carrera4s

I recently restored a No 8 plane I picked up a while ago. I had to make a new tote and thus also made a matching knob as well. It almost make the No 7 look small in comparisson! I can't believe how much quicker and easier it is to get a big piece of wood flat and square with this compared to grandpa's No 7 - i really did not think it would be such a big difference. Before:

Hi Guys, My leg vice is finished at last, but it is made with a little twist: the parallel guide works without any pins. So no bending over changing the pin for me! Have a look at the video:

Me too. But me being a "valie" I know jack about fish. I kept on calling it a shark, and he kept on correcting me!!! He likes watching Wicked Tuna when we visit grandparents! (We don't have DSTV).

My 10 year old son asked me on Sunday just before lunch if I can "quickly" make him some targets for his Daisy that falls over when it is hit. After lunch after we found some pics he likes, then he heads to the door and tells me he is going to play. "Hold on... you gonna help!". So he cut out 11 of the 12 targets on the scroll saw and only broke one blade (I was quite impressed, I have broken many by now!). While we were busy, we made 8 spares that we have them when we need to replace these ones. But the pellets barely make a dent - they should last a while... So our "quick" project took the whole afternoon! It was dark when we finished so we had to test it under spotlight! My mechanism does work, but not perfect. Next time I will lay out the holes a bit more accurate and drill them on the drill press to have better alignment. (The fixed blocks have short pins in them and the target blocks some holes that enables it to swivel on the pins. - My freehand drilling was not very straight!)

Hi CJ, I already had a request for a screw and nut for a guy here in PTA's Woodworker's Association, so I will be making another one. I will video-record that whole process and share it with you when done. So if any of you also want one, drop me a PM. In short, for cutting the threads on the screw I built a Router Lathe - something similar to the Shopnotes one below. I just changed the gearing ratio and simplified the router carriage / rails. (I don't have a trim router and I think my full size router would be too heavy for their design. However, the internal threads are much more difficult - you need a custom made router bit and another jig to cut the internal threads. Between these two jigs, and the actual time spent on the screw, It probably took > 2 months to make one screw! At least the next ones will be much quicker. Alternatively, have a look at Carter Whittling's Channel to see how to do it the more traditional way: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6RUw1NtwJL0P9C86W54keg Chop: Jip, that slab at the bottom will be the chop - however, that one was c 19 kg so I cut it a bit smaller last night - I now have to square it again before gluing it again. The top will be maple. The ShopNotes Router Lathe: Also check out this video - he upgraded the Shopnotes design to be even better.

I have finished the screw for my workbench. The screw is made from leadwood, the handle from maple and the handle knobs from African Rosewood. The diameter of the screw is 64 mm (around 2 1/2 inches), the hub is around 125 mm (5"), the handle is about 30 mm (c 1 1/4"). Overall length is 640 mm (just under 26 inches). The No 4 Stanley is added for scale. I had to build one custom jig for the internal threads and another router lathe for the external threads. A local engineering shop also made me a custom router bit for the internal threads. The body of the screw was made from 70 x 70 mm square stock and turned to 64 mm diameter with a 50 mm tenon at the front end. It was then threaded. The hub was turned from a separate branch of the same type of wood (also leadwood) and a 50 mm hole drilled into the end. The main screw was then glued into the hub. A hole was then drilled and the handle added (the handle and knobs were also turned on the lathe). I finished it with 3 coals of Danish Oil and then added Cobra floor polish to the threads to assist with smooth operation (that is the white you see on the photo - it makes a HUGE difference). I must say, it turned out almost better than I thought! At one stage through the process I almost gave up, I tried a Beal type (Carter Whitling type) threading approach for the external threads but for some reason I just could not make it work... I just need to edit my video a bit - will upload it once done and then you can see it in action. Next up is the chop, will show it when done.

Exceptional CJ! WoW!!! EDIT: Seems as if my computer also loves it! Sommer make a duplicate post on my behalf!

Exceptional CJ! WoW!!!

After doing some planing on my mobile workbench I realised I need a HEAVY one to stand still for hand planing, and I love the look of the Roubo. But yes,I will probably need 4 people to pick it up should I decide to move house one day.

The base of my workbench is done (maybe I'll add a shelf later) and I added some retractable castors. Maybe you can use the design for your bench / machines. This guy's designs was my inspiration:

Tx Stefmeister, This certainly was my idea until I came across the drill adaptor - (with the metal bushing and distance guides as well). One dilemma is that the auger (20 mm Alpen) is 20 mm only right at the tip, c 10 mm later it reduces to 19 mm. So I will need a 19 mm ID bushing, and I will have to leave the bottom c 20 mm of the guide at 20 mm diameter, or maybe open. Hmm, that should probably work - that will also assist in clearing the chips away so they don't have to go through the guide bushing as well. I also just realised that the adaptor will not work - my auger is 235 mm long and needs an 11mm chuck - this adaptor only have a 3/8th chuck (9.5mm)...

I also have an Adendorf bench top drill press. I paid R 1000 second hand - it was so cheap because one of the pulleys at the top was loose. Once I tightened it, and I replaced the belts a bit later on, it works 100%. Very happy with it for the price I paid. But those holes coming up will be in my workbench top. Will be a bit difficult to get the > 100 kg bench onto the drill press table.

Hi CJ Van, I also struggle with perpendicular holes by hand... And I have quite a number of them coming up soonish. Have anybody tried this? https://hardwarecentre.co.za/product/accu-drill-mate/ PS: I see Hardware Centre has EVENTUALLY launched their online store!!!! I find they are often cheaper that Toolcraft - but to always have to call / email for a quote and then an EFT made that I only used them if Toolcraft did not have stock. PS PS: Do you guys know the good Afrikaans for "eventually"? Na 'n moerse gesukkel!

Very nice, well done. I like that toiletry bag!

I like that Festool lever clamps, and at R 999 they are the cheapest you can get them in SA. Or you can order a twin pack from Amazon for $ 42. Including delivery (Aramex) you will still be less than R 999 for 2. Half price of the discounted price. https://www.amazon.com/Festool-491594-Quick-Clamp-System/dp/B001U309KW/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=festool+lever+clamp&qid=1590476045&s=hi&sr=1-1

I have a small 10.8 V Festool - very nice and light for light duty work - quick to swop between attachments. With all the attachments it works very well! But If I have to buy again, I would probably get 2 x 12V Bosh blue drills and dedicate one to drilling and the other to screws. (You can probably get 3 of them for the price of the Festool set). This one is perfect for melamine cabinet construction and even holes up to 8 - 10 mm in hardwood and screws (pre-drilled) up to c 5 - 6 mm in hardwood. Then I have a BIG Makita 18V for heavy duty stuff - very good as well (XPH07Z). Hammer action as well. Ever since I have this, even my corded SDS mostly stays in its case, unless I have lots of hard concrete to do. I importted this through Amazon, Don't think you can go wrong with any of Makita, Bosch (blue), Dewalt, or Festool. The key is to decide which brand you like best cause once you start, it's easier to buy the bare tool next time since the batteries are normally interchangeable between the different tools. On that point, I think Makita still has the largest range available in SA.

I recently built myself a rack to hang my chisels on the wall. It has a blade guard at the bottom to prevent me hitting the sharp edges by accident and it can unhook form the wall to carry it to my bench. The blade guard then provides quite a wide base to keep it upright. It hangs on the wall with two "blind" cleats that slides into a recess at the back of the panel. https://youtu.be/GbBfjcji6fw

Stefmeister, can you please post a close-up of your end vice's dovetails? I am also planning the same, still playing around with the exact proportions so trying to look at as many as I can to see what I like.

Tx Stefmeister! Very nice bench! Single top Roubo? What is the size? How high? Do you do lots of hand tools work?

Jip, most people will probably say not to use such nice wood for a workbench, but as The Wood Whisperer once said, he wants his cabinets etc in his workshop to look nice as well, it must be a joy just to "be" there. So for me that applies to the workbench, it must be really nice to look at as well. Luckily I got the Rosewood quite cheap, think it was less than R 9 000 per cube. It was an amateur that cut the wood and it came in these odd sizes so nobody wanted it. And I don't have any projects left for the thicker pieces, so I decided to build the bench base from the last pieces. Please post a pic or two of your bench and crisscross?

Tx Stefmeister! It is African Rosewood - last thick left-overs from my pool table build. I am planning a "pressure bar" / pinless vice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=338U49EtWso If that does not work, I will get a criss-cross.

Nicely done Amberdrake! Maybe consider installing a No Volt Release switch for safety reasons. See if you can install it such that you can switch it off with your leg / knee should it be necessary. https://www.toolcraft.co.za/products/kjd18-switch?variant=213342388248 PS: How will you do the height adjustment? Check if your router have a lug then you can use a threaded rod to make height adjustment from above the table.

I have also made a tray to hang my planes on the wall.

I have taken some leave last week and worked a bit on a new workbench that I am building. It will be a split top Roubo. I have laminated, sized and squared all the legs and stretchers and completed all the mortices. I have started on the tenons as well. The first one came out pretty well (last time I did a mortice and tenon joit was >20 years ago at school - and then we had a slot morticer and tenoning machine). Now to finish the other tenons and then I can hopefully assemble the base. Hand planing the legs - nothing as satisfying as a sharp plane going grrrrrttttsss through the wood! Cabinet scraper to finish the surface after the plane - look at those fine shavings! Nice! Mortices were done with an up-cut spiral bit to 60 mm deep, then by hand to c 90 mm deep. Tenons are being rough sized on the table saw, then the router table and fine tuned by hand.

My wife finished her project before mine, but at least I helped by casting the epoxy to seal the tiles. Due to the cool weather, we "baked" it a bit in the oven to help the epoxy cure, but unfortunately the white grout then turned grey. Luckily no-one will know. (Apart from everybody on the Pretoria Woodworkers Association Whats-App group and now you guys. )