Who's Who.

kadman · 20-03-2005 6:16pm #1

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Who you are, what area of wood work you are in, what interests you have relative to wood work, and novice or professional,

Kadman

Some of you already know me and my background, but for those that dont.

I am a qualified carpenter joiner of 25 years +. Woodturning and carving for about 20 years on and off, cabinet making and advanced architectural joinery, about the same. Got involved in wood work from a very early age , thanks to my dad who was a furniture maker. Cad certified in Autocad, Rcs Timberframe Cad, Strucad and a Member of The Institute of Carpenters , England, So wood is in my blood really, I've been around the block, but I'm still learning. Very interested in collecting old woodworking tools and old woodworking books. So if you need any traditional methods of woodworking, chances are I would have the reference books for it , some dating back 180 years.

Any way , thats me , sorry for rambling on.

kadman

galwaydude18 · 20-03-2005 6:27pm

Hi, I have a very stong interest in Joinery. Wardrobes, tables etc. I have made a lot of nice stuff in my time! My woodwork teacher used to always make an example of my woodwork skills in school! I was the only first year ever allowed to use all the machinery in the woodwork room. The planer / thicknesser, the panel saw everything! I made a tv remote control holder for my Junior Cert and I bend it in the shape of a 'S' Its a very nice project that incorporated electronics and everything!

kadman · 20-03-2005 7:54pm

Hi Galwaydude,

Are you working with timber at the moment, or college or something else ?

kadman

galwaydude18 · 20-03-2005 9:07pm

Im in college studying electronics and computer engineering in Athlone IT! Fcukn hate it but im going to stick at it till I get my diploma! I have six years experience in AutoCAD as well. I have spent four of thoses years working in an Architects office drawing plans of houses, garages, site maps, taking levels etc. Il throw up a photo or two in a bit of my favourite pieces of furniture that I have made in the past in school! I remember my Junior Cert woodwork exam. For some reason I thought it was on in the afternoon and a got a phone call from the school at 10 to 10 that morning to tell me to get in quick as the woodwork exam was on! Holy crap I was an hour late for it and still got the 'A' in honours! I was very happy about that!

cormie · 20-03-2005 9:14pm

I'm a 20 year old 2nd year apprentice carpenter currently looking to be taken back on after taking some time out due to personal commitments.

I like the fine detail work, I like to spend time at my work and make it the best I can. When I am qualified I would like to go out on my own and do specialist work. I would like to work with hand carvings and incorporate that into carpentry, a hand carved stairway rail for example.

I also did the remote control holder for the Junior Cert, unfortunately my school didn't do woodwork past 3rd year so I had to stop it then. I got a B in higher level woodwork for the Junior Cert, I suspect my downfall was the theory as we were not educated well in that. Woodwork was by far, my favoured subject in school. That and Art when I took it up after 3rd year.

I come from a creative family of poets, painters, sculpters, interior designers and allot more. The work that would suit me would be highly creative work. I like to use my imagination, not just cut required sizes by formula (rise run span etc).

I have a dream of having a little workshop somewhere in the South of France working in the shining sun with a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice from my home grown orange tree :rolleyes: Unfortunately I chose to do German instead of French in school

Nevyn · 20-03-2005 9:21pm

Utter novice here, I have done some woodturning classes and was very
happy with the process and what I achieve.
So I am looking to learn more and do more.
So i may as what seems to be a lot of silly questions but convent school
did have woodworking as an option back in the day.

kadman · 20-03-2005 10:00pm

Hi Galwaydude,

Well autocad experience is definitely a big plus, if your into furniture / joinery design , gives you an opportunity to develop your constructional details , and get a 3d rendered image of your conceptual design.

Some good timber / cabinet/ stairmaking 3d modelling software packages out there as well, cabinet vision, stairbitz ect.

Hi Cormie,

Well your artistic family abilities seem to be in abundance there, and no doubt if you choose to go into fine detailed carving work, and persevere, you'll follow in their footsteps. Commitment to do well in your craft is the first step, and then plenty of practice to perfect it.

Hi Thaed,

Woodturning , I think, has to be the most addictive form of wood work there is. I guarantee that once you start, you will never give it up. It can be learned by young and old, novice and professional wood workers, and ablebodied, and disabled. Anyone can do it.

Hopefully we,ll al learn something from each other here, after all we're all newbies on this forum.

kadman

galwaydude18 · 20-03-2005 10:21pm

What do you guys think of these? The first one is my Honours construction project! The second one it my Junior Cert project!

I love these pieces of furniture!

cormie · 20-03-2005 10:25pm

This should probably go in a new thread, but how did you bend the wood to make the S? nice:)

galwaydude18 · 20-03-2005 10:32pm

I made a former out of solid lime wood! Took the best part of two months of planing it on the planer thicknesser, cutting the curve on the bandsaw, glueing and screwing each layer together, sanding it and shaping it with a spokeshave! I then made a 2.4m by .15m steam box out of 19mm plywood. I steamed each layer of the 3mm oak veneered plywood for a couple of hours! I had to drill holes in the former so that I could place scrap wood around it to hold the plywood in place while I bent it and the steam dried out of the ply! It was a very difficult job as we didnt have any vacuum formers in school at the time and they still dont! I was so happy with that project! Its the most completed project ever undertaken in the school at the Junior Cert level and man did I deserve the A I got for my exam! I have a very good understanding of the theory of woodwork and an even better understanding of the pratical side of things!

karltimber · 20-03-2005 11:41pm

I am a hobby woodturner, and am turning now for about 6 years.
Never did any courses, but just bought a lathe and started.

Upgraded to a Poolewood 2hp lathe (beast !!) last year with a new shed (aka studio) - and am very happy just making salad bowls from spalted beech/ash and lamps/platters(20") from Yew- which is my favourite wood.

I plank my own timber with a chain-saw mill with a 3 foot bar -well recommended and have a butchers bandsaw with a 18" depth of cut -another good buy.

Would like to make some furniture eventually but I am only mid-30's so plenty of time for that yet.

thats me so far.

karl.

cormie · 20-03-2005 11:42pm

Unfortunately I am not too familiar with terms and even wood types. Could you explain what a former and the likes are? Could you show me an example of the type of woods you started with (size/shape etc). And how did you make the steamer??!! Sounds great:)

galwaydude18 · 20-03-2005 11:49pm

A former is a replica of the shape you want in the end! In my case I wanted each half to have two flat areas and a semi circle. The former had a flat spot top and bottom and a semi circle on one end! Also the former was the same width as the ply I cut and bent! Where are you based? Are from Co. Galway? I started off with scrap skirting board and the likes that my dad used to bring home from work when he would be labouring out on sites! I read a lot of woodwork book, watched a lot of woodworking programes and practiced a lot of different joints! Its very important to be able to do most joints by hand first before you use any machinery! I was making joints at the age of 8! I have very good marking out skills! Always keep your try square on the face side and face edge at all time when marking out timber and you should have no trouble like like lines not meeting up when you go around all four sides of the timber if you didnt to that!

galwaydude18 · 21-03-2005 12:11am

Cormie have a look at theses two website to get an idea of steambending!

http://www.megspace.com/lifestyles/njmarine/Steam.html

http://www.allwoodwork.com/article/woodwork/methods_of_bending_wood.htm

[edit] also this one http://www.megspace.com/lifestyles/njmarine/mold.html [/edit]

They appear to be fairly good at a quick glance of them!

cormie · 21-03-2005 12:29am

Thanks for that, looks basic enough!

I have way too much on my mind at the moment, I don't feel I can take on any more, I have to sort out poker.ie and then I will hopefully get back in the swing of things regarding the oul wood:)

galwaydude18 · 21-03-2005 12:43am

grand job! Let me know if you need any more info on this! Just out of pure luck there was a whole question on this when I did my woodwork exam for the aul Junior Cert!

cormie · 21-03-2005 12:47am

cool, what age are you anyway? We both did the remote holder, I'm 20..

galwaydude18 · 21-03-2005 12:50am

im 21! Started school a year late as the aul pair were building an extension to the house we are in at the present moment! Their seperated now though!

kadman · 21-03-2005 12:59am

Just a thought here guys,

This thread is just a general who' who, so we can all get to know each other.

Its probably easier for everyone , if you have question on a particular area of wood work, say, woodturning, steambending, carving or whatever. Start a new thread under a heading, and that way everyone can see each seperate topic or project, that they may like to add too.

Otherwise if we start discussing various things in this first thread, it will be like looking for a needle in a hay stack

kadman

cormie · 21-03-2005 1:00am

:rolleyes: join the club. We obviously did the JC same year then:) I need more experience with these things. I don't have the resources, money or time unfortunately

galwaydude18 · 21-03-2005 1:00am

yip that is definelty a good idea alright! I have lots of info that i can share about my experience in steambending etc.!

cormie · 21-03-2005 1:12am

Yeah! haha, Kadman you should probably delete all the off topic posts myself and Galwaydude18 have been rambling on with. Everyone who goes to the woodcraft who's who will see our ages and that we have split up parents, it's not that kind of who's who I don't think :rolleyes:

kadman · 21-03-2005 1:33am

cormie wrote:

Yeah! haha, Kadman you should probably delete all the off topic posts myself and Galwaydude18 have been rambling on with. Everyone who goes to the woodcraft who's who will see our ages and that we have split up parents, it's not that kind of who's who I don't think :rolleyes:

Galwaydude and Cormie,

Its to early to start wielding a big stick, any way I might get a bit of turning from it, Glad to see you're at home here.

kadman

feylya · 21-03-2005 1:40am

Have basically no wood work experience but I'm really interested in the luthier side of things, especially guitars and bass.

galwaydude18 · 21-03-2005 1:45am

kadman wrote:

Galwaydude and Cormie,

Its to early to start wielding a big stick, any way I might get a bit of turning from it, Glad to see you're at home here.

kadman

Thanks Kadman! Were well at home here! Have settled in very well into these comfortable surroundings! HAHA!

Alun · 21-03-2005 8:40pm

I'm a hobby woodturner, only started really about 9 months or so ago, but have already filled all available shelves and empty spaces in the house with bits and pieces

Have a Nova 3000 lathe and am extremely jealous of kadman's Poolewood! I sell a few pieces now and then, but I'm still out of pocket on the deal, but what the hell.

kadman · 21-03-2005 8:47pm

Alun wrote:

I'm a hobby woodturner, only started really about 9 months or so ago, but have already filled all available shelves and empty spaces in the house with bits and pieces Have a Nova 3000 lathe and am extremely jealous of kadman's Poolewood! I sell a few pieces now and then, but I'm still out of pocket on the deal, but what the hell.

I think your talking about Karl's Poolewood, not mine Alun.
I'm still using my 25 year old Luna.

kadman

karltimber · 21-03-2005 9:12pm

Have you a pic of your lathe Kadman.

Is it one with a solid 2"/3" bar down the centre or a heavy cast one...

love looking at old machinery --- doing just as good a job as new stuff.

karl.

kadman · 21-03-2005 10:03pm

Hi Karl,

It was originally a 2" double box iron frame, for a bench mount setup.
I used to do a lot of natural edge bowls, and was unhappy with the amount of vibration.
So I took of the head and tailstock, and remounted them on a 2M length of 768mm wide universal column. No vibration now ha ha.

I'll organise a picture as soon as I can.

kadman

sexy darren · 25-03-2005 9:34pm

im a 3rd year capenter love wood and working whit it is grate i need to learn more coz the work iim doing now is crap sheeting out froors whit ply theres only 1 fella in the cumpeny who teaches me all the rest are on price hungry fecs have no time for me do u think i should leave or stick it out till im qalified
i don metle work in school thay woodent let me do woodwork then when i left school i don a corse to be a mecanic then i got a chanc to do carpentry and i grabed it i love learning about building and how tings work i just love learning so if ya need an aprentis whit own tool and trasport get in tuch im in dublin thanks

kadman · 25-03-2005 11:18pm

Hi Darren, welcome aboard .

Dont be put of by your work conditions, unfortunately too many apprentices are treated in the same fashion as you. Deadlines and targets, sometimes do not allow an employer to devote the time he should to his younger apprentice craftsmen, sign of the times I'm afraid.

Any way, if you want to learn about woodwork, there are all sorts of woodworkers here that will be only to willing to help you. This forum was started by people who have fondness for working with wood, and if you want to learn , stick around.

Any thing you need to know, start a new thread , and you'll get your answer.

kadman

stapeler · 26-03-2005 10:43pm

Hello.
Stapeler here to introduce myself..Glad I stumbled across this board, everybody has lots of ideas and experiences. I'm in the electronics business but would much prefer to be in the timber business. I have a workshop which is my hideout and I keep buying toys to fill it up, Biscuit joiners, sanders etc. I enjoy making furniture of all sorts. Started using oak recently which gives good results. Lots of experience laying floors, building cabinets etc. Im also well equipped for metal work and I like to combine timber & metal for different projects. If I can be of any help to anybody with my advice please ask...

Desk life · 06-04-2005 10:32am

Me, I make living as a software engineer in Cork. I fell into an IT college course after school "to do something" and it served me well for the past 15 years. But at this point I am waiting for the "supposed to be coming redundancy" as my gateway to a career change into woodworking from my workshop at home. One way or another I am in my last 5 years of software, or should I say politics here, we seem to do less work and more politics with every passing year and if I never see a desk and PC again I would not be too dissapointed !!

In the mean time my workshop is fairly well setup at the end of my house, just a larger lathe required, well wished for more than required !

I like working on hardwoods, and making custom built furniture, but I have being side lined re-building my home for the past 2 years and only getting to the furniture making section of that now, so it is getting more interesting. Kitchen is next on the list which will be of traditional farm house design since I am in the countryside, and solid wood in the main, though my wife is talking about painting the face of it and leaving the insides wood, so we will see, I am not fussed really for some reason.

I am on the look out for a lathe upgrade from my Nova 3000, which is an excellent lathe indeed and never have had a complaint with it, but I want larger capacity so I am not sure where to go for this, I have being researching it and so far the following is the status

Poolwood is probably the best value for a big lathe but not exactally whet I am looking for.
Stubby 750 with an extended bed the most suitable for my needs, excellent large bowl turner with good between centeres setup also.
VB36 the most amazing, but not sure with the between centeres setup of that one.

Also the VB36 and Stubby are so expensive I don't know about yet another loan !!! I will see with more research, but I am tired of these constant 5 grand loans to furnish the workshop becasue one loan would be just about complete and I take out another one for something else !!!

Workshop consists for a Felder combinatin machine, Felder band saw, felder dust extractor, a router, jigsaw, SCMS, ROS, biscuit joiner, dovetail jig, compressor and spray gun and a Nova 3000. That is about it except for a few hand tools, chisels, planes, scrapers etc.

It is funny that my favourite machine the Nova 3000 lathe is the only machine I want to change.... on capacity grounds only, it is a wonderful lathe I think and my brother is always begging to buy it from me. If I find an ideal machine to upgrade to I may do so, if not I will stay put with it as I am not caught on capacity that much but it would be nice to have more.

Oh I do have a 6 year old daughter that has her own workbench and glues up everything in sight, and a dog that takes and chews everything else !

That is about it from the rebel county.

Alun · 06-04-2005 10:58am

Desk life wrote:

It is funny that my favourite machine the Nova 3000 lathe is the only machine I want to change.... on capacity grounds only, it is a wonderful lathe I think and my brother is always begging to buy it from me. If I find an ideal machine to upgrade to I may do so, if not I will stay put with it as I am not caught on capacity that much but it would be nice to have more.

I have the Nova 3000 as well ... what capacity is it that you're running up against, between centres or diameter? If it's between centres, you can just get a bed extension, if it's diameter, then you must be turning some pretty big stuff to be limited by the 29" limit using the swivel head and the outrigger.

Have you seen the video they send you if you're interested in the VB36? I have, and it's awesome ... soft porn for woodturners

BTW, I'm ex-IT myself too ... seems to be a trend

Desk life · 06-04-2005 11:30am

Okay you got me, capacity was probably the wrong word... more (as my wife says) as the boys get bigger the toys get bigger and more expensive. The bigger machines make turning the large pieces a pleasure. I do a lot of large lamps which I can do on the Nova, but I know they would be much more comfortable to do on the big lathes.

Also firing up and working on one of these babies is like sitting in a fancy new car and saying I don't need this but it would be amazing.... but there is a big difference in the price of a fancy new car (30,000) and a fancy new VB36 though, it will be about 10,000 euro I think by the time it is in the workshop, hich is too much really. Also I will do as much between centers as bowel work and this is mainly designed as a bowel turning machine.

I have seen the VB36 video and actually got to use one at a local wood turners one Saturday afternoon 6 months ago. They are amazing, though I still question the tail stock setup on the round support bar. The guy I was at did not use the tail stock much at all, so all he was able to say that so far it has being fine for his minimal use.

I also used the Stubby on my travels to Australia a few years ago and that was mighty also. It used to be cheaper than the VB36, though I can't find a price/dealer for them at the moment.

I have not had a car loan or change of car in 7 year solely to fund the machines in have in the workshop..... just maybe one more greedy purchase before the car falls apart and I am there... maybe

A spanking new Nissan Micra or a spanking new VB36, it is a no contest to me but I am married and we should take a holiday this year, so maybe no upgrade till I have the cash, or 2/3rds of it.

Alun · 06-04-2005 12:21pm

Desk life wrote:

Also I will do as much between centers as bowel work and this is mainly designed as a bowel turning machine.

Sounds painful

karltimber · 09-04-2005 4:03pm

Hi ,
I had an Axminster M900 which was a perfect starter lathe but capacity and speed control where the biggest reasons why I moved to a Poolewood Euro2000. Its an absolute pleasure turning on it. When roughing out fresh timber - the motor just powers along with shavings you could make pens out of !!!!

.

Desklife - hope you find the tool that will suit you.

karl

eddiej · 31-05-2005 11:51pm

Hi lads,

Novice woodworker, havent got a clue what ye are all talkin about half the time but good craic to read some of the threads all the same. Oh ye and abit of a thick s**t when it come to viewin the boards only discovered today all the other threads i.e. the ones posted more than 1 month ago ah well.

My aims, to build some nice furniture and stuff, what I will achieve probably have ye laughin yer heads off at the hash I make of things and then come runnin for answers.

Whey hey the chisel!!!

CONGER - The Ir · 05-06-2005 11:31am

Greetings from the Land of the Hun.

I am located in the the south of Germany.

I am a sw. engineer (27yrs. experience - mostly here).

I use w-working as a balance to a stressy job (deadlines!!).

I work with hand tools (afraid of the machines, and besides which they are too noisey!), although I do have a TS and a router table (BASIS system from FESTOOL).

I work almost exclusively with solid wood (no man-made boards), and I use only natural glues and finishes. I like to carve (relaxing pastime when sitting outdoors)... I carve spoons, mostly because I am not artistic enough to do anything else (I am an engineer!). I collect wood roots and branch joints and dry them out for carving.

All my projects are 'show' projects; you see the wood, you see the joints, you see the marks of the hand tools, you see the finish, and you even see the mistakes!

I love using exotic woods; these I bring home with me when I travel abroad. I have some beautiful andaman padauk (Pterocarpus dalbergoides). Some lists have this as NOT protected... and some do... I follow the rules where ALL the lists categorise a wood as protected. I am lucky that my colleagues in Australia put wood packing (at my request!) for the equipment they send back to my employer for repair.

I am building a table and frame for a large bronze gong (Thailand) out of the andaman padauk. Other current projects include a barrel-top blanket chest in pear, and a table in the shaker style in american cherry.

I am interested in using bog oak from Ireland; I have carved a few things from bog oak, but the quality is mostly too poor for any reasonable results.

I go to 'school' occasionally here: http://www.kurswerkstatt-muenchen.de/

I like to follow the message traffic here: http://www.woodworking.de/index.htm
... and also here: http://www.woodcentral.com/newforum/handtools.shtml

Bye for now! -g-

Jim_Hal · 27-06-2005 12:42pm

Hi all,
just joined the group. I'm an enthusiastic amatuer - did a few night classes, made a couple of unstable tables, improved a bit, started a home workshop, improved a bit more, built a large deck, radiator covers, discovered a Router (great tool), can actually use it now etc...

Jim

Fingalian · 10-08-2005 2:59pm

Howdy Gang,
Fingalian here.Amateur/Hobbyist/second unpaid job in woodworking,did woodworking up to the 'Inter'in school years ago, had a really good teacher.Mostly self taught since then,through reading books / mags and building stuff. Have an old house which we are slowly renovating/extending so most my woodworking is geared towards that at the moment.I make stuff like free standing wardrobes, beds, chairs,lockers, gates,mantlepieces,doors...whatever needs to be done and whatever I think I can save a buck on by making/doing myself.We have champagne taste on a beer budget.Hopefully in about two years or so I can switch back to more 'artistic' stuff, I've a hankering to make a rocking chair like one of those really graceful ones made by George Nakashima and maybe a display cabinet a la James Krenov, I like their philosophy towards wood as well as their design skills and methods of work.Have to build a better workshop first ;-)
I have a decent bandsaw, router table, pillar drill and a bunch of drills, planers, jigsaws,Skilsaw, loads of handtools and my trusty workmate(what a great invention) and tons of clamps. Could do with a decent bench, planer/thicknesser, morticer, maybe a tablesaw and a good extraction system.
I find woodworking quite relaxing though it can be frustrating when THINGS GO WRONG. You see something and think 'hey I could make that or improve it', spend some time mulling it over, roughing it out in your head ,putting it on paper and then selecting the timber , marking it out , cutting it, making the the joints , dry assembling and then hey presto its done. I hate glueing up though!Glued up something last night, sweating like a carthorse, went out for a smoke came back in and 'ah jaysus its glued in the wrong way round! f**k and doubleF**k"
Felt like burning it afterwards, depths of Gloom.

cranbrook2 · 04-11-2005 10:38pm

hi everyone ,i am john from cranbrook ontario can.i have 25 yrs experience in new home construction.everything but the brick work.i also built a lot of decks and fences.i am now semi retired due to a bad car accident.now i spend most of my time building extreme birdhouses.probably the worlds largest .:D

kadman · 04-11-2005 11:12pm

Hi Cranbrook 2,

Welcome to the forum. Your bird houses are extreme indeed, they look great.

I was impressed with the one that looks like a log cabin construction, seems to be very large, must be some big birds in Canada. What size approximately would that birdhouse be.

kadman:)

SpitfireIV · 10-12-2005 1:58am

Threw in the odd post here, so I might as well introduce myself proper and come out of the shadows

.

Ehh, well I guess Im nutty about all things wood related, I'm only 22, but have been interested in wood and making things for as long as I can remember. I think its something you born with, sure anyone can do it, but to really love it it has to be in the blood, right? :rolleyes:

I guess my favourite area of woorworking would have to be carving, the feel of a razor sharp chisel slicing through the wood, the smell, ah, you cant beat it. Its something that a book cant really teach you, its a matter of trial and error and as the saying goes:

"A good woodcarver doesnt make mistakes....Only adjustments"

I live by that one, lol.

I have a fairly decent shed, well stocked and increasing, size is a bit of a problem, so for the time being its only smaller bits and pieces that I'm making. At the end you'll see a picture of my last project, its carved from red oak and its my pride and joy, anyone recognise what it is or where its from??

Anyhoo, thats me, good place here, hope to learn a bit here and maybe help someothers in need of help or advice.

Until then........

CroppyBoy1798

cormie · 10-12-2005 2:00am

Nice one Croppy:)

How tall is that???

Can we get a Gallery Sticky here perhaps?

SpitfireIV · 10-12-2005 2:02am

Good idea Cormie, I'd love to see some pics of other peoples work. The piece is 610mmX410mm (at the widest point)

MeHal · 05-01-2006 12:46pm

Hello I am living in Kildare and looking for a cabinet maker to put in two units in my sitting room, I have designed them myself, very simple mainly for storage space. I am new to the area and no clue where to look, tried some kitchen co's and they said 6 months....

Would greatly appreciate it if you could pass on any names or what direction for me to go...

MeHal

JoeB- · 07-01-2006 3:15am

Hi

My name is Joe and I've been working now making cabinets for a good while. I make cabinets on a completely commercial basis so I'm less of a hobbyist but I choose this path because it's hugely enjoyable and very satisfying.

Like everyone else I love the tools and using tools... mostly power tools it has to be said but the occasional handtool... I have a large workshop (1,000 sq Feet) and most of the tools required, but no lathe or bandsaw but I plan to get a bandsaw... any advice?

I also have a great 1970's stationary Trend-Elu combination router / spindle which takes 1/2 inch router cutters. Cast iron construction, total workhorse, 2,000w, 220V, single speed at 18,000 rpm, rated continous duty.... it also has a great fence incorporating dust collection... the router motor can be mounted above or below the table, the upper part can be lowered with a foot pedal for plunge routing, I have inserts for the table hole which are used for pin routing for template work... I also have power feed on it which is great, it gives complete consistency... I basically use it to make five piece, rail and stile, cabinet door frames... and also for the interior raised panel (for the doors).
http://www.eccabinets.com/Images/router.jpg

Another amazing tool is the Mafell DD40 dowelling machine. This is a handheld dowelling machine which drills two holes spaced 32mm apart, totally adjustable and very versatile... if used properly it can cut in half the time taken to make custom cabinets... that's incredible for a single tool but it's true in my case. It's not that cheap though but it's fully industrial, check it out on Google... the Irish supplier is Exaktool or something similar...

There's a bit about vacuums recently, I thought I'd mention the Record Power RSDE1 dustbin extractor, I'd highly recommend it, it's designed for woodworking, very easy to use, 100mm inlet, 1,100w, available for about €170 from McQuillans... this compares very well to other woodworking extractors as it can collect extra fine MDF dust or coarse planer shavings equally well, this might require extra filters with other systems... apparently most typical bag systems are cyclonic whereas the dustbin works by vacuum, this affects the way the suction changes when the 100mm diameter inlet is reduced to, say 50mm for a tool, apparently the vacuum doubles while the cyclonic halves, anyone have any thoughts? My dustbin has huge amounts of suction and can't be beaten for €170 in my view.

As I said, I'm commercial, I have a website to promote my products, I feel some of my best and most detailed work is at

http://www.eccabinets.com/Custom-Dressers.php

I'm only giving this link so people can see the type of stuff I want to make, not for business, I notice that everyone seems to be mad about lathes and not so much about cabinetwork or glasswork...

There's also spraying and finishing to consider, do many people have experience using polyurethane sprays for example?

Anyway so that's a few thoughts...
Cheers
Joe Ballantine

JohnBoy · 17-01-2006 6:12pm

Hi

I'm john, just buying an old house at the moment so there will be quite a bit to be done there, although relatively boring by some of your measures, used like carpentry a lot as a kid, kinda got sidetracked by computers during college, now I work in IT (26) spent the last few years mucking about on cars and metal fabrication in general, only getting back to wood this year when my sister bought a house.

I have mostly generic DIY tools, plus pillar corded and cordless drills, and a DA sander. oh and an aldi chop saw, which is the best use of forty euro ever.

I'm looking at getting a router and circular saw once my house comes through, the saw for cutting sheet, and the router for making skirtings and reveals, I hate the normal mouldings and would much rather for a skirting to just have a simple board with maybe 30 degree angle to the top of it, more traditional, simple skirtings.

I reckon the price of the router and bits will be more than saved in that one job alone as most of the skirtings are gonna be replaced.

I'd hope to be able to make the router table myself from either aluminium or stainless so that I can easily and consistently run lengths for skirting.

Wouldn't say no to an electric planer either, aldi had em before chrimbo and i didn't buy, no idea why

anyway I'll stop rambling.

Hi

dsmyth · 02-05-2006 7:15pm

Hi all,

My name is daniel.

newish to woodworking, did a little for the leaving cert and now that i have a small shed of my own have done a few small and simple projects. Plan to move forward to bigger and better projects as the budget allows.
Mechanical Engineer by profession so its nice to work with wood, it has a bit more character than aluminium and polymers.
Nice to see an active and friendly forum.

Carpenter · 28-06-2006 7:17pm

Hi
I am Andy and have being on here for year,s helping anyone that needs it never have i not helped anyone who pm me BUT until Kadman and roofer quy is back on here my little thing to help them is i am not giving out any advice on woodworking now i had my little moan you nice people can get on with your day

Who's Who.

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