Convert Military Trucks to LED lights

I have an M925A1 and lets face it the headlights SUCK.  You can buy the millitary grade LED headlights for $200 each but instead I found and fit a pair of 24v 7" LED lights and it worked great.

Link to lights:



Wiring hints

On the lights:
Black is Ground
Blue is LowBeam
Tan is High Beam

On the Truck:
91 is Ground
18 is LowBeam
17 is HighBeam

To wire:
Black to 91
Blue to 18
Tan to 17

Ridgid 14 Gallon Shopvac

I have been very pleased with this machine.  Coming from some very loud, cut-rate screaming monsters this has been a great vacuum.  It has a pleated filter setup and replacements are reasonable.  I am waiting to replace mine until all of the truly nasty mouse nest removal is done.  Amazon still sells this model and I can tell you that if something were to happen to mine I would not hesitate to replace it asap.

You can buy the machine from amazon here, full disclosure, if you buy from the link below I get a few pennies from amazon's pockets.

Ball-Head Camera Mount Fix

I ordered these from amazon and they had some decent reviews, nothing that mentioned the difficulties I had.  In fact I think my review was the worst one but I wanted to be honest for someone who didn't have the ability to fix them.  That said, as someone who CAN fix them I think this is a steal where you are getting the materials of a $20 unit at a $5 cost.

Below is the link and if you click and buy here I will be getting a few pennies so full disclosure.






I don't mention it in the video but if you get one where the thumbscrew has stripped out just rotate it around, drill and then tap the body to relocate the screw.  Just make sure you drill it just slightly lower than the original hole.

Wood Turning on the Table Saw Part Two

Part Two: Hogging the log

I made the choice to pair the cherry rim with the Box Elder rounds for a few reasons.  First I felt that the rounds were not as thick as I would have liked, I wanted a deeper bowl.  By adding the cherry lip I was able to increase the depth w/o having to later cut the entire thickness. 



Additionally I was digging the way the dark brown of the cherry contrasted with the white of the Box Elder.

 

For epoxy to glue the rim I was using Gorilla Glue brand five minute epoxy.  I picked that over a yellow wood glue because I wanted the flexibility of bond epoxy provides.  It took most of two tubes to attach the rim to both of the bowls.  Unfortunately I got a bad batch.  All of the stuff glued down with the first batch (tube) of epoxy came loose.  It never hardened and remained gummy more than 36 hours after mixing despite baking the wood at 120 degrees for 14 hours.  I have mixed a lot of epoxy in my day, trust me I mixed it properly, something was wrong with it.  Luckily for me it waited until after the bowls had been cut to come lose.  The entire rim of the first bowl had to be removed and thing pieced back together.  It sucked.

Hogging out a majority of the wood prior to cutting on the table saw is a nice modification from the last time I did this.  It sped up the process tremendously and lets face it, the press is safer so might as well use it as much as I can.

Pouring the epoxy in prior to cutting might seem like a waste, but it isn't.  Because I had some punk and deep cracks and I wasn't sure how those areas would respond to the saw.  Sealing the back of the cracks with tape, (I find the green FROG tape works well) I was able to fill those cracks and punky bits.  Later when the saw is cutting down through it will expose the filled cracks and they will have epoxy flush with the surface.  It looks cleaner.  Also ANYTHING you can do to minimize moisture movement and warping at this stage... do it.  The epoxy I was using was a counter top epoxy from Areo Marine.  This really isn't what it was designed for but I find the very thin nature of the mix gives me superb penetration which is important if you are trying to soak into rot.  The closer I can get to turning both bowls into blocks of plastic the better.  It will help minimize wood movement due to humidity changes.

Building my little hot box helps dramatically speed the epoxy set time.  It has a normal cure of 24 hours but I can cut that nearly in half with long periods of heat.  In the past I have found that long set times means the water thin epoxy can just run out the bottom.  I want it to soak in, not drip out.  Heat helps with that by skimming the epoxy faster than it would normally happen.

Wood Turning on the Table Saw Part One

PART ONE: Inspiration, Planning, Preparation and Selection

Almost everyone assumes turning a bowl is something you do on lathes.  How about turning a bowl more than 20 inches across out of a huge slab of highly figured hardwood?  Or turning a huge bowl with pockets of rot or bark?  Now that would totally take special and expensive equipment right?  What if I told you there is a way to create massive bowls without a lathe at all?  That is what we are doing here!



Using nothing more complicated than a table saw and some scrap lumber I turn some highly figured Box Elder wood into the two pieces you see above.  Before we start lets take a moment to talk about WHY you might think of doing it this way in the first place.

To start off with I do own a lathe but it is NOWHERE near large enough to tackle a project like this.  Trying to turn something this size on my under-powered machine would be an exercise in futility, but lacking the horsepower isn't the only reason someone might shy away from lathe turning.  Maybe it is a one off creation and you don't want to make the investment.  Maybe there is something inherently unstable about the stock you want to use, something that would make a 24 inch spinning disk potentially very dangerous.  Now I am the first to admit you are exchanging one type of danger for another, but I can also see where this method might be the only way to accomplish a task.  As a "for instance" I have always wanted to make something out of the gallery of a large carpenter ant nest.  For the life of me I can't think of a single way to turn that safely on a lathe but I think it COULD be done using my method.

In this first video I am just introducing the concept and there is little to add but still a few words of advice...

Picking your stock:  Chose wood that is dry and has stabilized.  Turning wood that is still wet will be a recipe for heartbreak.  It is going to warp and twist on you making it next to impossible to progress from step to step.  Make your selection carefully and then set it aside in your work space for a long time.  Give it a chance to acclimate.  If upon inspection you find that the material has warped, twisted bowed or moved in any real way give it a little more time.  Wait for it to stop moving.

Know your tools:  This IS your responsibility.  No one is in charge of your safety but you.  Later in the series I will be doing things that, and this is important to remember, YOUR TOOLS WERE NEVER DESIGNED TO DO.  Now that isn't to say they can't or wont but it bears remembering, pushing boundaries isn't without its own set of risks.  Only you know what you are capable of doing, what your skills allow and what your tools can handle.

Check out our first video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkKzXVLsRV8&feature=youtu.be

Turning Large Bowls on a Table Saw

This has been one of the most interesting projects we ever turned out on the table saw.  The video of doing this has won us awards on instructables and the bowl itself won awards at the fair.  Every once in a while someone will come up to me and say how they used to cut circles on a table saw, and occasionally I will see a small bowl turned in much the same way but never more than about 10 inches or so.  I am proud of this idea, not claiming I was the first to ever do it, far from it, but I can say that I thought it up myself independently.  There is some pride in that.

Some have raged against the practice, mostly on the side of either the saw is going to kick back/bowl explode, or that you can't see the cutters and might stick a finger into them.  I suppose those both have some validity but then they are true for nearly any other project as well.  As for not seeing the cutters, lots of tools, jointers, routers, plainers, even dado cutting on the table saw, obscure their cutters.  Why would this example be inherently any more dangerous than any other?  For the most part I dismiss that complaint as an internet expert.

The kick back... well this isn't something that can be feather boarded in place for each cut.  That would take days and I don't see an easy way to do it.  It is true that the project is captured only by that dowel but that is a substantial hardwood dowel and it would STILL have to lift and throw the sled on top of it.  I keep lots of weight on the sled and keep the sled contained in its tracks.  I have been doing this for quite some time now and other than blatantly forcing that dado blade to take huge cuts AND counter feeding it I just don't see how it could bite hard enough to blast that whole mess.  All woodworking is dangerous but I don't even see this as more dangerous than say ripping thin strips of figured wood.

Below you can find more videos of us using this unusual idea.

Building the Dr. Who 3D time table

This was a very neat project.  The mechanics of the table top are very simple.  I just used a but joint and wood screws covered with pegs to hold it together.  For the most part no one has a hard time figuring out how to make the table top but some were struggling with finding the other components.

You can find similar diffusers in most flat screen screens.  Now using the overhead diffuser is interesting because of the effect of its magnification but any diffuser would work.  As for the clock.  If you don't have a big broken clock around I would hit a store like pier one and but the cheapest big wall clock you can find.  Go head and have it tell the real time otherwise pull the batteries out of it and solder a 9v power cap to the two end terminals and have a clock that runs fast.

Children's Woodworking: Mother's Day Cutting Boards

This project was a blast and my little guy loved it.  The whole process is very simple and little hands struggling with dexterity can help with a lot.  I had an idea in my head of what I wanted but he got to make most of the decisions about wood selection.  My advice, encourage your little guy to make all the choices he or she can and as long as it has no effect on the functionality use them.  He is still proud when they get taken out and used and they have held up well.

On your wood selection I recommend sticking with woods that grow things humans eat for the most part.  A nice bland wood like maple, birch or cherry (as I used here) will not impart a taste to the food.  Some people can be allergic to black walnut and oak can leave a flavor.  I would avoid pine, fir or larch and ALL mystery woods.  Ceder would work well and would be gentle on your knives but it will show it's use more than others.

Filtering Used Oil For Reuse

People have asked me why someone might want to do this, well to save money and to help the environment  There are lots of applications, maybe not used motor oil, but lots of other applications where the oil isn't 'worn out' it is just contaminated.  Oil that comes from the rear ends or transmission of heavy trucks for instance is normally changed either because modern equipment mandates it or because it is dark/contaminated.  Older trucks and tractors just don't care as much about this sort of stuff.  My grandfather was always fond of saying you could use peanut butter in a tractor differential and it wouldn't care as long as there was something in there.  Now he wasn't serious about sandwich spread but there is still a lot of truth to it.  Our old equipment isn't very particular and rather than discarding this material this is how I get the chunks out and put it back to use.  I do this with gear oil and hydrolic oil.  I wouldn't put it back into a road vehicle but for mowers, tractors heck even chainsaw bar oil it works a treat.

Preparing your camper for winter!

The video does a great job covering the steps and it isn't very complicated.  People seem confused about the antifreeze, remember this isn't so you can use regular antifreeze, that is poisonous.  I simply want to use as little of the RV antifreeze as I can because I don't like the taste and I don't want to buy more than I need.

It is also important to drain your holding tanks either before or after you do this.  The little bit of water and antifreeze that might find it's way into those tanks as you winterize should not be an issue.  If you get a lot of water in the tanks and don't want to go and redrain them you will have to put antifreeze in there as well.

Lowes Fire Truck Build

This was a great project for my little guy as he got to participate so very directly.  I build things for him all the time but often that process is spaced out over several days.  This was kind of nice because we started with all of the pieces and he simply got to put it together.

The kit was what you would expect from something like this.  The pieces were all pre-sized, drilled and finished but didn't always match the pictures or directions.  Nothing split or chipped during assembly so that was nice.  I did have to pre-start some of the nails to prevent him from bending them over.  I didn't like how the nail head sit proud of the wood unless you really sink them.  I would advise doing that for your little carpenter as a few hard misses can really mar the finish.

You can find this kit here:

http://www.lowes.com/pd_75215-94546-107019239213_0__

Making a Pirate Sword

This is a very simple project and not much can be added.  I would encourage you to use a good neutral hardwood for the blade.  I am not sure what this wood was as it came from some pallet lumber but it looks and works like a good hard maple.  Be sure to save a few cut-off or scrap pieces of the blade to fill in the part where the handle overhangs to make it a solid piece.  You can see that I did that in the video but I didn't mention it.

Country Chic Furniture

The Country or 'Shabby' Chic look in furniture is all the rage right now and when this pile of parts came to me I saw an opportunity to show how I do it.  For the most part the video covers all the bases but let me cover (or re-cover) a few items:

Lead Paint
     -Just assume until you can prove otherwise it isn't.  If you do buy a test kit remember that some of this painted furniture could have several layers of paint, you need to check them all not just the top one.

Simulated Use
     -Have something that just doesn't look old enough for you?  The best and most simplistic way to simulate use is with sanding.  Don't go over the whole piece, that isn't how things get used.  In the same vein don't sand randomly either.  Stand or sit at the piece and open doors.  There might be several spots your hands will naturally grasp when opening, sand those spots.  Pretend or imagine yourself had at work, where do your sleeves brush, where do your shoes touch, if you were to drop a knife, a hammer or some other object where would it land?  It is easy to take too much and a paint to repaint and condition new paint to match or look old.  If you make scratch marks try carefully staining them with a darkish wood stain to hide the fact that they are fresh.

Simulated Tool Marks
     -For the most part items from this era were mass produced in early factories.  If you go all out giving your hutch simulated scrub plane marks it will look odd.  You will have a late 19th century item with tool marks from a 17th century item.  It might look old but it will always have that 'just not quite right' feel to it.

Staining
     -Once you have the ware and abuse you crave try wiping on a wood stain over the paint.  Try a stain that both covers and cures like a Danish Oil.  Apply more with a cloth to the corners and nooks and buff the center work spaces out.  This will help give it that dirty aged look.  As always do some testing because it might be hard to fix what you have done.

Throne of the Forest King

This was a creation of pure whimsy centered around a slab of apple wood that was too punky to be cut up for other projects, too cool to tossed out and too small to become a slab table.  I wanted to do something different, this fit the bill.

Construction advice:

The video covers most all of it but If I had it to do it over I would add more weight to the base.

Child's Bike Trailer

I wanted to start riding my bike with my then 2 year old son.  I looked at buying trailers but not seriously.  I like building things and since I can find most of the materials free I went that route. Except for the wheels, ball-joint ends, springs and threaded rod, all of the parts for this were free and scrounged from various locations.  The hood is from an old wheel tractor form the 40's or 50's.  I found it at the dump and it had been backed over by something.  I had it around for years looking for a project to make with it before I hit upon a trailer.

The build was simple, a rectangular frame with a rounded nose.  I used the rounded front from a floor buffer which set the overall width.  It ended up being a fine size.  My original build for the suspension was both too complicated and too heavy.  If you are making one use the axle set up I show in this video, not the one in my first attempt.  Either way the setup works and is durable.  Just make sure when the trailer is sitting level with no load on it you have the trailing arms and lateral bar parallel with the frame.  This is important to keep the axle in line when the going gets rough.

 We pounded out over 500 miles on the original layout, much of that on dirt roads.  It has been one of the most enjoyable builds and the time spent with my son has been priceless.


Parts! 
Springs!  I used part number 1692K45 but I think the 3 inch would have been better.
SOURCE

Ball Joints!  I used the 1/2x20 for the trailing arms and 3/8x24 for the lateral bar.
SOURCE

Threaded Rod!  They have stronger stuff but I don't see why you would need it.  You can also use their stainless but I just painted mine.  I bought two 3 foot sticks of 1/2 20 thread (you have to match the thread to the ball joints you find, whatever they are) I used one stick for the axle and another cut for the trailing arms.  Starting over I would use 3/8 for the trailing arms, 1/2 is overkill.  I would buy one 3 foot 1/2x20, one 3 foot 3/8x24 and one 2 foot 3/8x24.
SOURCE

WHEELS!  I got these from Northern Tool.  You could source your own if you needed to.  I used 16 inch but have thought that 12 would have been fine and kept the cart lower to the ground.  Starting over I would go with the 12's unless you are planning on some serious off road, but if you are remember it will tip over.
SOURCE

Pine Burl Table

A few tips left out of the videos:

Drying- I let these burls dry inside my shop for over a year.  They had been drying covered outside for several years.  If you open up the wood while the moisture content is too high you are asking for it to split on you.  This can be lessened to some extent by spraying it with a coat of poly when you are done each night but it can get irritating sanding it off in the morning.  You could also keep the wood in plastic overnight.

Pitch- I only mentioned it briefly but as the burl is scar tissue it tends to be full of pitch.  The surface layers will dry and harden over long periods of time (read months) but as you sand and cut you expose soft layers soaked into the wood.  Now those too will harden over long periods of time but who wants to wait?  If you spray poly or lacquer over it the solvents will soften the resin and lift it, marking the finish.  I attacked it two ways...

   Turpentine: Soak and scrub, soak and scrub.  This will lift the pitch to the surface then you can scrub it off with a rag.  This will only take up surface deposits but still that might be enough.  On my table this is what I did.

    Bake it:  Find a local kiln and ask that they toss your dry burl in to set the resin.  They do that type of thing all the time and the price will be cheap.  This will harden the resin inside the entire chunk.  It will still soften if you create a lot of heat sanding so go slow and keep it cool.

    Seal it: Spray your bad spots with shellac to seal them in.  I would only do this if the spot was minor.  Once you have a layer or two of shellac protection built up finish normally.  This will give the wood an extra yellow/orange look.

PLEASE NOTE!  ON A HOT DAY THE RESIN IN THE WOOD COULD STILL SOFTEN AND WELL UP THROUGH THE FINISH CREATING STICKY CRACKS.  (it can even do this though poured epoxy) THE ONLY THING THAT WILL STOP THIS IS TO HAVE THE PIECE KILN DRIED TO SET THE RESINS.

Craftsman Moulder Sharpening Tricks

You can spend $$$ on jigs and stones and I know the edge is better because of it but by how much?  I believe in the law of diminishing returns and feel taking 2 min to get 75% is better than taking 10 to get 80%.  With the exception of planer blades I just hold all of mine by hand and only use two stones.

The pair of stones I use are both diamond, about 2 1/2 x 6 inches and come in 'coarse' and 'fine'.  If I had to guess 600 and 1500 grit respectively.  I like the diamond stones because they stay flat and need so very little care, just wipe them down.  They were sold as water stones but I use a sharpening oil.  Water causes rust and I normally sharpen on the bed of my tablesaw. 

Cutting face: Carefully hold the blade at the angle you want on the coarse and draw it backward over the face of the stone.  Lift at the end of each stroke.  This is the only 'skilled' part of the process.  You are sharpening by hand so it isn't like you can wreck the edge in one pass.  Check often to see that you are getting a polish over the full edge.  If the cutting face glints you need to keep going.  Move on to the back but return and give the cutting edge a few more strokes on the fine stone and the last swipe should be lifted up onto the cutting edge slightly to give a last micro-bevel.  I find I only need to hone the cutting face every 3 or 4 backside sharpenings.

Backside:  This is where most of the work is.  Lay the blade flat on the stone and move in a circular fashion until the polish extends all the way to the cutting edge.  This can take a while the first time depending on how the blade was made.  However once you get it flat from that point on all you have to do in normal sharpening is hit the backside on the stone and you are ready to cut.  Once to the edge move to the fine stone, hone the cutting edge to remove the bur and polish the backside.  This step will go much quicker.  I also sharpen hand plane blades this way.

I know sharpening purists will feel I am cutting corners but I am a practical man and this works for me.

iPad Stand

The video of this project is below:

I did this for my Grandmother who loves her iPad.  Browsing the web on a tablet is great but it can be a pain to clutch it for a long period of time.  Using it flat on your lap requires arching your feet up to get the legs level, something that gets tiring.  This very simple little device (a picture frame in essence) allows the use of the built in cover stand on right your lap.  This means you can watch with feet flat on the floor and your arms resting in your lap.  This is a simple and useful tool for anyone with mobility issues and is darn convenient for all who like to sit and browse.

I built my stand from scrap I had around the shop.  This is a great project for eating up those leftovers that are too big to toss but too small to be useful.  I toyed with gluing together then planing down the center in order to build in to nice contrasting wood but in the end decided on the oak/aromatic cedar combo.  I felt the scent, activated but lap and device heat, would be a pleasant addition. 

TIPS:

When getting the groove for your board cut, sneak up on the final width because it will be dificult tighten it up later.  Remember because you flip the board around and cut on the saw twice any movement of the fence is doubled.

It might be worth taking a scrap of the right thickness all the way out to the proper width then once you are happy run the edge banding you have prepared.  That way instead of working out you start at the proper width and work in.  No chance of over cutting that way.

If you cut the groove too wide build up the thickness of your center panel with masking tape then after the glue dries carefully cut the tape back to the edge of your frame.  No one will see the tape in the joint, it will be our secret ;-)

Do not try and plow out the boards after you miter them, miter first then cut the 45 on the ends.  Plowing them first leads to an unstable surface for your push stick to hold securely.

When cutting the center panel sneak up on the measurement with a few multiple cuts.  This will ensure that the board is the proper size.  If you cut it too small it will still work provided you still get adequate groove insertion.

Planer Snipe Tricks

There is always comes a day when you have cut a board to length but forgot it needed more planing.  How to do it without sniping the ends of your special board?  I personally use the sacrificial stick method shown in the video below:

Some extra tips:

Where possible you might try to overlap the boards to assure the infeed and outfeed rollers can't jump.

Run 2 or 3 sacrificial boards in the planer loop to avoid that moment when you are scrambling to grab one as the end of your good board slides inside.

If you miss it, let it go!  It is just snipe after all, not worth losing fingertips over.  If you missed timed it don't try to frantically jam one in, let it go.  LET IT GO!

You only need to bother with it the last pass of each side.  The last pass is enough to remove the snipe unless your machine is cutting particularly bad.

Remember to adjust the rollers.  This trick is only to help that last whisper, not save you from a machine that hogs out a massive 1/8 deep snipe.  Grab the manual and a straight edge and have at it.

For those interested my main planer is an older Makita 2012N 12 inch with the two sided disposable blades.  It has been a workhorse for better than a decade now.  In the video you can hear that it is in need of some bearings and occasionally the chain drive binds and releases leaving marks on the boards.  For the most part I live with this.  About once a year I crank it all the way down and wipe the feed rollers with some solvent to get the gunk off.  This seems to help greatly with intermittent feeding issues.  My secondary planer is a 5hp Rockwell 18 inch that scares the crap out of me because it is missing parts like the chip breaker.  I hate standing in front of a planer when you can see the blades spinning, but that is a story for another day.

Toy Table Saw Plans

My little boy has been 'cutting' things on an imaginary table saw for some time now.  When I was thinking of gifts he might like for Christmas one toy popped into mind, a wooden table saw.  I admit I never searched for plans or anything, I just built one but it occurred to me that others might like to see how I built the unit and maybe see some plans I drew up for it.  The entire unit can be constructed from one 2x4 foot 1/2 plywood off cut so it is a great 'build from scraps' project.  The one I made my boy is birch hardwood dunnage from our sawmill.  It is the twisted bark covered thin/narrow boards that can't be sold.  It took a lot of them and some glue up but once again we salvaged something of beauty from the trash.  As the suggestion of my wife I will make a start to finish overview video of the project not from my initial hand built example but from my plans.  With luck that will be up soon as it is a priority for me.  Until then I thought you might want to take a peak at my rough plans.  Video and detailed assembly pictures to follow.



 End Plans

I like the little bracket feet but they are optional.



Side Plans

 It is important to get the holes centered precisely on both sides, take your time.  Also the doweling must spin freely so sand/size hole accordingly.

Top Plan

I recommend setting the proper depth on a Circular Saw and plunge cutting this carefully from the back side.  Use jigs and saw stops if needed.  Match the blade to the opening rather than the opening to the blade.

Blade Plan:

I like using a dark hardwood but 3/8th ply works too.  The cut list has the blade cut from the same 1/2 birch plywood as the rest of the saw.

Extra Parts Plan:

The 'blade backer' is simply to stabilize the blade but you will need multiples to keep the dowel from moving side to side.  I put them on the outside on my original but thought it would look better inside the saw case.  Set their placement after setting the top to provide adjustment.

Cutting Diagram:

Just some ideas as to how to map it out on a 2x4 foot sheet.  If you cut the screw cleats and blade from the scrap then all you will need is doweling.










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