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I had it filled up before the roof got put on...
I got less than $400.00 in it so far including the fire wood.
 
 
 
 

Happy Birthday!
Dear folks, I'd like to give a huge shout and a big Happy Birthday to our entire Patriot Woodworker Community. Today, April 3rd, 2020. We are 10 years old.

Happy Birthday! Dear folks, I'd like to give a huge shout and a big Happy Birthday to our entire Patriot Woodworker Community. Today, April 3rd, 2020. We are 10 years old.     Thank you! I want to thank all the members here who make this community what it is, and I especially want to thank our Administrators Ron Dudelston and John Moody and our Forum Hosts, Lew Kauffman, Gene Howe, and Larry Buskirk for keeping this community organized and tidy, and for being helpful to the members who frequent these pages and forums.   Your support We also need to thank our community of woodworkers, for coming to the aid of the causes we support, from our annual fundraisers to help The Patriot Woodworker Forums stay live to the most important thing we do, supporting our veterans in need. When called upon, you all have stepped up to the plate, and participated in our fundraising events to help our veterans and their families to have a Wonderful Christmas in our annual Adopt a Wounded Warrior Family for the Holidays event, where you all step up and donate funds in order to provide a wonderful Christmas for a veteran family. We cannot thank you enough!   My thanks to you This has been a journey for me personally, starting a community based on a duty to help those who serve our nation, and our love of everything woodworking. I have met many wonderful people here, and many have become friends. I have grown because of this group, I have matured in ways I never thought existed, I have rejoiced with your wins in your woodworking journey and life events, and I have felt sadness with you in some not so pleasant life events, we have lost a few Patriots on the way, and they'll be remembered always. I am a better person because of my experience here, with you. I owe all of you that.   And, to my family, especially my wife for putting up with countless hours of looking at the back of my head while I sit here maintaining our community, interacting with you all, and also while having fun in my own online woodworking endeavors, thank you Wife!   If anyone would like to read how we started out as a community, feel free to read the long boring story that can be found at:   And we cannot say enough thanks to the folks who support our community and keep us live, by their incredible generosity in sponsorship. To the fine folks at Woodcraft, Easy Wood Tools, and Laguna Tools, we thank you. You have been with us nearly since our inception, and each year you step up to the plate, and help us pay our fees and dues and you contribute product for our raffles and other community events that help support the men and women who wear the uniform of our American Armed Forces, and the Veterans who come out of it all. Thank you!  

I made this in my tiny little shop (man, I’d really LOVE to have a window). Two are #4 hard maple shaker boxes with African mahogany tops.  

This is a wonderful tradition @Fred Wilson started here years ago, when he mentioned these eagles way back in the day, we were happy to post them in our community, it's an interesting and educational time for all.   Feel free to check in here daily, and post comments about our eagle and soon to be eagles! This topic will be pinned to the top of this forum for easy access. Just click on the video below to see the live cam in real time.   And thanks to @hatuffej for the friendly reminder of the eagles this year.   Quote The Decorah eagles are nesting near the Decorah Trout Hatchery, located at 2325 Siewers Spring Rd in Decorah, IA. The female is known as Mom and the male is known as DM2 (for the second Decorah male eagle). In general, they begin courtship in October, productive mating in late January or early February, and egg-laying in mid to late February. Hatching usually begins in late March to early April, and the eaglets fledge in mid-to-late June. While young usually disperse between August and October, the adults remain on territory year round. They eat live and and dead fish, squirrels, other birds, rabbit, muskrat, deer, possum and anything else they can catch or find. Source: Decorah Bald Eagles     Links of Interest Decorah Eagle Cam Alerts Raptor Source Raptor Nest Cams (Maryland)

Jetty Scene by Mahendra

I've just delivered this book stand to my college library rare book room. It now sits in the front large window of that room where it can be seen from the general library space. 
I was asked by the chief librarian to design something original and representative of the creative design environment our college is.

Turned walnut candle stick holders with candle box

A guy wanted a "Son's of Liberty" themed small flat horn to finish out a squirrel hunting rig. Scrimshaw by my self,..horn by Bill Smith.
 

I have been diving head first into green-woodworking lately and the carving end of this craft, and in doing so I had to start purchasing some knives. Based on the solid recommendation by Jogge Sudqvist, I also believe he is a spokesman for Morakniv, I purchased a set of Morakniv's.

I've just returned from 3 weeks in Sicily and photographed this shell in a castle/chapel in Castelbuono, Sicily. It was a series of shells that were on top of the seats in the chapel of an estate there. The first photo shows the interior of the chapel and the second shows my choice of shells there to carve. I'll try to document the process for this group here.
 

Author: Welsh, Peter C.
LoC No. 66061920
Title: Woodworking Tools 1600-1900
Language: English
LoC Class Q: Science
LoC Class T: Technology
Subject Woodworking tools -- History
Release Date: Nov 12, 2008
Copyright Status: Public domain in the USA.

Twin Table saw Build   Having been asked several times for more info about this older build I got a nod from @John Morris and began a write up for this.     It is a crazy idea, I know. But I have method to the madness. This build was originally designed for a single saw and the storage below. The design was done while in Iraq so I had a lot of pages of drawings to sort through to get a working model. My Dad gave me the extra saw and I just adapted the design for the second saw. Why? Well the second saw on the far right has a ¼ dado stack in it. So when I need ¼ which is common I am all set and need only set the height of the blades. This also gives me almost 6 feet of cast iron surface. It did take some work to get the saws bolted together and some more work to square the saws to one another so one fence can be used and be square to both.   The main unit is painted with aluminum color, then I used a plastic bag to dab black paint and some silver milk paint to get the textured dimensional look.  3 coats of lacquer (rolled on) finish it off.  Entire unit including bottom is painted, not needed just did it.  The drawers are colored by use, color aids memory and this thing has a lot of drawers.  Having moved everything from where it was this helped get acquainted with the new locations.   DC is gravity drop into 4 drawers, two on the front under the saw and two on the back under the motors. The reality was I could not get the storage I wanted AND have the shop DC or a onboard DC set up. So I had to decide what was more important, the storage side won.   The entire unit is pre-wired for 220 if needed in the future, current set up is 110. Outlets under the table provide power when needed for sanders and such. Another outlet on the opposite side gives me a second place to plug things in if needed.   Unit comes to 44 inches deep and 70 inches wide. Rather large and heavy but the steel frame is up to the task as well as 400 lb casters. 2 years of operation and nothing has collapsed. Doesn't mean I move the monster much, takes 2 people to move and control.   The only thing I did not upgrade at the time of build is the extension table for the router.  Another project later gave me some insights into the things I want out of the upgrade and as of today that is still in design mode.  Sometime this lifetime I will get on it.   I have more pictures of more details but leave those for questions or comments.  This build could easily be a single saw build so for those wanting to make one, ask away how I did this or that.   Total time on project 5 1/2 months.    A lot of time and effort but having used this for 2 years it was worth it for the convenience and upgraded performance.   Completed Unit May 2018           Drawers and inserts for organizing them               Construction details             Underside before adding plywood cover.  The cover keeps things from getting jammed underneath and blocking it from moving.        

Forgot about doing this the other day. Did it last winter with mainly scraps I had laying around my shop. Only thing I actually bought for especially for it was the gray paint. 

I'm not principally a hand tool guy; especially with hand saws. But I do have 2, one a circa 70 Craftsman (the Kromedge days, a very good quality saw) and a $2 Disston D8 (Restore)....both of these are crosscut. I've been wanting a Disston D8 rip saw and hadn't found one....until last week. This one looks to be NOS, unused as best as I can tell. I probably paid too much, but it really is a nice saw. I'm sure it's a later model, but it's the last handsaw I'll probably buy.  

Everyone here knows my project pictures suck.
A couple of weeks back, in the Wednesday's Wisdom For Woodturners post, we added an entry from Mike Peace about his shop made light booth (https://youtu.be/waJ00FWTzHk). Also, @Gerald has a great 2 part blog on photography-  https://thepatriotwoodworker.com/blogs/entry/24-lets-talk-photography/ . Using both of these resources, this is my interpretation.
 

Okay so I am no pro when it comes to terminology of types of turnings.  Saw this somewhere and decided to give it a shot.  Not sure what it is called but looks cool.
Glued up two bases using a 1/4 threaded rod and some washers.  Neighbor gave me four large 5 inch washers so I used them to keep the bottom surface clean and flat.
 

When I bought this farm I found an old Shopsmith lathe and got to running.  It had few parts for it around so I have kind of cobbled things together, it is a tad redneck but it works.  I have yet to buy a 5/8 shaft adapter to allow me to use lathe chucks and I have yet to buy a lathe chuck,

Thought I would work on some of my slab benches today... Stained wood burning's .    

 When I bought this farm I found an old Shopsmith lathe and got to running.  It had few parts for it around so I have kind of cobbled things together, it is a tad redneck but it works.  I have yet to buy a 5/8 shaft adapter to allow me to use lathe chucks and I have yet to buy a lathe chuck, but I do have a faceplate and a redneck driver mechanism made from a bolt and lag bolt welded together with a nut slipped over and welded in place and then a washer welded to the nut and bent into a "u" shape.  I just drill out a 3/4 inch by 3/16 inch deep hole and run the drive mechanism into the wood and rives the long branch pieces that I use to make handles quite well. It also drives the short branch pieces that I use to make dowels quite well also.  It does not drive much of anything else though, well not safely anyways...  lol...   I realized a couple days ago that the tailshaft was just a regular morse taper so I stole the taper and drill chuck out of my old floor drill press and put that in the tail.  I built a "very" redneck tool rest today but it works.  This is what I have setup so far...           With the addition of the faceplate and the tool rest today I was able to try my attempt at an actual project.  I figured I might try a simply vase to test out the Western White pine wood and the faceplate attachment and lastly the ability to drill with the stationary tailstock drill chuck.  I was sent to town to go the store earlier so I was unable to complete the project but I will get back to it tomorrow and see if I can get it drilled out.  I have to haul another load of willow and poplar logs back home to feed the mill but I should have time to play around on the lathe I hope.  This what I have so far on my simple vase test.   I sanded up a little bit some sandpaper and when I noticed the shine I grabbed an old piece of leather I removed from a saddle repair and ran that over it a bit and increased the shine a little bit more.  I got a little carried away with the pressure, the leather actually started smoking.  I wasn't concerned about until I stopped the piece and noticed how hot the wood got and then  noticed a small hairlinf crack in it.  So one wants to watch how much heat they create in sanding and polishing apparently.   I found some large Western White pine logs that I had forgotten about down below my dam yesterday and I have a some decent pile of branches as well, I am going to get those collected before snow falls and get them in the shop to practice on this winter.  I have dead dry willow out along the county road I want to get as well that should be turnable as well.  I have a several; trailer loads of green willow and green poplar right now, I am going to try to learn how to dry it and I will go ahead and set aside a few dozen logs to dry out over the next year or so.  I also cut down a dead apple tree yesterday that my goats ate and killed about a year and a half ago, still a little green in some of it but most of it is pretty dry.     Anyone ever try to turn spruce?  I have a fair bit of dead standing spruce, I don't much like milling it as it is about pitchiest wood I have ever seen, it literally just oozes out while I am cutting boards.  But the dead dry trees might actually work for turning, they have that severely twisted grain that does a 306 circuit about every 3 to 5 feet and often half natural splits in the center that could make for some interesting looks in a turned piece.   Can I cut wood into lathe blanks green and then paint the ends for drying?     This is the setup I made for my mill to cut lathe blanks, I cut a few dozen poplar blanks a few years back but most of them cracked to badly to useable.  If I paint the ends will that solve the cracking issues or should I leave them in log form and cut the lathe blanks when dry?   Might as well throw in a picture of my dowel turning setup, I make dowels to use as fasteners on the private bridges that I build, store bought dowel material is expensive so I made this simple little setup from an old cross slide vice and an old flat file.  Handy little bugger, makes dowels quick and easy..

Random Draw Recipients We'd like to congratulate the following recipients of the items contributed by our fabulous sponsors. We also want to thank all who participated in this wonderful project, we raised more than our goal, and our adopted family is set up for a wonderful Christmas morning, thanks to you all!   And, a hearty congratulations to the winners of the machinery and tools donated by Laguna Tools, Woodcraft Supply, and Easy Wood Tools, we can't thank them enough. Please, each recipient, contact me via messenger and leave your shipping address, thank you all once again!   Al Berube @Al B - Laguna 14/12 Band Saw Cliff Rohrabacher @Cliff - Easy Wood Hollowing Tools Peter Tomlinson @p_toad - Wood River No.4 Hand Plane Michael Curtis @Woodbutcherbynight - Wood River Block Plane   Introduction Every year The Patriot Woodworker's adopt a Wounded Warrior or Gold Star family for Christmas. We do this through a great veterans support organization named Operation Ward 57. The Patriot Woodworker's submit an application to Ward 57 to be accepted to receive our family for Christmas, and each year we are chosen to participate. And each year, our sponsors donate wonderful items for us to giveaway for this cause. We use 100 percent of your contributions to purchase gifts for the kids, and a Christmas dinner for the family and to fund related project expenses such as shipping fees for gifts.     Our Mission  We need your help to accumulate funds for our Wounded Warrior adopted family, who has given much to our nation in physical and emotional sacrifice and much more in family sacrifice.    The Wounded Warrior Family This year we have a unique situation for our adopted family. The family we are supporting is to remain anonymous. Hardships and conditions the family have and are undergoing prevent us from disclosing the identity of the family, so out of respect for the family we agreed to not share any images of the family, nor any personal information. In doing so would "out" the family and cause more hardship to them. Our adopted family has already gone through enough by serving our nation and paying a great price.   What we can share is: The father and husband served our nation in the US Army. He is now on 100 percent disability with varying issues from PTSD to physical injuries including Traumatic Brain Injuries. Though many call Dad the hero of the family, the family themselves will call Mom the hero, as is typically the case when you have a caregiver situation as this family does. They are blessed with four beautiful children as follows. Boy in his late teens Boy pre-teen Boy pre-teen Girl toddler   Your Comfort We understand the inferences that "Anonymous" implies, some folks may be a bit skeptical to contribute to an anonymous cause. So to help alleviate your concerns, I would like to encourage you to contact any of our forum hosts or admins for your general questions regarding the family. Our Forum Hosts and Admins are completely familiar with the family, they have seen the family, and they understand the history of the family, so they will be able to confirm to you the validity of this cause. Please keep in mind, under no circumstances will our Forum Hosts or Admins be able to disclose any more information than what has already been disclosed here, you will only be able to have confirmation that our Adopted Family is indeed with us, and needs your help. Please contact our Forum Hosts or Admins with your concerns by clicking on their names at our "Staff" page. https://thepatriotwoodworker.com/staff/   Rules Sorry, only Residents of the US and Canada may participate. Outside countries may contribute but you will not be entered into the system for receiving items due to shipping costs. If you are in an outside country, and do contribute, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. All are welcome to participate, members, forum hosts, admins and non-members. (John Morris (Founder) and family may not participate). Please allow 1 to 3 weeks for delivery of prizes, most of the time prizes are sent out immediately. You may contribute as much funding as you like to earn entries into our random draw. Your contributions will be accepted up to December 20th 12pm Eastern Time, at which time project will close and item recipients will be chosen. 4 names will be randomly drawn by Random Picker software, and items will be awarded in the order of names drawn, starting with the Laguna Bandsaw, then the Easy Wood Tools, then the Woodriver hand planes.   An apology I apologize for the current method of contributing funding to this project as cumbersome as it is, our usual way, and very easy way we've used in the past had to be eliminated due to current "Raffle" laws governing our state of California, so I had to create this work around. This will be the last year I perform this event from my home state of California due to restrictions. For next years Christmas Family event, we will have a Patriot Woodworker host this event from their home state that allows such fund raising activity. We will not quit, we'll just find away around it! Our Veteran and Gold Star families need us!   To contribute to our Adopted Family please click on "Donate" button (The project is now closed, thank you!)   This year, the items our sponsors have donated can be seen in the image below, these are some great prizes folks! You can donate only 2 dollars with multiple entry bargains, and your odds of receiving a sponsored item are very high given our typical turnout. To view the entry fees, and to purchase your entries please click on the Donate button above! A full accountability of the proceeds will be reported on at the end of the project so you know your hard earned money was used for our Adopted Family.   Item links Laguna 14|12 Bandsaw for one recipient Easy Wood Tools Mini Hollowers for one recipient Woodriver Standard Block Plane with Adjustable Mouth for one recipient Woodriver No.4 Bench Plane for one recipient     In Closing Ok Patriot Woodworker's, it's time to muster and it's time to show everyone what we are all about! The purpose our woodworking community was created is for this reason, to help those who have served us, and paid the price. Remember this is not charity, this is not a hand out, this is payback!   Thank you sponsors! We also need to thank our sponsors Woodcraft Supply, Laguna Tools, and Easy Wood Tools for their generous support and for donating those wonderful items for the raffle! For without them, we would not have a community, nor would we be able to perform the work we do. Thank you guys!     Prior Years Projects Adopt a Wounded Warrior Family for the Holidays 2015 Adopt a Wounded Warrior Family for the Holidays 2016 Adopt a Gold Star Family for the Holidays 2017 Adopt a Wounded Warrior Family for the Holidays 2018  

Where to start is to determine just what do you want to use the bench for. At the time for me it was flatwork and planing. I looked at many plans and decided on parts of several. Not sure where each part came from but the contributing plans were in Wood Magazine, Shop Notes and Popular Mechanics.
 

$600 flat.  Almost no hours on the machine the  frosting is still on the ways
Guy used it as a  glorified drill press.

I not sure where to post this so if I'm wrong please move it.
A saw mill is all about wood so I thought I would post it here.