tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22302460013014136012012-02-14T08:34:03.306-05:00Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.comBlogger861100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-16548601842923240502012-02-14T08:34:00.000-05:002012-02-14T08:34:03.319-05:00

Friday was the big moving day. Table saw, chop saw, planer, joiner, two lathes, two dust collectors, drill press, band saw, two work benches, air compressor, sharpening cabinet, rolling tool cabinet, and three cabinets made the move from the lake shop to the Wooster shop.   Now the work begins. Cleaning and maintaining all the machinery, reorganizing the cabinets, and reassembling

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-88457499319082816642012-01-28T17:18:00.000-05:002012-01-28T17:18:28.715-05:00

I spent a week at John Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, North Carolina in a class with Jan Adams from Bogalusa, Louisiana. Although the course is listed as a wood turning class, the primary emphasis of the week was what you do with a platter or bowl after it is successfully turned. We were primarily studying methods for inlaying minerals, carving designs, or burning designs  into the wood

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-37078621938995439322012-01-13T17:42:00.000-05:002012-01-13T17:42:21.843-05:00

While I have continued bringing small items from the old shop to my new one, the wall dividing my shop from the rest of the basement has been built. There are two access doors in the wall - one for general entrance and one for a potential bathroom in the basement. There are also multiple outlets along the area where an additional workbench and wall cabinets will be located and outlets around

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-63640832226117330512012-01-05T12:27:00.000-05:002012-01-05T12:27:32.469-05:00

My parents were both office workers during their work life and both created offices in their home even after they retired. As we moved them from their house into an independent living apartment, we had to dispose of several desks, office chairs, vertical and horizontal filing cabinets, and numerous office machines. Many of the pieces went to various family members and I got a 27 drawer cabinet

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-71192851250500882542012-01-01T11:23:00.000-05:002012-01-01T11:23:28.844-05:00

  We had three maple trees cut down at our cabin at Lake Buckhorn. By culling just a few trees from the landscape, we opened up the view of the lake from the cabin.  As a byproduct of the tree removal, I gained a lot of fresh cut maple for turning. So, I spent the last day of 2011 sealing the maple rounds from those three trees. As the pictures show, I gained 28 sections, most 13-16 inches

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-48077420991530660972011-12-26T11:52:00.000-05:002011-12-27T16:06:15.207-05:00

I have a layout now for my basement shop so that I know where the major equipment will be and where I will need electric and dust pickup. I have been making one or two trips a week to the lake house to bring back box loads of smaller items to the new basement shop. It amazes me how much I have accumulated and now have to move from one shop to another. I bought two new plastic storage shelves and

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-4945981857182760042011-12-11T19:43:00.001-05:002011-12-12T11:48:21.444-05:00

The project of relocating my shop has made me realize I am a wood hoarder! Just like those poor folks on TLC "Hoarders" I have been collecting "important and potentially useful" pieces of wood. While I was deciding what to move and what to dispose of, I realized that I had so many little left overs that I would be better off disposing of all these scraps. Now it seems quite foolish to have

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-19412515070718753082011-12-09T12:05:00.001-05:002011-12-11T14:07:55.527-05:00

A teacher/friend of mine from West Virginia, Joe Smith, gave me a couple pieces of wood when I took a class from him this fall: two pieces of quilted maple. I have been to Cedar Lakes Conference Center in Ripley, WV a number of times to take classes with Joe. He is an excellent turner and teacher. The first blank turned into a shallow bowl with rim with some of the most vibrant quilting I have

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-85408122281266840272011-12-09T08:59:00.001-05:002011-12-09T09:43:50.207-05:00

Butternut and walnut hollowed vessel It's obvious that I haven't been blogging for well over a year but I have been in the wood shop. Two years ago I wrote about my new Jet lathe. Woodturning has become my primary activity to the exclusion of almost all my other projects. As my wife says, "you like woodworking, but woodturning is your passion." And I think she is right. So now I want to

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.comWooster, OH 44691, USA40.8050565 -81.93514340.75698 -82.014107 40.853133 -81.856179tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-19906624147973461232010-08-13T11:09:00.000-05:002010-08-13T11:09:23.199-05:00

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-53438496967831564022010-04-21T15:27:00.008-05:002010-04-26T08:39:25.575-05:00

I'm back in the work shop over the last few weeks. I have been working on turning projects over the last months after attending another turning class in early March at John Campbell.Some other projects are progressing slowly but I completed several cutting boards using a pattern from the Winter, 1999, Wood magazine. The light wood is maple while the divider and dots are walnut. I intended to have

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-47668486455464354732009-10-28T04:14:00.008-05:002009-11-01T13:55:38.348-05:00

It was a bargain that I couldn't pass up. I first decided not to buy it. Then I went to Cedar Lakes and spent three days using one just like it and fell in love with the power and sturdiness of this lathe. The final straw was my wife's suggestion that this could be my Christmas present from her. So, I recontacted the seller and negotiated a mutually agreeable price. We disassembled it, loaded it

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-82086993142163152572009-10-14T15:44:00.012-05:002009-10-14T18:32:03.780-05:00

My projects:My first project was a walnut bowl turned from a 6x6x4 inch piece of wood. I had seen a video on YouTube in which the turner embellished the outside of the bowl with several lines - two burned into the wood and one in which a copper wire was glued and then turned to follow the flow of the bowl. The video can be seen as this link.I have tried this embellishment a couple of times.

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-927717914897126742009-10-12T18:35:00.003-05:002009-10-13T20:40:37.746-05:00

Mary Lou and I are at Cedar Lakes Conference Center in Ripley, WV, for Zapora's Quilting Conference. There are several hundred women here from all over the United States (although half of them are from Ohio). They are all in four days of classes which are scattered in every nook and cranny around this campus.Well, every nook and cranny except for the wood room in the Craft House. That is full of

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-6405851096237736592009-09-19T19:58:00.009-05:002009-09-19T20:25:39.673-05:00

Buckeye Woodworkers and Wood Turners hosted Cindy Drozda to demonstrate her speciality - turning miniature lidded boxes with intricate finials. She spent the morning and early afternoon turning a miniature lidded box made from holly with bloodwood accents. Over 70 of the club members attended the all-day demonstration. She will return over the next two days to hold hands-0n classes with

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-42153346933702219612009-09-07T13:31:00.005-05:002009-09-07T14:28:53.952-05:00

We just returned from another special experience at the John C Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, North Carolina. It is situated in a quiet valley in the midst of the Appalachian mountains with few modern distractions: full of learning challenges and chances to meet new and interesting people. It is like no place that I have ever been and we are already thinking of when to return. For me, the

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-3394664848781196052009-08-25T15:48:00.003-05:002009-08-25T16:00:05.021-05:00

I have now become a videographer. We purchased a digital video camera and I am learning everything at once: how to operate the camera, how to take decent videos, how to transfer them to the computer and use software to produce a movie, and how to upload that movie to the Internet.Needless to say I am on a long learning curve. My first attempt was terrible for many reasons and I will be taking it

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-2490339000924402982009-08-21T10:10:00.006-05:002009-08-21T11:24:17.486-05:00

We had a family reunion and my brother, Ron, and his family from Texas were able to spend a week with us. He helped me get the garage cleaned up in preparation for the reunion and we had a day and a half together to play in the wood shop.Ron has been a wood worker for a lot of years and has done some spindle turning for a crib that he made for his grandsons and granddaughter. He hadn't turned any

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-57611172174651461282009-08-18T14:54:00.006-05:002009-08-18T15:05:29.486-05:00

I listed this saw for sale on Craig's List. A guy named Gus called me and wanted to buy the saw. We dickered on price, agreed, and then set today at 10:00 AM for him to show up with the cash and pick up the saw.Guess who didn't show and didn't call! I would have appeciated a call since it would have saved me a few hours waiting around.So, I still have the saw listed and will hope that someone

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-44208770389876606032009-08-17T18:12:00.007-05:002009-08-17T18:29:58.712-05:00

The Northcoast and Buckeye Woodturners sponsored a competition and exhibit at Wayne Center for the Arts in Wooster, Ohio. The exhibit runs from July 9 through August 28, 2009. Here are some pictures from that exhibit. The work is stunning.

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-56593001687031821292009-08-17T14:57:00.003-05:002009-08-17T15:14:30.583-05:00

I travelled up to Clinton, Ohio to Camp Y-Noah on Saturday to attend my first meeting of the Buckeye Wood Workers and Woodturners. The group meets on the third Saturday of each month and combines a short business meeting with a demonstration by group members or visiting demonstrators. They have a show table of members' turning work and photograph each piece for display on their "Gallery" section

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-91416658425049262262009-06-30T09:55:00.001-05:002009-08-17T10:20:34.233-05:00

I bought a bunch of old post office lock box doors from a vendor in South Carolina and from an offer on eBay. They arrived in the same condition they were in when they were taken out of a post office being remodeled - dusty, dirty, and very tarnished. Along with the doors the South Carolina vendor sent a recipe for cleaning the brass - one portion of Coke to an equal portion of ammonia! I figured

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-52723249131444215312009-05-30T12:13:00.007-05:002009-05-30T12:45:12.172-05:00

I am finally finished with a project that I started several years ago. The cabinet is cherry with veneered plywood for the top, sides, and back. It has two dovetailed drawers with cherry drawer fronts. I have procrastinated in finishing this project. First, it was the finish - what to do to get the nicest finish. I finally ended up using a wipe-on polyurethane. It seems to be a nice choice for

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-17856134258700222122009-05-14T08:52:00.003-05:002009-05-14T09:27:46.732-05:00

This project came from the December, 2005 issue of Workbench magazine. It starts with separating a 3/4 inch lid blank from a 3" x 6" x6" turning blank. A decorative symbol or drawing (the article includes three: dragonfly, wheat, and love symbol) is adhered to the lid blank. The lid blank is scroll-sawn and then filled with colored epoxy. The lid and body pieces are then glued to waste

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-61911160209927305042009-04-30T09:03:00.013-05:002009-05-14T09:38:42.181-05:00

This was my second class at John Campbell. I returned to the wood turning studio and joined seven other students for a class taught by Bobbie Clemons of Tennessee (pictured at the left) and Charles Watson of South Carolina.The instructor from my first wood turning class at John Campbell had recommended this class since it emphasized both bowl and green wood turning.We started our week on dry

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-24975319921420865172009-02-16T09:23:00.005-05:002009-02-16T11:32:28.627-05:00

I spent several days at the lake wood shop working on a variety of projects. I turned several more bottle stoppers and packed up the remaining pieces and parts for another time. I used several of the yellow plastic stopper kits and used them as stoppers for vinegar/oil bottles.I also worked on rough cutting the pieces for the post office box trucks. Poplar for the test pieces and cherry and

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-17197459047967093752009-02-05T11:38:00.005-05:002009-02-05T12:02:36.938-05:00

My wife and I ventured to Brasstown, North Carolina, for a week at John Campbell Folk Art School. Situated in the far southwestern corner of North Carolina and nestled in the Appalachian Mountains, the school offers hundreds of classes in over fifty different crafts - art, fabric arts, music, dance, cooking, gardening, nature studies, photography, wood carving, wood turning, and writing. For Mary

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-47470489656258358702009-01-19T16:56:00.004-05:002009-01-19T17:06:03.718-05:00

I finally got around to putting the finish on the lidded box I started in a Woodcraft class and wrote about back in October [link]. I just didn't like the combination of mahogany with a walnut veneer top, so I built a new lid with a bird's eye maple top. The finished project is a combination of mahogany sides, veneered maple top, veneered mahogany/walnut bottom, and walnut dividers.The mahogany/

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-16305401418712073292009-01-02T16:49:00.003-05:002009-01-02T17:21:53.941-05:00

I saw a sharpening station in Issue 81 of Shop Notes that I thought came close to fitting my needs. I was looking for a place to house my grinder and Wolverine Sharpening system for my lathe tools. The station in the Shop Notes had everything I wanted but it had an expandable top with a built-in water basin for water stones. I was more interested in having a permanent site for my 8 inch slow

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-44627709554384662942009-01-01T13:25:00.003-05:002009-01-01T13:32:11.123-05:00

Last year at this time I created a notebook that had all of the wood working projects that I wanted to do in 2008. And I even made a resolution, "I will complete all of my wood working projects.Well, life intervened and I was redirected to different activities for a large part of the year. And I also discovered that I was picking up new project ideas and working on them instead of the projects on

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-22213728941540241742008-12-22T16:16:00.004-05:002008-12-22T17:04:49.128-05:00

A recent article in The Daily Record opened up a new interest - scroll sawn prairie tree Christmas ornaments. The ornaments by Glenn Tschantz of Orrville, Ohio, are three dimensional and involve a lot of fret work. Most popular after the Civil War, they have a delicate and detailed Victorian look. I found a book at Border's, Holiday Ornaments for the Scroll Saw, by Rick and Karen Longabaugh,

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-63988703600995194162008-12-19T18:51:00.006-05:002008-12-20T09:19:40.340-05:00

I spent most of Thursday and all day Friday in the workshop. I had some clean-up work to do in the workshop after finishing all the screwdrivers and pens from earlier in the week. I also cut wood blanks for two letter openers and turned some additional bottle stoppers. But I wanted first to try two bowl blanks, a cherry and a mahogany. And, I decided to try to save a turned vase that I thought I

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-80902202522209962722008-12-17T14:35:00.005-05:002008-12-17T21:10:19.593-05:00

Bottle stoppers and I have had a difficult relationship over the last months. While I had turned several stoppers several months ago, I have had nothing but trouble since then. I bought some stopper kits from a different source that turned out to have a different size thread. Then I purchased some brass inserts from Lowe's which turned out to be totally wrong for the task. I ended up with a small

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-60768167622378799502008-12-12T08:57:00.001-05:002008-12-15T09:15:29.906-05:00

The latest trip to the wood shop was to work on making some pen kits. I had two Cigar pen kits to complete and ten European pen kits (pictured left) to start.I used wood blanks that I had in my left-overs to do the two cigar pens. But for the European pens I used rosewood blanks and thuya burl blanks that I had purchased at Berea Hardwoods in Cleveland.There have always been two times in the

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-47441176895449776222008-12-08T10:53:00.002-05:002008-12-08T11:09:03.220-05:00

I got to spend parts of three days in my wood shop. I completed several screw driver handles and three "spurtles" as well as clean up the workshop and prep it for my next visit.I used the screw driver handle pattern from an October, 2006 American Woodworker and some 4-in-1 kits from Rockler for this project. The pattern is a hefty handle that should provide for an excellent grip. I made several

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-32344742138742389582008-11-30T15:16:00.002-05:002008-11-30T15:46:33.296-05:00

I have saved all of the issues of the various wood magazines that I have subscribed to over the years. They now fill a large storage cabinet and overflow onto the table top. Any useful reference articles or projects that appealed to me were copied and put in notebooks. While most of the magazines are neatly arranged by date and magazine title, I have never referred to them after filing them for

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-45404413039656109702008-11-24T14:17:00.006-05:002008-11-24T14:39:19.174-05:00

Friday my grandson, wife, and I went to our lake house and spent some time in the woodshop. I had previously written about the idea of making a spurtle as an introductory woodturning project for my grandson. He seemed interested and so we set up the mini-lathe and gave him his first lessons.I was surprised and pleased to see how he enjoyed the project. He seemed to understand the mystery of

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-66916160241472936622008-11-20T10:28:00.004-05:002008-11-20T10:45:32.826-05:00

My grandson, Dylan, from Colorado is arriving today to spend a week with us in Ohio. I had been working on several wood working projects that he and I might do while he was here. I even made one project that my son, Eric, and my grandson could do together -make race cars - but I think my son has other plans.What I did find that I think might be a good introduction for Dylan to wood turning is a

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-48680952806218819392008-11-10T16:46:00.006-05:002008-11-10T17:13:13.655-05:00

This weekend, most of the trees in my yard decided to drop their leaves. Of course, this came just days after I had cleared all the leaves from the house and the yard. My neighbor and I were standing out in the yard talking when the maple tree decided to rain bright, yellow leaves down on us. It was like a yellow blizzard and covered the ground with leaves in seconds. It was a disheartening

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-9494445632120535992008-11-07T16:42:00.008-05:002008-11-08T05:43:50.404-05:00

I copied a spline jig that I found on the Internet. I did add two clamps to hold the frame in the jig and a miter slot key to keep the jig in line. All the pieces are 3/4 Baltic birch with the exception of two hardwood braces and the miter slot key. The changes that I made make it easier to use clamps to hold the frame thereby eliminating the dangerous practice of holding it with your hand. The

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-81379884643876084832008-11-01T17:46:00.005-05:002008-11-10T18:56:40.723-05:00

One of the neatest gifts would be a Hock Plane Kit #KF150. It includes all the material to make a bench plane including a Hock blade, one of the finest blades on the market. The kit is $98.50. Your order by phone at (888)282-5233 or download an order form from their web site.Rockler is offering free shipping through 12/31/08. The promotion code is U9006 for my customer number of 8629597. A couple

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-66857614152923013382008-11-01T15:08:00.004-05:002008-11-07T05:14:51.465-05:00

I've been back to the work shop twice since my last post. The continuing cleanup and organization is helping me make some progress on several projects. Here's a view of the storage section that separates the workshop from the car parking area.My first attempt at veneering was a bust! The veneer seemed to form into high ridges at the seam in the middle and all over each piece. I don't know why it

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-58521161641152095802008-10-28T13:31:00.007-05:002008-10-30T04:59:40.893-05:00

Most of the people who give me Christmas gifts have no idea what to buy me for my shop. In past years my wife has purchased a major shop machine (lathe, joiner, Leigh jig, etc). One of those machines and a few small catalogue items and my Christmas was complete. Now I am at a stage where I really don't need any more machines. So I will start a list of some smaller, but not necessarily inexpensive

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-67270114684306217792008-10-26T15:08:00.005-05:002008-10-26T15:31:14.250-05:00

This weekend I spent all day Saturday and half of Sunday in my work shop cleaning, reorganizing, moving, installing - everything to get the shop to a state that it is enjoyable to work in. I finally trimmed all of the cherry bowl blanks I salvaged from the neighbor's fallen cherry tree. Now I will store them for awhile. This picture shows all the blanks loaded and ready to go into the basement

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-12799197981399584132008-10-24T18:36:00.001-05:002008-10-26T19:03:19.150-05:00

I completed a Woodcraft three part Box Making class last night. I brought home a semi-completed box that I built over the three classes. We made a box with a veneered panel - one side mahogany and the other side walnut - mahogany lid frame and box sides, and walnut splines.Each of the three classes was from 6:30PM to 9:00PM. The first night we concentrated on the lid. The instructor, Mike Novak,

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-57766499014748235802008-10-23T18:28:00.000-05:002008-10-26T18:34:21.280-05:00

My Sorby Spindlemaster gouge arrived in the mail. What a beautiful job they did in restoring the honed bevel that I had mistakenly sharpened away. All in all it was an easy experience: Sorby responded to my emails the same day and graciously agreed to repair my gouge at no charge if I paid the shipping costs. They confirmed the receipt of my gouge and contacted me directly for the credit card

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-4264367726843760352008-10-13T07:21:00.003-05:002008-10-13T07:34:12.567-05:00

Keim Lumber had a demonstrator at their Charm Days sale this past weekend. Powermatic Lathes sponsored the appearance of JoHannes Michelson.My brother, Ronnie, was visiting from Texas and we went to see what turned out to be the last half hour of a three hour demonstration. JoHannes turned a hat made of red maple and added a decorated band using ebony and to color the banding.Michelson's website

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-56387667230302660772008-10-02T09:48:00.003-05:002008-10-02T10:23:04.935-05:00

I bought ten Woodcraft #147158 cigar pen kits to make for Christmas presents. I have completed seven and have three to go. Each pen is from a different type of wood so the pens take on a very different look even though they are all the same shape.I had one failure due to attaching the pen pieces in the wrong order. The first six successful pens are pictured at the left. The woods from left to

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-13053038615690544852008-09-22T07:43:00.007-05:002008-09-22T15:45:57.445-05:00

I took my three skews and one Sorby Spindlemaster to a sharpening class at Woodcraft. Sharpening is, admittedly, something I knew nothing about. And it seems that as I try to learn how to sharpen, I am discovering that I was making all kinds of mistakes.I had these three skews but had never learned to properly sharpen or use them. After learning how to set up the skew attachment for the Wolverine

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-49142501076654311592008-09-17T16:36:00.004-05:002008-09-17T17:07:00.925-05:00

Today Mary Lou and I transformed five pieces of cherry log into a bunch of various size bowl blanks. It took about an hour to process all the pieces with me cutting and Mary Lou packaging the bowl blanks in paper or plastic bags until I can get them to the wood shop.My chain saw had a work out handling the size of these logs but we should have several large and medium size bowl blanks. Tomorrow

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-67903768980705289412008-09-15T17:30:00.007-05:002008-09-17T08:26:51.095-05:00

Yesterday we had the remnants of Hurricane Ike come raging through our area. It was an afternoon and evening of very high winds which caused a lot of electrical outages and tree damage. My neighbor lost a cherry tree that fell into another neighbor's yard and garden. Another neighbor helped cut the tree into pieces that could be moved around to the front of the house for disposal. I was

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-76901937765614359462008-09-14T10:59:00.000-05:002008-09-15T14:09:42.359-05:00

Next weekend the Cleveland area Rockler store will close it's doors. I have been going there for the last ten years or so and will miss the convenience of picking up something quickly. The only national vendor for woodworking supplies in the Cleveland area will be Woodcraft. Although they are very similar in many ways, the Rockler store tended to have more hardware items in stock. My closest

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-50635427685644465432008-09-12T20:20:00.000-05:002008-09-14T05:31:01.982-05:00

I think I am making a regular, predictable journey through the beginning stages of being a wood turner. First came pens, then some spindle turning, a start at bowl turning, and now, bottle stoppers.I started with a kit from Woodcraft that included a 1/4" X 20 mandrel and several chrome stopper bottoms. The first ones were simple efforts but inspired me to try some different brands of stoppers.My

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-13072953692127935492008-09-07T16:23:00.000-05:002008-09-13T20:20:45.962-05:00

I have signed up to retake a lathe tool sharpening class. The first time I took this class I was too new to the hobby and I didn't ask many questions that I should have asked. I am retaking the class with a little more experience and the knowledge that I need to get some questions answered so that I sharpen my lathe tools correctly.I knew that I needed to retake this class when someone looked at

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-88072019359230348422008-09-07T08:45:00.006-05:002008-09-13T16:22:24.857-05:00

I attended a class, "Split Turned Vases" at Woodcraft in Cleveland. I had no idea what a split turned vase would be but I signed up for the course to experience something new in turning. This was labeled an intermediate class and I was also unsure at what level I would describe my abilities - I was sensing it might be a stretch to call my turning skills intermediate.It was a class of four turners

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-63156181359181869272008-09-05T17:25:00.006-05:002008-09-05T17:45:03.563-05:00

One of the simpler projects we did at the wood turning week at Cedar Lakes was making tea lights. Using a 5 inch circle of 1 inch think walnut, I made a wooden holder for a tea light. Using the screw chuck, we mounted the wood and detailed the bottom of the light incorporating the foot and the tenon for the chuck jaws into the design. Turning the blank over and holding it with the jaws of the

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-5607804891746283132008-09-01T06:38:00.000-05:002008-09-05T15:48:27.261-05:00

After the initial simpler projects at the wood turning class, the instructor gave us a bowl blank of spalted maple and said, "Make a bowl with a simple ogee shape." Well, since I didn't really know what a "simple ogee shape" was, and, typically male, thought it beneath me to ask, what I produced has a somewhat rounded shape but not a good ogee shape.Although I liked the bowl and the instructor

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-69993240694428361502008-08-29T11:09:00.002-05:002008-09-05T07:01:07.781-05:00

Background: My wife, Mary Lou, and I signed up for our first Elderhostel activity. We chose craft activities at Cedar Lakes Center in Ripley, West Virginia. Mary Lou has been to that Center for many years for week long quilting sessions. This was my first visit and I had been forewarned that the facilities could be rather plain and the food more equivalent to school cafeteria food. Mary Lou

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-49200858168633517402008-05-09T11:33:00.008-05:002008-11-12T22:32:45.849-05:00

It has been an eventful but unproductive few months for this woodworker. February included a trip to Key West for a week at the beautiful Heron House on Simonton Street. Right outside our room was a beautiful rain garden. We had a relaxing week although Mary Lou continued to have some intestinal problems which didn't seem to respond to treatment.After our return to Ohio Mary Lou ended up in the

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-34269876626311951352008-01-24T09:54:00.001-05:002008-11-12T22:32:46.136-05:00

I attended the "Logs to Bowls" class yesterday at the Bedford Heights, Ohio, Woodcraft store. It was taught by Harry Robinette, a store employee and accomplished wood turner. Six students spent the morning learning the processing of logs into good turning stock for bowls and vases. After lunch we each were given a section of freshly cut cherry to turn into a bowl. It was my first such green wood

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-40666607929247539022008-01-17T10:41:00.000-05:002008-11-12T22:32:46.414-05:00

Apparently, yesterday was my lucky day. I was at home to allow the cable company to change my modem and add phone service to my cable service. As an incentive for customers to bundle cable, Internet, and phone services, our cable company was having a contest. The customer received a scratch-off card which gave them a discount off their cable bill. There were several hundred $25 cards but only

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-76775592232143979072008-01-08T05:19:00.000-05:002008-11-12T22:32:46.625-05:00

One of my older, half done projects was a group of games and puzzles. I had made several "Cube in a cube" puzzles from American Woodworker magazine, September 2007. They were completed and ready to be given as gifts. I also had several items from Rockler to make "Tic-tac-toe" and "Last Man" games using marbles. I had templates to guide a drill bit to drill the depressions for the marbles for

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-89098418233145480362008-01-06T17:08:00.000-05:002008-11-12T22:32:46.647-05:00

We have had several days of beautiful weather - warm temperatures, blue skies, and light breezes. What doesn't fit with that description? We are talking about early January in northern Ohio where cold temperatures, grey, cloudy skies, and frigid winds are the norm. But I was lucky enough to be able to spend those days in my wood shop. Since my shop is in a garage with inadequate heat, this

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-90466050263198729552008-01-01T07:56:00.000-05:002008-11-12T22:32:46.897-05:00

I recently published my list of wood working projects I wanted to complete during 2008. That was only one of several resolutions that I made and shared with my wife. One of those additional goals was to read at least 36 books during 2008.I learned this year that reading is one of those things I do easily when I am in a good frame of mine. It is also one of those activities I abandon quickly when

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-30288211679454380952007-12-23T10:31:00.001-05:002008-11-12T22:32:46.988-05:00

I took a class on making wine bottle stoppers this last fall at the Cleveland Woodcraft store. Of course, Woodcraft sells the kits to make the stoppers.The kits include the mandrel to hold the wood for turning, a drill bit to create the hole to attach the wood to the bottom, and four of the metal lower sections, and the plastic washers to seal the bottle. The metal stoppers offer the advantage

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-46240997162443302012007-12-17T16:52:00.001-05:002008-11-12T22:32:47.201-05:00

On one of the coldest and snowiest weekends of December I spent the better part of the day looking through old wood working clippings to decide on a list of projects to keep me busy next year.I have literally hundreds of articles from shop tips to furniture that have been sitting around for a couple of years. Some of the furniture - big, tall and deep entertainment centers - have waited so long

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-5490730082575355072007-12-15T16:49:00.000-05:002008-11-12T22:32:47.279-05:00

I just assembled a graduated set of Shaker boxes that were made of maple instead of my usual cherry wood. My intent was to try painting them to have a finish that looked old, faded, and distressed. So I was drawn to milk paint. I wanted to apply this as an exterior finish but keep the interior of the boxes unfinished to prevent any odor contamination with the future contents.The paint I chose

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-36278810664930734672007-12-08T15:12:00.000-05:002008-11-12T22:32:47.456-05:00

My friend, Tim, and I met again to complete the assembly of the Shaker boxes that we began last week. Tim was assembling a set of five graduated Shaker boxes. Their sides are made from cherry and the top is from veneered birdseye maple.The combination of cherry with birdseye maple is just beautiful. A clear finish will allow the cherry to age from a light-reddish brown to a richer, redder color

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-55359530426239910292007-12-01T16:11:00.000-05:002008-11-12T22:32:47.566-05:00

My friend, Tim Sullivan (pictured at left), and I are spending time in the workshop creating Shaker Boxes. We ordered kits from John Wilson in Michigan. We each bought one of the Presentation Boxes and Tim will make his first attempt at a series of cherry boxes. We are working in a garage workshop with a small electric heater, so it is cold. But the fun of working together and having a good time

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-71789837639741940512007-11-20T17:07:00.000-05:002008-11-12T22:32:47.682-05:00

I made five wooden carriers carriers for my brewed beers. Each carrier was to hold a sampling of the beer that I had brewed this fall at The Brew Kettle in Strongsville and was to be a Christmas gift to each relative who had given me samples of beer they had brewed this year. These carriers are made from cherry and have the initials of the relative routed into the end of the carrier. The carriers

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-78889140295556653522007-11-15T09:02:00.000-05:002008-11-12T22:32:48.034-05:00

This project came from a podcast, The Wood Whisperer, that I started listening to several months ago. Episode 7, released in December 2006 and January 2007, demonstrates the making on a hard maple/purpleheart cutting board. A free set of down-loadable plans for this project is also available from this website. I will warn you that there are several discrepancies between the podcast measurements

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-54414978242966379922007-11-11T13:50:00.000-05:002008-11-12T22:32:48.336-05:00

I finally did it! After a lot of talk and little action, I hired movers for the large equipment and moved almost everything from my basement shop in Wooster to my ground-level garage shop at the lake. I had resisted this final step due to concerns for the safety of the machines and the costs of the move. A lot of mental resistance to a step that needed to be made.Last Thursday, two young men from

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-3335665804196781312007-10-26T13:00:00.000-05:002008-11-12T22:32:48.469-05:00

I had installed a Wilson bench vise on a workbench about a year ago. It works beautifully - glides easily in and out to adjust the gross positions of the jaws. The outer jaw adjusts for odd-angled pieces, and the vise is sturdy when tightened down.The only drawback was that the tightened cast iron jaws would imprint into wood and their surface was too slippery to hold some smaller items. I tried

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-69601844255921765402007-10-24T08:27:00.000-05:002007-10-24T08:39:48.575-05:00

I had to go to Columbus for an errand and decided to stop at Rockler. Well, it wasn't where it used to be and wasn't anywhere close to the same store! The old store had closed and been incorporated into another woodworking supply store, WoodWerks Supply Inc., 1181 Claycraft Road, Columbus (614-575-2400). Since my errand was at the Columbus airport it was an easy drive around to the east side of

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-37412853171220722752007-10-11T09:43:00.000-05:002008-11-12T22:32:48.982-05:00

The Fence Adapting a pattern from ShopNotes magazine, Volume 10, Issue 60, I made an auxiliary fence for my table saw. It consists of a 3/4 inch baltic birch, three-sided case to fit over the main Biesemeyer table saw fence. The purpose of the auxiliary fence is to hold the many accessories necessary for various table saw cuts: "burying a dado blade to make a rabbet cut, using a featherboard to

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-48864324395350727502007-09-24T15:41:00.000-05:002008-11-12T22:32:49.789-05:00

I bought the Milescraft SignCrafter at Keim Lumber and waited until this week to assemble and test it. I immediately discovered that one nut in the end assemblies was missing. This allowed the aluminum bars to flex enough that, no matter how tightly the clamps were set, the bars flexed and allowed letters to drop out of the channels and ruin the work. I called the factory (the most negative

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-54698999181445652672007-09-23T16:09:00.000-05:002007-09-24T16:09:59.032-05:00

I have to admit that my woodworking has taken a back seat to almost everything else in my life. A few weeks ago my wife and I had a heart-to-heart talk about how much other life situations were depressing me and how I had gradually just stopped doing any woodworking. It was an eye-opening conversation for me: I was neglecting one activity that would help relax me and put thing back in balance.So

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-82421723443235195262006-12-28T12:59:00.000-05:002008-11-12T22:32:50.030-05:00

This year I made Mary Lou a bread board for Christmas. It comes from a 1996 issue of Wood magazine and involves laminating many thin layers of cherry and maple into a board sized for French bread loaves or baguettes.Each project I do is an opportunity to learn a new skill or to practice using a piece of equipment. For this board I needed to cut very thin pieces of cherry and maple - from 5/4

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-76949124173664359372006-12-18T08:17:00.000-05:002006-12-28T12:57:52.550-05:00

This last week has been spent finishing and waxing the Christmas Shaker oval boxes. I will be finishing the last three sets-of-five boxes this week. Hopefully, in enough time that the finish is not still tacky!

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-69445422043567446642006-12-07T13:59:00.000-05:002008-11-12T22:32:50.463-05:00

Another activity of mine, brewing beer, caused me to try to create wooden crates to replace the cardboard boxes the 22 oz beer bottles come in. We had been invited to The Brew Kettle in Strongsville, OH to join with a couple of friends, Jeff, John, and Tim, to brew beer on the premises. The first visit we brewed "Oktoberfest" and I brought home 2 cases in the cardboard boxes. By the time the

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-78252960218518883942006-12-05T13:10:00.000-05:002008-11-12T22:32:50.854-05:00

When I saw this project I just knew I had to make it. It was not only a project that would require learning some new things but one that would bring back good memories from my childhood. This spring and summer I worked on a pair of stilts for my 10 year old grandson, Dylan. I found the project in a February, 1997, Wood Magazine. The stilt legs and foot brackets are laminated ash and mahogany. The

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-13111250164140255152006-12-04T18:00:00.000-05:002006-12-04T18:02:35.029-05:00

I have several really good sources for woodworking equipment and supplies. I often use Rockler and Woodcraft. Each is about an hour's drive away from Wooster but seeing the merchandise and talking with knowledgeable sales people make the cost and time of the trip worthwhile.One of my favorite places to shop is Hartville Hardware. They are also about an hour's drive (just south of Akron) but they

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-44251925133865627922006-12-03T14:01:00.000-05:002008-11-12T22:32:51.294-05:00

This year both Mary Lou and I are both contributing to the creation of our Christmas presents to our family and close friends. Mary Lou created a lined draw-string bag to use as the wrapping for the Shaker box that I made. The bag will be functional after Christmas to store items or keep related items together. The Shaker boxes are cherry or maple bent into an oval shape. They are held together

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-79629812492682658442006-12-02T16:28:00.000-05:002008-11-12T22:32:52.123-05:00

We made it down to the lake house for part of yesterday and today. I got to spend yesterday afternoon and this morning working in the work shop. I put up two wood braces on the garage wall to support full size sheets of plywood so they would not bow. It's a small space in the far corner of the shop. You can see the sheet goods next to the lumber rack in the first photo. I continued to clean up

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-22024753665546473592006-11-30T16:30:00.000-05:002006-11-30T16:31:30.316-05:00

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2230246001301413601.post-54902863301642049402006-11-30T13:23:00.000-05:002006-11-30T13:35:30.226-05:00

It seems like everything has had to take precedence over spending time in the wood shop. From multiple visits to the dentist, oral surgeon, and endodontist to get my mouth repaired to having a new puppy in the house - each day seemed to get filled with all those needs.So it was with some amount of joy that I began last week to get my new workshop at our lake house in order. I built a wood storage

Ken Nuzumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06619878382187396168noreply@blogger.com0