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FINALLY!!!! Just needs poly and to put the d-rings on the back.    

I am trying to find a way to hold a small leg for a breakfast tray while you eat in bed. The legs are 8.5" long and 1.125" square with a 1.250" long mortise in the leg. Right now I am using a Nova G3 chuck with the spigot jaws. It barely opens enough to hold the leg. The problem I am having with this method is the jaws are making marks on the leg. I can't use a screw because of the mortise. It's Christmas and I am between a rock and a hard place. Here is the lathe I am using.
 

Many years ago my father-in-law gave me a single shot 22 "varmint gun" as he called it. It was extremely accurate and he used it coon hunting when he was young. I fired it and it was a nice old gun. I think is is Stevens made in 1894. When I mentioned that I was going to give it to our grandson, my wife said "Wait I think I got the paperwork he got when he bought it."  I found it hard to believe, but she had the original hunting license he got in 1912. It even had cloth in the paper. Now I had something special. We believe this was his first gun, he was born in 1899. I made a case for it that will hang on the wall in his room, I'm sure.

Many years ago my father-in-law gave me a single shot 22 "varmint gun" as he called it. It was extremely accurate and he used it coon hunting when he was young. I fired it and it was a nice old gun. I think is is Stevens made in 1894. When I mentioned that I was going to give it to our grandson, my wife said "Wait I think I got the paperwork he got when he bought it."  I found it hard to believe, but she had the original hunting license he got in 1912. It even had cloth in the paper. Now I had something special. We believe this was his first gun, he was born in 1899. I made a case for it that will hang on the wall in his room, I'm sure.

This small Drill Press was my first machine restoration.
It’s a Globe brand, for the information I have sorted, I believe it was made in Geelong Australia, out of the Dawn factory. (I know I will be corrected) 
Dawn made (vice) etc. I’m not calling them vices, purposely 😉

Good morning Patriots. This small Drill Press was my first machine restoration. It’s a Globe brand, for the information I have sorted, I believe it was made in Geelong Australia, out of the Dawn factory. (I know I will be corrected)  Dawn made (vice) etc. I’m not calling them vices, purposely 😉   Looking forward to your comments and questions.  It’s 99% original. The person I purchaed it from had the handle made.  I had to purchase a bag of vintage brass split pins, for one pin to hold the flywheel on.  ThankYou

Built this a few years ago, thought everyone would enjoy a good laugh. My kids love it, even now that they are teenagers.
 
 

Just in time for Christmas. These were a labor of love and I'm really happy how they finished up. Even so, I am so-o-o-o glad they are done. 8 cryptex boxes for the grand kids. I have no delusions about how the boxes will compare to the fancy electronic gadgets kids want these days, but maybe one day they'll be appreciated.

Just in time for Christmas. These were a labor of love and I'm really happy how they finished up. Even so, I am so-o-o-o glad they are done. 8 cryptex boxes for the grand kids. I have no delusions about how the boxes will compare to the fancy electronic gadgets kids want these days, but maybe one day they'll be appreciated. I  think I posted in progress pictures of these a while back but not sure. I actually started them in the summer but shelved them until closer to Christmas. Last week, I decided I needed another, really had to scratch to remember how I'd done everything, even had to go back and watch Carl Jacobson's excellent video on making them again. The code on each one is  their birth day with "Z"=zero and "A"=1 etc.                   Steve

Hi all, I am an intermediate woodworker from Tulsa. I use woodworking as a stress relief technique to deal with my post military life. Unfortunate I am in the process of getting my house on the market so I don’t have any space or time to work on anything. I enjoy all aspects of wood working, and am looking forward to seeing what everyone else makes, and hopefully picking up some tips along the way. Here is a coffee table/bench I just finished from a slab of cherry, coated in Waterlox. 

Scrollsaw projects that are random from signage to portraits and other misc Designs I put together by laptop and generated into a pattern.

I am trying to find a way to hold a small leg for a breakfast tray while you eat in bed. The legs are 8.5" long and 1.125" square with a 1.250" long mortise in the leg. Right now I am using a Nova G3 chuck with the spigot jaws. It barely opens enough to hold the leg. The problem I am having with this method is the jaws are making marks on the leg. I can't use a screw because of the mortise. It's Christmas and I am between a rock and a hard place. Here is the lathe I am using.  

Got this 12 inch Grizzly a few years ago.  At the time I did not have Dust Collection piped to where I put it.  So I improvised and used a short hose and a bucket.  it worked, not well but was better than dust everywhere.  Finally got around to upgrading this bench and gave myself a few goals.  I mounted the sander to a plate that locks in at the back to the bench.

 I have been sharpening my chisels & plane blades with a homemade guide, assorted papers spray glued to a piece plate glass for some time now and decided to move up to something less bulky.  Found the FASTTRACK on Woodcrafts web site that linked me to https://www.m-powertools.com/.  Signed up for the news letter & received 20% off my purchase.      First thing I noticed was the weight, 2 pounds. As suggested I screwed it down to a board with a cleat on the end and clamped it in my wood vise. One screw and the rubber feet kept it in place.  Road tested on a used chisel, and ran thru 100, 220,& 450 diamond stones.Working the sled I had no problem with it sliding out too far. The set up was easy and there was no movement on the stones as I sharpened, the magnet held the stone in place.    I ran a pin across the chisel and did not feel any grooves or lines that appear in the picture. I think a little time on #600 would take away the lines.   This was my worst looking chisel and required the most time, about 10 minutes. My other chisels cleaned up in less than 5 min. Overall I'm happy the way it performed.  I did have an email question and did receive a fast reply.     The only thing I did not like was the handle on the sled. Big enough for my hands but, the edge was a bit hard on the hand. I think a file can soften up edge.

Cottonwood spaulted and dyed with layered yellow and green. Note that green area on the spault was only dyed with yellow. Used Chestnut Stains and finished with lacquer.

Got the angel ornaments done.  There is 30 of them.
Started with an inch and a half square blank, turned it round and measured two inches for the body and three quarters inch for the head.

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.

Dear folks, I want to remind everyone here, that any commentary that is posted in this community shall be positive, encouraging, helpful, and as a mentor or peer, polite and courteous. Please think before you hit the Submit button, how others may see your comment, how your topic may look to a new member, how you are presenting your writing in front of a new member or new woodworker.   We want to keep people here, we want to be helpful, we want to be friendly, and we want folks to feel at home. Just be thoughtful, smart, and aware.   We have a great community, and lets keep it positive, and friendly, and if you are an experienced woodworker, and you are in the midst of new woodworkers, and new members, then you are a mentor whether you like it or not.   Thank you guys and gals for your cooperation.

Winners Announced On behalf of The Patriot Woodworkers and the Bassett Family, we want to congratulate the following raffle contributors for their win, and we want to thank all for participating. I wish all could receive something for their contributions, but as you all know folks, this is a raffle, and the cause is the reason. Thank you all once again! We raised $2205.00 !!   Please PM @John Morris with your shipping information so that we can get these wonderful sponsored prizes out to you immediately!   Laguna Tools $500.00 Gift Certificate - @p_toad Easy Wood Tools full set of Mid-Sized Turning Tools - @Dadio Woodriver Spindle Sander - @DuckSoup Rikon 8" Slow Speed Grinder - @schnewj     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 raffle for this cause. We use 100 percent of the raffle proceeds 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 are proud to be supporting the Bassett Family from Las Vegas, Nevada. They include Wounded Warrior, Mr. James Bassett and his wife Mrs. Michelle Bassett, and their two boys Dalen (15 yrs) and Aiden (14 yrs). (Bassett family, image a couple years old)   Mr. Basett and his boys   Wounded Warrior James Bassett James went to Basic Training and AIT at Fort Jackson in South Carolina. He was stationed at Ft. Sill in Oklahoma and attached to multiple units under the 214th Fires Brigade. His combat deployments during Operation Enduring Freedom were to UAE & Kuwait while he was in Unit 114. His unit was the first live HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System) ever fired in the UAE.      James has many injuries, too many to list here by Mrs. Bassett's account. He has a Traumatic Brain Injury which has affected his impulse control and he has little to no short term memory capabilities. He is haunted by PTSD (mostly survivors guilt and hyper alert behaviors), and James suffers from Avascular Necrosis in his right leg (dead bones) and the family is currently putting off an ATK (above the knee) amputation for as long as possible.  He wears braces from mid thigh to calf as well as ankle and foot braces on both legs. He has Plural Scarring on both lungs due to the fine metals he was breathing while "In Country" for 9 months. Army Service Basic Training and AIT - Fort Jackson, South Carolina Permanent Duty - Fort Sill, Oklahoma Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) Combat Deployments - United Arab Emirates, Kuwait Medals - Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal   The Wounded Warrior Mom and Wife Michelle Bassett, the hard working mother of two boys and the wife and best friend, and caregiver of her Wounded Warrior husband James is one busy lady! I have been in contact with Mrs. Bassett and I found out the sacrifices and volunteerism spirit is alive and well after her husband James' service and sacrafice to our nation. This family is still giving freely of their time to our country. Michelle is a highly active member and Fellow of the Elizabeth Dole Foundation.   I'd like to submit some excerpts of my discussions I've had with Mrs. Bassett. The Elizabeth Dole Foundation brings awareness to the community on the everyday life and struggles of our Military and Veteran Caregivers. Every state has a "Fellow" our job is to advocate and fight for the rights our Veterans and Caregivers deserve. I am the State of Nevada Fellow. Every year all the Fellows head to Washington DC for a week. We then "Storm the Hill" and have private meetings with our House Representatives and Senators and talk to them about what we need done. I helped pass two bills that were signed into law by President Trump. The first bill was the Family Caregivers Act. and Last year I focused on something near and dear to me which was our Vietnam Era Veterans.  I am proud to say because of our Fellows hard work we were able to get enough Co-Sponsors and the VA Mission Act was signed into law by President Trump this year. This bill is the one that expands the Caregiver Stipend currently available to "Post 9/11" caregivers to include "Pre 9/11". It is starting with the Vietnam era since these are the Veterans that are sadly needing full time caregivers. It allows a family member or appointed person to get paid to take care of the Veteran in their home. This way they can spend their last few years at home and not in a state run care facility where they aren't cared for well. also With the Elizabeth Dole Foundation we have a campaign called Hidden Heroes (Tom Hanks is our spokesman) and I was personally able to get a day named Hidden Heroes Day in the city of Henderson Nevada. I also volunteer with Operation Homefront and I am the Hearts of Valor leader for Southern Nevada.   Family Snapshot by Michelle Bassett James and I met online through a Cancer support community. He is a Leukemia survivor and I am a 2 time breast cancer survivor. Right after we started communicating he joined the military. James is a 40 year old Army Veteran who served a combat deployment that forever changed our lives. He is an amazingly strong man who battles mental and physical disabilities daily but still gives 100% for his family. He loves his car and tinkering around with it is cathartic for him. He loves food and is a total meat and potato guy. Watching NASCAR and going to the gym are 2 of his favorite ways to relax.   Dalen will be 15 years old and definitely marches to his own drum. He is a self proclaimed nerd and proud of it. He joined a Dungeons & Dragons club at school and has been enjoying that. He wants to design video games and loves computer graphics as he gets older. He has great taste in music (Johnny Cash, Jimmy Buffet, Billy Joel and lots of 80s) so I feel I'm doing something right!   Aiden will be 14 years old in about a month and is the typical "cool kid". He loves all typical teen boys stuff. He has recently started showing an interest in photography and has been taking pics on an old cell phone of mine. He is a jokester but such a sweet kid and loves volunteering with James & I.    Links of Interest Michelle and James Hidden Heros Page Injured Service Members and Their Families Participate In Family Fun for a Day (story with James and Michelle)   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   Rules Sorry, only Residents of the US and Canada may participate 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 purchase as many raffle tickets as you like Raffle ends 4pm Eastern time, January 1st. 4 names will be randomly drawn by Raffle River, and prizes will be awarded in the order of names drawn, starting with Laguna Certificate, then the Full Size Easy Wood Tools, then the Rikon Slow Speed Grinder, then the Woodriver Spindle Sander. You may also enter by mailing check or money order made out to The Patriot Woodworker and send too: The Patriot Woodworker - 977 Sussex Rd, San Jacinto, CA. 92583 You may also request one free entry by submitting your request through regular postal mail, please use address above.   Click on the ticket to enter!     This year, the items our sponsors have donated can be seen in the image below, these are some great prizes folks! The tickets are only 2 dollars with multiple ticket bargains, and your odds of winning are very high given our typical turnout. To view the ticket prices, and to purchase your tickets please click on the Raffle Ticket above! A full accountability of the proceeds will be reported on at the end of the raffle so you know your hard earned money was used for our Adopted Family.   Please be advised, the Laguna Certificate is also good at their new store, Supermax Tools. In addition, there are many items you can purchase directly with the 500 dollar certificate such as Laguna Bandsaw Accessories for most bandsaws, please see Band Saw Accessories. Their Drift Master Fence System is pretty nice from what I hear.     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!        

I want to wish everyone a nice Thanksgiving and a safe one. I am glad we don't have to travel. We are having our daughter and her clan over for dinner. The two boys are 15 and 18 years old and all they want is hamburgers. That is okay with me because we are having turkey and dressing with all the fixings. It will be a lot of fun.    Maybe if you want to you guys could post what yall are doing for Thanksgiving.

We can now add tips, tricks, etc. in PDF format. When doing so please submit an explanation of what the PDF covers with your submission. Your cooperation will be greatly appreciated by all, Thank You in advance.

Good evening all,
A couple of months ago my wife told me she wanted a potting bench for the patio. I was looking for ideas on the internet but I did not want to spend a lot of money building it. Well there was a local mattress factory was going out of business and they were gutting the factory building to make room for the new business. The workers began piling up cabinets, benches, storage racks and mattress frames outside with a free sign on it. I went down and picked up a storage rack with wheels plus a bunch of other free wood and went to work. The frame of the potting bench was made from the A-frame storage rack. I cut off the upper portion of the rack and built . the table on that with mattress frames. The upper rack is an old towel rack I picked up from Goodwill for $1.00. Since the bench will be outside most of the time I sprayed it with BLO to protect the wood. The bottom line is that it is functional and Momma likes it. Total cost of the project $5.00 and three hours of my time.

There has been some discussion lately about using the electrolysis method in the restoration of old woodworking machinery & equipment.  This technique is not limited to the heavy cast iron of old "arn"; it can be used on sheet metal also.