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It's
the little things....
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Sometimes
small items in your shop can make
all the difference in the quality
of your work, and in your overall
happiness in the shop! I've been
lucky enough to stumble upon a few
and would to share them here. As
I find other tools or tricks, I'll
post them here.
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Table-mounted
Vise
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I
got this vise from a good friend
who I worked with a few years back
repairing antique furniture. It
is not pretty, but it does the job.
The wood pads are great for holding
knives firmly without scratching.
I still slip in a piece of leather
or cloth, just in case. With the
knife held securely in the vise,
I can file guards, shape handle
materials and put on the final wax
finish. Handy lil' tool - if it
ever breaks, you better believe
I'll have a new one in its place
the very next day.
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Dust
collector
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I
probably don't use this anywhere
near enough in my shop. In fact,
I hardly use it at all.
But
all of that is going to change when
I finish setting up the forge. I'll
be be seeing duty as a forced-air
blower.
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Light
box
I
have made several lightboxes for
photographing knives, and so far
this has been the most successful.
I will gladly give credit to the
person that provided the inspiration
= "Coop" of SharpByCoop
photography. The idea is very
simple - provide multiple sources
of indirect, filtered and reflected
light. By not shining the light
directly on the knife, you eliminate
"hot spots" and create
a more neutral lighting. I like
to use simple fabrics as backgrounds
- so as to not distract from the
knife - which should be the center
of attention. I sometimes will
use pencil erasers to "prop
up" the knife to help with
the lighting. Other than that,
it's just compose, point and shoot!
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Protective
Tarp
Behind
the machinery in my shop, I have
hung a 16' x 12' heavy-duty tarp.
This protects not only the wall,
but the floor. You can see that
I build up quite a bit of dust
and junk, and since I only clean
the shop once a month (at most!)
the mess is more manageable this
way.
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Update!
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I
finally cleaned up the shop and did
a little rearranging of my benchtop
tools. Most importantly, I moved the
belt grinder to the end because it
was started to wear away at the tarp.
You can clearly see the stain it left
behind. The tarp did its job well! |
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220V
line from Breaker
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I
didn't want to run an extension
cord from my Dryer plug outlet to
run my 220V equipment. Since I'm
renting, and working out of my garage,
running it straight from the electrical
panel made more sense. With help
from a neighbor electrician, I put
in a new breaker and ran the cable
from the back of the panel to a
plug-in box closer to my shop. I
want to be able to remove everything
when we move, or else I would have
just done all the wiring in the
walls (proper way to do it). However,
the lesson here is that this is
a quick and simple way to get 220V
juice out to your shop - we did
it in less than a half-hour and
cost only $40 in parts (all found
at Lowe's). If you're in a pinch,
you could easily do the same.
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The
top-left arrow is pointing to the
breaker I installed. I left it unmarked
and when I move, I will take the
breaker with me. The bottom-right
arrow is pointing to a small relief
we cut into the wall halfway under
the breaker panel. The wiring goes
from the panel to the breaker, then
from the breaker out that opening.
That line is live 220V, so make
sure to get properly gauged and
insulated wire. Should also mention
the breaker I bought came with a
30 amp fuse.
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In this picture the bottom-left
arrow is pointing to the other end
of the cable (from the breaker panel).
I terminated it at a standard exposed
outlet box. The top-right arrow
points to the cable the leads to
my 220V drive (on the KMG). I went
with standard sizes on the plug
and outlet (vs. oversize plug-ends
like a dryer has) because they're
less bulky and easy to use. The
220V drive runs if it's plugged
in, so I leave in unplugged. If
this was a dedicated shop and I
never had to worry about kids being
around, I would have just wired
it straight to the panel and added
switches before the 220V drive.
Safety first, in this case.
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Large
Fan
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Just
an oversize floor fan - easy to
find cheap. Keeps the air moving
in my shop, and in the summer
with the garage door open, works
wonders for keeping things cooled
down.
3
settings - Breeze, Wind &
Hurricane!
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Overhead
Lights
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It's
amazing what a little light can
do to a room. It can literally make
or break it. I care a lot about
light and have been experimenting
with what works best for me. In
my situation, I work out of my garage.
The only light in there is a 60W
incandescent. So, I set about creating
better lighting conditions for my
separate work areas. I have flood
lamps over the machinery and more
focused downlights over the table
area. When I'm gluing up or checking
for errors, I'll pull one of the
round clip-on lamps down and attach
it to my tool chest for a bright
inspection light.
I'm
a big believer in having as much
light as possible in the work area.
Those clip-on lamps are $7 at the
hardware store and good low-wattage
compact flourescent bulbs can be
had for $3 or less each. They use
less energy and last just as long.
A dozen of those is the same energy
cost as two 75W bulbs, but 10 times
the light output. It's a no-brainer
as far as I'm concerned. Better
yet, if you can snag a few "daylight"
bulbs (usually just $1 more). My
lighting situation is not completely
solved, but with time, I'll get
it just right.
For
now, have a look at the difference
in light quality over the KMG grinder,
from just turning the flood lamps
toward the ceiling (instead of straight
down on the work).
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2x4
Testing area
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I
keep a few 2x4s on hand to test
knives - partly for sharpness, partly
for toughness.
Even the santoku kitchen knives
are tested for toughness before
they go out. Obviously, I will beat
on the larger knives harder than
the smaller ones, relative to their
intended purpose. Sometimes it's
just simple chopping strikes down
one side, other times I will cleave
a 2x4 in half.
There
is a spot right outside my garage
door where I can brace a 2x4 for
full-out testing.
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Table
- Workspace
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It's
not much, but this 3'x5' table from
Office Depot was only $30 and as
you can see - gets used! It's pretty
much a beater now, no sense in trying
to keep it pretty. I do all my drawing/doodling
here, glue-up takes place here,
and any fine sanding is done here.
It takes just a moment to move one
of my clamp lights and attach it
to the Tool Chest - and I have nice
bright light for detail work. Final
inspection is done in this light
- any scratches, imperfections,
voids, etc. and it's back to the
table vise for clean-up.
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Update!
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Here's what it looks like cleaned
up. Not bad, eh?
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Tool
stands
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These tool stands are available
at Harbor Freight and are dirt cheap,
easy to build and very sturdy. I've
topped them off with one (or sometimes
two) layer(s) of MDF - Multi-Density
Fiberboard - available at Home Depot/Lowes.
It's straighter than plywood and
won't warp if you keep it dry. Easy
to put in screws and won't tear
out like plywood - not to mention,
no slivers!
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Dust
Mask
(knifemaker's health insurance policy)
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Get
used to wearing a mask. It will
save your life. Even with this
mask, which is rated to work even
with formaldehyde, stuff gets
through. I can't imagine what
my lungs would look like if I
was inhaling this stuff day-in-and-day-out.
When the grinder's going, I try
to keep the garage door open and
air moving - that tends to help
cut down the dust. Working with
Corian, though...puts a blanket
of fine powder on all my tools
in a matter of minutes. It's not
toxic, but it sure can clog you
up in a hurry. In the pic, it
is shown on my shop chair - set
at a height that allows me to
grind at the KMG while seated,
thought most times I grind standing.
Just nice to have the option for
detail work (not have to hunch
over and squint).
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Well,
that wraps it up! Have any questions?
Feel free to email me anytime.
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