Nilfisk Replies

Last week, I was pleased to receive a prompt reply from Rick Hollebon, the UK product manager for Nilfisk-Alto. As you may recall from one of my previous posts, although I was [and still am, today] very pleased overall with my purchase, there were still a couple of minor issues that I wanted to clear up.

Chop Saw Challenge

Over eighteen-months ago, I built what I thought was the ‘ideal’ solution for my sliding compound mitre chop saw; a mobile work station with flip-up work piece supports and storage space below (now consumed by my ’shop-made router table). Plans for this design were downloaded from Popular Woodworking.com in America. What we tend to forget over here is that, as convenient as these creations often appear to be, they’re rarely tailored to fit a small British workshop. That’s certainly my opinion, having spent considerable time with this setup in my workshop.

Mocked Up and Ready to Go!

This is what I've decided on for the back slats, which will probably be 'carved' from solid ash.

After several weeks of driving screws and sabotaging every scrap of MDF I could get my hands on, I have an ‘arm chair’ design that I am happy to go ahead with at college [See this post, if you haven't already]. I’m pleased with how it looks, I find it comfortable to sit in and I look forward to the challenge that all the shaping will bring. As I’m making this at college, it makes sense to use as much of the available equipment as possible and also to explore any new techniques I can.

Getting Connected

So, the Nilfisk vacuum has been in my workshop for about a week, now. Already, it’s left some very good impressions on me; most of which you would expect from almost any vacuum extractor. For this post though, I’d like to start off with a couple of negative points…

A Note on Nilfisk

The latest toy to arrive in my workshop!

Earlier this week, my new vacuum arrived in my workshop – it’s the Nilfisk-Alto Aero 25-21, in case I haven’t mentioned it before…! I placed the order online Tuesday morning and was a little disappointed when the despatch confirmation dropped in to my inbox Wednesday lunch time. Usually, D&M Tools are next-day, regardless of which service you pay for…

Turning Sawdust in to Gold?!

Sawdust and wood shavings. As woodworkers, we produce considerable amount of this ‘waste’ material on a regular basis. My bag-fulls usually end up in the ‘Green Bin’ at the local Recycling Centre. Small amount can be useful for cleaning up oil spills or even starting a fire. As a child, I can recall plunging my hand in to a Lucky Dip barrel, full of prizes hidden inside the bin full of wood dust!

Back to Base-ics

Strangely, I found this ply much easier to cut when you're following the 'grain' direction.

On Wednesday afternoon, I went to my local timber merchant (Staddons) to pick up a sheet of plywood for some ‘workshop furniture’. I was hoping to save some money and get a sheet of 18mm shuttering ply – it’s not the best quality, I’ll grant you. But, it’s generally fine for storage in the workshop. Now, I was hoping they’d be able to cut this sheet down for me so I could get it in my car. Unfortunately, I discovered that they will not cut shuttering ply on their saws – something to do with the glues and resins between the laminations ruining their saws [I'm sure she meant 'blades'!]. Not only that but, this, being the cheapest of all plywoods, is rarely ever even close to being flat, which could again cause problems on the saw.

Going Curve-Crazy!

Having previously curved both side stretchers, I've now subtly shaped the horizontal stretcher as well!

Do you believe that you can have too much of good thing? If you look at the current state of my college chair then, you’ll know I fall in to that other category. Because, like clamps, rolls of masking tape and woodworking blogs to read, I’m finding ways to add curves to all components on my college chair!

So far, I’m really pleased with what I’ve got. Although, I admit that this current design/amalgamation of ideas may not be to everyone else’s tastes. What is even more important here is that, despite its appearance, this chair is feeling pretty comfortable, almost relaxing, if I do say so myself!

Timbers of Trouble

Inside my Timber Store/"Bedroom" - I won't be watching TV for a while!!

With the cold and damp air starting to creep in through my shoes, I seem to be spending minimal time in the workshop at the moment [Whimp!]. This might be a good time to get a part-time job, at least until the sun returns from its annual ‘hibernation’…

Preparation is what it’s all about the minute. I’m almost ready to start putting some of my exhibition ideas in to working progress… Even if I end up oiling and waxing on the kitchen dining table, in the not-so-cold (I wouldn’t call it warm, indoors, either! ).

Workshop Day-light!

What a difference a bit of daylight makes  inside the workshop!

Just in case you haven’t figured out what I’m saying , my first order with TLC-Direct arrived yesterday, as promised. It’s great that they can makes such ‘Fragile‘ items available for local delivery. What I found even more gratifying was that my order arrived complete with the two 3ft tubes I was previously informed were temporarily out of stock – I highly recommend this company and the addition of daylight fluorescent tubes to your workshop.