storage etc. This list is also a work in progress and will probably be updated as time goes on.

When the topic of workshop design pops up on any of the forums around the net, there is always a conversation about what to put up on the walls, drywall or wood. A lot of people like to put up plywood, tongue and groove, or even OSB on their walls rather than drywall so that they can hang anything on the wall anywhere without having to search for a stud. This is a valid reason for putting up wood walls, and it can be a very aesthetically pleasing style for the interior of a workshop.

The one thing I don’t like about wood walls is that it can really cut down on the light in the shop. I really like having a lot of light in my shop and having white walls really helps the light reflect around the shop. The wood could be painted white, but I hate painting wood. so what I plan on doing is putting up drywall on all of the walls and ceiling and painting them bright white. At first this sounds very antiseptic, but I think much of the walls will be covered by cabinets, workbenches, tools and such.

If I need to hang several heavy tools, jigs, or whatever on the wall, I would probably attach a sheet of plywood horizontally to the wall studs, and then hang things from the plywood. In my current garage shop, I have some white peg board which works out quite well for the lighter tools. It is just not strong enough for anything too heavy. Anything of any real weight will either be in a cabinet or on a shelf anyways.

Flooring is another subject that generates a lot of conversation. Pretty much the one thing that everyone agrees on is that concrete floors are very hard on your feet and back. I am seriously considering installing Dricore flooring over the top of the concrete pad. The 2005 Tools and Shops issue of Fine Woodworking (#174) had a really good article comparing these DriCore tiles and other PVC floor coverings. I like the Dricore in the sense that it seems to give more cushion for your feet and back, and also a better insulating value. My only concern is if they can handle the weight of a table saw without crushing the plastic underside. That will be a future research project.

At this point I envision the west wall of the shop to be lined with a long counter top/workbench with cabinets underneath. On the walls above the cabinets will be either more cabinets or wall mounted tool storage. The east wall will be for lumber storage. There will probably be a stairway going upstairs along the back wall along with larger portable tool storage. I will work out some of these details as my design progresses.

Marquetry Mirror

Dennis_MGWW — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 14:05:13 +0000

Marquetry Mirror

This hand held mirror was one of my first attempts at marquetry. I saw the plan in the June 2000 issue of Wood Magazine and immediately decided I wanted to try my hand at it. It was challenging to say the least. I made 2 or three attempts at the marquetry before I had results that I was satisfied with.

The outer part of the frame is made of black Walnut, and the back panel is made of Curly Maple. The rose petals are made of Purple Heart, while the stem is made of Cherry. These are all woods that I had worked with before, and they compliment each other beautifully.

Mirror Inlay

I made the marquetry inlay’s using a Double Bevel technique where the inlay and the hole for the inlay are cut at the same time. This is done using a scroll-saw and tipping the table of the scroll-saw on an angle. The angle depends on the thickness of the inlay stock and the thickness of the blade being used. If done properly, the inlay piece fits perfectly into the hole.

The black band you see around the back panel is actually a black epoxy, which holds the mirror and back panel in place. Once the frame and the inlay in the back panel is done, then everything is assembled centering the back panel in the opening of the frame. Then I mix up some epoxy with some black colorant and pour it into the groove between the frame and the back panel.

Once the epoxy is dry I sand it and the rest of the piece down to 320. What you end up with is what looks like a very smooth looking inlay. The finish is a clear oil based product called Seal-a-Cell with its companion topcoat called Arm-R-Seal.

Mirror

I have made several of these mirrors now for family and friends. I have begun coming up with my own designs for the inlays, and have started using the technique on other projects as well.

Workshop Design #2

Dennis_MGWW — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 11:00:28 +0000

Before I get into the nitty gritty of the workshop design, I need to pause and make list of what features I really want my workshop to have. This will start out as a “wish list”, but I am sure I will have to pare it down later on due to cost. I figure that if I design it the way I would really want it, I can always add some of the items later on down the road if I can’t afford them right away.

The first thing I want to consider is the overall style of the building. I live out in the country surrounded by farms and fields. I have always liked the look of old center aisle horse barns and that is what I would like my shop to resemble. Plus, the design gives me the opportunity to have a small second floor where I can have either an office or extra storage. The horse barn look is both aesthetically pleasing to its surroundings and very practical for use as a workshop.

Ceiling height would be my next consideration. I would like a minimum of 10ft high ceilings. This makes it easy to stand 4×8 sheets of plywood on end and if needed roll it on its corner and still have a foot to spare. The diagonal measurement of a 4×8 sheet is just shy of 9ft.

I will probably stick with 10ft high ceilings for a couple of reasons, both related to cost. I figure that it will cost roughly 20% more in materials for the walls by going to a 12 ft ceiling. Also, when it comes to heating and cooling, it will be less expensive with the 10ft ceilings. One other thing, I think the building would just look too tall with a 12 ft ceiling.

The building will certainly have to be insulated. I live in Michigan where the winters are cold and the summers are hot. I will probably install a propane furnace, the kind that hangs from the ceiling, to heat the shop during the winter. I have yet to research all of the different kinds of furnaces but as soon as I do I will post an article dedicated to it.

Another luxury would be to have 6 inch wide walls rather than the typical 4 inch. The purpose of this would be to have thicker insulation in the walls which will reduce the heating and cooling costs. However, I am pretty sure the cost of 2×6 wall studs may be a bit higher than I am willing to pay.

Windows are another thing to consider, and there will certainly be some trade offs with them. I want as much natural light as possible coming into the shop, but I don’t want to sacrifice too much wall space either. I imagine I will have 2 windows on the side walls and 1 window on each end wall both downstairs and upstairs giving me a total of eight windows.

Both the large overhead door and the entry door will be insulated. The overhead door is for easy loading and unload of lumber and projects. I do not ever intend on driving into the shop. Because I don’t ever intend on driving into the shop, I plan on making the poured cement floor as flat as humanly possible. At this point, I can see no reason to put a drain in the floor, so there is no need to slope the floor.

The shop will have to have both 110 and 220 outlets. I currently only have 1 machine that runs on 220, but I plan on having a couple more someday.

At this point, this pretty much makes up my requirements list for the overall construction of the workshop. I will discuss some of my requirements for the interior of the shop in my next article.

Workshop Design #1

Dennis_MGWW — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 16:10:24 +0000

When I first start woodworking, my wife and I lived in a two story house with a very small detached garage. The garage was actually not very suitable for a workshop, at least not without a lot more work than I was willing to put into it. Besides that, I didn’t want that much money sitting in the garage in that particular neighborhood. Therefore my workshop was in the unfinished basement of the house. It would have made Matt proud.

This worked out well until we decided to move. In 2004 we built a new house out in the country. The new house had an attached garage which was large enough for a small workshop and both cars. I decided, though, that I would like a dedicated building for a workshop that was the same size as the garage.

So when the concrete was being poured for the basement of the house and garage, I also had the footings and frost wall poured for the workshop. At that point we finished the house and garage, but due to financial reasons the workshop was left as is… just a short cement wall sticking out of the sand. My kids have had a great time playing in what I call “the most expensive sandbox around”.

I am now planning on building the rest of the shop next summer. So I though I would start the design process, and have everything planned out before construction begins.

Workshop Floor

The outside dimensions of the frost wall are 24ft by 32ft, giving me just under 768square feet of floor space. As the design progresses I will update the the blog with new images of the design. so far, all I have drawn are the footings, frost wall, and the cement floor (in the image the green represents a little grass around the outside).

As you can see there is a break in the wall for a large garage door and an entry door. The next step will be to start throwing some lumber at it and constructing some walls.

About the Maple Grove Woodworks blog

Dennis_MGWW — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 17:28:20 +0000

Welcome to the Maple Grove Woodworks blog. Maple Grove Woodworks is my own personal woodworking business. Being a professional woodworker has long been a dream of mine. I am not quite 100% there yet, as I still have my day job.

My day job actually helps my woodowrking business. I use a Computer Aided Design (CAD) workstation to design tools for the plastic injection molding industry. I have been able to design projects on my CAD workstation during lunch hours, or coming into work early. This has been a huge help when figuring out complicated joints.

The CAD software I use is called Unigraphics. It is quite a high end piece of software. I don’t know for certain, but I think it is around $20,000 for a single license. It is not something I would buy for a small single man woodshop. But as long as I can use it for free it works great.

The initial purpose of this blog (I say initial because the purpose may change as the site evolves) is to document how I design and build my projects as well as a showcase for them. Feel free to make comments or ask questions about any of my postings. I hope to learn as much as I can from the woodworking community at large and help anyone else on their woodworking journey as well.