Kid's sled

This sled is a project that I started just before Helen was born. I originally wanted to use bent wood for the hand rails but I chose a simpler style instead. Helen is old enough now to sit up in the sled and we will try it out this winter.

End grain cutting board

This is my first stab at a cutting board - an end grain one at that. My inspiration for the project came from The Wood Whisperer - Marc S. He had a video on his website that highlighted the steps for making an end grain cutting board.

With the exception of the purple heart, the rest of the pieces were scraps of wood I had in my shop already. I did not have the pieces I did what I could with the table saw.

60 grit sand paper on my orbital sander did a good job of doing a final cleaning over the end grain.

This project was fun to do. The end product (after finishing with a food safe oil) was very rewarding.

The cutting board was a gift for my mother in law for her birthday.

Eye of the Tiger

This toy took the form of a tiger. I wanted to highlight the stripes on the tiger , so I used different types of wood for the colours. I picked yellowheart and walnut to glue up the tiger.

I was surprised at how soft yellowheart is. It is comparable to pine in grain and density.

The tiger is going to our friends overseas, they just had their second son a few weeks ago.

I used an old Marples 12 " bow saw to cut the profile of the animal. The saw performed nicely

with the original 8ish tpi blade. The saw was a bargain on ebay. I paid around $70 shipping included for the saw. Nearly identical saws can fetch $160 before shipping.

Kids Sled...part one - bentwood

The week before our daughter Helen was born I started working on a kids sled.

I got as far roughing out two runners and braces. Recently I was able to get some more work done on the project.

I am experimenting with bending wood. I will use bentwood for the sides of the sled.

After researching bentwood in a reference book I have (Canadian Woods- their properties and uses pg 93 - published 1951 by Forestry Branch(Canadian Government)) I found that hardwoods are recommended over softwoods for bending.

As a rule of thumb, the book suggests a ratio of 1/40 for the thickness-to-bend radius ratio.

I selected a 6.25" radius for the side pieces. For the purposes of this calculation lets use 6" for an example 6/40 = 0.15 " My individual strips are approx. about 3/32" or .09" This should work.

I did not actually measure the strips.Instead I, put my stock on the table saw(not running)

between the blade and the fence. I brought the fence up to the stock. Engaged the fence lock, removed the stock. Then I moved the fence 3/16" closer to the blade, engaged the fence lock again and cut my strip of wood. A zero clearance plate is highly recommended for the procedure.

I use a Freud rip blade.

The ultimate test of how thick or thin your strips are is to dry bend them over your radius template. If you can hold all strips over the intended curve without breaking them you are good to go. I used maple and walnut in alternating positions to make my test piece. Yellow glue(Elmers Pro Bond) glued the pieces together. The test piece turned out very well. I was impressed with the results.

Stay tuned for the completion of this sled:)