Blog Series

Craftisian.com Community

Part 1: Wooden Toy Build 2022

[Craftisian_Dutchy_toy_build.PNG]Thanks to the generous and kind offer by Dutchy, we have another challenge for you, to end off this year.  The C...

Part 2: Wooden Toys

[84279588-3041-4FA8-8CBC-C33FBFA6BDAD.png] Toys: there are “big kid toys”, such as table saws and chainsaws, and there are “little ones’ toys”, su...

Wenge and Zebrawood Speakers (Curt Campbell's Invictus)

Part 4: Driver Installation and Tuning

Disclaimer: There is no woodworking content in this post. It exists to show the final pre-veneering steps of the build--the steps that turn cabinet...

Part 5: Veneering

There are several ways to attach veneer: hide glue, contact cement, cold glue in a press, etc. The only method I've ever used is the iron-on wood g...

Part 6: Grills

Before I started veneering, I came up with a concept for protective grills. Here's a rendering. Note the narrow frame on top and bottom, and the wa...

Dunlap 103.23622 Drill Press

Part 6: Painting the cast iron

Not a lot to cover on this entry but I'm trying my best to at least cover all the major steps. For paint prep of cast iron its pretty straight for...

Part 7: Installing a switch and final assembly

One thing I find comical and oddly refreshing is the utter lack of safety measures on this old drill press.  No cover for the pulleys and no power ...

Part 8: Balancing the pulleys and some accessories

Today I want to show off a few accessories I got for this drill press.  One of them was an eBay find I paid more than I should but it seemed fittin...

Teak and Aluminum Audio/Video Console

Part 3: Construction Notes

 Building the rack was pretty straightforward, but I would like to point out a few details. Assembly Order I built the rack in this order: 1. Cutti...

Part 4: Materials and Costs

This post is just for grins. Here's what I wrote back in 2006. Barb (BB1) asked me if I had computed the cost in current dollars. I haven't done th...

Part 5: Finished Console (2006)

This blog was pretty light on details (at least compared to my more recent ones). To close it out, here are some of my "showcase" photos from 2006....

Chevy II, The CanadianCousin

Part 3: New Blade Clamps

Since I built my first chevalet back in 2011 I have redesigned the blade clamps at least three times, never getting one that I really liked on al...

Part 4: Repairing "Curvature of the Spine"

Chevy II is five years old now and has never missed a beat. It still cuts perfectly square with the adjusters in neutral position but the whole co...

Part 5: Repairs / Transplant Complete

The replacement of the warped main column of my old chevalet is all done and dusted and it won't be warping again any time soon. Here are some pr...

How to Build a Chevalet From Scratch

Part 4: Another Little Modification

This is a bit of the fine tuning I knew awaited me once I started getting into the chevalet. My original (re-invention of the wheel) blade clamps...

Part 5: Finishing Up, Refining the Prototype

When I started to build the chevalet from a few photos on the internet, I wasn't at all sure it would amount to anything at all so in many places...

Part 6: New Improved Chevalet Sketchup

I have improved a fair bit since I posted the initial SU of the chevalet. In fact it was my very first attempt and it was, in a word awful. I may ...

Hand Tools Adventure

Part 4: The Stealth Hinge

With the grooves made and the bottom fitted (1/4" plywood hammer veneered on both sides) the next job was to make the interlocking rebates for the ...

Part 5: Assembling the Box

With the hinge out of the way, one of the tricky fits is history but getting all the corners to match is another thing altogether. The marquetry wa...

Part 6: Finishing Up and Top Marquetry

This is a bit anticlimactic after the project has been posted but I wanted to keep the "plane box" thing a secret. There were however some cool han...

Woodworking This & That

Part 1: Woodworking Tools

A friend of mine is in the process of going through, selling, and discarding everything from her grandparents’ “3 generation farm”. Can you imagi...

My journey into chair making

Part 1: Getting started

I am going on an adventure into the world of chair making. I have always wanted to build a windsor chair. I am starting out making a dining chair i...

More Veneer Pendant Lamps

Part 6: Glue-up

There's nothing much to see here.  With all the pieces sealed, the glue-up took all of 10 minutes. The roll of masking tape was the perfect size to...

Part 7: A slightly rocky assembly

Installing the veneer strips didn't quite go as planned. My initial idea was to apply a little contact cement to hold the overlapped end in place. ...

Part 8: Rinse and Repeat

With the prototype complete, I assembled the remaining two lamps. [20200201-IMG_3503.jpg] [20200202-IMG_3511.jpg] [20200202-IMG_3512.jpg] The bot...