Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue #92 i Australian Wood Review

The Moxon vice has been in use in woodwork shops for at least 400 years. Two long pieces of wood sandwich your workpiece and are tightened with threaded wood handles. Later developments use iron wheels that spin on metal threads. Apparently Joseph Moxon, who shows this style of vice in his Mechanick Exercises, printed in 1694, did not invent it, however the name has stuck. Review vice from www.lakeerietoolworks.com Lake Erie Toolworks, USA was founded by Nick Dombrowski in 2008 and specialise in wood vice making. While attending college Nick worked at Organ Supply Industries as a machinist, then built keyboards and components. The antique workbench he used had wood vices and was the inspiration for LETW. Sales were initially slow and in the meanwhile he completed a graduate degree…

Toolmaking is something that just seems to come naturally to woodworkers. In fact, it’s hard to imagine anyone could progress fully in the craft without eventually making some sort of custom tool or jig. The tools presented here are useful to have and not difficult to make. Simple lathe turned handles are shown however if you don’t own a lathe then I’ll show you how to make something just as functional with a few basic hand tools. Photo 1: The materials required are as simple as those shown in the photo. Small timber offcuts for the handles, brass tube for ferrules and tool steel for cutting edges. Old scrapers, router bits and files can be repurposed into functional tools with specific applications. Try to select hardwood for the handles and…

The first question you may ask is: what makes a track saw different to a circular saw or a tablesaw, and can it do something the others can’t? The simple answer is yes; these saws are far more flexible in use, and more compact and portable. You simply lay a ‘track’ along a line you want to cut, clip the saw into place and start cutting. These systems can cut dead straight and don’t require careful measuring and clamping of guides. And best of all, they take up little space and are just so easy to pack up and transport, or pack away in your workshop, so they suit a tradesperson or a woodworker with limited budget and space down to a tee. Next you may ask, why do these…

Like many of my turned and carved pieces, this one is inspired by nature. I’ve never seen an auger shell on any of my beach walks but I bought one in Lakes Entrance in Victoria about ten years ago and its shaped intrigued me. I started with a prototype made from white beech to see how I could carve spirals and hollow the top and bottom sections (photo 1). A full size drawing helped to get the correct thickness of the walls. Looking at the shell, I thought about curving the tail and changing the spirals on the lid. A plasticine model was invaluable here (photo 2). I chose an 80mm square x 285mm long piece of Huon pine that had prominent growth rings as my intention was to sandblast…

Rikon (pronounced Reekon) has hit the floor at Beyond Tools and I was able to get a first look at the recent AWISA show held in July. A number of machines were on display from the large range available and I looked at three to get a feel for the build and features of this relatively new brand. They sell well in America and reports have been very good; in fact better than popular brands such as Laguna and Grizzly. The three machines were the 25-210H 12" planer thicknesser; the 23-400H 16" thicknesser and the 10-375 20" bandsaw. Chinese-built machines have come of age and the Rikon is no exception. They are extremely well-built, rugged in construction but with a finish more expensive equipment would be proud of. While I…

Festool recently released a new dust extractor based on the systainer system format. It is compact, lightweight at 6.9kg, and with T-Loc compatibility with other systainers, extremely portable. This extractor system comes with a 3m x 27mm diameter anti-static hose, 5m insulated mains cable, has an onboard outlet for auto-starting the tool and has a reported volume flow of 3000 litres/ minute. It is rated for dust category L. With a container/filter bag capacity of 4.5/3.5 litres, this is not a high-volume extractor and is therefore better suited for lighter trimming and clean-up operations. The rated maximum rated wattage of connected tools is 1200W, so this extractor will easily handle sanders, smaller routers, jigsaws etc. I ran the test unit on the preparation and installation of a large shopfront countertop…

Despite your best care and intentions there is always a chance of injury in a workshop that is equipped with sharp and powerful tools and machines. Minor can be major It doesn’t have to be a big incident to get into trouble. A simple splinter is no problem when removed with a pair of tweezers. However, a very deep splinter that breaks off at the skin surface is more problematic. Applying pressure around the entry point can help to expose some wood for the tweezers to purchase on. Certain woods, local and imported, have septic properties and even small slivers can lead to an adverse reaction. I know someone who got a splinter from a tropical wood in their thumb which turned septic and led to massive infection. Wearing good…

If you work with manufactured boards only, such as plywood or MDF, wood movement is probably not a concern for you in building furniture that lasts. Solid wood will however move forever and one must find ways to cope with this. Ignore wood movement and sooner or later you will find yourself struggling with the unavoidable: a stuck drawer, exposed unfinished wood or worse – a crack or split (photo 1). Here’s what you need to know: why and how wood moves, and how to handle some common movement challenges with a few tools and techniques. Why wood moves Wood swells and shrinks with changes in humidity because the wood cells exchange moisture with the surrounding environment. Humid air will cause the wood to expand as the cells absorb moisture;…

We all know the Kreg jigs – they have been around for years. Whilst not a replacement for traditional woodwork joints, the Kreg can be used to construct small tables, bookcases and to make some repairs. It does offer a quick and easy way to put something together using very few tools and skills. Kreg keep updating their various models and the K5 is a newish addition. The main body housing has an adjustable drilling guide that suits various thicknesses of wood and is easy and quick to set up. A small jig is placed on the housing to set screw length. With three drilling holes there is plenty of choice in positioning the screw holes. The drilling guide can also be removed and used on its own as a…

Mesh Better Mirka’s Abranet mesh type abrasives are getting attention for affording better dust extraction due to their less-likelyto- clog factor. With less friction generating less heat the manufacturers claim abrasive grit stays sharper. Belts like the one shown here are now available from Best Abrasives in two sizes. Being bi-directional 20% longer life is estimated after turning the belt around. Information from 0412 011 160. www.bestabrasives.com.au Two-In-One Artisan’s Duosand 46 combines a 6" diameter sanding disc with a 4" wide belt to give a complete sanding station in one machine. Designed to be bench mounted, the unit features a tilting working table on the disc sander along with a mitre gauge. The belt can be used vertically or horizontally with the belt end suitable for internal radii. www.iwoodlike.com.au Vicmarc…

Ihave delivered machine safety training in Trade Colleges for over 35 years. I have been an ‘expert’ consultant to WorkCover (Victoria) in several workplace prosecutions and was a member of the Australian Standards committee for woodworking machine guarding. It’s fair to say that I know a little about machine safety and I would like to share some of that with you in this article. This is not just another safety commentary about machine settings; it’s about how you can take some extra steps to ensure your woodworking remains safe and enjoyable for life. Now I have to confess that I’ve received a few stitches from workplace accidents and I am ready to admit that in certain situations things happen that you have no control over. Notwithstanding this, there are steps…

Making vices with screws made of wood instead of metal has enjoyed a small revival of late. You can buy the necessary wooden screws (which are quite expensive), but one of the attractions of wooden screws is that they are something you can quite easily make yourself, for little or no cost. Threading and tapping gear for smaller diameter screws (19–25mm) is readily available, but it’s a different story for 50mm diameter (or larger) screws. However, if you have access to a lathe and a router, you have all you need to make some simple equipment which will allow you to make as many large wooden screws and nuts as you desire. It is not a technically demanding process, and with a little care and patience anyone should be able…

The TAFE training system was a joy in the late 1970s with great workshops and, it seemed, full-time staff dedicated to sharpening our tools for us. I was a lucky carpentry and joinery apprentice on the job too; the boss kept back my $4.50 tool allowance each week and bought me a tool set in my first week from BBC Hardware. Plumb hammer, nailbag, level (plumbstick), Stanley 4-1/2 smoother, Marples chisels, Berg/Sandvik saws, plumbob, etc. The remaining $45 per week seemed like riches, yet it was a while before I devoted any of it to more tools. The boss and I were a ‘small but viable’ unit. Mick was a licensed master builder originally from England but more Aussie than most. The 1964 Falcon station wagon work vehicle was the…