Custom Cutting Board

We all wish we could make amazing hand-made presents for our loved ones each year, don't we? But, please. Like we have that kind of time/ability. I ended up going with a cutting board for my wife. Yes, I have some woodworking abilities but there was no way I would have been able to craft a homemade cutting board for her during the busiest time of the year without her knowing. So, I picked up a sturdy wooden board from Pot and Pantry instead. 

     It didn't occur to me to customize it until my wife mentioned she would like that. That reminded me of a party we had, years ago where a woman brought over some fruit and put together a fruit salad. It looked delicious but, as another party-goer remarked, "Is it just me or is there something savory about this fruit salad?" Sure enough, she had cut the fruit on an onion-y, garlic-y cutting board. It was gross and I had to choke the whole salad down because of good manners.

     Lest the same fate befall me or my wife, I decided to take my wife's mention to heart. Originally, I thought I would go with the same ink I use on my dish towels but then I remembered I had some non-toxic gel stain from a different project lying around so I went with that instead. So far, it's held up to water well and I kept the screen, just in case. Below is the process I went through to get it made.

I usually start with some hand-drawn sketches. Here are all the elements I knew I would need to put the design together, using the onion for the "o".

I assembled the drawing in Photoshop and then printed out my transparency.

I did some test prints first, which really helped the print on the board come out well on the first try.

I let it dry for 24 hours and then put it to use. Now, if you come over and want to chop things, you can't claim we didn't warn you.

Low Horse

I've talked a bit about how I switched my office job's old desk with a standing desk. I had hoped that this stool would allow me to rest my feet on the lower rung when I wasn't sitting on it but there wasn't enough room for my knees to fit underneath the seat. I remembered seeing a project via Make a while back for some low saw horses and I decided to just make one as a foot rail. This was my first attempt at doing joinery with hand tools only. I learned a lot and the project turned out just fine. Here's the tutorial from Make if you're interested: http://makeprojects.com/Project/Low-Horses/813/1

As with any project, careful measuring in the beginning will save you heartache in end. I had just sharpened my chisels so this was a great project to try them out on.

Here are the feet before I carved them. I just used some simple pine 2x4s I had lying around.

Here is the glue-up of the foot and the rail.

 One of my joints fit perfectly. The other? Not so much but it still held together after the glue-up.

 

If this was something that I was going to use in my shop, I would have taken the time to really smooth those rounded edges but since this is something that I'm using in my cubicle to put my feet on, I took some liberties.

Here's my set-up. My keyboard and mouse are on a (very fancy) pull-out tray and now I can rest my feet on my standing rail all I want.

Mail Center

My wife and I have had this little crate as our mail center for a long time lying flat on a table in our hallway. We recently sold the hallway table and I realized that the crate didn't have to lay flat anymore. I used some copper wire wrapped around small nails to make sure the mail doesn't fall out. I ended up adding two more rows of wire after the initial two pictured below. I also gave it a good once-over with some sandpaper because you know I like it smooth.We've hung it up and it's been working perfectly for weeks now.

Woodworking Takes Patience

Especially when you don't cut it right in the first place.

Learning Linocut

I've been wanting to learn how to do linocut for a while now. As a screen printer, I feel that it's important for me to have more than one trick up my sleeve and linocut seems like a simple enough way to expand my repertoire. So I dove right in.

I marked my cuts. This design is intended to be sea grass, by the way, for a nautically themed print I've been working on.

Then I got to carving. This part was really fun. I could see doing much more intricate designs in the future.

The inking of the stamp gave me the most trouble. I started out rolling it on this glass sheet I have but after much experimentation, I switched over to a piece of cardboard. You really need to get the ink rolling smoothly in order to create a clear print. After all that, you'd think I got a shot of the print but no, I didn't. The truth is that it looked really weird combined with screen printing. Oh well. At least I have the basics down. I have it on my to-do list to take a picture but I haven't posted in a while and it's starting to give me anxiety. Onward!

The Union

I released this video a few weeks ago but hadn't gotten around to posting it on ye olde blog yet. I've played drums for a long time but seeing as how I live in an apartment, I don't get to practice too often. Still, I bust them out for special occasions, like a song that needed some percussion. You can tell that I'm a true band geek by the way that I silence the cymbal during the quiet section. That's some orchestra-level skill right there, people.

Also, somehow I lost all the footage of me playing guitar for this track too. There are lots of guitars squeezed into this song and I was hoping to show that. Oh well. Next time.

If you're interested in more details (like lyrics) you can click here: http://theheated.bandcamp.com/track/the-union

Another Whale

A long time ago, when I was still in woodworking class and had access to fancy machines, I made a whale from some scrap wood. It came out so cute that I've always wanted to make more of them but have been feeling like I don't have the right tools. Then it occurred to me that people have been woodworking without fancy tools for centuries so I should suck it up and give it a go and so I did.

First, I made a dark, clean outline for my cuts from a stencil I created. The original tail of the first whale I made never felt quite right to me so I tried a different shape for this one.

Making sure that your outline is clear really helps guide the process.

Then I started hacking with my miter hand saw and a small jigsaw that I'm clumsily learning to use.

Once I got the basic shape cut out, then I started hacking at it with my chisels.

The process moves slowly, especially since this is the first one I've done in a while. I still have a long way to go and that tail still doesn't feel right to me but I'm working on it. That whale will be smiling in no time.

Photo Booth

My wife and I live in a cave. Ok, it's not really a cave. We live in a lovely apartment that has the same lighting characteristics as a cave. Without strong natural light, it's a real pain to take lovely product photos and since we both have businesses (you can see my wife's lovely items here), I thought it best to create an amateur photo rig. She posted a few photos of the results on her blog: http://thishumbleabode.blogspot.com/2011/02/new-lighting-rig.html

I was inspired by this article at Craft but decided that we needed a strong white background against which to take our photos. So, I put a little something together.

I started with some scrap hardboard I had lying around. This particular hardboard had a fake wainscoting routed into one side but I was never able to really use it for anything so I went ahead and cut it down.

I made the first cut with my jigsaw. The 2x4 is clamped on there to act as a guide for my jigsaw. But honestly, no matter how careful I am, the cut always comes out all wonky. I made the second cut by hand, just following a straight line I'd marked and it came out way better. But I was careful to make sure that I would have at least one edge that was cut at the factory, so I could be sure to have one true, flat line as the base of my background so that it wouldn't be all wobbly. 

Here are the three pieces I cut. The next step was to apply some hinges. Since the hardboard is only 1/8" thick, I used machine bolts capped with nuts on the other side to hold the hinges on. If I had tried to use plain wood screws, I don't think the hardboard would have been thick enough to give me the hold I needed. The last thing I wanted was to get all the hinges on there only to have them rip out. 

Once I had the hinges on, I slapped on three coats of flat white paint.

Now, I have a free-standing background. I taped a piece of white paper to the back and picked up a few photoflood bulbs from a local photography store. I placed these bulbs in those clamp-on light fixtures I got at a hardware store. Results so far have been mixed. Jenny got a few really great shots of her ties but my towels and totes have been a different story. It's hard to photograph white and off-white fabric against a white background. It may require a few more lights to get it right. So, we'll keep trying.

Twelve Songs Project Complete!

I'm extremely pleased to announce that my quest to record and release one song a month for all of 2010 is complete! Now there is the business of further mixing and culling until I have an actual album to release. I'd like to thank all of you who lent their support in various ways. This could not have happened without you and you are awesome.

The Union

The latest song from The Heated is out now. It's a song about a lot of things but I would say that the main theme is that sometimes you have to do things you don't want to do in order to make it. I think that's called growing up or something.

Anyway, I'll let you in on a little secret. C'mon and get a little closer. A little closer. A little... oh, that's too close. Whoa. Ok, I shot video of the recording process behind this song and hope to have it released ASAP. ASAP may be a few weeks to a month. But I've really been wanting to show you all what goes in to this project. It's a lot of me making funny faces with headphones on.

Trash Can Pannier

A few months ago, I started riding a bike. I mean, I've ridden bikes before but not in the last two decades. But all of a sudden, I had a new commute and I wanted to give biking a try. So far, I love it. Yes, the cars make me nervous at times. But since I am a safety nerd, I took a road-skills class offered through the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition. It's free(!) so if you've wanted to start riding in the city, I highly recommend this course. The fewer jerk bicyclists we have blowing through stop signs during rush hour traffic, the better. It's made me a better rider and made me feel a lot more comfortable and safe riding on the streets of San Francisco.

Anyway, I'm a big believer in hand signals but found that trying to signal with a bag on my back was difficult. I take my lunch with me to work every day so not taking a bag is not an option. After brief research on panniers and how much they cost, I figured there must be something cheaper out there. I checked out some Instructables panniers and finally settled on a trash can pannier after coming across this guy's post. Most of the plans I looked at were for ones that can be removed easily. Since I live in a city where anything not bolted down can disappear, that was not an option so I used zip ties to keep it attached. Here's what's up.

Materials:

small plastic trash can

zip ties

Tools:

drill

snips (I'm sure that scissors would work too)

permanent marker

I found a small trash can at my local hardware store for less than five dollars. As I already owned the zip ties, that makes the total cost of this project less than five dollars. I am awesome.

I started by getting the location right, making sure that the trash can was far enough back that I wouldn't kick it while pedaling. I marked the points where it hits the rack with permanent marker.

Then I cut between the marked lines with my snips.

Once I got it snipped to my satisfaction, I marked where I wanted the zip ties to go through. They attach around the bike rack. I used two on the top and two along the side. I drilled on both sides of the lines, using a bit large enough for the zip ties to pass through.

When I fastened the trash can to the rack, I made sure that the part where the zip tie tightens was on the outside of the rack, not inside of the trash can. Once you cut the slack from zip ties it leaves a really sharp edge and that's the last thing you want inside your pannier.In fact, I sanded the edges of the cuts I made in the trash can too. I like it smooth, baby.

Make sure cut the slack once your zip ties have been fastened. You don't want anything interfering with your back wheel.

That's it.

Done and ready. When riding, the helmet is on my head, not in the basket. But now I have a handy place to store all of my safety gear.

I want to put one on the other side now. There's enough room for my shoulder bag (including lunch) and a bike lock in the pannier but not enough for my nicer work jacket. An additional pannier on the other side should be enough room. 

If you think I don't know that it's ugly as sin, you're wrong. But that's not the point. These puppies are light, functional and I have a hard time picturing someone wanting to steal them. Plus, I can put reflective tape on them and up the safety. I haven't made the covers for them yet. Once it starts raining, I'll get those together.

I've Been Ignoring You Again

It gets this way around big craft shows (Renegade Fair is coming!). The house is in complete disarray. There are towels strewn in the hallway (your brown owl is coming soon, my etsy orderer), the front room is crowded with wifey's ties and the kitchen... well, actually the kitchen is clean. Go us! We're actually constructing a complete new booth this time around and it's given me a chance to use my (finally) installed vise on my new workbench! Check it.

First, I had to build up the thickness of enough of the table to support the screws on the underside of the vise. If I had it to do over again, I would have extended this longer than I did. It's a little saggy in the middle. 

I glued it once.

Then added another layer. 

I attached the vise to the underside of the table and installed the legs.

Then I screwed a section of 2x4 into the wall to anchor the table to, for added stability.

Finally, it was standing. I put a coat of oil then wax on it. That's supposed to be good or something. I'm making stuff. I'll show it to you soon.

Not So Fast

I thought it would be so easy to install the vise I bought but it turns out I have to build a whole new workbench. There's a lesson in there somewhere about needing a workbench with a vise to build a workbench but I'll be damned if I know what it is. All I know is, this is going to take a while. 

 Measuring. That's a good first step.

Gouging a large chunk of wood from the current work table. Why not?

 Doing the whole thing with my bare hands. Fun!

 Close to accepting that it's just not going to work.