Lil' Boxes for a Jewelry Box with the JMPv2 - JMPv2 Tour and Stock Preparation

A long time ago, I made a small Mahogany jewelry box as a Mother's Day present for my mom.  (So hopefully she doesn't read my blog between now and Mother's Day!)  When I got to the point of needing the locket and hinges, they were backordered by 2 months.  Long story short, the box sat in that hinge-less state for months until I remembered a couple weeks ago!

The box was just for practicing hand-cut dovetails and some simple shaping with planes.  In keeping with the neanderthal start (okay, disclosure: I used a bandsaw to split the lid off... :) I decided to make the small tray boxes inside with hand tools.  To me, the Bridge City Toolworks JMPv2 is a hand-tool :)

The little boxes are nothing terribly interesting on their own, but seeing them made with a JMPv2 and the Bridge City Toolworks HP6v2 mini multi plane might be.

Oh, the original stock for the boxes is also unique, but you have to watch to find out.

We'll be back to the power tools in all their loud glory on the next project (teaser: sculpted drawer fronts!).  Meanwhile, unplug everything in the house (except this computer) and get back to your neanderthal roots.  Just make sure you reset all the clocks when you power back up; you don't want to be called a 12-o'clock blinker.

Indirect Referencing with a Domino

Dominoing my recent quilted maple frame project presented a good opportunity to record a segment on using an indirect reference surface with the Domino.  Certainly not tricky, definitely useful, likely an 'ah ha' moment.  This clip was edited out of the frame series since I think it's more useful on its own.

While this technique wasn't mandatory for this frame, it was a great place to demo it.  I've used the trick on many other projects where it was the only option so add it to your toolbelt.

Camera Setup for Videos

While my camera setup isn't terribly impressive (not a pro camera, no gaffer, no grip, and no blonde behind the controls...), I've had some questions about it.  Above my profile in the sidebar is a section with special pages and I added one about The Camera Setup.

What I'll say is that you can do pretty well with any camera (including that decade old DVC) if you light things correctly.  That's my current big hurdle until I make some light-box equivalents.  While I've gotten better on review and project videos, sometimes you frame a shot and say "good enough" as there's a lot of effort in recording and -- moreso -- editing.

If you ever decide to undertake making videos, realize that for a 15 minute clip, you'll likely record 30 minutes between extra material "on the cutting room floor" or retakes.  Whatever you record (30 minutes in this case), count on 3-5 times that in editing time; so 2-2.5 hours in this example.  It isn't that editing is difficult, but the import time, assessment of the clips, editing, and invariably editing out those 20 seconds that put your video over the YouTube 15-minute limit is what makes it long.

As an example, the 4-video series on the MFT totals 55 minutes.  As it had an overhead camera, everything was filmed twice and imported twice.  That 55 minutes was approximately 90 of recording (on each camera).  The editing took very close to 8 hours, which was complicated by merging two camera streams.  Not rocket science, but the double video load slows down editing both in processing and in more complicated work for the user.

Quilted Maple Picture Frame - Cutting and Gluing Miters and HVLP

The third and last installment for this picture frame I made my best friend.  (Here are links to part one and part deux.)  I'm really liking the color compliment of the frame to the painting and while the lighting was tough for filming the close-ups (needed daylight!) the curl in the maple is really well highlighted.

I talk a little about a Fuji Super 4 HVLP sprayer I purchased from a fellow forum member (thanks, Corwin!).  In a nutshell, it was a joy to use.  I also used the MFT table with Qwas dogs to cut the miters and have some hints on how to eliminate blow-out as that would be horrible on these pre-colored and partially finished pieces.  Lastly, a discussion of the Miter Stitch from Bridge City Toolworks.  It should be noted that the Miter Stitch is no longer available from Bridge City, but they do occasionally come up on eBay.  That said, though, creative types could make their own; you won't be disappointed with their utility.

Roll it...

Quilted Maple Picture Frame - Profile Buildup and Laminating

Playing a bit of video-editing catch-up this weekend.  I had started making a quilted Maple frame for my best friend one fine weekend and made little bits of progress during the week.

In this video, I spent a fair bit of time discussing why we'll add another glue line to the frame and how to alter colored dyes.

Comments are back!

A couple weeks ago, I installed a new blog theme that has a nicer layout.  Some things were nicer, some things needed additional attention.

Tonight, I corrected many of the little nuisances but more important: comments now work again!  Here I thought I passed something that cleared the room, but it was a simple bug in the theme.  All fixed.  So I'd invite both of you to leave comments again.  :)

Upgrading a Performax 16-32 to a SandSmart Controller

This project definitely comes out of left field...

I have a Jet Performax 16-32 drum sander that just predates the addition of a SandSmart controller.  When I first got the sander, I looked into swapping out the controller.  Well, the box of parts has sat for a long time, but I got it done this past weekend.

SandSmart is the controller that runs the conveyor belt.  It allows you to set whatever variable speed you want, but if you set the feed too fast for the drum, it automatically backs off the conveyor speed to keep the drum at full load, but not pop a breaker.  For anybody who has popped a breaker by taking too much off a board or hitting an unexpected high spot during flattening passes, you know why this controller can be a big deal.  When the breaker pops, the conveyor stalls almost immediately and the drum spins down very slowly.  The heat of the drum slowing will always leave a very large burn mark.

The "doesn't pop the breaker" benefit is the most touted, but not the best reason in my mind.  Drum sanding is slow, it's boring.  I like the idea that on the first several passes to simply 'hog off' stock, I can set the speed much higher than it could handle and let the SandSmart controller back off the speed to the maximum speed allowed given the abrasive, stock, and amount you're trying to take off.  That's why I want SandSmart.

In this video, we take a tour of the drum sander insides if you haven't seen one up close.  Below the video is a list of parts you'd need to accomplish this.  They are all available from Jet's replacement parts program.

Even if this upgrade doesn't interest you, if you have an older pre-Jet Performax drum sander, you might want to consider ordering the new dust hood with the 4" port versus the older 2.5" port.  The stock number for this new dust hood is 80-2002.  Depending on your older model, you may have a knob to open it (like you see in the video thumbnail) or a D-shaped handle.  If you want the knob (which the replacement dust cover is drilled for), the knob is 80-3137 and the corresponding latch 40-3168.  Note that the SandSmart controller assumes a 1.5hp motor. If you have an original Performax, you may have a 1hp motor, which will draw a maximum of 8 amperes. The 1.5hp motor will draw a maximum of 11 amperes.  SandSmart's hysteresis is based on current so the 1hp will never get in the self-regulation range of the controller.




Parts List:

Stock Number	Description
72-2250	SandSmart Controller, 1Ph 110V
72-2250-01	Knob - 2244Plus
72-2250-02	Label Speed Adjusting
40-4903	Bracket Base Controller
40-4904	Bracket Housing
40-4022W	Cover Base
20-0777 (qty 2)	Screw Pan Head Self-Threading

Parts desk: 888-804-7129