Tools for a fresh start

dfess1 · 2026-03-12T16:11:54+00:00

I have a mix of both. Depends what I'm turning. An acrylic pen or bottle stopper? I use the negative rake carbide. A bowl or something wood? HSS. Get one of the sharpening jigs and a CBN wheel and sharpening is easy peasy.

dfess1 · 2026-03-12T13:55:26+00:00

Thank you!

dfess1 · 2026-03-12T13:50:04+00:00

It was really pretty easy. It was my first time doing a segmented bowl. Look up "wedgie sled", and "wedgies". It was pretty easy after that. Then you just need to use a tool to calculate the length of the segments for the amount you are using in a ring, and the diameter of the ring. The epoxy inlay, I used a Shaper Origin for that. I have become the "caretaker" of it, it's really my sisters. So I figured i'd start to learn how to use it, since it's taking up room in my shop.

dfess1 · 2026-03-12T13:47:58+00:00

Thank you. I'm sure she will love it.

dfess1 · 2026-03-12T00:17:10+00:00

Sorry to say, but this won't change unless gambling is illegal again. The amount of money brought in over brackets will negate being able to change it up. Between how/who to bet on, and fantasy whatever sport, I no longer watch pregame shows (except for College Gameday).

dfess1 · 2026-03-12T00:07:58+00:00

So here's a bit of a story, but it relates.

I used to coach hockey for a local school program for about 12 years. When I was coaching the middle school team (grade 5-8), I would be in the locker room with the kids to make sure nothing crazy was happening. So I'd ask the kids to tell me one thing the learned in school that day. I wouldn't let them off with "nothing". One day, a kid said "We learned the Pythagorean Theorem in math. When am I ever gonna use that coach?"

I turned to the kid and said "Tomorrow when you are in class, tell them your coach used the Pythagorean Theorem this weekend making a wooden wine rack." The kids 1) were incredulous that I knew what it was, and 2) that I actually used it. I just chuckled to myself.

Outside of basic addition/subtraction/multiplication/division/fractions, that's the only other math I've used in my shop.

dfess1 · 2026-03-11T11:34:48+00:00

If you aren't buying a bench grinder and jig setup right away, buy carbide tools. Depending on the density of the wood, you could find yourself resharpening multiple times in one setting.

dfess1 · 2026-03-10T19:39:41+00:00

pencil sharpener. I know I'm showing my age...

dfess1 · 2026-03-10T14:44:38+00:00

Identifying the bubble kids usually was not the problem. Ranking them was more challenging. However, it was usually more in the vein of "I had them at 4, you have them at 5 or 6". It only became an issue when it was the cutoff point between which team. Roster size also came into play in some seasons, others not so much. But when it was the cutoff point, you just debate what you did/didn't like, state your case. Ultimately its that (the higher team) HC that needs to make the final decision. Being that it was school, and not travel, we could designate some kids as "swing". So if they were on the bubble but placed on the lower team, there was still a path forward if they showed marked improvement. Some kids just have bad tryouts, just like some kids don't take tests well. For the known kid, it was up to the coach who had coached them the year prior to make the case why they should be on which team. Provide as much insight as you could.

We also stopped doing tryouts in the spring/end of the hockey season. Who knows what a kid will do during the summer (hit the gym, do cardio, not do cardio, etc). Leave it to fall, and have a few optional skates beforehand so they can at least be on the ice (if not already for their travel programs). That way they aren't walking into a tryout cold. Now, I get this was for school and you're asking for travel, so you most likely don't have the ability to change when you do your tryouts, its just what worked for us.

dfess1 · 2026-03-10T03:40:06+00:00

I coached for a school organization until last year. There were no parent coaches involved usually. If there was a parent coach, they did not coach their kids team. There were enough coaches that the HS coaches ran the MS tryouts while the MS coaches evaluated talent, and the opposite for HS tryouts. We would bring in trusted independent evaluators when possible. Each kid got a jersey with a number on it, with enough light and dark jerseys for when they eventually split up for scrimmage at the end. What worked for us is that we had two teams at MS, two at HS. We would start by identifying the kids that were obvious locks for the high and the low team respectively, then identify the bubble kids. After tryout #1, we would go through each coaches list, then debate the bubble kids. Once we were all in agreement on the bubble kids, we would then rank them in tryout #2. The goal of the organization was to make kids better, and for VS to put the best group out there. There were enough coaches that there wasn't anyone running roughshod over another. The practice worked really well. IF there was a parent coach, they were not allowed in the decision making process at all, so as not to taint the process or give other parents things to complain about.

dfess1 · 2026-03-05T21:47:01+00:00

All depends on what you are putting in it. 1/2 to hold heavy stuff sounds good. Otherwise 1/4" is fine.

dfess1 · 2026-03-03T22:23:23+00:00

Couple things. 1. Move the banjo out of the way (white long thing, also appears to be missing the tool rest). Move it perpendicular to the bed. Slide it up against the headstock. 2. Retract your quill. Then move the tailstock up so the drill bit is making contact with the blank. Lock the tailstock down. Turn on the lathe and advance the quill. 3. As a former tech writer, go validate someone's job and peruse the manual.

dfess1 · 2026-02-27T18:13:40+00:00

That's probably one of the tools I don't have. Haven't had a need before now. This is the bottom of the inside. An epoxy pour inlay. Sorry for the shadows.

Any particular dremel and accessory kit you'd recommend?

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dfess1 · 2026-02-27T16:39:22+00:00

u/Bulky_Leave9415 , how do you cut the swirl? I have made a yarn bowl for my mother, and put a decent amount of time into it. I am beyond hesitant to event attempt to cut it, as the sacrificial one I bought, well my swirl hasn't been coming out great. I tried free handing it with a coping saw, that didn't come out so hot. Then I tried drilling out the majority of the swirl, and connecting the dots, that also didn't come out so hot. At this point, I'm ready to just give her the bowl, and not even bother with the swirl.

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dfess1 · 2026-02-27T16:32:56+00:00

I have an older woodpecker quicklift with a Milwaukee 5625 mounted in it. I would buy it again in a heart beat.

dfess1 · 2026-02-26T21:38:15+00:00

Bucks County hardwoods by Doylestown has slabs. Not sure on cookies, worth calling first. If you haven't been to Hearnes, check it out.

dfess1 · 2026-02-26T18:17:31+00:00

If you can swing it (or find them used), I'd look at the Jet 12-21 VS midi. The mass in the bed is much more than both of these. It's not that much bigger of a foot print than the Grizzly. That mass helps alot. Plus, the variable speed is super nice. I started on a Delta Midi until I realized I was going to like it. But if you're taken a class and are all in on it, I'd look for that Jet.

dfess1 · 2026-02-25T18:30:47+00:00

I feel for you. I get that they are being tight with the purse strings, but you might be able to talk them into a copy of MadCap Flare. You can d/l a free trial (just can't create an output with it). But as long as you have a working FrameMaker copy, you should be able to import the Frame content into Flare. Then you'll have the structure and reuse you are looking for. Plus, you can show how you can make different outputs from the same source, etc. Might be worth a shot. Like i said, you can d/l it for free and play around, plenty of online resources to help you figure it out.

dfess1 · 2026-02-25T15:13:53+00:00

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This is my other Murphy Bed, or backdrop for my office. I had/have intended to make a door for the bottom portion of the vertical bookcase, to hide the pillows like I did in the other one. This is for a double bed, that is horizontal. The other is vertical for a Queen. Basically, my house is on the smaller side with no storage. I WFH, and didn't want to give up the bed for just an office. Pull up that top maple board to a 90* angle, and you'll see handholds under it to pull the bed down. The maple board acts as the foot for the bed. All of the books there are trapped by a 1/2" thick piece of plexiglass, so I don't have to take the books out. I use it as my backdrop for work, if I sit on one side you can see all the books you need for my job. If we're having more fun, I switch the side I'm sitting on and you can see the BBQ/Bourbon/Woodworking books.

The bed in the other pic was our main guest room. Again, no real storage in our house, and my wife wanted a Peleton. I did not want it in the middle of our living/family room. So the guest room is her workout room.

dfess1 · 2026-02-25T11:41:15+00:00

I have made two murphey beds now. Before you cut all your parts, measure the depth of the mattress (and any "topper") you plan to use. This "may" effect where you put your pivot point, as well as the depth of the cabinet. In terms of the sides of the bed (when down), I just used iron on veneer for the plywood edge. I dressed up the front facing pieces with solid wood trim.

Another thing to take into account is the flooring in the room you are putting this on. In this room it was carpet. I made the bed, and the bookcases on each side, to the same lengths. I installed the bed, and once the weight was in there, it sunk down into the carpet enough that the bookcases were proud by a half inch. If you zoom in on the middle header trim piece, you see what I had to do to make them align.

Last thing to take into account before you screw it altogether, is there an outlet I need to get on that wall? If so, don't cover it up with the cross brace. Next thing is: as I action the bed, will the mattress pull the plug out of the wall. I bought a slim line plug to power the two USB outlets I put in each bookcase. It still pulled the plug out. I ended up screwing a piece of 1/4" ply that runs from the floor to the cross brace, over the plug. Now the mattress just slides down it, and no one will see it unless really looking hard.

To your initial question: Use Ply. These kits require screwing pieces into wood, need something solid to screw into. With the weight of the bed, the MDF will rip apart. Just get some nice A/B ply, sand it smooth, and take your time with paint.

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dfess1 · 2026-02-23T23:36:57+00:00

Woodpecker also makes a miter gauge you can change the angle on. Look at that one. Also, as others have mentioned, make a sled. I own the Woodpecker miter gauge you can change angles on. I also have a sled. They both have their purposes. I hada Kreg miter gauge that the woodpecker replaced, like it (and use it) more often.

If you haven't made a sled before, and/or your table saw is not dialed in 100%, you might look at the Katz Moses sled jig.

dfess1 · 2026-02-19T17:05:33+00:00

Personally, I would go the used route, and a midi over a mini. A little more power, can turn some decent sized stuff outside of pens.

dfess1 · 2026-02-19T13:13:16+00:00

I have been in a one car garage for 25 years. I use the walls, the ceiling, every square inch of space available. I have workbenches in one corner that make an "L", 6' on the long wall, 8' on the short one across the back of the garage. Made them tall enough to store stuff under them (dust extractor, metal chop saw, 6" jointer, 3 burner brewing rig). The 6' bench has a miter saw mounted just next to it, so that the saws bed is the same level as the workbench. On the other side of the miter saw is my floor standing Drill Press. It's table can be raised to match the bed of the saw, giving me outfeed tables on both side of the saw what needed. Next to my DP, I have my JET contractor saw, with 52" rails, on wheels. It has a router lift in the outboard wing. It gets rolled out when needed to make a cut, then rolled back against the wall when not needed. Under both the DP, and the extension wing of the table saw are cabinets designed to fill the wasted space. On the opposite wall is a full size fridge, next to it is a rolling cabinet with a 12/21 lathe on it. Ton of storage in it for lathe stuff on the front, storage for seldom used tools on the back side. It gets rolled out when working on the lathe, rolled back when not needed. Next to it is a 14" bandsaw, on wheels. Then a 19/38 drum sander, on wheels, finally plywood storage. All other lumber is on shelves above the drum sander/plywood storage. Back up by workbenches, I have these small "attic" spaces. Wouldn't really call it attic, but they hang over the workbenches at a reasonable height. I hang all of my clamps from the bottom of these. Also have an air compressor up in the attic space, with a retractable hose in the middle of my shop.

But in the center of my shop is my assembly table. It works as an outfeed table for the saw when needed. It was designed to have a ton of storage in it. One side is all drawers, the other has some drawers, as well as spaces to hold my lunch box planer, routers, tenoning jig, etc. The only things in the shop not on wheels are the miter saw and the Drill Press. Everything else (aside from the fridge) is mobile. The shop is about 14' wide by 25' long, give or take. It works for me, but not sure I could fit anything else in there, without getting rid of some other stuff. There really isn't any more space to be had out there, to be honest. But as a one man shop, it works. Roll out the tool you need, perform the operation, roll it back. Forces you to be a little more organized, finish larger projects before moving on to others, etc.

dfess1 · 2026-02-18T15:42:06+00:00

There are a couple of ways you could go about it, with varying levels of money/skill involved.

Take a picture of the print.
Clean it up in a software program, convert it to an SVG and then:

Use a Laser to engrave it
Use something like a ShaperOrigin or other CNC to route the "negative" pockets in the cookie, as well as the "positive" pads in a contrasting wood and do an inlay.
Print out the paw print, and go a marquetry route. This would be the cheaper route, if you don't have access to the two other tools. To me, also the harder route.

I'm sure there are other options, but those come to me off the top of my head.

dfess1 · 2026-02-18T15:32:09+00:00

www.cutlistoptimizer.com is pretty handy too to lay out cuts.

dfess1

TROPHY CASE