Tag: tools

May 13, 2024

Workshop Care Night’s for Beginners Too!

The Ace Workshop is a community lead, driven, and maintained resource. As makers who share space, we all have a role to play beyond simply working on our projects and cleaning up after ourselves, we also work together to maintain and care for our tools. While routine tool repair and maintenance may not be the most glamorous part of woodworking, it’s essential for keeping the tools we love to use in good working order, safe, and ready for use.

In the past, tool maintenance often fell by default on a small group of expert users which lead to volunteer burnout, longer tool down times, and a pervasive bystander culture in the shop. To make this process more inviting and sustainable we realized we needed a way to:

Build a more intentional woodworking tool maintenance culture
Decrease barriers for folks interested in helping out who didn’t know where to start or who were experiencing the imposter phenomenon
Create an inviting pathway for community members of all skill levels to get involved
Make routine workshop care tasks in general more approachable, fun, and beginner-accessible

…and so Workshop Care Night was born; a new beginner-friendly social evening all about working together to care for our tools, make repairs, and practice concepts covered in our Shop Basics class like logging assets and finding information on the wiki.

Why it works:

Maintenance and tool care is wayyyy more fun together!
It’s a great way for new folks to meet people in the woodworking community
Its a beginner-accessible way to get started with tool repair (no fix-it experience needed to help out, there’s tasks for all skill levels)
Tools last longer and work better with regularly scheduled TLC

Highlights from Workshop Care Night in April

Team Shop keeps a running list of maintenance tasks for workshop care night. Each event is different, one month the group may align the Table Saw blade, repair a vacuum duct and re-home new tools; the next the group may wax the tool tabletops and replace the cyclone filter.

In April, a group of 5 volunteers rolled up their sleeves to tackle a list of maintenance tasks while getting to know one-another and jamming to Groove Salad! This group included folks with a mix of skill sets and experiences levels ranging from woodworking beginners to career professionals.

Here’s a look at just some of what they accomplished over the course of two hours working together:

New Member, Greg (he/him/il/le/lui)’s first stop after signing up was rolling up his sleeves and using his electronics know-how to replace the ground pin for the plug for the Ace Jointer at Workshop Care Night.

There are meaningful tasks for every skill level. Jacky (they/them), Ace’s Education Manager doesn’t have a lot of experience in workshop care or woodworking, but rolled up their sleeves to deep vacuum machines and wax the steel table tops.

Drum Sander before vacuuming.

Tools that get heavy use in the Ace Shop like the Drum Sander, Jointer, Planer, Table Saw and Bandsaw need regular deep vacuuming to get particles deep inside the machine. Removing saw dust from harder to clean areas can lengthen a tools lifespan and helps prevent tool down time.

Team Shop* volunteer and experienced woodworker, Alex (he/him) showed Jacky how to open the top of the Drum Sander since they were unfamiliar with the tool. This kind of peer support and knowledge sharing is deeply embedded in Ace culture along with the belief that everyone has something to contribute of value to the community regardless of skill level.

Drum Sander after deep vacuuming.

It’s not about perfection, it’s about getting it to 90% – Howard

Alex worked on replacing the quill return spring on the Drill Press – the return spring helps the spindle holding the drill bit return to the start position. During the replacement, he called Howard over to assist and verify the repair. At Ace we use the buddy system for repairs to ensure fixes are safe, effective, and verified.

By the end of the night, volunteers were a little dusty but feeling good.

*Teams at Ace are groups of volunteers who organize projects, take care of tools, and drive decision making for programs they love. Teams are open to all members and are a fun way to get involved in the Ace Community.

July 25, 2023

Test Driving the Mid-Arm Free Motion Sewing Machine

Ace Makerspace recently received a generous donation of a PFAFF Mid-Arm Free Motion Sewing Machine— unlike a standard sewing machine, the mid-arm doesn’t have a feed dog (a mechanism that controls the movement of the fabric underneath the needle) this allows the sewer to move the fabric in any direction to create intricate designs. Here’s a sneak peek at our first test drive and the process we go through when we introduce new tools into our programs.

We always test new tools in teams and reading the manual together is always a good place to start.

When we bring new tools into any of our programs we have a process in place to ensure that the tool is in good working order and that Ace Makers of all skill levels and identities have equitable access to both the tool and to learning opportunities. This work is often coordinated and/or performed by Stewardship Teams— Ace Community Members who volunteer to help lead their favorite Ace Programs— and involves testing the tool both for function and to determine what kind of training, user guides and resources need to be developed before it’s made available to the rest of the community. For this project, Textiles Stewardship Team Member, Liat (you may also know her from Hello Stitch) called in a couple of friends to help out.

After reading the manual they turned it on the machine to see if it worked. The sound it made was a little bit louder than they expected which can be a sign that it needs a little oiling. Since it this was a new machine for them, they debated the topic for the minute and decided to go for it.

Oiling the Mid-Arm.

Finally, it was time to thread the machine and try some free-motion sewing! (Liat made an extra tasty “quilt sandwich”— a quilt top, batting, and quilt bottom layered together—for practicing on).

Does it work? It does!

Playing with the midarm and pondering what a certification class might look like.

Taking a look at the thread tension. It needs a slight adjustment. “This may be something to consider teaching in a certification class.”

Ace Communications Associate, Jacky gets in on the fun!

Successful test drive!

August 30, 2017

Aquarium Stand

This is an aquarium stand that I built at Ace Monster Toys. It is made of maple 3/4 plywood and walnut edge banding. I used the old craftsman table saw and the ryobi router table to cut and shape the parts. If I had to do it over again I would use the CNC router. It would be far far safer, faster, and the results would be cleaner and more square. I would probably also use strips of 1/8″ walnut instead of the iron-on edge banding, because it would be much more durable and age better. After designing the piece in sketchup, I made some test pieces to practice edge banding on. The idea is to use the edge banding to hide the screws and the ugly edges of the plywood. It was a challenge to cut up the 4×8 sheet of plywood with a handheld power saw. A panel saw would have been better. After getting the pieces small enough to fit in my car, I took them to AMT and cut them to size on the table saw. The problem was that, even with my own brand new blade, the saw would not cut perfectly square, and the measurements on the fence were not accurate. It was very frustrating and the results were not perfect. I used the router table to cut dadoes and rabbets where the walnut strips would go. After assembling the box, I used an iron to iron on the walnut edge banding, which I trimmed with a razor. At this point I took the stand home for finishing, and added some wheels. The stand contains my canister filter and CO2 tank. I am very happy with the result, but if I had to do it over, I would use the CNC.

March 22, 2017

Electronics Tool Rack

Having the right tools when you are puttering around making things is invaluable and having those tools near at hand is a wonderful thing. When revamping the Electronics Area and turning it into a place you are not afraid to work from the pit of darkness and despair it used to be, I noticed we didn’t have the necessary tools needed to do the job. Also we had no place to put said tools even if they where available, so I decided to m
odify the standard tool rack I developed for my workbench at home. It is a standard rack with basically vertical piece of wood between two frames, like an I beam. On each side of that vertical piece

you put a collection of PVC tubing to hold whatever you want to hold. The trick is to have an idea of the tools you want to have on it and lay those out before hand, so you know what kind of tubing and how much you need. Some #6 screws, a drill press, bandsaw and CNC up the wood bits and away you go. Rubber feet on the bottom make sure it doesn’t slide away from you as you reach for that next screwdriver. The tools selected for the rack are based on my own experience in doing electronics and detail work. Precision screwdrivers are a must but so is a regular #2 Phillips and flathead. The #2 and #1 Phillips are probably used more than anything. From there it all makes sense to have enough tools but not too many. You can go crazy on the tool rack but it starts to get too large and would take over the tabletop if you let it. Keep it basic and know what you use.

March 5, 2017

Making a Knife Handle

This is an almost-complete project that I made at AMT using the band saw, drill press, and drum sander. It is my first attempt at a knife handle. I started with a rusty old blade, which I soaked in vinegar overnight, then cleaned up with solvent. I then filed the metal flat where the wood would go and drilled three holes the same size as the brass rod that I bought. I found a nice piece of wenge wood in the dumpster of a high end furniture manufacturer here in the East Bay. After re-sawing on the band saw, I traced the outline of the handle shape and holes on the wood. I trimmed the pieces on the band saw and drilled the holes for the brass rod. I epoxied it all together and clamped it for several hours before filing the sides and sanding the wood just up to the

metal. All that’s left is the final shaping to round and smooth out the handle, then finishing and polishing the wood with cyanoacrylate, and sharpening the blade.

July 22, 2016

3D printing tool board

It’s a simple thing, but one I’ve been meaning to do for a while. When your tools have a visible home, you can instantly see when one needs to be put away.

These are the tools I routinely use, but this is meant to be a living thing, so if you think an additional tool should go there, add a screw and a label.

June 28, 2016

Tool Board

I wanted to hang my most-used tools on the wall just over my workbench/desk.

Pegboard might seem like the obvious choice, but I’ve never really liked it: The hole grid dictates positions that never seem quite right, and there’s always some tool that just doesn’t work with the standard pegboard hardware. Also, that hardware can be surprisingly expensive once you get everything you need (and the extra parts you think you’ll need but never use).

At the other end of the spectrum live craftsmen who create a custom holder for each tool, complete with six coats of varnish and an elaborate french-cleat mount system. I don’t live there. Not even in the same town.

Instead, I just wanted a simple plywood board to host any random screws, nails, cup hooks, or screw eyes that do the job. Whenever the mood strikes me, I want to be able to just hang something up, without having to go find some weird hardware or make a custom fixture. I don’t want to think about it; I just want it done.

Plywood used to construct tool board

Today, in the intro to woodshop class, I spotted a 2’x4’x3/8″ plywood sheet just perfect for the job. No blue tag, so it became mine. This was my first woodworking project at AMT. I finished it in about 45 minutes this afternoon.

I wanted to stiffen it and separate it from the wall in case I drive one of those cup hooks a bit too deep. I bought two 1×2 strips at the home center and made a simple frame. It’s glued and screwed to the tool board with wood glue and #8 wood screws. I have no photos of the exciting build process, since Hugh only suggested the contest after I had it done. (He gets the laptop if I win, btw. I really don’t need two.)

Bracing added to back of board

The only power tools I used were the chop saw and two drills: One to drill pilot holes and the other to drive screws. Sure speeds things up. This is the kind of project that could be done at home, but it’s just so much nicer to work on a proper bench with enough clamps to hand, the extra drill, etc.

Back at my workshop/office, I discovered I no longer have a stud finder. Must’ve given that away in my
most recent purge of extraneous stuff. I borrowed a magnet from the fridge and hung it from a piece of string… which actually seemed to work better than the old stud finder. Two 3″ #8 screws hold my
board up. It seems very solid, but as I add things it might get heavy, so I’m thinking about adding a couple more. I drilled clearance holes in my board for the mounting screws, so the threads only bite into the wall studs. This way the screws can cinch the board up snug to the wall.

Mat and his tool board

As you can see, I only have a few things hung so far, all with 3/4″ #6 wood screws. It took me about two minutes to do that much; I just drove the screws straight into the plywood without even bothering to drill pilot holes. The caliper is a good example of a tool that would not be convenient to hang on a pegboard, yet two screws do the job nicely on my tool board.

I still have a big mess to clean up, but I already like my tool board better than any I’ve used before. It feels nice to undercomplicate something for a change.