Mountain Makers

I’m a huge fan of spiral carbide cutters ever since I upgraded the cutters for our planer and jointer. I’ve also been using a variety of @spetool_cnc bits for a while now (unsponsored 😉) and when I saw that SpeTool released this beast of a 5” long, 65mm (~ 2.6”) cutting height flush trim bit, what happened next is obvious. I made a video on my Instagram channel: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CwppmCqLCOC

46 0

It reminds me of that prehistoric monument we visited in England. So I’ll call it “Stoolhenge”.

Although they were about 3” thick and heavy, I decided to make a stool from the cut-off pieces of the slab benches I previously made. For this I chose splayed legs but kept the mortises square to make the build more straightforward, or so I thought. There were a number of angle cuts I had to make to accommodate the 15-degree leg slants but in the end, and with a few jigs, I was able to follow through and now have a chunky place to rest my feet on the porch.

#stoolhenge #slabstool #rusticstool #pinestool #reclaimedpine #salvagedpine

#woodlandmills #sawmilling #stihl #hm126

#hybridartisan
#artisanwoodworks
#townsendtn
#maker
#makerlab
#littlegreenbarn
#greatsmokymountains
#customwoodwork
#shoplocal
#letsmakesomething
#makersgottamake
#makersgonnamake
#smallbatchmanufacturing
#smallscalemanufacturing
#woodenproducts

2 0

Original Post on my Instagram channel: https://www.instagram.com/p/CuHYWequoBe/


Before I can graduate to good timber, I need more practice with my new timber framing chisel trio on some rough pine. This time I’m using an ugly bark slab piece, leftover from milling a pine beetle & carpenter bee scarred log. Normally, these get chopped up and thrown into a campfire but it’s more satisfying to find a way to put these rough looking pieces to more practical use.

A corner chisel isn’t absolutely necessary for general timber framing since you can accomplish clean corners with a regular chisel, but I liked the idea of this tool, as specific as it is. I also liked that it arrived super sharp!

1 0

Original Posted on my Instagram channel: https://www.instagram.com/themountainmakers/

The second in my set of timber framing chisels arrived sharp and ready to go. Since I’ll need quite a bit of practice before I get to the big project we have planned, I decided to use it for something I’ve always wanted to make, something that uses a pine log that I set aside a few years ago. It was a hot day under the canopy of the shop porch with the new chisel, knocking out a handful of tricky mortises on a rough & round log instead of a nicely squared timber. There’s even an angled mortise thrown in as a bonus.

This contraption is known as a #mukjong or #woodendummy. The wooden dummy is used for solo martial arts training and is a surrogate for a sparring partner. It obviously can’t attack you, but is designed to motionlessly simulate a moving opponent. It’s divided into sections that represent the arms and legs of an opponent. You don’t hit it hard or use a lot of force like a punching bag. Instead, it’s used to enhance one’s range, positioning and precision of movement through fluid and repetitive motions. It’s not used to learn kung fu but to perfect it.

From Wikipedia: Mu ren zhuang (Chinese: 木人桩; pinyin: Mù Rén Zhuāng; lit. 'Wooden Man Post') or Mook Yan Jong (also known as The Wing-Chun Dummy or simply The Wooden Dummy internationally. This athletic equipment is used in Chinese martial arts training from being associated with the martial art of Wing Chun and other kung fu styles of Southern China.

"I fear not the man who practices 10,000 techniques once, but the man who practices one technique 10,000 times holds my respect."

#hybridartisan
#artisanwoodworks
#townsendtn
#maker
#makerlab
#littlegreenbarn
#greatsmokymountains
#customwoodwork
#shoplocal
#letsmakesomething
#makersgottamake
#makersgonnamake
#smallbatchmanufacturing
#smallscalemanufacturing
#woodenproducts

2 0

Success! I made and tested the first version of my new hybrid CNC spoil board design, featuring 2 modes for holding material:

Mode 1: clamp hold downs using Microjig Matchfit® dovetail grooves and hardware, along with conventional clamps like the ones I use on my Shapeoko XXL from Carbide3D (a Shapeoko spoil board design like this is on the horizon!)

Mode 2: grid gasket vacuum table, something I’ve been using for a while now with smaller grid and gaskets, in my previous hybrid spoil board.

The spoil board design cuts entry holes for the Matchfit hardware to slot in, along with 1/4” index pin holes that can be used with metal or wood dowel pins, for aligning material.

The result: it works! the vacuum hold is strong and the option to use conventional clamping is handy for instances when material is too small or not smooth enough for the vacuum method.

7 6

Every now and then, I make myself slow down and get back to basics with hand tools — and just a few power tools still in the mix. It’s always a fun learning experience to make things as you go, with no drawings or plans to guide the process. Plus, a freestyle approach is a great way for me to just “zen out” and let things go with the flow. So far, this live edge poplar stool (or now bench) is coming along nicely.

5 2

Poplar stool, part 1 – I dusted off the draw knife to prep this live edge slab of poplar that we milled a while ago.

23 0

It was time to upgrade the straps for my @atlas46gear chest rig to something more comfortable and robust. I’ve been regularly using a chest rig instead a tool belt or apron since I’ve found it to be more functional and less cumbersome for daily use. The only issue I’ve had is that the stock nylon straps tend to fold and twist too easily on me. So out came the leatherwork ammo box. I bought the tools and water buffalo leather from @weaverleathersupply. I ended up with a much more comfortable and stable rig, and of course, some Mountain Makers laser-engraved branding.

3 0

Tool talk: In past videos, you may have noticed that I’m a fan of using a vacuum table for my CNC production jobs. It’s a hybrid table that allows me to use vacuum or screw inserts with conventional clamps to hold down material during jobs. I’m also a huge (unsponsored) fan of @microjig products like like their Matchfit jig & fixturing system, particularly their dovetail track screws. So I was curious to find out if I could add one more element to the hybrid design of my vacuum table…

Grid gasketing source: @allstarcnc

12 1