Jim Randolph

Tips from Sticks in the Mud – January Tip #1- The Power of Light

Jan 042016
 

Welcome to “Tips From Sticks-In-The-Mud Woodshop.” I am a hobbyist, not a professional, someone who loves woodworking, just like you do. I have found some better ways to accomplish tasks in the workshop and look forward to sharing those with you each month, as well as hearing your problem-solving ideas.

As you might imagine, I’m much too cheap to have hired a lighting designer to help with the process of choosing and placing illumination fixtures in my shop.

On the other hand, I didn’t scrimp on the number of lights, and there were several good reasons:

  • Insufficient light in a workplace potentially creates unsafe conditions.
  • Poor lighting might lead to mistakes and do-overs, which cost time and money.  Such mistakes might occur in missing a needed repair, sanding or even finishing.  Not being able to see one’s tape or rule could lead to a major boo-boo!
  • As we age, we need more light on our work.

We built our house 19 years ago last Thanksgiving, when I was only 43.  I haven’t needed additional lights because I was generous with them in the beginning.

Still, there are times a task calls for intense light.

It’s dark in there!

It’s dark in there!

I have the work lights you see pictured, and I’m quick to set them up when a job will require extra light for a significant time period, such as installing drawer slides inside a cabinet.

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A story goes with these lights picture above.  They were in the garage when Hurricane Katrina’s floodwaters came, and I was ready to throw them into the trash pile.  One of our sons, Andy, wanted to plug them into the generator so we could continue our cleaning work into the night.  With my background in electronics, I was more than a little nervous, to say nothing of protective of our children, who had come all the way from Kentucky to rescue us.  We switched both lights on, plugged them into the silent generator, then pulled the starting rope.  To my surprise, the lights came on, and have continued to operate flawlessly for the subsequent ten years.

There are other times localized lighting is needed for just a few moments.  Enter my mother-in-law.  Well, not exactly, but the Christmas present she gave me several years ago.  Since she doesn’t read the column, I’ll admit what I thought when I opened my Christmas package a few Decembers ago:  “What the heck use do I have for this?”  Little did I know!

For years, I underestimated the value of this little headlight until I used it one day. Now it sees service regularly!

For years, I underestimated the value of this little headlight until I used it one day. Now it sees service regularly!

I kept the headlight on a peg hook for emergencies when the electricity went out.  One day, I needed a lot of light in a small space, didn’t want to drag out the big lights, and thought of the headlight.  It fit the bill perfectly.  Since then I’ve used it many times to illuminate a hard-to-see project step.  It’s especially useful when working in the inky darkness of the inside of a table saw.  Elusive nuts and washers suddenly appear in its halogen blue-white glow.

You can get a perfectly suitable headlight from $12 to $30 at any big box store. There is no need to spring for the $1600 Heine model!

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Jim Randolph is a veterinarian in Long Beach, Mississippi. His earlier careers as lawn mower, dairy farmer, automobile mechanic, microwave communications electronics instructor and journeyman carpenter all influence his approach to woodworking. His favorite projects are furniture built for his wife, Brenda, and for their children and grandchildren. His and Brenda’s home, nicknamed Sticks-In-The-Mud, is built on pilings (sticks) near the wetlands (mud) on a bayou off Jourdan River. His shop is in the lower level of their home. Questions and comments on woodworking may be written below in the comments section. Questions about pet care should be directed to his blog on pet care, www.MyPetsDoctor.com. We regret that, because of high volume, not all inquiries can be answered personally.

POLL: What clothing do you wear in your shop?

Dec 212015
 
I came to wear overalls for woodworking as a result of a gift.  My cousin, Beverly, is an inveterate bargain hunter.  Yes, it runs in the family.
I was visiting my Uncle Sam and Aunt Polly one weekend when I realized I hadn’t brought any work pants with me.  “I have some cargo pants I bought at the second-hand store.  You can wear them this weekend,” Beverly offered.
I fell in love with those pants!
The famous Beverly cargo pants. I’d never seen so many pockets before! I never took advantage of the zip-off legs. I’m just not a “shorts kind of guy,” I suppose.

The famous Beverly cargo pants. I’d never seen so many pockets before! I never took advantage of the zip-off legs. I’m just not a “shorts kind of guy,” I suppose.

Before the weekend was over I was begging Beverly to let me keep them.  To be honest, it didn’t take much begging.  Beverly is incredibly generous.  And, she had only a couple of bucks invested in them.
I wore those cargo pants every time I had any kind of work to do around the house or outside at work.  I loved the pockets and had certain items allocated to each pocket.  A hammer permanently hung from the hammer loop, whether the job required a hammer or not.
The legs were much, much too long, even for six-foot-tall me.  I didn’t care.  Sometimes I rolled them up, sometimes I just walked on them.  I felt a little closer to home, a little closer to Uncle Sam and all of my family when I wore them.
One day, it hit me that the “cargo” characteristic found its fullest expression in overalls.  Even more pockets!  Now I had a place for four pencils.  One pencil slot even has space for a ball-point pen.  I could clip the dust collector remote control to them.  The remote control for the Hang-Up Shop Vac could clip in another place.  Click here to read that post.  There’s a pocket for the stereo remote control and one for the retractable knife.  There’s a loop for a hammer, too, but it’s so big the hammer always falls through.  I tried sewing through the loop with an awl needle and heavy waxed thread, but I didn’t make my knots secure and it came apart.  Good thing that doesn’t happen with my surgery patients!
My one and only pair of overalls. Well-worn and a little bit smelly...just the way I like them!

My one and only pair of overalls. Well-worn and a little bit smelly…just the way I like them!

You can never have too many clamps, you can never have too many pencils.

It was natural that I would turn to overalls.  Uncle Sam wore them exclusively as work clothes.

You’ve heard of “The hardest-working man in show biz?” Uncle Sam was the hardest-working man in dairy farming, and his overalls showed it.

You’ve heard of “The hardest-working man in show biz?” Uncle Sam was the hardest-working man in dairy farming, and his overalls showed it.

 The only time he wore anything else was church and horse shows.  He loved to get fixed up in a good-looking cowboy hat, a Western shirt with snaps, jeans and boots with spurs.
Sam Burrell looked sharp in his best cowboy clothes, and he knew it. He had a certain confidence and swagger when he wore them.

Sam Burrell looked sharp in his best cowboy clothes, and he knew it. He had a certain confidence and swagger when he wore them.

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Jim Randolph is a veterinarian in Long Beach, Mississippi. His earlier careers as lawn mower, dairy farmer, automobile mechanic, microwave communications electronics instructor and journeyman carpenter all influence his approach to woodworking. His favorite projects are furniture built for his wife, Brenda, and for their children and grandchildren. His and Brenda’s home, nicknamed Sticks-In-The-Mud, is built on pilings (sticks) near the wetlands (mud) on a bayou off Jourdan River. His shop is in the lower level of their home. Questions and comments on woodworking may be written below in the comments section. Questions about pet care should be directed to his blog on pet care, www.MyPetsDoctor.com. We regret that, because of high volume, not all inquiries can be answered personally.

 

Tips from Sticks in the Mud – December Tip #2 – Dust Extractor Hose Management

Dec 022015
 
No Southern-fried Southern boy wants to be called a Yankee, but we share the characteristics of shrewdness and thrift.  Thus, each month we include a money-saving tip.  It’s OK if you call me “cheap.”  
We’ve previously discussed an inexpensive way to keep one’s dust extractor hose and power cord above the project, allowing maximum versatility.
Here is the first generation of do-it-yourself overhead Festool dust extractor hose management.

Here is the first generation of do-it-yourself overhead Festool dust extractor hose management.

Of course, if you’re not a do-it-yourselfer, Festool makes the Festool Boom Arm ready-made to perform this function for you.
Now, Festool has come out with a new system that encloses the hose and cord in a cloth wrap that will prevent the hose from marring your workpiece.  You can order one by clicking here, and choosing the “Anti-Static – Sleeved with Power Cord type” in the options.
Here’s my El Cheapo version:  Use Velcro straps to tie Festool sander power cords to Festool vacuum hoses as they travel together to the Festool dust extractor.  The generously-long cords of Festool tools make this part easy.
I had a bunch of these Velcro cord wraps, with little use for them, until I stole this idea from Festool. Most of them came from uninterrupted power supply (UPS) units that power our computers when the electricity is off.

I had a bunch of these Velcro cord wraps, with little use for them until I stole this idea from Festool. Most of them came from uninterrupted power supply (UPS) units that power our computers when the electricity is off.

Alternatively, there is a rubber version of cord wraps that works just as well.

Alternatively, there is a rubber version of cord wraps that works just as well.

I looked for a small-diameter drainpipe sock that could serve as a cover, but was unsuccessful. Darn!
Just in case you don’t know what a drainpipe sock is, feast your eyes.

Just in case you don’t know what a drainpipe sock is, feast your eyes.

You have to hand it to those Festool designers:  they come up with some great ideas!

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Jim Randolph is a veterinarian in Long Beach, Mississippi. His earlier careers as lawn mower, dairy farmer, automobile mechanic, microwave communications electronics instructor and journeyman carpenter all influence his approach to woodworking. His favorite projects are furniture built for his wife, Brenda, and for their children and grandchildren. His and Brenda’s home, nicknamed Sticks-In-The-Mud, is built on pilings (sticks) near the wetlands (mud) on a bayou off Jourdan River. His shop is in the lower level of their home. Questions and comments on woodworking may be written below in the comments section. Questions about pet care should be directed to his blog on pet care, www.MyPetsDoctor.com. We regret that, because of high volume, not all inquiries can be answered personally.

Tips from Sticks in the Mud – December Tip #1- The Value of Festool

Dec 012015
 
“There you go again, Jim Randolph.  You keep trying to make us believe you’re a cheapskate, then you admit you paid hundreds for Bose Noise-Cancelling headphones.  Now you’re going to tell us you’ve bought that high-priced Festool stuff, too?  We may have to come take away your membership card to the Cheapskates’ Club.”
I’ve said before, I don’t mind paying more and buying the best if I’m getting value for the money I spend.  I’ve been building this round cedar picnic table with curved benches for our two youngest grandchildren.  It has helped to highlight the value of the Festool “system.”
Festool figured substantially in the construction of this diminutive picnic table set for our youngest grandchildren. Kapex, Domino, Rotex and ETS sanders with dust extractor. It’s worth spending money to get quality tools that make your job more beautiful, easier and/or faster.

Festool figured substantially in the construction of this diminutive picnic table set for our youngest grandchildren. Kapex, Domino, Rotex and ETS Sanders with dust extractor. It’s worth spending money to get quality tools that make your job more beautiful, easier and/or faster.

I timed it. I can change the power cord and hose from one sander to the other in 20 seconds. That makes it fast enough that I can work on a problem area and totally resolve it, then move on to another problem area, which is more efficient than coming back to each defect as a stage is fini

I timed it. I can change the power cord and hose from one sander to the other in 20 seconds. That makes it fast enough that I can work on a problem area and totally resolve it, then move on to another problem area, which is more efficient than coming back to each defect as a stage is finished.

Cedar.  It’s the wood I love to hate.  I love the color, in all its variations.  I love the smell.  (Everyone loves the smell!)  I love the durability of the heartwood, especially in projects intended for outdoor use.
Then, there’s the down side.
Or sides.
It’s soft, which makes it easy to mill.  But, the softness makes it susceptible to scratches, dents and dings.
Then, there are the knots.  Which are most definitely not soft.  And, around all those knots the confused grain tears out when the planer and jointer knives hit it. This is one of the places the Festool sanding system really shines.  As you sand a project like this, some areas, like tearout, need some aggressive Rotex action to whip them into shape, followed by some time with the less aggressive Rotex random setting.  The Rotex stroke length is longer than the ETS, so a quick switch to the same sandpaper grit on the ETS gives the fine, smooth finish sanding you want those grandbabies  meals and behinds sitting on.  I have a 5″ Rotex and a 5″ ETS and the system allows quick change from one sander to another without having two dust extractors.

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Jim Randolph is a veterinarian in Long Beach, Mississippi. His earlier careers as lawn mower, dairy farmer, automobile mechanic, microwave communications electronics instructor and journeyman carpenter all influence his approach to woodworking. His favorite projects are furniture built for his wife, Brenda, and for their children and grandchildren. His and Brenda’s home, nicknamed Sticks-In-The-Mud, is built on pilings (sticks) near the wetlands (mud) on a bayou off Jourdan River. His shop is in the lower level of their home. Questions and comments on woodworking may be written below in the comments section. Questions about pet care should be directed to his blog on pet care, www.MyPetsDoctor.com. We regret that, because of high volume, not all inquiries can be answered personally.

Poll: What do you do with your dust collector’s output?

Nov 172015
 

What do you do with the shavings and sawdust that come out of your dust collector?  I use mine as mulch, usually, for trees and bushes in the yard.  Keep in mind that anywhere you put sawdust on the ground, it will kill anything that tries to grow in that area.  The reason is that the high carbon content in the sawdust chemically binds the nitrogen the plants want to use for food.

Mulch also prevents sunlight from reaching the ground.

Speaking of food, it’s generally recommended that we shouldn’t mulch food crops with shavings, in case the wood might be contaminated with things you wouldn’t want to put in your mouth.

Back in the 70s I was in college and wore a sign on my back that read, “Po’ College Student.”  I wanted to have a garden on a budget.  I went to the local feed store, where I found tomato plants for 50 cents each. On my budget, I could afford six plants.  Dejected, I wandered back out toward my car, when I noticed, leaning against the front of the store, some lonely, wilted, scraggly tomato plants tied in bunches.  They were marked 75 cents per bunch.  I could afford three and still buy a little bag of butterbean seeds.

Arriving home, I got a shock.  Within each bundle were 25 little bare-rooted plants.  Having already turned over an area of my back yard, I found I needed to open a bigger rectangle! My neighbor came over to see what I was up to, and I bemoaned the fact that I couldn’t afford fertilizer for my project.

“You’re in luck,” he replied.  “I have a horse, and his stall hasn’t been cleaned out for a while.  There’s enough fertilizer in that stall to boost ten gardens the size of yours.  There are shavings in there, too, that came from a planer mill in the swamp.  They should be well-broken-down by now.”

My designation as Lt. Overkill isn’t a new moniker.  I cleaned out the stall and took all ten gardens-worth of “fertilizer” home in my self-made utility trailer.  Into the garden it went, well-mixed, and followed by the 75-or-so tomato plants.

As luck would have it, over three score plants survived, no, thrived.  I gave away tomatoes.  I ate homemade spaghetti sauce, I canned tomatoes and froze tomatoes.  You never saw so many tomatoes in all your life!

Butterbeans?  Those plants did well, too.  With that much “fertilizer” how could they not?  Still, I didn’t eat a  single butterbean that summer.  I had two little Beagle puppies, and it turned out they liked butterbeans as much as I did.  As soon as little pods would appear, Sam and Blossum would go down the two rows and clean up.

Too bad they didn’t like tomatoes.

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Jim Randolph is a veterinarian in Long Beach, Mississippi. His earlier careers as lawn mower, dairy farmer, automobile mechanic, microwave communications electronics instructor and journeyman carpenter all influence his approach to woodworking. His favorite projects are furniture built for his wife, Brenda, and for their children and grandchildren. His and Brenda’s home, nicknamed Sticks-In-The-Mud, is built on pilings (sticks) near the wetlands (mud) on a bayou off Jourdan River. His shop is in the lower level of their home. Questions and comments on woodworking may be written below in the comments section. Questions about pet care should be directed to his blog on pet care, www.MyPetsDoctor.com. We regret that, because of high volume, not all inquiries can be answered personally.

Tips from Sticks in the Mud – November Tip #2 – Another use for recycled foam paintbrushes

Nov 032015
 

No Southern-fried Southern boy wants to be called a Yankee, but we share the characteristics of shrewdness and thrift.  Thus, each month we include a money-saving tip.  It’s OK if you call me “cheap.”

Wooden handles for foam paintbrushes have lots of uses, and we’ve extolled those uses before.  Click here to revisit that post.  Here is one more.  When the foam part of the brush has given its all, and the plastic “blade” is broken off, if the wooden part is 3/8” diameter, it makes a great guide for installing new sanding discs on your random orbit sander’s pad.  The 3/8” size “dowel” is a tight fit in the holes of the sanding pad.  Put a stick in the diagonally-opposite sides of the pad and slide the new disc down and into place.

YOU PAID WHAT? These 3/8" dowels were free, salvaged from many-times-reused “disposable” sponge finish applicators. The snug fit means your hole alignment will be perfect. Just slide the loops down to the hooks.

YOU PAID WHAT? These 3/8″ dowels were free, salvaged from many-times-reused “disposable” sponge finish applicators. The snug fit means your hole alignment will be perfect. Just slide the loops down to the hooks.

You will have perfect alignment for the dust extractor to remove the maximum amount of swarf as you work.  I like to keep two dowels in each grit of sandpaper.  That way, no matter which sander I’m using, the alignment devices will be handy.

Two brush handles in each grit of sanding discs means quick, easy (and, did I mention free?) alignment.

Two brush handles in each grit of sanding discs means quick, easy (and, did I mention free?) alignment.

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Jim Randolph is a veterinarian in Long Beach, Mississippi. His earlier careers as lawn mower, dairy farmer, automobile mechanic, microwave communications electronics instructor and journeyman carpenter all influence his approach to woodworking. His favorite projects are furniture built for his wife, Brenda, and for their children and grandchildren. His and Brenda’s home, nicknamed Sticks-In-The-Mud, is built on pilings (sticks) near the wetlands (mud) on a bayou off Jourdan River. His shop is in the lower level of their home. Questions and comments on woodworking may be written below in the comments section. Questions about pet care should be directed to his blog on pet care, www.MyPetsDoctor.com. We regret that, because of high volume, not all inquiries can be answered personally.

Tips from Sticks in the Mud – November Tip #1- The Important Pilot Hole

Nov 012015
 

Everyone knows that a pilot hole in a piece of wood can be a game changer.

With a pilot hole, this split might not have happened, and this part of the project might not have required being made over again.

With a pilot hole, this split might not have happened and this part of the project might not have required being made over again.

Making a path for a screw might prevent your ruining an important piece of a project, a split in a board (especially at the end), a broken-off screw, or strained muscles from hand-driving a screw through dense wood fibers.

Charts exist to guide you on the proper pilot hole size for a variety of screw types in various materials.

These charts are very helpful, but not very mobile. Pilot hole charts can be photographed and stored on your phone, or pulled up on the Internet.

These charts are very helpful, but not very mobile. Pilot hole charts can be photographed and stored on your phone, or pulled up on the Internet.

However, if you find yourself away from the shop and needing a pilot hole, your drill index can help.  The hole each bit resides in is a snug fit.  Remove the bit and find the smallest hole the threads of your screw will go into with just finger force.  That bit will give you a perfect pilot hole in most hardwoods.

For soft woods like spruce, cypress and pine, experiment with the next smaller size bit for the pilot hole.  The soft fibers will grip the wood more tightly and reduce the likelihood of fastening failure.

If I have to pay extra for drill bits to get them in an indexed box, I will. It’s that valuable. If I’m putting this screw into a hardwood, like oak, I’ll use a 9/64" bit for the pilot hole. If it’s going into spruce, I’ll drop back one size for a tighter fit, to 1/8".

If I have to pay extra for drill bits to get them in an indexed box, I will. It’s that valuable. If I’m putting this screw into a hardwood, like oak, I’ll use a 9/64″ bit for the pilot hole. If it’s going into spruce, I’ll drop back one size for a tighter fit, to 1/8″.

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Jim Randolph is a veterinarian in Long Beach, Mississippi. His earlier careers as lawn mower, dairy farmer, automobile mechanic, microwave communications electronics instructor and journeyman carpenter all influence his approach to woodworking. His favorite projects are furniture built for his wife, Brenda, and for their children and grandchildren. His and Brenda’s home, nicknamed Sticks-In-The-Mud, is built on pilings (sticks) near the wetlands (mud) on a bayou off Jourdan River. His shop is in the lower level of their home. Questions and comments on woodworking may be written below in the comments section. Questions about pet care should be directed to his blog on pet care, www.MyPetsDoctor.com. We regret that, because of high volume, not all inquiries can be answered personally.