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Mitre bar replacement
It looks like only Bosch, Skil and Ryobi make 16 mm slots (5/8″). You can’t buy a high-quality mitre gauge replacement, you have to make it yourself. So I bought a 16 mm mild steel flat bar and made a mitre bar that has no play. The idea was simple – resize the bar from 16.0 mm to 16.3 mm (5/8″ to 41/64″ which is an extra 1/64″) by hammering. The method is not very sophisticated but it worked just fine. I don’t have an anvil so I used a sledgehammer instead. It’s not easy to show the progress in…
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Shackle jacket rack
It is built to only hang 4 working clothes: a jacket, trousers, a hoodie and a T-shirt. Scrap wood and old but never used shackles were used for this project. For some reason the original shackle pin was smaller than the M8 bolt, it was 7.3 mm in diameter whereas the bolt was 7.7 mm. Not a big problem, I cut another thread in no time. Once that was done I set my portable drill stand and drilled some holes with a Forstner bit and then with a regular bit. Each shackle will be held by just one bolt and…
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Autumn tools, edition 2019
The most important upgrade to my “shed shop” this year was the new table saw Bosch GTS 10J Professional. I’d watched tons of YouTube videos and read thousands of reviews prior to buying this one. I must say I like this saw! It’s easy to move from place to place, it’s easy to clean with compressed air, the top is flat, it has a paddle-off switch and the riving knife has the right size and position. On the other hand, it has a very badly designed mitre gauge, and it comes with a terrible blade. Makita TM3000CX4 Oscillating Multi-Tool is…
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Vertical sundial
For this project, I used some scrap steel roofing sheets. It only looked bad but in fact, it had a protective film on it. A couple of days prior to that build I printed out the template and tested it. I was very happy with its accuracy. No astronomical knowledge was needed as all the work was done by the script on a website. However, it’s good to know how it works. I glued the template to the sheet with contact adhesive. Using my razor-sharp snips I quickly cut out the shape. Next, I punched some holes and flattened the…
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Circular saw jig
It’s made of OSB, steel and spruce timber. Simple and stiff construction, ideal for cutting long pieces of timber such as skirting boards. Cutting at 2 angles: 45 and 90º made easy. (The post Improved circular saw jig can be found here) The first thing to do was to trim the board to length. It was an easy job for my recently bought circular saw. 4 supporting pieces I cut on my table saw as they were too small for any other tool. The steel corner I bought had to be cut in half, but that was the easy part.…
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Mini table saw sledge
A must-have jig for every woodworker. Due to the limited storage space, I decided to build a mini version, with only one, but adjustable runner. I used plywood from my router tabletop as it wasn’t used very often. First I removed all the plastic caps and then the screws. Using my straight line jig I cut the runner to width. Sanding and drilling holes came next. The runner can be adjusted with 4 little screws that also prevent the sledge from popping out of the slot. Fixing the back fence at the perfect angle took me 3 attempts thus there…
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Router turning jig
Buying a lathe is not very expensive, but it takes space to store. That was the reason to build that jig. It’s easy to store, and it uses my router tabletop. The square log pictured below was another reason that I built this jig. I started with the metal elements. Cutting to length, drilling holes and countersinking them. 2 types of screws were used as this jig is fixed on one side and can be adjusted on the other side in the future. Larger screws had too big heads for this project, so I resized them down with some grinding.…
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X-mas tools, edition 2018
Fiskars X21 (splitting) and Fiskars X7 (universal) axes have fibreglass-reinforced plastic handles which are stronger than wooden handles. They can keep going without any problems. The axe heads are integrated into the handles and will not come off. Additionally, the handles absorb vibrations and increase grip and comfort during use. The quality is great and the axes are covered by a lifetime warranty. Each axe comes with a plastic protective case that can be used to carry or hang up the axe. Axes can handle a lot of abuse and once properly sharpened will stay sharp for a long period…
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Shed shelves
I needed some place to store my timber and plywood/MDF sheets. Something quite small, to save space in the shed and big enough to accommodate a 4′ x 2′ sheet. All elements were fixed inside the shed except for the one that I started with. I didn’t have an extra hand so I improvised with temporary supports. Once the frame was done I prepared for pocket hole joinery. The lower shelf is built for shorter material (shorter spacing) and the upper one for longer pieces of timber. It has the right size and it’s very sturdy. It will help me…
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4 tier shelving unit
I used pallet wood to build the tiers. First I cut it to the width. Then I set the blade to a 45º angle to cut everything to length. I used a stop block to make precision cuts. 25 and 30 cm pieces were cut, 8 of each length. Glued and clamped with my recently build corner clamps. It is perfectly square. I also tried different ways of using my clamps, even better results. Sanding, clamping and cutting a recess for an aluminium corner. Once the frames were done I prepared another batch of pallet wood. Planed down to the…
