Goodbye JET Jointer

Last weekend I said goodbye to my JET 6" jointer watching it go down the driveway in the back of it's new owners truck. Though I considered my woodworking habits to be "blended" I found that I still relied on the power tools more than I liked and with the encouragement of others, I have decided to make turn around the corner to going unplugged.

The table saw is next, it is listed for sale, that leaves me with a Dewalt 13" planer, a Delta 14" band saw, a Delta dust collector, Rikon lathe, and a Ryobi drill press. The planer would be next, I think I will keep the band saw, lathe, and the drill press for work outside the shop.  

I have an almost full arsenal of saws, sharp, and ready, a nice selection of hand planes collected over the years, also sharp and ready.

 I will be selling some of the planes that are duplicates.

It was strange watching that jointer leave the shop, I used it off an on probably for the last 8 years or so, but it is being replaced with a very nice 30" wooden jointer plane,  and since I have been doing a lot of the work lately with hand tools, the conversion doesn't seem as scary as I thought. The tables you see in the post below were made using hand cut mortise and tenons, the tops and shelves fiished with hand planes, and the inner drawer supports cut by hand.

So off I go taking one step closer to the quiet, and safer, side of working wood, perhaps making less dust and mess, feeling more connected to the work, and enjoying it a lot more in this phase of the journey.

Finished Tables Delivered

The craft table order is now complete and the tables have been delivered to the clients home to her sewing area. The lower table is 60"x30"x30" with one drawer in the center. The other two are 42"x30"x36" and have two drawers each. 

Three craft tables in sewing room

Since she wanted them painted I used poplar. Tops are glued-up panels. These tables are my design and it is really one of the few times I've built a project of this size without a preprinted plan. A skill builder for sure and I did enjoy doing this project. She really liked the finished product and that makes it all the better.

You're Getting to be a Habit with Me....

A couple of recent tool purchases have changed the way I do work, and as the song goes, you're getting to be a habit with me. I first received the Evenfall Studios Shooting Board a month or so ago and other than just trying it out, I really didn't have a project that would require it's use. While working on the project you see below, I bought Capt. America, a beautiful 16" tenon saw made  Bad Axe Tool Works at the WIA this year, used it cut tenons of course, but also to x-cut the frame pieces. This is where things changed for me, an epiphany of sorts.

Though I have tried in the past to make my own shooting board, I never could quite get it right, some things are best left to the professionals. I have always made my x-cuts on my table saw thinking the blade was square, it is close, but not close enough. I used my #3 Stanley souped up with a Hock blade, and it squared up the ends of each piece perfectly. Works great, I have also used my low angle block plane on this board.

The project is three tables for a client's sewing room, I have delivered one, working on the second, and one more of these to build. It is now almost second nature to reach for the saw, instead of the table saw, cut the piece, square it up, move on. One step closer to going "cordless". :)

Evenfall Studios Deluxe Shooting Board and the Capt. America
16" Tenon Saw from Bad Axe Tool Works

Bottom frame drawer support 

Sewing table 42x30x36 - One of two