| Alice of Peabody, MA says: ...Pattern Bin CD is incredible ...a pile of new products for my woodcraft shop. |
Accents Woodcraft Designs
PO Box 7387
Gonic NH 03839
(603) 332-4579
© Copyright 2008
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Water Gardener too?
We also offer Water Garden Projects to create water features and garden pond decorations and accessories! |
© Copyright 2008 |
FEATURE TECHNIQUE: THE "SHADED-EDGE" We developed the "shaded-edge" as a decorative and time-saving technique for our popular children's stools, custom clothes racks and many other projects. It's very effective on softwood projects that have been band sawed or scroll sawed and have fine saw marks on the edges or on softwood projects that have been edge routed or shaped and have a bit of fuzz or roughness around the edges. After the flat areas of the project have been sanded, we use a propane torch and lightly burn or scorch the edges of the project. This removes the fuzz and saw marks and any loose char will quickly sand out to yield a smooth surface ready for stain and finish. The light brown coloring left by the torching will offer a dark highlight to the edges of the project and is especially effective when used with a medium or dark brown stain and glossy or semi-gloss finish. We like to add to the edging technique by playing the torch along the flat areas of the project to heighten the grain pattern by darkening the summer and spring grain lines at different rates. This technique is difficult to convey in words, as it is entirely visual, but if you grab a couple pieces of scrap softwood and play around around with the technique, we're sure you will enjoy the special effect. Have a damp cloth handy to extinguish any parts of the edge that catch fire and have a fire extinguisher handy so things won't get out of control. Here are some samples to show the technique:
This is a child's toybox or storage box that has been lightly distressed, the edges darkened with a torch and then stained and finished with a penetration oil finish. Nicks and dents show a lot less if the box is already lightly distressed!
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This rocking horse has also been given the shaded edge treatment. Note how the edges are shadowed and darker than the flat areas of the wood. It is very attractive and simple. Saves sanding too! |
| These are mini-pots that have been roughed or distressed, heavily torched and the char removed with steel wool. A gloss finish was applied. The gloss over the darkened wood looks very deep and rich for little work! |
 Be careful when trying this technique... Having flames, wood, sawdust and finishes in close proximity can be dangerous. |
There's plenty more tips, techniques and patterns in the Pattern Bin
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Quick Tips from the Pattern Bin
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Money Making Tip: Don't overlook supplying other crafters with unfinished or partially assembled pieces as a steady source of income. (About 30% of our custom business was along these lines.) Many crafters would be thrilled with a reliable source for base projects for their tole, decopage, woodburning, country and folk art and other specialties.
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Put some sawdust in your box of finish nails. It will absorb the oil that comes on the nails, preventing it from causing smudges on the unfinished wood of your projects. (Thanks Rick)
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Do you have a project where you are trying to hinge together a couple pieces of plywood? Screws usually pull out or cannot get a grip in the thinner plywood so we tried using copper rivets which are available at most hardware stores! Just drill holes to line up with the screw holes in the hinge plate, place the rivet through the plywood and hinge, set it on a steel block and pound the end of the rivet down into the countersink on the hinge.
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Did you get a new tool? Be sure to engrave your name and/or phone number somewhere in case it is lost or stolen! You should also keep an inventory of all of your tools and what you paid for them in case of theft, explosion, fire or other event that destroys your shop. Pictures are especially helpful for any insurance claims! (The value of this tip was proven to me when a neighbor, who's radial arm saw was stolen from his truck, was later told by a friend that his missing saw was for sale at a local second-hand store. He was thinking of buying it and while inspecting it saw the neighbor's name and phone number engraved under the table). You may also want to check to see if your homeowners insurance covers the cost of all your tools or if you have to add a rider to cover the actual amount. Some homeowner or apartment policies will cover $250 or $500 of tools (especially if you also use them for work) so you may want to add a bit more!
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Need a quickie drill stop? We always have plastic tubing for our water gardens and aquariums (available at most hardware stores) and we slide a piece of tubing over the bit, against the chuck and then cut it off to leave the proper amount of drill bit exposed. These do not wear out like a masking tape drill stop. The only problem is that the tubing must fit the bit snugly and tubing is only available in 1/8", 1/4", 3/8", 1/2" and larger sizes so this won't work for the between sized holes!
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Scroll Tip of the Month: For older scrollers...
It's been more years than I care to remember since I first sat at a scroll saw and over those years I have picked up a few tips to make it easier to keep on scrolling.
1. More comfortable scrolling...I find that my back can no longer take an afternoon of leaning over a scroll saw, but if I place a piece of 2 x 4 or similar under the rear legs of my scroll stand to tip the table towards me, it minimizes leaning over the table and is easier on my back! Of course, you must be careful not to tip the stand so much that it becomes unstable.
2. When I get a new package of scroll saw blades, I dip the top ends in a dab of red paint. This way I can quickly spot the top of the blade for mounting even if the blade has very fine teeth.
3. I also find that very fine, dark scroll blades are getting harder to see against darker woods like walnut, so I lightly spray paint the blades yellow. The color quickly wears off the lower part of the blade where most of the cutting is done, but enough remains to easily see the vibrating blade.
4. A clamp-type magnifying desk lamp is a nice addition to your scroll stand when doing very fine fret work.. It takes a few minutes to get used to the larger view, but it definitely is easier on your eyes
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Enjoy your visit!
