Speed square has become one of my best friends in the shop lately. Gotta say Rex, I smile at least once during every video you have put out lately, as well as learn something. Thanks.
Just to share a little of my own experience: i made a tote for my daughter; she's at an age where she wants to do what Daddy does (LOVE THIS AGE!), and so we made a tote...the handle was some left over curtain rod. I drilled a hole that was almost the same diameter, and it was a right-royal pain in the rump to get the handle in place. but, it's there for good, and no glue or fasteners required. I had the same general shape, with the outward slant of the sidewalls, and made the end pieces first. When I attached the side pieces, I didn't try to shape the wood at first. I drilled holes, pegged it with glue, and when the glue dried, I planed the protruding edges of the side pieces down. One benefit is that the side angles may or may not be consistent. Don't have to be. Planing "whatever protruded" made it the right angle, even though I have no idea what the angle is. I used a small forstner bit to put series of 1/8" deep "depressions" in the wood. hard to call them holes, really. I glued in some rare-earth magnets, for tools to stick in place. It was a good little project, my baby girl loves it. She glares at me because I use it all the time! (yeah, I need to build myself one!) :-)
@@monkeyfaceII go for it! i used to joke about teaching courses like 'toddlers and power tools' and 'baby's first table saw' - but, having your little people with you in the shop is a such a joy. and a pain. mostly a joy. :-) only one of my 4 kiddos has much interest in shop stuff (my youngest), but at least one does....
Awesome book that gives you step-by-step photos ru-vid.comUgkxTNB_zFBSnTo_O1PqfVUwgi7ityw0JlKt and directions to make every day project. I can see myself making a few of these projects and giving them as housewarming and holiday gifts!
Hammering wood through a half inch box end wrench will work well to make the wooden dowels ( if you don't have the ability to drill steel). A little touch up with a rasp will make it very close to round.
Really liking this series; especially your comments at the end. Thanks for the callout to Paul Sellers' videos, they are great. Watching his videos I've unlearned some number of things and do better work for it!
Thank you for the human element at the end. I often feel embarrassed after I complete a project. Yet it is the flaws, that make it special. It was made, not produced. Thanks Rex.
This built shows off the functionalities of your workbench really well. It's remarkable that you really didn't need to break out the clamps until you showed off making the dowel with the homemade draw plate, everything else could be worked on with just the bench attachments.
I'm pretty sure your dewalt construction saw has an square in it. A 90° and 45° in the handle and it should be good enough for many not so critical stuff. Idk may be helpful to someone. Really enjoying this series
Yes, many modern saws seem to have this design (not so much for older saws in my experience, which seem to trade this for a more ergonomic grip). I know my short crosscut saw has this feature ... but, it's old enough now that the screws have slipped. Even though I've tightened them up to keep the blade solidly attached, I can no longer trust it as a square. So if your saw is relatively new this can be a good solution, but the older it gets the less likely it is to work.
Making the plan available and mentioning it as a way to support your channel was a great idea. I just ordered it. I've been wanting to make a tote like this for a while and now I get to make one AND support a RU-vid channel worth watching. THANKS!
I have nothing but praise for your wood working for humans series. In reading comments posted about this video I see where some have said you could have done this like so or maybe could have done another thing different but the fact remains that you did it the way you did it and it worked. Maybe you'll do it different next time or maybe you won't. Finally, everyone should take pride in their work and your comments near the end of the video are especially noteworthy. Thank you.
I really like the fact that you are working with basic tools on a low workbench! one thing I wanted to mention however, by using wooden nails/pegs (or screws for that matter) for the sides you are not really allowing the wood to move, definitely stronger than just glue in this situation, but by using iron nails you would actually let the wood move a bit because the iron nails can bend. I guess in this situation, with those sides which are still quite narrow and pine, you probably won't run into too much problems though...
Yeah, three legs. I used to make three legged coffee tables as a teenager. An older wood worker asked about it. "I'm trying to be innovative." I said. "Can't get rid of the wobble, can ya?" He said. You can't lie to the guys who know.
Thank you for sharing I really like your videos! One thing I suggest for the dowel in the spirit of avoiding extra tools/supplies. You already have a plane, so flip the plane on its back and make the dowel by smoothing the corners of your wood piece across it. With practice this can be done by feel. I make all my dowels that way, since I don't have any steel lying around.
Rex, you are doing an awesome job with this series! I’m excited every time I get a notification a new video is premiering! You have given me greater confidence with “unplugged woodworking” and a different angle of getting into it deeper. Keep up the great work and stay focused on introducing new hand tools and techniques with new projects. Thank you!
Rex, youre not the most skilled woodworker on RU-vid. I'm not trying to hurt your feelings, and I have a feeling that it doesnt bother you much anyway. But you are the best woodworking RU-vidr. Clear speaking. Simple instruction. Without using $4000 worth of tools. Quality content. Period
Man you are very cool my guy. I've been devouring your channel lately. This is a ways back but even now you don't have sponsorship. And the coolest thing you do is recommend other people's videos. You lose some of your own watch time and give credit to other people. Yours is the first patreon I've actually considered joining. Haven't yet but probably on my way. Thanks Rex
I really enjoy your channel. You have excellent and easy ideas for beginners and explain them well. I'm a hybrid woodworker - halfway between a beginner and a pro with a lot still to learn. I would like to recommend an additional tool that every beginner should have. A Four-in-Hand which is a short, cheap half-round wood rasp with course and fine sections on both sides. These are extremely handy and are good for quickly shaping and smoothing curves and rounding edges so less sandpaper work is required.
You are absolutely correct, sir! I have "a bunch" of those... BUT I also have a "bunch" of primarily carpentry related tool-boxes, and there's usually one of those rasps in the nearest for whatever type of project I'm working on... ;o)
I bought one of those two dollar rasps he showed in this series, out of curiosity and s&g's. Darn thing works good, used to refine tote on Sheldon no. 9 hand plane picked up on E-bay ($7.50), pretty course but worked good for heavy stock removal. I am proably screwing up telling this but their no.9's are a Stanley/Bailey made plane. Not quite as refined as Stanleys, Yoke is not cast, some don"t have a screw to adjust frog, but it is adjustable. With a little tuning they work great and can be picked up cheap.
@@jimcarter4929 It's worth mention that the mechanism is a "Bailey mechanism"... AND Stanley bought Bailey out sometime after Bailey brought it to market... Effectively, this means a LOT of old Bailey Planes have parts that are interchangeable to Stanley's... and vice versa... It's great info' for the restorer who just wants the **** thing to work, instead of a "truly original hardware piece for show"... The frog adjustment screw is (to my understanding, which is admittedly limited) there to align the frog assembly and rest with the mouth of the plane as precisely as possible... In early manufacturing, the tolerances were easier to keep loose and make stuff fast, so an adjustment allowed total precision control... and once assembled and tuned, it's not exactly used. You still want it in good shape for the tear-down/clean-up process which should happen from time to time (like once a year?)... but some companies neglected it entirely, and certain "cheaper" planes just didn't have it. They could "work good enough" for the economical value. I ended up with a small (3-gallon) bucket of files and rasps... for around $3 (US) and went through the collection with a file card and a liberal slather of phosphoric acid wash... That chemically sharpened them and coated them with "phosphate" crystals which don't dissolve readily in water (they will eventually) so it protects the "teeth" and restores the file... It's a bit tricky, but with the right acidity in solution, it's relatively forgiving if you can get your hands on the stuff. ;o)
Another option for pinning the sides on would be to glue and pin the sides to the bottom with several pins, and add one pin from the sides into the ends, right near the bottom. No glue on the joint between the sides and the ends. To finish it off, add one pin at the top from the sides into the ends. This would go through a slot instead of a hole, and the pin would have a head on it (glue it into a hole in a tiny block. There are a zillion ways to do it, and I like yours too! Thanks for the video!
Hi Rex. I really love your videos! I'm a 1st apprentice carpenter so becoming a patron is out of my financial limits atm but I can't wait until I can set some money aside so I can get full benefit of your skills and entertainment. Cheers
coming from a carpenter, roof rafters are great and all, but we use the speed square for literally everything, a good speed square might even have depth gauge so you wouldnt need to take out another tool to get it done. i personally only use a speed square in my woodworking kit as well as i havent found a need yet for anything else, then again i've only done a few projects
I think it's important for beginners to distinguish between a practical item & a decorative one. Things like carriers, shelves, benches, etc. don't have to be perfect because they're going to get bashed up anyway. Save the time taken in perfecting a practical item & use it for perfecting decorative stuff instead, because no piece is ever going to look as good to the creator as to a third party who hasn't noticed every little dent & scratch during the build. It's good to have two separate mindsets for the two different types of end result, & starting out on practical pieces that may not look great but do their job well can do an awful lot for confidence too.
I always thought that speed squares were perfect 90's until I saw on youtube that most were not. I found out that if I drew a line on a piece of wood, then flipped the square over and drew another line there was a difference. Fortunately, there is an easy fix, and all I needed was sandpaper to bring my squares into perfection.
Sweet build! Basic, functional, fun - not too shabby, Rex! And tons of opportunity for personalization - woodburning pen pyrography, carving, etc. - five stars! ^_^
Been binging your content lately (since I found this channel)... MORE really good stuff, Rex! It's worth note that among "hand tool wood workers" there's a certain prestige for hand made toolboxes, especially the ones you make or repair and rebuild for your own. I'm not pointing this out simply for encouraging the rebuild either... The practice of a modestly sized and budgeted project like this is great for building and refining skills while accomplishing something useful. AND as you (or anyone) advances, it shows in the workmanship and craft... AND then comes the ambition to add onto the original idea. Tool totes will ALWAYS be a net gain, so there's every reason to revisit and create. BTW... I know this is a bit off topic, but I noticed you like planes... AND I'm kinda hoping you're going to get back to those trim planes you bragged about, because I've got a few... AND I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHERE THE DAMN CHIPS ARE SUPPOSED TO COME OUT!!! (laugh at me... I don't mind... hahaha) ;o)
@@RexKrueger yeah... (lolz) I've been in the sticks a bit too long, so I've heard them called "trim" most often from old timers... Still, too many folks think they're museum pieces or something, so it's hard to get hands on a working model "IRL"... AND the online stuff either has poor visual (so far that I've seen) or dubious language... In any case, being facetious counts(?) and I'm sure I'm not the only one who'd appreciate a more detailed look at the Molding Planes and how they're SUPPOSED to work... I'll be making my own wedges AND cutters (no shortage of metal though)... in case you feel extra ambitious or intrepid. GREATLY appreciate the response, btw. ;o)
15:20 I removed the blade from my chop saw (my only power tool) a couple months ago to force me to hand saw more. Immediately made a bench hook and shooting board. I'll never go back (i will when im too old to hand saw). I like feeling myself improve
Thanks for all your videos man. They are all excellent. I finally found that #5 I've been looking for. Terrible condition, but, I got time to fix it. Thanks again.
Imho, the tennens (sp) off of the ends of the handles would be GREAT for holding wrapped bungee cords around/along the handle when they are not in use, but the tool box is, taking them off to wrap around the toolbox itself to minimize spillage when the tools are put up and being transported. Accidental function ftw!
Also Rex - the most accurate cheap square you can buy is a plastic drafting triangle. I don’t know how they do it - but any Alvin plastic triangle will be dead nuts square. I have a 12” one ($10) that will get a tablesaw sled as square as the 5-cut method with none of the hassle.
You could eventually make a little shelf to fit into the top that has some random things for screwdrivers, chisels , nails, screws, and other little bits and bobs. That wouldn't be too hard and would make it a little more like a standard tool case however It would be better with straight top edges on the side I think. right? It would be easy to make it out of some of the same wood however I challenge you to make it out of scrap wood you get for free like a dresser or book case that someone is throwing out. It would also be cool to see some projects made with some pallets, I know that I have seen some pallets made out of beautiful oak used only once being thrown out, and even if they are a little dirty and stained from being left out in the rain or a rusty puddle then that is just spalting and character.
Nice lil tote Rex and a fun to watch video however, I'm old and I'm not about to go all hand tools in the rest of this life time but, thanks for sharing!
Only a minute in, but I'm sure- another great video Rex! I'll be making this. Was going to buy another box store tool tote bag, this will defintely be better
Wow. Your lumber prices are insanely low compared to Australian .... Cheapest equivalent to your board I can readily get at our "big box store" (Bunnings), is a manufactured finger joined board of our radiata pine, and it would cost about 4 times as much as your board. But less wide boards are cheaper and we can improvise and adapt :)
@@jlw35cudvm i made my moxon vise using the bar used for dumbbells. It's fast travel thread all the way and all ready has 2 nuts, shaped like an 8 point star so you dont even need to make a separate knob. It opens and locks fast and holds strong.
Had to laugh about the tools being put on your dryer. My husband would give me such a look! I'm a little intimidated, the tote seems complicated, but if you say I can build it, I'll give it a try.
Great project Rex. I'm thinking I might have to have a go at something similar. I wonder how feasible it would be to make this with only wooden fixings and not use any glue, nails or screws. I was thinking that the base could be secured with a wedged through tenon (It's cool looking joint I only just learnt about). I'm wondering how to fix the sides on without glue on the dowel pins.
Rex, I forgot to comment about the size of the pegs. For a 1"x12"x8ft board, the thickness is a nominal 3/4". A 1/2" hole leaves less than 1/16" of material on either side. There is not much room for error. The drill bit has to be held perfectly parallel to the sides to prevent a blowout. Going with a 3/8" peg or smaller would provide more leeway.
I think you got the math a bit wrong. 3/4-1/2=1/4 1/4 divided by 2 is 1/8, not 1/16. I usually don't nit-pick details like this, but I bored and drove 12 of these with no trouble, so I think the tolerances are just fine.
Seems like a shallow dado is still a weak end-grain-glued joint. If that base sported three tenons (one over each foot) that were mortised through the end-plates and wedged, the whole structure would be a lot stronger?
Small suggestion for your plans - For those of us who drive small cars, could you provide the cutting length of the 12' board so it can be carried in smaller sections? Without doing math not sure if a simple cut in the middle at 6' would work. For example, 7' and 5' so the parts could still be cut properly. I bought the plans for this but no way I'm getting a 1x12x12 in my Toyota. Looking forward to more plans and videos. Thank you for sharing your content! Also, the tip-sheet on your website that shows an illustration of the box says you need a 12-foot board but your video says you only need an 8' foot board. Yet I notice the widest dimension in the plan is 9" so could you get away with a 10" wide board? Not trying to be picky - Just my first build and want to be sure I understand. :)
Ok....chief I'm ready for patreon. I just did the 30 bux bench..... And although not as good as yours it is frickin awesome. So thanks for that. I desperately needed a simple bench. So how do I support.
I think this one actually was 12 in. The thickness was 3/4, but the other measurements were good. Regardless, the plans reflect the piece of weed I actually bought.
thank you a lot for sharing your knowledge and howto. Have a good life and, if possible, continue the good work. A semi load of thanks and encouragemenr. See you some times in the futures or pasts or somewhere else.
A1BASE they both remove material fast which is very satisfying to me for some reason not sure why I enjoy it so much! Lol my 6 yo granddaughter is a boss with a spokeshave ,probably the only one in her school that even knows what that is.
Nope, that was Iron Gordon (check him out on YT and Insta). We did a collaboration on that one. He did the paint, I turned the handle. Look back in my videos; you'll find it.
Check out Steve Ramsay - wood working for mere mortals. He’s like the power tool equivalent of Rex. Nice and down to earth, and just about everything is power tool based but on a budget. He’s much more of a fan of pine and plywood than I am, but he’s got some good information in his channel about just getting shit done, safely.
@@A1BASE I like Steve and have watched his videos. That being said, I also like Rex's interesting sense of humor and presentation - I mean we know he has a full complement of power tools from his earlier videos (Sawstop, lathe, etc.), so I'd say he could do two or three series - Humans, Humans Power Tool, and Humans Advanced?
There's nothing wrong with a coping saw, but we're adding to the tools slowly in this series and we haven't gotten there yet. With each video, I add a maximum of one tool. This time, it was the square.
MrTegidTathal There are techniques for truing a square. Any square can become out of square. See what happens when one is dropped. Hence, there are ways to correct it. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-FNpAQHrNpNU.html
first i want to say think youfor all your great videos. in this video you mention it being a very soft wood. is there a way to harden a soft wood post working on it to make it more durable in the long run? also is there any way you can make a video talking about different types of jointery techniques such as pegs, dove tale, etc.?
There's a product that you can get called wood hardener. From what I understand, it's basically a thin resin that penetrates the structure of the wood.
@@FerretPirate does it swell the wood? im assuming it would be good to try and have a soft wood to carve and add the small details and then use the hardener to make it last. would it swell and distort the carvings?
Rex, you must have gotten a defective (dull) saw or extremely tough hands. At 5:06 of your video I expected blood to flow. Users should not put their thumb or other body parts on top of the saw blade to aid sawing. That is a bad habit to get into. The tote is a good intro project. How about introducing the four-in-hand rasp/file? Sandpaper is not inexpensive. A good rasp or file can do a lot of the work leaving sandpaper for final shaping.
Rex Krueger Rex. Consider support on patriot. Would love to talk and see if we can help in other way also. 40 years wood working and still love the basics 520 3141340. Tucson Az. Thanks