Reddit mentions: The best woodworking projects plans & kits

Ideas for venues to approach:

• Hotels
  
• Local Community Halls
  
• Schools, Colleges and Universities
  
• Sports Centres
  
• Conference and Convention Centres
  
• Religious Buildings
  
  Massively summarising what to look for:
  
  
• Power - 400 watts per person (check the venues fuse box)
  
• Internet access - the faster and the lower latency the better
  
• Tables and chairs - if the venue has these it saves you a lot of work
  
• Overnight use - find out if the venue is ok with this before laying other plans
  
• Noise - away from houses is best to avoid complaints
  
• Heating and aircon - LANs can get too hot/cold depending on the time of year
  
• Washing facilities - Clean attendees = happy LAN
  
• Bar and/or alcohol license - If you want alcohol at your LAN
  
• Stage - For award ceremonies, welcome talks, projector with information etc
  
• Parking - For attendees who drive in
  
  When talking to venues, take lots of photos, ask lots of questions and measure up!
  
  Good luck in the hardest part of running a LAN party :)

I have a small woodworking business on etsy and ebay as a side hustle. I buy materials as I need them. This allows me to not have to wait 5 days for free shipping and not have to stock up and store as much stuff that I might not need in the near future. Plus there are no decent woodworking shops within 300 miles of where I live. I can have replacement material delivered to my door in 2 days...

I used to get most of the materials off of ebay, but every seller has different shipping preferences and costs. Amazon and their "2-day free shipping" has made my processes run a lot better. That being said, I really only care about the "2-day free shipping." The other stuff doesn't add value to my life. I would rather just have the option to pay a lower price for the "2 day free shipping" and pay more for other stuff if I wanted to get it later...

here are some examples of things that I typically buy as I am running out...

https://www.amazon.com/Legacy-Woodturning-Goncalo-Tigerwood-Wooden/dp/B078KYYQY3/ref=sr_1_11?keywords=pen+blanks&qid=1555097279&s=gateway&sr=8-11

https://www.amazon.com/Carving-Carvers-Workers-Whittle-Beautiful/dp/B07HL7V2HG/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?crid=W75CADHHWTCU&keywords=spoon+carving+blanks&qid=1555097353&s=gateway&sprefix=spoon+carving%2Caps%2C228&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/Legacy-Woodturning-Cigar-Choose-Finish/dp/B07DFM6XZ3/ref=sr_1_5?crid=WOV6MXV9DJ92&keywords=pen+kits+for+wood+turning&qid=1555097379&s=gateway&sprefix=pen+kits%2Caps%2C227&sr=8-5

Make her a beautiful jewelry box. Every girl has some sort of jewelry, and a really pretty box to put it on her dresser is always awesome. The fact that you made it yourself is an extra plus.

A quick google of "jewelry box designs" yields a variety of sites with free plans, such as this one.

If you want to make it quirky, you could put in a small music box component so that it'd play a little tune whenever she opened it. Imagine every time she opens it, it plays Borne free or something else equally silly.

Kit is a fancy copper slimline. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BI4BPD8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_.GQXBb6V1RPGW

Blanks are a bit random but everything seemed to go well.

I wanted to make some pens as gifts to some coworkers and decided this was a good opportunity to try a production run. I learned a lot from YouTube about setting yourself up for success in production turning. Things went pretty well though I did learned a few things to tweak for next time.

I'm wrapping up my first dovetail box project (which I'll probably post here soon), and after weeks of watching videos, this one from Jay Bates was the best in my opinion.

The Paul Sellers video is also fantastic, but it's nice seeing a mere mortal like Jay Bates explain his thought process - and that's why I like the Jay Bates video.

Now, two important things: buy a good crosscut saw (something like this, even if you think "oh, there's no reason to buy a nice saw if I don't know how to use it". It's $20, not expensive. You will get frustrated with the crappy saw because it's going to come out looking bad no matter how good you are with it. Second, buy a magnetic guide. It makes keeping your lines nice and straight much easier.

Buying seconhand is certainly worth a shot if you're looking for a starter plane, although it's always a bit of a gamble. Very satisfying if you can get a rusty old wreck and bring it back to useable condition!

If you would prefer to buy new have a look at this Woodstock set on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Woodstock-D4063-Professional-Woodworking-5-Piece/dp/B00BN5P7LS

This looks practically identical to the Faithfull set which is commonly available in the UK. In which case expect the pieces to be a little rougher than in the product photos! Again assuming the quality is the same they're well usable and excellent value for money, once the irons are sharpened properly.

You should also consider a belt sander, which is far better as a sanding option for taking the surface off rough wood than a random-orbit. Will do a decent job at flattening off too.

https://www.amazon.com/Woodworking-Precision-Marking-Cutting-MGB/dp/B017Z03G4Y/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1491072633&sr=8-3&keywords=marking+gauge

I've got this one, it was fairly cheap but had solid reviews. The micro adjust feature is awesome. It works out great for me and I haven't had any slipping so far

Assuming you're looking for something decorative (and you don't need a windmill to raise well water, or a lighthouse with a working light and foghorn to help ducks navigate on a pond), Woodcraft has a few plans that might interest you. They can be purchased through Amazon; a couple of examples.

The Google is your friend! In my very quick search I didn't stumble across any free plans, but it was a very very quick search. Free plans might be out there...

A profile tool like this https://www.amazon.com/General-Tools-833-10-Inch-Contour/dp/B000E36098 makes quick work of it. I use 1 for auto body work to match 1 side to the other perfectly. Also great for laying wood floor and matching the molding.

Got it on amazon! Was a total crapshoot, but I got a really good mix of wood and it arrived really fast. I would recommend, I've been able to do a bunch of random projects with one box.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00H2AF2FO/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This will probably not fully answer your question, but there is a difference between seasonal wood movement due due to RH (relative humidity) changes and cracking, checking, twisting, or warping due to wood's drying process.

Once wood has been properly dried and it reaches EMC (equilabrium moisture content), then it is stable in it's environment. It should not continue to crack, warp, twist, etc. It will only move - grow and shrink across the grain - as the seasons change.

Some chainsaw carved logs crack, and some don't. That's just the nature of the log it was carved from - not anything done to prevent it. Logs ends can be painted or coated with wax to slow down the drying. That can help prevent cracks, but it won't eliminate them entirely. If a log is green when it's carved, it will likely do whatever it would have done had it not been carved (split or not split).

As for large furniture carved from many pieces glued together, it is important to start with dry and stable lumber. Also wood that is quarter sawn or rift sawn will generally be more stable than plain sawn. Use only the most stable lumber with MC = EMC when it's glued, and that will give you the best protection from future problems.

To expand upon using the words "properly dried" above - if wood is kiln dried improperly it can become case hardened. In this case, there are internal stresses inside the wood. Everything looks great on the outside, but if you plane off the surface or cut though the board, the wood can bend or twist because of those internal stresses.

This is similar to wood from branches or trunk wood from trees that don't grow straight up. The internal stresses in these woods is caused by how they grew. Years of fighting gravity will cause wood to be in tension in one side and compression on the other. This wood will also twist and bend when it's cut lengthwise.

I hope this answers part of your questions. I defer to u/skidemon1198's father - Whatever he says will probably be more coherent (and valuable!)

EDIT: Book recommendation: Understanding Wood - Bruce Hoadley

Dovetail marker

Help me make pretty box edges.

Nothing better than getting unexpected funds back =)

Hello I had a quick question. Would this dovetail market be okay for accurate hand dovetails? Thanks. Dovetail marker

A very sharp skew point used as a negative rake scraper can scrape through it easily without chipping the layers on the tubes.

I highly recommend grabbing a pair of delrin or HDPE bushings to use for the CA finish process.

Cheapest/most economical way is to get a chunk of HDPE somewhere online (or melt some into a block yourself) and make your own bushings. I purchase 1" HDPE rod and drill a 1/4" hole in the center, then shave them into pointed bushings so that the tube is centered. Every so often a skew to true up the bushing to a point again is necessary. You can get 6 pairs of bushings from a 12" rod for $12, or one set of bushings for $11.

The really nice thing about finishing them like this is that the thin CA has a change to "lip" over the edge of the tube and seal/stabilize the ends a bit more. A piece of 600 grit sandpaper on a flat surface and you can sand away any excess CA on the ends of the tubes.

Ah cool thanks, that's exactly what they look like.

In terms of the wood, can you use any old bit to practice on?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01H4098HE

They have a 48 item cases and 30 item cases for larger diameter pens and pencils. The actual case is the same dimensions.

Not real high quality, but for display purposes it works great. I then purchased a couple of pieces of 14"x 11" acrylic and cut them down to about 14"x 8" and use them as dust shields over the pencils. I remove them for pictures.

You know, the internet is a wonderful place. A quick five minute google search would get you what you need.

Woodworking Project Paper Plan to Build Glider Chair https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00491HSSS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_bskUzbF9YBJVA

They still use a lathe to cut the dowels, and ebony tends to have a sheen like that because of it's hardness. The shavings in the backround could be from anything. It's a lathe. The shavings coming from the bit look grainy to me though.

If it's metal, cool. But I've worked with gaboon ebony on a lathe before and this looks like that to me. I'm sorry this kind of got to me. I'm just trying to share my personal experiences.

Here is where I bought the wood:
https://www.amazon.com/Ebony-Gaboon-Pen-Blank-5-piece/dp/B004ZD1IFO

Might be worth posting photos and/or profile outlines in /r/woodworking or something. Some moldings are made up of multiple pieces stacked together. Some are made from a combination of relatively common router bits take in multiple, creatively angled passes. If the trim is very old, it's quite likely that this is how it was made.

> getting accurate measurements off of paint covered trim

Scrape the paint off of a small section? You can use a contour gauge to get a really accurate reading of the curve. Then you just need to measure the thickness. You could probably just find a section with the least erratic paint build up, get the contour, and smooth out any irregularities by eye in your drawing.

I have obsessively researched vise options for a future roubo build. When I build my bench and vises, I plan to buy [this] (http://www.amazon.com/WoodRiver-Woodthreading-Kit-1-1-TPI/dp/B0039ZEW16) wood threading kit. For $60, plus the cost of a few 1.25" maple dowels, I can make as many vises as I want, and use threaded wood for other purposes like screw advance jigs.

If it comes out nice, I might even sell cheap vise kits, with like 3' of threaded hard maple dowel, a board with through female threads, and a board with stopped female threads (to make attaching handles and stuff easy). Seems like a major unfilled niche in the woodworking marketplace, if you want a wood vise, the only options are pay out the ass for Lake Erie tool works, buy something antique, or buy specialized tooling to make your own. Really, I wish someone else would steal this idea and sell me a cheap wood vise kit!

I think you would need one of these, of the right size:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0039ZEW16/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1486720142&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=wood+tap+and+die&dpPl=1&dpID=31TibSTWsqL&ref=plSrch

Which probably makes the $10 price tag less attractive!

I actually own the book, and it's slightly thicker companion tome by the same guy, "Understanding Wood." Humorous as the cover and titles are, they're really incredible resources. R. Bruce Hoadley really knows his stuff.

I think the tool you are looking for is a contour gauge like this https://www.amazon.com/General-Tools-833-10-Inch-Contour/dp/B000E36098

Something like this would work:

https://www.amazon.com/General-Tools-833-10-Inch-Contour/dp/B000E36098

Countour Gage - $18.

Or what looks like this exact one, $9.

Depending on the object size, a contour gauge like this will help you transfer the design accurately to paper.

Sorry, no advice here but..

If you are in the US and have an amazon account here is a link to the same kit for 15 dollars less w free shipping kit

https://www.amazon.com/General-Tools-833-10-Inch-Contour/dp/B000E36098

About 19 bucks and solid measuring.

This is the set I got, although if you're outside Australia you might want to get it Here

I think for that application, I'd rather use a contour gauge - this plastic holds it shape generally, but does have some springback after released, so it wouldn't be exactly the contour you were trying to bend it to.

A contour gauge?

Exotic Wood Cutoffs

like this? I've been looking to pick up a set or drive over to mastercar and just build my own kit.

Used this kit.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0039ZEW16/ref=yo_ii_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Nice work OP! Any reason you didn't choose an under-mount sink? Also for future weird tile cuts get a profile gauge: https://www.amazon.com/General-Tools-833-10-Inch-Contour/dp/B000E36098

My mistake, the other box is from woodcraft.

Here's a link to their box: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00H2AF2FO/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_10?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A19VW1BL9ZXZVA