Shopsmith Forums

It has been a busy week.

Monday started the week beautifully so it was outside and back to painting the swing. Then the planer was brought up from the basement and I planed about 15 bd/ft of oak to start making doll cradles.

Then the rains came; for three days!

Back to the basement to start cutting the doll cradles. Also finished two little cars I had started. Tried to make the look like "Herbie", but I guess I am not an artist. I cut blanks for these toys whenever I have scrap that is thick enough. They are great for several things, first as an affordable attraction for young kids at craft shows, (hey get the kids there and the parents might look), they also make good little gifts for donating to organizations collecting toys at Christmas. Lastly, they come in handy when the grandchildren are visiting, give them one to paint and it keeps them occupied and happy.

Thursday my SS Strip Sander arrived as did some bread knife blades that I had ordered so it was a good day!

Saturday it was back to painting and the swing is finally finished!

Of course all the good vibes were offset by the news of layoffs at ShopSmith. I'm sure we all feel for those that were affected and hope that things improve for them in the future.

Anybody else out there that has projects on the go or finished?

Happy woodworking

John

Have had a chance to use the ss strip sander? I have been contemplating for some time about purchasing this item. Oh and by the way nice use of scraps. I too love to make little toys.

Scott:

I just got around to trying the Strip Sander for the first time today while working on pieces for the doll cradles. So far I am very pleased with it, especially when comparing to piddly little 1" belt sander that I have been using for years. Mosty of the cradle pieces come in pairs and should be identical. With the SS, I was able to put two together with double faced tape, and sand them both to the same dimensions. Previously I would use the drum sander to do most of this work due to the curved surfaces but it left some bumps along the edges. The large table on the strip sander allowed me to do most of it, leaving only small concave areas that require a drum sander. I'm sure I will get lots of use out of it as more applications come along. If you have the $$ I would go for it while it is on sale.

I started woodworking by making toys and now do a bit of everything though I always like to go back to them. I guess there is still abit of 'kid" in me.

John:

You had asked previously for pictures of the lawn swing everyone has heard so much about. Well here is one. It dosen't show the replacement piece that I seem to have installed upside down , and I ain't telling.

Have fun

John

Finally finished the finish of the corner cabinet that has been in the project stage for too long. John makes me feel a little middling as he has finished several projects in the same time - and all the time working in the Canadian weather. But anyway here are pix of the cabinet and the leaf (In Mom's embroidery room) that were finished last week. I used folding leaf supports from Rockler. They are supposed to support 500 lbs. Funny - she didn't have enough working room on her 6 ft. by 3 ft. worktable.

Had to load the cabinet pix sideways in order to fit into the forum format.

[ATTACH]200[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]201[/ATTACH]

Chuck:

I meant to ask in my blog if we were going to see pictures of your project soon but my question is answered. That is one fine looking cabinet! Congratulations.

In my opinion my projects pale in comparison to the pieces of furniture, etc that some of my fellow woodworkers make. I am often in awe of the quality of some "hobby" woodworkers.

I hope we get to see more of this on the forum.

John

John - Please be confident that your projects do not pale anywhere! I love your cradles and was awed by the swing. I have been studying your swing and am fascinated! It is one good looking - BIG project! Lots of angles and identical or mirrored parts.

I have a question. Looks like the whole swing (benches, table, and overhead shade) rolls back and forth on the base (in the crescents) while supported on the four wheels. How do the wheels stay on the base? --and what did you use for axles?

Another question ; How do you get your pictures to appear as links, rather than the pictures themselves? I think that is a lot handier than having to scroll by a pix in order to read on.

Chuck:

Just a clarification about the swing. It was not made by me but was a gift from our children about 15 - 20 years ago. During the past 10 - 12 years I have rebuilt about 80% of it as pieces rotted.

The original was made of pine and the first parts to go were the base frames. When I changed them I used cedar but have used pine for all other replacement pieces.

The top parts you mention do roll on the wheels which are railroad type with a flange on the inside to keep them on the tracks. Since I could not find this type of wheel at the local home centers, I purchased them with the axles a couple of years ago from a supplier in Canada. The axles are just an aluminium tube. The original wheels were small and constantly distorted the tracks. At the time I had to redesign the foot platform as the small wheels were attached to it. It is now attached to the bottom base frame but tapered down at the ends to allow for the rolling top frame. In swings designed for these types of wheels, the dip for the tracks are only on the inner half of the frame so most of the wheel is hidden.

As for the pictues, go to the "Attach files" section lower down on the post page and click on "manage Attachments". Click on brouse to locate your picture on your computer, double click on the picture you want, and then on download.

I hope this helps.

John

O.K I'll try it this way.
http://www.shopsmith.net/forums/attachm ... 1180073189 (this is a pix of the cabinet's feet after construction)

There is something I'm not understanding! I've gone to the Manage Attachments, Then uploaded in the special window from the forum. This puts the URL on the post page, just above the Manage attachments button. From here the only way I knew to upload the pix, is to click on the paper clip icon and then click on the URL. This brings the pix to the post. I have been successful in finding a way to get a link to the pix onto the post (as above),but it's not right!

To get the link that appears in this post I first brought up the pix to the SS site and copied and pasted its new address. That'll work, but it is not the same as your links showing the icon and the pix name and being in an attachment frame.

Wow! after all of that and reviewing the post several times - I posted it and the thing I wanted magically appeared. Don't know how it happened.

Now I think I know! Just upload the pix- don't manage it any further and then post. The pix attachment link gets included below the "writing window".

I wish my feet looked that good!! Nice snug joints are what I cannot seem to do as well as I would like.

John