Workshop
Cut That Out!
I ordered a basic wood carver tool set today. I have been doing some interesting wood carving (vaporizing) with a high speed air powered rotary hand piece. I enjoy the creativity of carving. I just remove everything that doesn’t look like what I want. Ha!
Actually there is a bit more to it than that but it is the main idea. I haven’t done serious knife and wood carving since Boy Scouts. I did get a merit badge in carving about 45 years ago. I have no real carving knives or tools (gouges) at this point in my life so I ordered a beginner’s set on the Internet from Little Shavers Woodcarving Supply in Seattle, Washington.
There are a lot of suppliers available, but this is the place where I found a reasonably complete set of beginners’ tools (and accessories) at a very reasonable price. Good information too. I figure I can always upgrade to more pricy tools if I get the bug and need better tools to do more. I like the fact that this fellow Rick is very youth oriented.
Some of the carving I want to do is not suitable using the high speed hand piece. The dust produced by the rotary tool is also not healthy. Cutting real chips on the other hand is much more user/producer friendly. They can still be a mess but they are not filling up my sinuses and maybe lungs with wood fibers.
Another benefit I want to test is to see if the carving will help or perhaps hinder the strength problems I have in my hands. My CMT damage is now in my hands and arms as well as my legs but not as bad. I hope working with my hands will keep the wires (nerves) connected.… Continue reading
Bricks
Now I am into purchasing brick, insulated firebrick that is. This is the kind of firebrick folks use to build kilns. That’s a place where pots go to get hard baked. Jeeze! First Dan’s dropping acid now he’s smoking pots. Pay attention. I only bought the insulating firebrick!
I do silver brazing. I am in the need to build a brazing and soldering hearth. Forget the kiln and pots, maybe later. The insulating firebrick will let me hold the heat in one place and keep me from burning down my shop (I hope). My silver brazing is getting scaled up to making bigger pieces.
I plan to have some insulating firebrick leftover to sell. Anyone need some?
Dropping Some Acid
I had fun yesterday clearing up my workshop a bit and doing some silver brazing on some brass parts I made. I forgot how much fun that is, watching the silver solder suddenly melt and almost jump into the joint. The little joys of doing nice craftsmanship, I haven’t lost the touch after almost 40 years.
The Texas weather is cooler now, so I will be spending more time in the workshop. Someday I will have an air-conditioned shop but I can endure what I have for awhile longer. So now I will be getting more metal work accomplished
Hey, I just bought a 250 ml bottle of 96% pure sulfuric acid. How any folks can say they have done that! It was kind of fun, weird fun, huh? Perhaps you wonder why. Ask. 🙂
See What I Saw
I added a new tool to my machine shop. I am getting one tool closer to being the winner. This time it is a micro bandsaw.
I have been using my really oversized Delta 14 inch woodworking bandsaw for cutting little strips of brass plate for my Penn A3 locomotive project. What I really needed was a very small slow speed metal cutting bandsaw. This smaller bandsaw could be dedicated to small sized projects and could also be used to cut steel and other special materials. The Delta with its present reduction drive is only intended for cutting wood.
This is a very small saw but of very nice quality. There is a full report posted on my The Hobbyist’s Machine Shop that will fill in all the details.
Rolled Away
The cheapo slip roll from Grizzly (written about previously) is well on its way back to the bear’s den. I received a reply back from another company that is offering a USA made 1″ x 12″ slip roll. They confirm that their product will not handle over 0.040″ thick material. Trying to roll thicker material the gears become too far out of mesh and may strip. Looks like I will have to explore using bigger rolls. The 1″x 12″ is a very good looking machine and will be good for light stuff. So some day I may have a need, but not now. I may put one in the store if I get a good price. ~ Dan’l