Craig’s Crafts

I was cruising the Internet the other night and did that thing where you start off on one topic and gradually wander off onto something completely different. I was looking up rail guns, just out of curiosity, and ended up on wooden toy trains. Most of the links were sales pages about Brio, Thomas the Tank Engine, etc., but reading The Wooden Railway Page reminded me of all the good times I had with my trains when I was a kid. They were some of my favorite toys, along with my wooden blocks. After some filtering of Google’s results, I found some really good information about making not just the trains, but the track as well. Another good site is
Hoogerland National Railways.

Worth looking into.

I’m embarrassed to admit that I haven’t done a thing in my shop since November, unless you count the “Christmas tree” I made.

We don’t have any kids in the house to nag us to death about getting a tree and our dogs aren’t any help in motivating us to get one. They always seem surprised that they have new toys on Christmas morning, even after the big decoration session of the night before.

In any event, it was Christmas Eve, we had no tree, so I took a couple or three 1×2s, split them and made a triangular outline of a tree. Adding a few (6) strings of red lights from Walgreens, and viola, a tree. Sort of.

The camera flash exaggerates the light color of the frame, but in normal room light it was masked by the red lights. Next year my wife wants me to re-do it, more in the shape of a tree than a triangle.  I’m  not looking forward to un- and re-winding 600 lights.

After producing a prototype for anything I’m working on, I debrief myself on the problems I encountered. I take the notes I’ve made, usually right on a copy of the plans and/or cutlist, and give them a little organization. I put circled numbers on those notes to indicate the sequence I’ve made them. I use the notes to make a list and then add observations on how I solved a problem. Sometime the solutions aren’t found until afterward or until the next version is made. This addendum is kept and a copy is filed with the plans until needed again.
I’ve done a comparison of those notes, and here is a list of steps I keep in mind when starting a new project:

1. Make notes. Anything that isn’t correct, took too long, needs a special accessory or jig, anything you think will help if you want to make this project again. Don’t be afraid to write on the plans/cutlist. (You can make a copy and write on that if you want.)
2. Acclimate your stock to your shop environment. I’ve rushed into milling newly purchased wood, and resumed work a week or so later only to find the stock had changed size on me.
3. Refer to drawings and cutlists during planing and construction. Mistakes happen, and not all measurements in a plan are necessarily correct. Think about the way the parts will fit before you cut, and check back at the creator’s website if you can.
4. Organize similarly dimensioned stock for milling. I try to cut every piece of the same dimension with the same setup. If it’s right, they’re perfect. If it’s wrong, at least they’re all the same size. Maybe you can just adjust the other dimensions and not have to start over.
5. Cut everything you can while it’s still square or disassembled. It’s so much easier to clamp, route or taper at that point.
6. Dry fit as you go along. This will help you decide on the order of assembly, confirm the parts will fit later and help with glue-up. Sometimes just comparing a part you’re about to cut to the partially assembled project can prevent a costly error.
7. Assemble as sub-assemblies. You’ll need fewer clamps and won’t be racing against the glue. It takes a little more time, but the attention to detail often pays off with higher quality construction.
8. Finally, save the cutoffs. They come in handy for testing stains and finishes, or at least as clamp pads. Or sizing dadoes. Or parts for a jog. Or backup for drilling. Or…

Alright, I admit it. I save every scrap.

My workshop was converted from a 2-car garage, with some space reserved for a washer/dryer, the “All Refrigerator” and a small freezer, and a set of shelves holding garden tools. I insulated the walls last year, and as the weather got colder, added an overhead quartz heater. Radiant heat only warms objects, not the air, and as long as I’m one of these objects, it works fine. Walk away from the target area and you’ll know how cold it really is in the shop.

I don’t really have to do much to winterize. I watch the temperature of the shop, using one of those remote sensors that sends its info back to a clock/thermometer in my living room. I’ll open shop windows if it looks like it will be warmer than the current shop temp. That insulation can cause the shop to stay cold over several days of warm weather.

Once it gets consistently cold, I plug in one of those electric oil-filled radiators, set it to its lowest setting, and just leave it on, so the shop doesn’t get below 40 or so.

If it gets really cold, and I have to be out there, I’ll layer up the clothing and turn on the quartz heater when I’m in the shop.

The biggest problem isn’t really the cold, but the humidity. All those metal surfaces can rust very quickly unless they are protected. I use Top Coat for cleaning and paste wax to prevent rust. Seems to be working.

Here’s pictures of the quartz heater, radiator and the remote sensor.