# Quick and fun little project - instead of cleaning the shop



## gwizz (Mar 3, 2012)

Just doing a couple of quick fun project while I'm supposed to be cleaning out the shop.

My patient wife has been asking for a close tree for the bedroom for a long time and I keep saying no problem but never get around to it. Well a couple of weekend ago I was tidying up the shop a bit and found myself looking at a pile of scrap ( primo scrap mind you ) walnut that I had pick up over a year ago. 

While visiting Mike in Detroit, we went to a due put on by a Michigan woodworker guild - swap meet / picnic / estate sale ( whatever – great bunch / nice park / beautiful day ) a wonderful day and for $6.00 picked up two big armfuls of walnut.

Long and short of it ( 5’x6”x3/4” – Walnut long of it ) and ( 2’6”x2 ½”x1 ¾” – Walnut short of it ) put together with a piece of ¾” Birch dowel I had kicking around and my wife now has a close tree.


Then to keep looking like I'm cleaning out the shop !

One of my grandsons is turning 4 in a couple of weeks and he seems very imaginative & mechanically included so I figured I make him some wood stuff to play with.
Nuts bolts and washers out of left over maple from a wall unit with some nice light clean light poplar scrap from my favorite mill shop, Millers. I was going to make a recognizable thing the bolts would hold together but then I figure the little fellow's imagination can bolt together a space station / butterfly / dinosaur / locomotive from of an assortment of shapes and since it needed a box to hold the pieces the bottom of the box when it’s upside down makes a great board game surface with some 1 1/8 dowel cut up and holes for Tic-Tac-Toe and that restaurant triangle jump the golf tees game makes a great way for adults to be able to play with him.
I should finish the birthday present this weekend.

but then I'll have to start cleaning up the shop ! ..... Unless ??


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## kp91 (Sep 10, 2004)

Love the nuts and bolts. Looks like a fun day of skipping 'work'


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## JOAT (Apr 9, 2010)

Well done Richard. 
Will we get pictures when the shop is cleaned up? :laugh:


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## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

Good job, Richard.

Which wood threading system do you use?


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## gwizz (Mar 3, 2012)

jw2170 said:


> Good job, Richard.
> 
> Which wood threading system do you use?


Hi James .... 
I have no Idea, It's simply a tap & die I picked it up from a fellow who had picked it up from a fellow ........

About every 4 or 5 years I use it for something fun and while it's limited to 1" dowel, it works smooth and easy just like it should and does a great job. I had to make a cutting jig for my radial arm saw to cut the bolt heads and nuts all the same and they along with the washers are laminate maple ( crossed grain so they won't break ).

I'm attaching a picture of it if anybody out there know who's tool it is ? It works great !


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## boogalee (Nov 24, 2010)

gwizz said:


> Hi James ....
> I have no Idea, It's simply a tap & die I picked it up from a fellow who had picked it up from a fellow ........
> 
> About every 4 or 5 years I use it for something fun and while it's limited to 1" dowel, it works smooth and easy just like it should and does a great job. I had to make a cutting jig for my radial arm saw to cut the bolt heads and nuts all the same and they along with the washers are laminate maple ( crossed grain so they won't break ).
> ...


Looks like Garrett Wade. Grizzly also sells the same.

Al


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## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

Looks good,

Wood Thread Boxes : CARBA-TEC


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## dick in ia (Jul 23, 2007)

It looks like you are having more fun than should be allowed on a ...day. Don't you enjoy going to the shop to "just play".


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## Woodentoolman (Aug 30, 2013)

Looks good!


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

Lee Valley sells the Beall brand threading tools. Nice job Richard. I see the dog looking at the clothes tree as if to say "What am I supposed to do with that?" 

Beall's Wood Tapping & Threading Kits - Lee Valley Tools


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

_"What am I supposed to do with that?" _
-Charles

Silly question; it's vertical...  
(Only applies if he's a pointer...setters get a free pass)


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## greenacres2 (Dec 23, 2011)

Great stuff. Makes me wish i was your grandson!! And the clothes tree--very nice indeed.

earl


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## JCJCJC (May 15, 2012)

gwizz said:


> I'm attaching a picture of it if anybody out there know who's tool it is ? It works great !


That saw is De Walt. I'm sure of it ;-) ;-) ;-)

Lovely project. I sometimes make kids' toys by sticking simple line drawings of cartoon characters to scraps of wood, and let the kids help me bandsaw the character and sand the edges afterwards, kids love it.


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## OutoftheWoodwork (Oct 4, 2012)

As always, Richard, totally kewl! Love it!


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## Semipro (Mar 22, 2013)

Grizzly sells a simlair tap and die system


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## gwizz (Mar 3, 2012)

*Making a Jig to make Hexigon*

I’m sending along a few pictures of how I built my jig as I wanted to make 8 bolts and 8 nuts so that’s 16 Hexagons. I drilled a ¼” guide hole ½ way through squares = or > 2 ½” size doesn’t matter as long as they are not under 2 ½ as the guide pin ( ¼” x 20 machine bolt ) is set back from the edge to a "small" 1 ¼” ( 1 3/32 ) radius. The slider is cut with a 30 degree angle so no matter what size material you start with you keep holding an edge with it and you will wind up with a hexagon and ( most importantly ) get to keep all your fingers. position the guide pin closer or further from the edge and you get bigger or smaller hexagons. I used a drawer pull mounted on top just for something to hold onto to keep pressure on the edge to hold the 30 degrees while the blade was cutting.

I had made two bolts years ago and simply clamped some wood at 30 degrees to guide rail on the back of the saw table and it worked, BUT you can’t really control the distance from centre accurately and that blade is twirling away pulling at the wood awful close to your fingers that are keeping the piece being cut from sliding along the angle into the blade.


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

The Beall Tool Company

http://www.bealltool.com/products/threading/
==


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## gwizz (Mar 3, 2012)

For Bill ...................
Here are some snaps of the cutter with the back off, hope they help.

:happy:


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## darisrob (Oct 24, 2012)

Looks Great...


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## gwizz (Mar 3, 2012)

Thanks Guys ( and Barb ), I thought I'd be able to post the finished product by now but the more little pieces you make the more tedious the finishing. Soon I hope.


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## gwizz (Mar 3, 2012)

*Finished a full play set*

Finely ! finished ( not exactly quick ) BUT fun ( except for sanding, sealing, sanding, varnishing, sanding ….then to heck with 2nd or 3rd coat of varnish ). Here is the Birthday present for my 4 year old grandson, Bill “wazfuzde” just happens, to have a grandson turning 4 as well and he’s currently making up some Nuts & Bolts too. 

My grandson seems able to figure out mechanical things real quick so I figured this would give him something to play with on a rainy day that would let him stretch his imagination.


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## OutoftheWoodwork (Oct 4, 2012)

gwizz said:


> Finely ! finished ( not exactly quick ) BUT fun ( except for sanding, sealing, sanding, varnishing, sanding ….then to heck with 2nd or 3rd coat of varnish ). Here is the Birthday present for my 4 year old grandson, Bill “wazfuzde” just happens, to have a grandson turning 4 as well and he’s currently making up some Nuts & Bolts too.
> 
> My grandson seems able to figure out mechanical things real quick so I figured this would give him something to play with on a rainy day that would let him stretch his imagination.


Love it Richard... just love it. We need to get back to stretching the minds of the young... they've gone soft from all the technology of today.


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## wuzfuzde (Feb 21, 2009)

hmm I would be remiss not to interject here--I am indeed making lots of bolts and nuts for a grandson ...but only accomplished this with the guidance of Richard (Actually "Richard the mentor")
there has to be special place for craftsman who have this much patience with those of us who are dumber than a chunk of firewood..Thanks again
Bill


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## gwizz (Mar 3, 2012)

Hey Bill...... 
Don't be giving me much credit I just opened up that die and took a couple of pictures for Ya. I'm probably the least likely to give you the right advise.... My recreation / non retirement is my projects in my workshop. I only try to follow a few rules

* Never stop trying to make THINGS
* When you don't know what your doing - Do It Neatly !
* Try to use your accumulated knowledge and Tools to do new things.
* Don't worry and wine about your mistakes - learn form them and move on.
* Work safe but don't take yourself too seriously, if it not your occupation it supposed to be FUN.
* You know you did it right when you make something for someone and they LIKE it.
* When your wife says it's time to come out of the basement for a day Stop work and get out of the basement.


Don't forget to post pics of the nuts and bolts you make for the little fellow.


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## OutoftheWoodwork (Oct 4, 2012)

gwizz said:


> Hey Bill......
> Don't be giving me much credit I just opened up that die and took a couple of pictures for Ya. I'm probably the least likely to give you the right advise.... My recreation / non retirement is my projects in my workshop. I only try to follow a few rules
> 
> * Never stop trying to make THINGS
> ...


And I'm gonna take those rules and post them, Richard. (After I do a little modifying, if it's okay with you (dressing it up)-it would make a nice "Poster" on the wall of my "workshop")


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