Friday, October 28, 2011

Wine - A Gentle Balance

You have seen these things all over the place. They won't stand up on their own but put a bottle of wine in the hole and - like magic - it stands up.
These are easy to make and you can make all kinds of shapes and use woods that are beautiful but too small for other things.
The important dimension is the distance from the edge point to center of the hole and the 36 degree angle. The 1 1/4 inch thickness is not mandatory but sort of a minimum.  
There is some real math involved here in calculating the force vectors and weights. The idea is to get the center of gravity just right with a bottle in place. So you could change the angle but that would mean you have to change the distance to the center hole.

Experiment with some scraps and see what you can come up with. 

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Sunday, October 2, 2011

A Dust Free Dust Mask

A dust mask is a good thing for woodworkers and is really essential for some woods like Cocobolo, Kingwood, and many of the tropical woods. We are told that it is especially necessary for working gourds.

But there is little point in paying 20, 30, 50 dollars or more for a good filter mask and leave it out in the open air - even in a cabinet.

Here is one idea from a fan. He keeps his in a CD/DVD box made by Sterilite. It costs around $6.00 and has a lid that fits tightly and has latches on either side.

And as he put it, "You can drill a couple of holes in the bottom, and screw it to the wall next to where you use it so it will always be there."

Good idea! What good is a dust mask that's full of dust?