Peter Brown's ShopTime

I just finished a quick restore on a set of Lyra bar stools. These are really cool bar stools, and are both pretty and comfortable. I received them in very rough shape. They were left outside for a couple of years before they came to my woodshop.  I restored them as best I could, but they still have some places on the seat top that shows the wear. That being said they now have a cool look to them. I spray painted the bottom black and sanded then oiled the seat. I really liked the way they turned out. 

Found another  free table on Craigslist. It was in pretty rough shape, with a nasty discolored area from an ashtry and a crack in the table top. I ripped the top at the crack and then jointed the boards and glued up the panel. I then took a peek at the trestle. The top was secured with screws that left no room for movement in the top. So I slotted a few holes and re-attached the boards in a way that would allow the top to expand and contract again without cracking. Lastly I made some wedges for the cross member on the trestle stand. This added a ton of stability. After sanding the top down I was going to re-stain it to match the bottom, but I thought it really looked good as it was. So I put two coats of shellac on the base and 4 coats of poly on top and posted it back on craigslist.  I have someone coming to look at it tonight... EDIT: And they took it home with them. It was a fun and simple flip and now I have some more green in my pocket. 

The guy I sold my shells and hardware to, recently sent me pictures of his completed kit. He did an amazing job!! There was a small pang of regret when I saw them all decked out in their new black sparkle glory but the truth is, I would never have played them. Plus he did an outstanding job, and I wasn't fairing anywhere near as well as that! He should get a ton of use out of them now, and loads of pride to boot! Before: And after: close up on the snare: Here's a link to the Photostream with more shots. Well done Gabriel!

Completed! So I spent about 2 hours with my new addition last Friday: I took a LONG time to reestablish the bevel on the three 220 plane irons. Since I'm a glutton for punishment I also sharpen my 4 bench chisels and the iron on my Jack plane. All of these bevels were off severely. Now I can cut paper and the tip of my thumb (oops! and ouch!!) Right when I finished that the mailman brought a package with height adjustment screw and frog (the parts I was missing) So I put together a plane and test out my labor. Thin enough? This is fun... It made short work of the wild grain on the walnut and after a bit of adjustment got it pulling nice thin shavings. I would call the feel equivalent to 320 grit paper. Which I have to say BLOWS MY MIND. Anyway. I call this a success. I will totally be looking for frogs for the other two, seems a shame not to complete them after the first works so well.

I picked up three Stanley 220 block planes on craigslist. Turns out they were missing some parts, so my stellar deal isn't so stellar but I think I still did okay. Before they are usable I have some clean up to do. So I spent 4 hours in the garage last night cleaning up the planes and lapping the soles by hand. Really made me appreciate the bargain box of Kingspor sandpaper I got. The amount of sandpaper I consumed was staggering. Even with stopping every 10 minutes to blow out the filings with compressed air. Okay.. pictures. This was the best looking of the three and a good place to start. 100 grit & 150 grit on either side of an old glass shelf When I realized how long this was going to take 2 - 3 hours later( I also too the opportunity to flatten the backs of my chisels too. Something that I'd never done) I started at 100, then polished to 240 but didn't get a shot of that. Plane iron time... These things are awkward to hold... My kludge: double stick turners tape c...

I can't believe it's finally over...

The last piece of the Unisaw restore is underway. And out of my control. I finally saved up enough dough to get the motor repaired. I called around town and this was the first place that responded correctly "I have a repulsion induction motor that is slow to start" "Did you check the capacitor?" "Nevermind... Click" Finally I got this guy who claims to get a couple of these a month. "I call them unisaw motors" "That works for me. What do you think is the trouble" At which point he began describing the brushes and wiring in a way that made me realize he had knowledge of these motors and how to troubleshoot "I'm not sure if I can fix it, I'll do my best." "How long?" "A week or so..." Not exactly instilling confidence, but certain a stronger base than the other shops! Now I wait, and too my saw waits all cleaned and painted in it's new mobile base awaiting news of it's 1950's motor and how...

All parts cleaned and waiting for cabinet completion and reassembly. The fence and other "non-guts" will be done after re-assembly in an effort to maintain my sanity. Wire Wheel---- Wire Wheel---- Wire Wheel---- I'm declaring the top done for now. Once it's all resembled if the bug hits, I'll give it another goings over...

It's amazing what can be done to a decade of rust with 4 green scrubbers, a bit of WD-40 and two hours of your time. Sure it's a bit tiring, but honestly worth the effort! Before After

Toppless! Disassembly. Gutted. Rust, rust and more rust! Let the cleaning begin!

I got an angle on a vintage Delta Unisaw yesterday afternoon. Called the guy about 5 minutes after the CL posting. He said it was his dads and it stopped working for him late in '09. It had been outside under a tarp since then. Rushed out to his place to buy/ checked it out. No visible cracks and most parts accounted for. Honestly there wasn't much to do, because after my call the guy got 6 other calls in 30 minutes and one fella offered him double the asking price. I pretty much was like. "Yep it's a Uni. Here's your dough." I gave him his 50 bucks he was asking and then he and I plus his two kids and his wife hoisted it up into my pickup. It was a riot! Home safe Rope was just for show. This thing wasn't going anywhere! A wee bit rusty With sawdust from 1952, or there abouts, included! I've never worked with a tool this heavy, I was flabbergasted! Unisaw extraction team. FIL, BIL, Me! I plan on a full restore. I'm in no rush to get it done. ...