Sled to Safe Woodworking

Woodworking should be rewarding to the hobbyist but it must be safe as well. And there is no better place to practice safety than on the table saw, of all the tools in the shop. And it can be made safe with a few shop made jigs. My gut rule: If I feel uneasy about a particular operation and my gut tells me not to proceed, then I will not do it. Or, build a jig to safely do it.  It is worth all the effort and time. Besides, you can treat building the jig a woodworking project.

The challenge. Where a tall non-draining planter sits, I would like to replace it with another non-draining planter with a slightly larger footprint.

 

The task is to construct a base on top of the hollow hexagon without disturbing the entire tower. 

Solution: A base with a hexagonal "key" underneath that will fit snugly with the hollow top.  Each side of the "key" hexagon is only 2-1/2 inches.

Jig: The sled will run across a tilted saw blade (60 deg from the horizontal, or 30 deg from the vertical). A stop block ensures cutting the six pieces accurately and repeatably.  This is the only safe way to do it.

By the way, the hexagon is the easiest to create of all polygons that have more sides than a square. Each side of a hexagon is equal to the radius of the circle that encloses it around at all the six points.  Using a compass, first draw a circle. Move the pivot point (sharp pin) to any part of the circle. Rotate the compass to intersect with the circle. You have just created the three of the six points of the hexagon. From those points create the other three points. With a straight edge connect all six points to make the hexagon.

Glue the six pieces.  Cut the base.

Another jig. This is a sled designed for cutting small pieces on the table saw.  This makes for an easy, safe way - accurately - to cut the hexagon base.

Below is another tower planter for non-draining containers.

Hand-Blender Caddy

Hand blenders - there are at least two dozen brands of them - are great additions to any kitchen.  And you can go from the basic to the more expensive models. The hand blender's one great advantage over the counter top models is its portability and  ability to be used directly in the pot at or by the stove top.

I'm a late convert to the movement.  However, I saw right away the point that some folks bring up - the additional clutter of accessories they make on the kitchen counter top that get the homeowners to keep them in the drawers with other kitchen tools, hidden from out of sight when not in use. But soon, it is out of sight, out of mind. That's a shame, of course, because the quick work, ease of functionality and its versatility and great results are negated by the perceived bother that it entails.  It is, in my opinion, just the perception of having to take them out and putting them back inside the drawer that poses a public relations problem for the hand blender. 

So, before I clicked on that "place your order" button, I thought ahead of what I knew my wife was going to say.  So, I too knew immediately that there was going to be a woodworking project if I were to keep the harmony in the kitchen at equilibrium.

Pureeing chore to make a nice squash soup is literally done in seconds, when that used to take time with a fork, even after the cubed squash had tenderized from boiling.

And, how about, avocado and banana smoothie?

So, a hand blender caddy for a project, it is.

Towards the end of the woodworking part is another hand blender recipe for the summer; in Texas, for my readers not too familiar with our climate stage, spring is a such a short curtain raiser for us because we just go almost straight to summer from winter at the end of February; spring a mere, almost ephemeral interlude.

A word on how these holes (below) are drilled.  This tool that started my woodworking hobby is an aptly named tool, made in Ohio, "Shopsmith", that I purchased back in 1981, which continues to serve well.  I bought it at a time that we could least afford it but, hey, it was on installment at $25.00 a month. Don't ask about what the interest rate was at that time. But, we didn't have much to buy furniture either, so ..

This tool - still being sold today - does not occupy more space than two parked bicycles.  And the only one commercially available that will bore horizontally, if so configured, although it can easily be repositioned as a vertical drill press.  Not to mention that it is a table saw, a disc sander, drum sander and a lathe.  A 5-in-1 woodworking tool! The downside is that it now costs four times more than in 1981.

A half inch groove was created on all sides of what would become a mitered box

Painter's tape is invaluable in setting up the corners before glue up

Making the trim pieces

Probably not necessary, corner brackets along the mitered sides insure strength of the joinery

Threaded inserts, with threaded brass rods make temporary but strong attachments

Cutting the brass threaded rods to length 

Before assembling the handle.

Cutting the top edge of used water filter cartridges. These are otherwise thrown away to recycling.

Note same cartridges used on the utensil caddy

Cantaloupe/banana smoothie; didn't take long to create my own recipes.

Topped with two scoops of coffee ice cream

A favorite - watermelon/honeydew with half a cup of cranberry juice

I like to chill the smoothie for at least an hour or more in the refrigerator

 I opted for the middle of the road, price wise, German blender, made in Poland, while almost, if not all the blenders (in the U.S. market, at least) are made in China.

Tri-pod Grow Light (2G)

With the predominant use of smartphones​ ​ ​for cameras​ these days​, there must be millions of camera tripods around the world gathering dust or mildew  in attics, closets, garages, etc., unused and forgotten.  Well, they're not past their useful lives, yet. ​There are three great reasons​ they can be great holders of lamp/light fixtures​: they can swivel/turn 360 degrees, tilt up or down and  and more importantly - go up and down to the desired height.

First photo below shows a basic way to incorporate a light fixture to a tripod - a narrow flat board is all that is needed -  with very little effort or skill.​ Or, make a slightly more advanced application toward a reading or task light.  Or, for a slightly more involved grow light (latest project grow light 2G).

In non-metric countries, camera tripods have the standard connector bolt that is threaded to accommodate 1/4 - 20 (1/4 inch diameter hole with 20 threads per inch) for attachment to the bottom of the camera.

So, one needs only to drill a slightly smaller hole than the outside diameter of any regular 1/4 inch nut, shown below.

Next, using a rubber or wooden mallet, "hammer" the nut into the hole.

That' one way.  Another way was another simple project for a reading lamp using LED strip light on another tripod (I have four of these tripods accumulated over a period of four decades)

  Two of many different ways limited only by one's imagination; including the idle woodworker's latest way.  Or, just another reason to get a woodworking project out of it.

And, another way to make use of scrap wood. But no ordinary scrap wood. Some cut off pieces of oak which I purchased years ago  from a furniture shop.  They were in a box of assorted pieces sold by weight.

Using a hand plane, I flattened the sides and to remove the saw marks.

I ripped two pieces which will later be joined into one to make the desired length for the "arm" to which the light fixture will be attached.

Using the router table I created a 1/4 inch channel for the light cord

Drilling the hole for a threaded insert

Another threaded insert on one end of the arm to which the tripod bold can be threaded into.

The two pieces are glued together

Setting the table saw blade angle to 60/30 to make a hexagon.

Before assembly

As in the previous grow light project, turning this on at night (via timer), this is also effectively a dual purpose night light.

So, readers, don't throw those tripods away!