It’s been a hectic past couple of months over here in the garage shop. There’s been a lot of shop upgrades and small builds and a HUGE announcement.
So let’s begin with the low hanging fruit: the Black Limba Sofa Table.
I was commissioned by a returning client to build a sofa table to match some floating shelves I did for her home. This sofa table is made from black limba which was harvested from the former state champion tree. Therefore, this was the largest tree of its kind in the State of Florida and it came down during Hurricane Irma a few years back. This is sort of the end of the supply that was salvaged and in conjunction with the work I do with The Home Depot PROspective and DIABLO Tools, I was able to turn this slab into a great little table to back a sofa so that Children can eat and watch television at the same time. The American dream of course.
Ultra Finish Blade Cross Cut
For this project and quarter I went with two of their finish cross cut blades. What is a finish cross cut blade you ask? Well, it’s an extremely high tooth blade that is designed for cutting perpendicular to the grain which leaves an extremely glassy finish, something in the ballpark of an equivalent to 220 grit. I’ve tried some of their finish style cross cut blades before but opted to go for their higher finish quality offerings this time around specifically: 7-1/4 in. x 60-Tooth Fine Finish Circular Saw Blade (pictured above) and 10 in. x 90-Tooth Ultimate Polished Finish Circular Saw Blade (pictured below).
For the most part I’ve always been quite pleased with the results of my DIABLO tools offerings and these were no exception. They perform exactly as indicated and candidly, if you’re like myself and get a little lazy on swapping your blades in and out for rip and cross cuts, well they still work… albeit slower.
Black Limba Sofa Table
The joinery I went with here was a ship miter, also known as tomekata sanmai hozo. It’s essentially a tenoned miter joint. The tenons are cut into the miter and act as splines to create more strength in a notoriously weak end grain to end grain joint. I also did some Japanese style bow tie splines to preserve a crack in the original slap which really gives this rustic piece a bit of an elevated look. Be sure to check out the video for more on that and to see these tools in action.
Now onto the big announcement. I have teamed up with Jonathan Katz-Moses and KM Tools to serve as the Director of the Katz-Moses Woodworkers with Disabilities Fund. As a civil servant for the past ten years, I’ve grown accustomed to giving back and when Jonathan announced that he was looking for a director for the charity, I immediately jumped at the opportunity to work with him on something I’m super passionate about.
What is the Katz-Moses Woodworkers with Disabilities Fund? The Katz-Moses Woodworkers with Disabilities Fund aims to resource and assist woodworkers and craftspeople with mental, physical, and combat related disabilities to be able to grow their hobby, craft, and passion. Making and creating has proven to have extreme therapeutic effects for this population, and the fund aims to not only provide tools and physical resources, but community and assistance as well.
This past weekend we went ahead and launched #BuildUpInitiative, a unique program designed to link up volunteer builders with recipients in need to offer three types of projects. A micro-workbench with quick release vise, a gantry crane with electric chain hoist, and the low combination work horse - a variation on a traditional saw bench.
The Low Combination Work Horse in action
For more information on how to help out with #buildupinitiative click on the hashtag here (or previously), or check out Jonathan’s video that I’ve linked below.
As for my build, this saw bench utilizes dog holes to help with work holding, a problem we’ve identified from speaking with disabled woodworkers in our community. And since I’ve been working with DIABLO tools and the Home Depot PROspective I opted to utilize their Speed Demon Spade Bits (pictured below) to knock out the dog holes on this really functional saw bench.
Speed Demon 3/4 Spade Bit
The dog holes are spaced in line 4 inches apart as marked by dividers to provide the maximum ability to hold almost any item on its surface. The speed demon bits specifically, which can be used in a drill or impact driver, give extremely fast and clean results: Demo Demon Spade Bit Set for Nail-Embedded Wood (3-Pieces). Also worth noting that the nail-embedded wood feature allows this thing to tear through old scrap wood with pieces of screws, etc. lodged in it. It’s traditionally designed to bore holes in old framework, but worked just fine in this traditional woodworking application.
What are some of the other benefits of the low work horse? Well I set it to the same height as my timber frame saw horses, so if I’m working on exceptionally long pieces I have an extra point of support. It also provides the user with a more over the workpiece work experience, has a bird’s mouth on one end for rip and cross cuts, and also allows the user to sit and work which allows for greater comfort and ease in work. It’s extremely versatile, great for working on a porch like I often do, and also good for small spaces as well. Be sure to check out the video below.