A friend gave me a couple of freshly cut cedar logs recently.  The logs were fairly small diameter, about 5″ and the pith was offset quite a bit to one side.  I cut the logs into 2′ lengths using my chainsaw, but did not want to split the logs using my chainsaw.  I knew I would get cleaner, more accurate cuts with my bandsaw and would waste far less of the wood.  I needed a safe way to cut the round logs on the bandsaw.

This is the simple jig I put together.  Two pieces of scrap plywood with a couple of supporting triangular brackets.

The log is then screwed to the jig at the front and back of the jig.  I made sure that the screws went into waste wood.

Set the bandsaw fence making sure that you will not be cutting through the screws!  Because the log is screwed to the jig, it will prevent the log rotating while it is being cut.

Once a flat surface is established, cutting the log into spindle stock is fairly straightforward.

The end results.   A bunch of 2″ to 2 1/2″ spindle stock with some beautiful color.  Ready for the end grain to be sealed and then stacked and stickered to dry.

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The first step is to mark the center line of where the hinge will be positioned.   Then position the jig using the alignment arrows and clamp it in place.  Note: the clamp is on the underside, or show face of the door.  You can’t see it in the following picture and I didn’t take a picture showing it.  Sorry, my bad.

Set the stop collar on the bit guide so the bit drills to the correct depth.  I like to drill a test hole in a scrap piece of wood and make sure the hole is deep enough to allow the hinge to fit in without bottoming out.

The bit guide is then positioned over the alignment plate.   The wide circumference of the bit guide ensures that the bit is held square to the work surface, important when drilling with a large Forstner bit. As the  bit guide fits over the alignment plate it also stops the bit from wandering.

After placing the hinge in the hole, check that the back of the hinge is parallel to the frame using a square.

Use a self centering bit to drill pilot holes for the hinge screws.

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A quick search on the internet for “drilling shelf pin holes” will result in many hits showing how to build and use a jig to drill the shelf pin holes using a hand held drill.  There are even commercial jigs available.  I prefer to use a plunge router to bore the holes.  The work proceeds faster and the high speed of the router produces a cleaner hole.  Also, as the weight of the router is supported by the workpiece, I find it less tiring than holding a drill.  Often when drilling holes for shelf support pins you have to do a couple of hundred at a time, so these factors are important.

The jig that I use is made from a scrap piece of pine which I re-sawed and planed to 3/8″ thick.  1/2″ thick MDF or plywood would work just as well.  The pine was ripped to 3 1/2″ wide and is just over 60″ long.  A line was drawn down the middle of the board and then a series of marks at 2 1/2″ intervals were marked out along that line.  The marks start and end approximately 9″ from each end of the board.   A 3/8″ hole is then drilled at each mark and a slight counter sink at each hole.  The counter sink is just to make it easier to locate the router collar in the hole.  Take care to make sure the counter sink is not deeper than the depth of your collar, the collar needs to be supported by the walls of the 3/8″ hole.

Mark one end of the board “top” and the other end of the board “bottom”.  This will make it easy to ensure that you are always referencing from the bottom of the cabinet wall.  Then line the side of the jig up with the side of the cabinet wall and clamp it in place.

I use 1/4″ shelf pin supports, so I mount a 1/4″ spiral upcut bit in my router along with a 3/8″ collar.  Set the plunge depth of the router so that the bit extends 3/8″ past the jig.  Then it is just a matter of positioning the router collar in a hole in the jig and plunge routing a hole, repeat as necessary.  I find the slight counter sink at each hole makes positioning the router quick and easy.

Once the line of holes at the front of the cabinet are drill, slide the jig to the back of the cabinet, making sure you are still referencing the bottom of the jig from the bottom of the cabinet, clamp it in place and bore the line of holes for the back of the cabinet.

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Instead I ordered a wall mounted dust collector from Rockler along with a Dust Right™ Master System and a Dust Right™ Expandable Hose.

I installed them this morning and briefly tested the unit. So far I’m very pleased. I don’t think the lathe hood will catch a lot of the shavings while turning but I’m sure it will catch a lot of the dust while sanding. I also ordered the optional 5 micron bag with that in mind. The unit is a bit louder than I was expecting, but so far that is my only real disappointment. Attaching the floor sweep to the expandable hose will definitly make cleaning up after a turning session a lot quicker and easier.

As I use the system I’ll make another post with more comments. In the meantime here are some pictures of it.

You can click on any of the images to see a larger version.

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There are three things I want to do with the vacuum pump. The first is set up a vacuum chuck for my lathe. I am going to try and build one. My friend explained how it’s done and it sounds like I can do it. I’ll be sure to take pictures and do a write up on my blog as I work on this project.

The second thing I want to use it for is to do some veneer work. I’ve been wanting to do veneer work on small boxes and stuff for a long time, so I see a vacuum bag in my future.

Lastly, I have a pressure pot which is set up for both pressure and vacuum, and I’d like to experiment with dyeing and stabilizing small pieces of wood under vacuum.

03.15.09 Updated to show picture of the vacuum pump. It really sucks!

You can click on any of the images to see a larger version.

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The following pictures show what I came up with. The jig has a runner which fits in the miter slot. A couple of points when building the jig:

Because the cut in the base is now a zero clearance kerf and you are supporting the top of the workpiece with the hold down block, I’m able to cut the veneer with no tear out at all.

You can click on any of the images to see a larger version.

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You can click on any of the images to see a larger version.

I turned a number of these holders to hold the pen while I am spraying it. I turned them from some pen blanks. The tenon at the end is 1/4″.

The floor of the spray booth has a number of 1/4″ holes drilled in it. The tenon of the holder fits in the hole and once the sliding door of the spray booth is closed, the pens can dry in a dust free environment.

The upper part of the spray booth has a circular piece of scrap plywood mounted on a Lazy Susan mechanism. The plywood has a 1/4″ hole drilled in the center of it. I also placed a small mark at the edge of the plywood so I would have a visual reference that I had fully rotated the piece while spraying.

This is a shot of the spray booth with the sliding door in the up position. The spray booth also gave me a space to store all my spray cans and glue bottles.

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