Wine - A Gentle Balance

You have seen these things all over the place. They won't stand up on their own but put a bottle of wine in the hole and - like magic - it stands up.

These are easy to make and you can make all kinds of shapes and use woods that are beautiful but too small for other things.

The important dimension is the distance from the edge point to center of the hole and the 36 degree angle. The 1 1/4 inch thickness is not mandatory but sort of a minimum.  

There is some real math involved here in calculating the force vectors and weights. The idea is to get the center of gravity just right with a bottle in place. So you could change the angle but that would mean you have to change the distance to the center hole.

Experiment with some scraps and see what you can come up with. 

The Artists' Easel Debuts at the All Oregon Calligrapher's Conference

We showed off the Artist's Easel at AOCC and it was way cool. We'll have more on this new product soon.

A Dust Free Dust Mask

A dust mask is a good thing for woodworkers and is really essential for some woods like Cocobolo, Kingwood, and many of the tropical woods. We are told that it is especially necessary for working gourds.

But there is little point in paying 20, 30, 50 dollars or more for a good filter mask and leave it out in the open air - even in a cabinet.

Here is one idea from a fan. He keeps his in a CD/DVD box made by Sterilite. It costs around $6.00 and has a lid that fits tightly and has latches on either side.

And as he put it, "You can drill a couple of holes in the bottom, and screw it to the wall next to where you use it so it will always be there."

Good idea! What good is a dust mask that's full of dust?

Seattle Woodcraft Woodworkers' Show

Mark your calendar - unless, like me you can't remember where you put the calendar!! October 7th, 8th, and 9th will be the Really Big Show at Seattle Woodcraft in South Seattle.

The Seattle Woodcraft store is one of the most successful in the country. Ron and Michele put on a big ol' swa-ree every year and this is the 9th.

Grip-All Jaws will be there showing our whole line of work holding apparatuses, apparati, apperatae, uh...holding devices.

Come on by and say hi if you are in the Seattle area that weekend. It's easy to find. Seattle Woodcraft is at the north end of Boeing Field. Go along I-5, north or south, and take the Corson Ave. exit from either direction. It's in the shopping center just before the Michigan St. signal.

You just might get to try to try to talk over the roar of a landing jet. That's pretty cool!

Finishing with Super Glue

If you are looking for a really great, hard, durable, shiny finish for turning projects,  try cyanoacrylate glue - that's super glue to you and me. It's quick and suprisingly easy. I sort of just started doing this as a way to finish pens. No other finish lasts as long or stays as bright and clean. It is, after all an acrylic plastic.

So here is how I do it.

Adjustable Bench

I don't like going to the dentist and really, does anybody? But you have to admit that dentist's chairs are pretty cool when it comes to "adjust"-ability. In this example, this heavy work bench is made out of a piece of laminated beam with a shelf underneath. The whole thing is bolted to a dentist's chair mechanism. It swivels and goes up and down. There is also a brake that locks it in place as you swivel it.

Of course barber's chairs work remarkably well as bench bases, too. Luthier Michael Sanden from Sweden made this one from a barber chair he had in his own barber shop. It too, swivels and the lever pumps it up and down.

You can find these old chair mechanisms online for a few hundred bucks but the proliferation of tattoo parlors has driven the price up. You still find them at flea markets and even in old barber shops. But it's a neat way of getting the ultimate adjustable stand for the ultimate adjustable workholding tool - Grip-All Jaws.

Lining Gourds with Paper

We asked Stacy if she would demonstate her lining technique and she very nicely consented. So here is what she does.