Merry Christmas one and all!

For Christmas, both kids made something for the workshop. The Girl made a lovely scrap bowl. The Boy made some stock-keeping boards. There are hours of work in each of them. Thanks to both of them!

Learning to lathe – progress report

A while back, I posted my plan for learning to use my new lathe. I’m now about four and a half hours into the practice part of learning. I’ve produced a bucket-full of swarf. At this point, I can confidently turn to a diameter and get a reasonable finish on a part. I’ve managed to […]

OnShape Sheet Metal Models

A couple of weeks ago, I noticed a new feature in OnShape: Sheet Metal Models. It almost sucked me into a rabbit hole, but my objective was drawing a driver, not experimenting with cool new features. So, I parked it until this evening, which I seem to be spending babysitting the Cricut as it makes […]

Grinder finds a home

I wish I was as good at Christmas gifts as my dad was. Invariably on Christmas Eve he would disappear and return triumphantly hours later with an armload of gifts for my sister to wrap. Were they panicked pluckings like the ones I make when the clock is running down? Or were they planned purchases, […]

Learning to lathe

There’s a super TED talk where Josh Kaufman insists that you can learn anything in 20 hours. Sure, it takes 10,000 hours to achieve mastery, but 20 hours gets you over the hump. I’m hoping this talk will be as life-changing as that other TED talk about tying your shoelaces. Kaufman’s program plays out like […]

Soldering iron chord cubby

Ever since I moved in to this pristine new work area, the natural state of soldering iron chords has bothered me. I know they’re just being their natural selves, and you can hardly blame them, but the tangled mess was unsightly! As I was battening down the hatches (they’re still battened until the Girl has […]

Workshop cabinets get topped

There is nothing quite like a mitre joint in a countertop to reveal how out of square your house is. Because the saws and sander are all out in the garage on the other side of the house and up a flight of stairs, the countertops were like an exercise class without so much rewarding […]

It’s in the red drawer!

“Which drawer is it in?” She hollered from in front of the basement cabinets. “The one with all the party supplies!” I yelled from my comfortable perch beneath my book. The sounds of drawer slides and the abuse of soft-close pistons floated up from the basement. Oh for Pete’s sake, I thought, as I got […]

A second bench for the workshop

I keep having to tell myself that all this work on the workshop is in fact work towards the locomotive. Finally this weekend, I managed to get the second cabinet finished to the point where it can be painted. Like the first, it is almost entirely made from scraps left over from my other projects. […]

The heavy shop takes shape

When I asked my wife what she thought of the new workshop cabinet, she said it looks “workshoppy.” Okay, I’ll admit, the joinery is not as nice as I would like, but you’ve gotta love those 4″ deep drawers, and the big cavern behind those doors is sized for a future Sherline mill. I’m also […]