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Bench dogs arrive Monday / Tuesday, then I can see how good / bad it actually is in terms of being square….
That's the one thing that puts me off doing this, I would need to make a jig before I'd start.
That’s the one thing that puts me off doing this, I would need to make a jig before I’d start.
Yep, it's sort of an iterative process, but I figure it'll be good enough and I can always insert a CNC'ed MFT table clone (£30 off Ebay) into it, if it turns out crap and I need a super accurate section.
I've just bought a rail square for my track saw, so I'll probably be using that to make sure cuts are square rather than just relying on bench dogs etc.
I can see myself making another top in a few months. I quite enjoy the whole process of trying to make something, making loads of mistakes and learning how not to do it etc.
Made a simple clothes rack for clothes that'll be worn again tomorrow.
Nice geuben 👌
It's also a great idea. Might stop me getting shouted at for dumping stuff on the floor.
joshvegas- ditto.
That looks a good go at the MFT top.
I find you only need a few dog holes to be perfectly square. I often cut boards over 600mm wide so on my table I drilled (with a cheap Forstner) the 2 holes to position the rail very close to the edges. I have a Benchdogs Fence system MkII (which has improved my speed and quality) and there are 2 holes that I use to fix this and I spent a bit of time reassuring myself that these 4 holes are cock on. I use 2 tall dogs with UJK Rail Clips to keep the rail in place.
2 weeks ago I had a real awkward job: a very fussy client and some white MFC - the sort that chips out at the faintest opportunity. The only way I could get clean cuts was to score one face with my rail saw down to about 4mm deep; turn it over and score the other side, then set the saw depth to 16mm (2mm less than the board thickness) and cut through to meet the 1st 4mm cut. I was super pleased with the result for 2 reasons. First, they were the cleanest cuts I've ever, ever made. Second, there wasn't the slightest trace of a ridge on either the finished side or the waste side. Damn, that table's square!
Quite pleased with this, just in time to get all the kids stuff hidden away before homeschooling round 2:
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Left side is Gratnells trays for lego and the like:
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Right side plain shelves for the bulky things:
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Eventually will have make some shelves and cupboards above for books, board games and the like.
(edit: was also my first project with an MFT-type top and benchdogs - makes getting square panels way easier!)
I like that Simon
I made this....
Into this....
It's 2008 SWB low top Transit
It has:
Engine remap
12v system for the lights
12v water pump, sink & single hob
Chinese diesel heater
Garage for 2 bikes with one wheel off
Rock n roll bed
Toilet
Loads of charging ports
5 weeks work while working full time. Next time I'd like to do it in less but 5 weeks is about 18 months less than most seem to take 🙂
@chrisch777 Excellent. I'm in the middle of converting a Citroen Relay. Fingers crossed finished by March. I started in July....
Good luck Phil! I would have gotten a Relay or similar to avoid the rust issues I'll inevitably encounter but when I bought this in September there were literally no decent vans around!
Also did a whole load of these:
A few minutes on CAD and a couple of prototypes was all it took. Sold 100s on eBay before having to take them down before HMRC algorithms were triggered 🙂
Made some prison gates for some Pointers.
Character Oak, wrought iron spindles and I made the mini field gate latch myself too.
Love getting me mig welder out (but don't judge my bead! 😂 )
I made another frame and built it up for use on the Frontier 300. I seem to have a thing for painting my bikes pink at the moment.
@jonm81
I really like that! Particularly the colour! Telemagenta? RAL 4010?
I made some tools for servicing a DVO rear shock.
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Can you guess what I got with my tax return?
Took a bit of practice to get the 45º set up properly, I think it turned out ok. Now to tackle something bigger.
@simon_g - the cupboards are great! How did you get that paint finish? I’m confident with the carpentry but haven’t had much success with finishing...
Not so much made as restored, since we can't go out we've finally finished restoring an original Art Deco cinema seat so we can have the full experience at home!
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Used up the left over bits from the crocodile to make a paint rack. Now realise I will need hangers on the back as I have more different paint that I thought. Base and upright will be oiled and the arms painted in the different colours that they will hold.
Kiwijohn - I saw a mitre bit for a router that did self locking joints that I was so tempted to buy. Unfortunately they seem to either be <£10 so probably made of cheese or +£70 which is a bit much for something I have no immediate need for but still want.
Love that cinema seat 👌
@siwhite - thanks! A couple of coats of Leyland acrylic primer, then a few coats of Valspar eggshell (bought in a hurry from B&Q before last lockdown). Just brush for the fiddly bits and foam roller for the rest, light sanding in between.
Follow this and you won't go far wrong:
The MFT top is great. I keep thinking I’d like one!
Also I wonder how long before he pointers jump the gate? We used a baby gate for ours, gave up in the end after finding the gate shut. But kitchen raided!
I finished a steam bent lamp from Yew for my partners Christmas.
Ended up slightly twisted, but overall happy with it.
My first attempt at an airbrush illustration tonight...
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Got a table saw so as a practice project I made a little desk tidy for my other half's desk. Used the left over oak from the clothes ladder.
The base didn't turn out wonderfully, kind of winged it as didn't have a good idea what to do for a base.
Don't really have the space for woodworking so sewing it is! Bar bag practise using cheap fabric to learn all the things not to do, such as sewing the bottom on inside out... Next iteration will be in vx21.
Workbench, in progress. My first workbench, designed after a few internet searches, it's the biggest thing I've ever constructed. Won't win any awards for fine workmanship, but hopefully will be robust enough to withstand anything I throw at it - although I'm not exactly sure what that will be.
More supports for the bottom shelf went in today, and wood was sawn for the middle shelf which I would have started but had run out of coach bolts.
In the picture, the left hand side is closest, a Record No3 vice will be mounted in the middle of the left hand half of the bench - need to decide how the rear bolt will be fixed as it will fall in the gap there.
Going to put some horizontal triangulation around the vice at the top, and vertical triangulation on the 3 leg pairs. But need to get the middle shelf sorted so I know how it will work as it will be bracing against that.
2 x 18mm MDF top.
Any comments/suggestions welcome!
Nice work @sirromj.
I've just finished my own work bench, though it's something you'll keep modding to fit your purpose.
Built around a 600x1800 pine laminate top. Screw in inserts to bolt down the mitre saw & feed support stands are all interchangeable.
That's lush that Kiwijohn.👍
Thanks Kiwijohn. I quite like that grey colour. Your bench is giving me ideas for a similar compartment on the bottom shelf of mine, maybe hidden. Though I can imagine putting things in there and forgetting all about it.
My bench is going in a wooden shed on a concrete base with wooden floor. Base laid around start of November, shed went up in December, and gets a bit of damp coming up through floor especially on metal objects laying on floor, it's not insulated at all. It's making me regret getting untreated CLS instead of treated to save a few ££ on this bench. Any recommendations for what to finish it with just to give it a little protection?
I made a Lego desk light from resin, a cake mold, some scrabble pieces and a usb light strip. I made a couple of other resin items too... if I can find photos.
Nice workbenches. I do all my work with a couple of Stanley plastic trestles and 2 lengths of CLS supporting my MFT. It has advantages of portability but it's not a thing of envy.
Sirromj - I would add a diagonal brace. If something heavy goes on top there doesn't look to be a lot to resist a sideways collapse. Otherwise, great!
I made a Lego desk light from resin
That's really cool, I looked at making something similar a few years back but the resin was going to cost a fortune. Any details on the resin you used and where you got it from?
Any details on the resin you used and where you got it from?
I used water clear casting resin, inc catalyst from ECF Composites
https://www.ecfibreglasssupplies.co.uk/product/water-clear-casting-resin-inc-catalyst
It is expensive, I took the 5kg option and made several things - the hand of fatima came out quite nice too, if I can find a picture. I got the mold off ebay. Learnt a few things, made a few cockups use old resin from some time ago and the wrong hardner - when resin does not go off, its a bugger to deal with.
It's all about the preparation, and having somewhere you can leave it. Also - fumes are *bad* - don't try and wing it - was ok once I started rigorously wearing a proper mask, but was very heady for a few days when I did not.
Sirromj – I would add a diagonal brace. If something heavy goes on top there doesn’t look to be a lot to resist a sideways collapse. Otherwise, great!
I had been planning to add diagonals in places, but started thinking I might skip that to save some time. Not really planning on putting anything massive on there. Confident my own bodyweight (<70kg) wouldn't be any issue currently. But maybe I'll get into making big heavy things in 5 years time! But certainly won't be plonking any V8s on it (never got into mechanics). If there was something heavy enough to collapse this bench I might need to worry about the shed floor too. I didn't check where the bearers are in relation to where the legs will go but guess I could slide a couple of bearers under. Need to decide where diagonals will go as didn't plan for them in the design.
Love that lego desk light, very cool
Cheers kayak23.
@sirromj the paint is left over from redecorating. This is living outside, so got 3 coats. Clear on top to stop wood glue sticking. Need to get something more waterproof for the bottom of the legs.
The shelves were ply I had lying around. Not long enough for one shelf, but the dropped centre gives you somewhere to throw offcuts or whatever without them rolling away.
Trying to think what else it needs.
i think it's a 26" off the top of my head, was on a Saracen Ariel that I stacked it on at PORC and pringled, bent it straight a bit and put it to better use!
Small 3d printed bracket for my front light. No real reason other than keeping a clutter free handlebar!
I couldn't find a frame bag in pink so made one.
I do love to see folks made stuff, especially the 3D printed, real futuristic startrek replicator there. Think what you need and print it out. What a fascinating modern age this is.
Hopefully this will post(pic wise) Otherwise...
Mantle is Bubinga(brown) and maple. 6 sided columns with inlaid maple stringing.
Nice fire surround 👌
Needs a log burner though......
I made these hanging ply hearts for me bird for valentines, because you know what STW lovers out there, love is a many layered thing that lays itself upon us in many different directions but when bonded together, those layers become one, united and strong, and able to withstand anything for 5-10 years......Just like exterior plywood... 😉😂
Not on a par with most in here but managed to make this for the missus.
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Serious lack of suitable wood and dowels (and wood dye) locally so it's a bit chunkier than I wanted but the missus can keep the remotes and her drink by herself.
Emergency projector shelf for a lockdown cinema experience.
A good use for all the long offcuts of architrave from my right in the corner doors.
I didn't like the cheap plastic truss rod cover on my PRS SE guitar, so made one out of a laminate of zebrano and flamed maple veneers. Came out better than I expected to be honest.
Some drunk fool fell on the laundry hamper & broke the legs. Luckily I could reuse the cross bars. A few oak staves used in a tank made red wine were used to make new ones. Lovely timber to work with.
At least the drunk foil didn't piss in the laundry basket as well.
Surely if its to be washed anyway it doesn't count?
Technically.
For my birthday someone recently offered to buy a special adjustable paint drying tray so when I leave my paintings to dry the paint doesn't move. Seemed like a suitable gift for the bloke who has anything until I saw it was priced at £50+ !
I made one instead with what I had lying around and shared the design with an Arts forum but thought I would post here as well.
Wanted to try out my new Kreg pocket hole jig and needed a new coffee table. had the remains of some old oak shelves so...
Needs a bit more sanding and finishing but does a job. Pocket hole jig is great, one of those tools you wish you’d found a lot earlier.
Nice jam-bo. 👌
Yeah the pocket hole jigs are really handy sometimes.
I also made a desk. after outgrowing the mrs' dressing table and the realisation that WFH may well be the future i decided to expand my workstation. zero skill involved compared to the efforts in this thread but pretty pleased with the results...
Desk not quite big enough for the 3rd laptop though? 😀
i have my work station - and my procrastination station 😀 there is occasionally a 3rd laptop tho!
Made a tray/coffee table add-on for our footstool.
White oak finished with osmo raw (took me two attempts to get the finish looking good).
(Please excuse the bare walls)
I made a small cable clamping widget for my dropper lever, as the new post uses the cable head instead of clamping it.
Nice. Was that on a little lathe?
It was on a pretty big lathe, using a collect chuck to hold it.
I made a laser alignment tool for validating the alignment of my homemade bike frame jig.It mounts on the bottombracket post and checks that the headtube/seattube cones are in plane.
I wanted it to be accurate to within 1mm at 1m from the BB for future cargobike builds. This meant that the laser needed to be within 0.06 degree perpendicularity of the BB shell. I was scratching my head thinking about precision machining (i'm just a hobbyist and can't hold tolerances like that).
I ended up 3d printing the thing adding a bunch of adjustments using bolts and using the milling machine bed as a surface for aligning it. I fired the laser at the opposite wall and adjusted until it was within spec.
I'm really happy with this, I honestly didn't think it would work.
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Brilliant work there!
Nice one - may steal that idea. I've always been concerned about my jig being out of whack. My old mtb was always a little out of line - easy to force back in the jig, but holding it by just the bb / axle / seatpost shows the front end is (probably) the culprit.
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Nothing that can't be solved with a hacksaw...... Rear triangle is being recycled into my new commuter-utility bike.
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I made a baguette
Scottish crumpets
A quick and dirty tool shelf cabinet thing with no fixing or glue. Handcut dovetails in plywood i will not be doing again.
And currently there is a chorizo and canelli quesadillas in a pan.
Its been a busy morning
Also this:
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Looks a bit of a struggle to keep that thing going in a straight line.
Other than that - brilliant!
"Spotted It"* was hung this morning and "Tree Woman"** has literally just been framed and hung this very hour.
* Look at the spots and can you see the hidden image?
** Need a better name for this one but have only just finished it
The dust extractor I was recommended on here made completing the replacement African Blackwood coffee machine flow control paddle a much more pleasant experience! 😂
Finished with a Stanley blade scraper and Danish oil. Had to JB weld the tapered cone insert into the handle as you can’t buy spare inserts for the spline size. Old SKs stainless mudguard stay was just right to pin it with.
https://flic.kr/p/2kHuHK7
https://flic.kr/p/2kHucCN
https://flic.kr/p/2kHuczb
https://flic.kr/p/2kHqzyb
Look at the spots and can you see the hidden image?
Afraid not, give us a clue????
Really like tree woman by the way
I can't see the hidden image (unless it's a coiled up bike chain) but I've never been able to see those magic eye images either.
work in progress
There is no hidden image in Spotted It, just my cruel way of making people stare and think more.
This one is now completed but I am not sure about it. I think the horizon should be lower down the picture so leaving it on the wall while I decide.
The rest are up for sale and will be on NickArtStuff.com when I get around to updating the site but feel free to PM me if you want one. The website should give you an idea of the prices and so make me an offer.
I couldn't recommend more highly the flow from bashing a bit of wood. Been on no courses and failed Art O-level.