Craig’s Crafts

I was cruising the Internet the other night and did that thing where you start off on one topic and gradually wander off onto something completely different. I was looking up rail guns, just out of curiosity, and ended up on wooden toy trains. Most of the links were sales pages about Brio, Thomas the Tank Engine, etc., but reading The Wooden Railway Page reminded me of all the good times I had with my trains when I was a kid. They were some of my favorite toys, along with my wooden blocks. After some filtering of Google’s results, I found some really good information about making not just the trains, but the track as well. Another good site is
Hoogerland National Railways.

Worth looking into.

After producing a prototype for anything I’m working on, I debrief myself on the problems I encountered. I take the notes I’ve made, usually right on a copy of the plans and/or cutlist, and give them a little organization. I put circled numbers on those notes to indicate the sequence I’ve made them. I use the notes to make a list and then add observations on how I solved a problem. Sometime the solutions aren’t found until afterward or until the next version is made. This addendum is kept and a copy is filed with the plans until needed again.
I’ve done a comparison of those notes, and here is a list of steps I keep in mind when starting a new project:

1. Make notes. Anything that isn’t correct, took too long, needs a special accessory or jig, anything you think will help if you want to make this project again. Don’t be afraid to write on the plans/cutlist. (You can make a copy and write on that if you want.)
2. Acclimate your stock to your shop environment. I’ve rushed into milling newly purchased wood, and resumed work a week or so later only to find the stock had changed size on me.
3. Refer to drawings and cutlists during planing and construction. Mistakes happen, and not all measurements in a plan are necessarily correct. Think about the way the parts will fit before you cut, and check back at the creator’s website if you can.
4. Organize similarly dimensioned stock for milling. I try to cut every piece of the same dimension with the same setup. If it’s right, they’re perfect. If it’s wrong, at least they’re all the same size. Maybe you can just adjust the other dimensions and not have to start over.
5. Cut everything you can while it’s still square or disassembled. It’s so much easier to clamp, route or taper at that point.
6. Dry fit as you go along. This will help you decide on the order of assembly, confirm the parts will fit later and help with glue-up. Sometimes just comparing a part you’re about to cut to the partially assembled project can prevent a costly error.
7. Assemble as sub-assemblies. You’ll need fewer clamps and won’t be racing against the glue. It takes a little more time, but the attention to detail often pays off with higher quality construction.
8. Finally, save the cutoffs. They come in handy for testing stains and finishes, or at least as clamp pads. Or sizing dadoes. Or parts for a jog. Or backup for drilling. Or…

Alright, I admit it. I save every scrap.

This guy did a great job, but to build it you need a furnace fan.

D-I-Y Shop Air Cleaner

Before I started on the Radial-arm Saw Dust Collector, I decided I needed to do something about cleaning up my shop’s air.
On of my woodworking magazines recently did a test of dust collectors, and as a basic comparison, or perhaps as a joke, they duct-taped a high-effencency furnace filter to a box fan and included it as part of the testing. I have a dust collector that I can connect to all of my big dust generators, but I didn’t have anything to capture the airborne dust before my lungs did.

The article suggested just duct-taping a furnace filter to the fan, but I couldn’t stand the idea of un- and re-taping everytime I wanted to change the filter. So I made a frame to hold it.

It’s pretty obvious how to make the frame, so just measure your filter and make it. I took off the front and back grills and was able to use screws to attach the frame from the back (neatness counts) and then reattached the rear grill. I cut a notch for the cord, but at some point I’m going to replace the short 5′ cord it came with with a longer one to make it more portable.

In use I just place the fan on a table or bench next to the saw, and turn it on high. I let it run for 30-60 minutes after I quit work just to help reduce the dust that settles out.

If you want to see the original article, it’s in the Wood Magazine, October, 2006 issue, “Air Scrubbers under $300.”