The Johnson Blog

Ramblings of a geek with a few hobbies…

  • Logs to Bowls

    Earlier this year I was given several logs from which to make bowls. This includes several varieties: cherry; walnut; bradford pear; honey locust; and others.

    I don’t have a sophisticated setup, and have never processed logs on my own so it was a learning experience.

    I ended up with far too much waste, but I did also end up with a good set of bowl blanks which I then took the time to rough turn on the lathe to cut down some of the weight and help the drying process.

    After the initial roughing out, I weighed each blank and placed them into a paper bag with some of their shavings. Every 4-6 weeks I re-weighed and recorded the info on the bag. Once I see the weight loss has stabilized, I know they’re ready to be finally turned into bowls.

    Now I have a good stash to make it through the winter.

  • Ham Radio Technician License

    I was issued my amateur radio Technician license and callsign on 10/22/2024. So, hello from KE9BPH!

    A big shout-out to the remote testing offered by the Tennessee Valley Exam Team (sign up at Hamstudy.org). It operated like a well-oiled machine while being friendly and encouraging. When the time comes to get my General license, I’ll be looking to do so with them.

    Why?

    I’ve been asked a few times now about why, and after giving it some thought, I’ve realized there are four main reasons.

    1. Personal Experiences

    I have had a GMRS license (WRHV579) for several years now. I have a set of radios which my family and I use whever we are going hiking or camping, to facilitate quick contact and give the kids some freedom while still giving us peace of mind.

    These radios have worked fine for our needs. But this this summer we were hiking on some trails in Utah when we came upon a hiker needing legitimate help: they were unable to walk on their own; it was over 100 degrees; and there was no cellular service available. I tried like heck to get ahold of someone with our GMRS radios but was met with dead air. In the end this person did get the assistance they needed, but it left me with a very bad feeling about the whole ordeal – my backup communication was worthless and I didn’t like it.

    2. Travel Communications

    We do a fair bit of traveling, and have often found ourselves in fairly remote, unfamiliar areas without cellular service. We’ve never run into any problems, but the what if is always in the back of my mind.

    3. Emergency Situations

    I’ve often heard of ham radio’s utility when it comes to widespread emergencies, and this was brought to the forefont with the recent hurricane which destroyed many North Carolina communities. I know if my family were in any such situation, getting information in and out would be such an important capabilitiy – and not having that ability, again, makes me nervous.

    4. Curiousity

    In case you cannot tell by some of the other content of this blog, I’m a pretty curious person. I’ve recently come to realization that the best things come when I allow myself to investigate my curiousities and see where they lead and what I can learn. From early computer use in the 1990s, to the internet, to programming, to photography, to woodworking – I learn the most when I follow my curiousity. So here I am with radios.

    How?

    Everyone learns differently. Myself, I learn best progressing from reading books to immersing myself in related content from as many avenus as possible. For example, some heavy reading followed by diving into Youtube videos, podcasts, and blog posts.

    I must say, for the Technician license, this was a little frustring. There are many great resources for studying for the test, but I couldn’t find a definitive reference to learn from; rather, it seemed that most sites just wanted guide you through rote memorization in order to pass the exam. I ended up buying the ARRL study guide, which was sort of what I was looking for, but was still hyper focused on the test itself (for good and bad).

    Don’t get me wrong, this book, combined with the excellent Hamstudy.org, had me passing the test in almost exactly a week of studying. I just don’t feel like I gained much of any underlying understanding of how all of this stuff works, and that bugs me.

    What’s Next?

    Now that I have my license, I have a pair of cheap HTs (Baofeng UV-21R) and a few small antennas to start participating in the local community. There’s such a broad array of topics to learn in the hobby, far more than I ever imagined when I looked at it from the outside. My plan is to ultimately get my General license, but only after I’ve gotten a real fundamental grasp of the underlying principles. To that end, I’ve started reading Radio Theory Handbook – Beginner to Advanced. I’m hoping this gives me what I’m looking for (at 25% through, it is) – a foundation to learn and remember this stuff.

    Then there’s the plethora of new acronyms and terms to gradually pick up from just listening. And of course I have my eyes on a couple of other radios to help me explore in ways HTs don’t allow. Antennas will follow, but I’m not letting myself down that rabbit hole until I get a better gasp on how they actually work. An software, lots of software and tools which get cobbled together like the old days. Good stuff.

    The community I’ve encountered thus far has been welcoming and more than willing to help in any way possible. It’s reminiscient of the comraderie I encountered years ago with fellow BBSers and early computer hobbiests – everyone is just trying to figure out how things behave and what they can get out of these little machines. It’s fun to be back at ground zero, searching for answers in a field in which I have zero experience and knowledge.

  • Natural Edge Bowl

    Natural Edge Bowl

    I have now had my lathe for a year. When I first starting using it, my goal was to be able to make some simple things by the end of the first year. I was able to achieve this, and even start turning some basic bowls.

    Last week I decided to try a more ambitious bowl – one starting from a far more raw form than the “blanks” I’ve been using, and much larger.

    Enter this nice piece of cherry, which only barely fit on my lathe. This tool can handle up to 12″ round, this one clocked in at 11 1/2″. It’s also the heaviest thing I’ve tried on this machine.

    It was rough starting out. I initially had the lathe set to the lowest speed in the High range, and boy did it complain. It was slow to start, quick to slow down under pressure, and had just enough vibration to make cutting a struggle.

    Once I got smart and changed the belts to Low mode, things went much better and progress much quicker.

    It wasn’t too long until it actually started to look like a bowl – at least on the outside.

    I had every intention of making a live edge bowl – meaning the bark remains along the rim. It started out well, but eventually enough came off that I decided to strip all of it and end up with a natural edge bowl instead.

    After the main portion of the bowl was complete, I made my first jam chuck and turned the bowl around (with some quilting batting from Ana) so that I could complete the bottom. 4 months ago, the thought of having to first turn a jam chuck on the lathe before using it was daunting. Now? Not so much. Progress.

    After turning and applying some tung oil, the bowl was complete. There are still some tool marks in the bowls I make, and this one is no exception. I am, however, improving with each one I make. I’ve also made some great strides with regards to sharpening, which helps tremendously.

    Here’s the final product! I don’t know what we’ll do with it, but it feels like a bit of a milestone I’m proud of.

  • Lidded Bowl

    Lidded Bowl

    Furthering my effort to chronicle my projects and progress with a woodworking lathe, here’s my latest creation. My first bowl with a lid.

    Using Kent Weakley’s great tutorials and videos at https://turnawoodbowl.com, this was a breeze. Since I really only have small stock available, the results are quite a bit smaller than I’ve seen elsewhere but I’m still learning the basics.

    This one is made out of two pieces of spalted maple.

  • Maple Candy Dish

    Maple Candy Dish

    To get some woodturning practice in this afternoon, I turned a small piece of maple (6″x6″x2″ I believe) into what I’m calling a candy dish.

    It isn’t a regular bowl shape. Rather, there’s a small base upon which the dish sits and the sides of the dish have more character than a simple bowl shape.

    A maple “candy dish”

    Looking at it now after a few hours, I can see the base could use a little shaping itself and possibly be made a little shorter. I find it funny that I’ve seen bowls and dishes my whole life but it isn’t easy to come up with pleasing shapes when turning. This is close, I think, but could benefit from some tweaks.

    Two other new things for me in this piece are: 1) the black groove, burned in with wire, and 2) the use of friction polish to give it it’s glossy finish.

    I bought this wood as cheap practice blanks but, wow, I really like how they look.

  • Pen and Pencil Set with a Case

    Pen and Pencil Set with a Case

    I recently completed a pen and mechanical pencil set as a gift, but before sending it off thought I would take the opportunity to try making an accompanying case to hold them. I wanted something with a smaller profile than the pencil boxes I’ve made before – something more along the lines of a hard eyeglasses case.

    I grabbed a couple of pieces of small walnut off my shelf and got to work last night. Without any plan whatsoever, I was able to start and finish it in just a few short hours. I made a minor mistake or two, but I’m very happy with the results.

    I used some small hinges on the back. They’re a little tricky to install

    The lid is held closed with two pair of rare earth magnets. Opening it up revels space for two pens.

    I intend to make a few more of these so I can get the finer tails nailed down.

  • Next Up – Some Bowls!

    Next Up – Some Bowls!

    As mentioned in New Shop Addition, I have started learning how to use a lathe. In the past couple weeks I have started learning how to do faceplate turning, as opposed to spindle turning used in making pens.

    For now I’ve concentrated on bowls and small dishes. We’ll see where it progresses, but right now I’m happy with what I’ve been able to do thus far and I’m learning something new each and every time.

    Here are a few of my latest.

    I don’t know what I’m going to do with all of these!
    Starting at the top and going clockwise: ash, cherry, and elm.

    I tried my hand at a thin platter/tray, made out of maple.

  • New Shop Addition

    New Shop Addition

    This past Christmas, my workshop gained a new piece of equipment: a lathe! It’s a Grizzly T25290, 12×18 and boy do I like it. The day after Christmas I drove down to Rockler and Woodcraft and quickly learned how much other stuff you have to buy – turning tools, sharpener, sharpener stand, chuck, adapter, safety gear, etc!

    I decided to avoid the much quicker route of using carbide tools and opted for the traditional High Speed Steel ones which also required I learn how to sharpen. I was a little hesitant with the sharpening but I think I’m doing a good job at it – the tools are cutting well at least.

    For the first week or so I had the tool sitting atop my work bench. Since then, I have cobbled together a little cart that is serving me well. I’ve avoided adding accessory racks or other adornments until I get some time on it and learn what will be useful and what will not.

    I’ve stuck with small spindle turnings for now: practice blanks; seem rippers; lip balm holders; needle/toothpick holders; and pens. And it is an absolute blast.

    Here’s a small selection of what I’ve turned so far.

    I was hoping that by the end of this year I’d be able to turn a pen. Mission accomplished, I guess. I have so many pens around here that I don’t know what do do with them all 🙂

    If and when this gets tiring, I’ll turn my attention to larger things like bowls, bottle openers, and wine stoppers. But for now, it’s incredibly enjoyable doing pens.

  • Recipe Box

    Recipe Box

    This week I made a recipe box for Ana. Unlike my typical builds, I was not going off of any plans for this. I decided to just do a couple rough sketches and wing it.

    I started with a board of Brazilian cherry (Jatoba) and two small boards of walnut. Since the overall dimensions were larger than any of these boards, I had to resaw the Jatoba and glue up a panel to serve as the sides of the box. One new aspect to this box from my priors is the thickness – just under 5/16″ thick. I was nervous about this for a couple reasons, not the least of which was the screw sizes I had available for the hardware. I cringed running the panel through the planer, just hoping it wasn’t going to crack or shatter but it went through unscathed and without snipe.

    I wanted to get more practice using the hand saws and chisels so I decided to cut the joinery by hand rather than use the table saw. They could be tighter and I need to be more mindful of staying at 90 degrees on my crosscuts, but the final product is workable. It was a little tricky keeping track of which were mating pieces and which faces were interior vs. exterior, so I resorted to some mixture of alpha- and numeric labeling of the pieces as I was cutting. It turned into quite the jigsaw puzzle.

    Both the lid and the bottom are made from walnut, both of which were resawn and glued into panels before cutting to size.

    After making panels which were to serve as the bottom (over 1/2″ thick) and the lid (3/8″ thick), it came time to cut the dados for them to fit into the sides. And this is where I made the late night mistake of forgetting about blind dadoes and their necessity when you’re doing joints like this.

    I decided to keep these little holes as reminders. I don’t think I’ll make that mistake again.

    After some cursing when I cut the bottom’s dado all the way through, I took corrective action and handled the lid’s dados correctly.

    The routed blind dado which I squared off with a chisel after the photo.

    This is the first box I’ve made where I’m following the process of making an enclosed cube and then separating the lid from the base at the table saw once everything is glued up. Here’s how the pieces fit together before the glue-up.

    Separating the lid from the box was a breeze on the table saw, as was adding the hardware. The interior dimensions turned out perfect for both the 4×6″ recipe cards as well as their oversized divider tabs. I finished the box with Tung oil finish and paste wax.

    I really like the warm tones of the wood; the thickness (thinness) of the sides give it just the right feel I was looking for; and the size of the hardware turned out to be almost perfect. This all added up to a finished product that looks and feels like what I had in mind when I started. That feels good.

    Here it is, the glamour shot – all oiled up and mostly hiding the accidental through dado holes.
    Depending on the viewing angle, two pieces which make up the lid can take on two highly contrasting tones (not seen here). I’m not sure if that’s due to grain direction or what.
    The cards and dividers fit perfectly, and they sit high enough out of the opened box to be easy to flip through.
    I bought this hardware six months ago but had not found any good use for it. I think it works well for this size of a box, the proportions feel right.

  • Blackstone Griddle Box

    Blackstone Griddle Box

    For my birthday this year, Ana gave me a 17″ Blackstone griddle which we’re planning on giving plenty of use while camping.

    This model came with a hood, but I’m not comfortable just stacking things on it – which is sure to happen as we’re loading the truck up for camping. With this in mind, I set out to build a box for storage and travelling. I want to make sure that it’s protected, can have stuff stacked atop it, and is easy to pack/unpack.

    This afternoon I wrapped up the simple build and the final coat of stain is drying as I type this.

    It’s a simple box constructed of 1/2″ birch plywood, sitting on a 3/4″ birch plywood base. Handles are routed into the sides for easy carrying, and a set of spring loaded toggle latches affix the box to its base. With this arrangement we’re able to just lift the lid off the base and get to the griddle. We may just end up cooking with the griddle on the base.

    Some testing has shown the latches to be more than capable of securely holding a pair of 20lb dumbbells so the griddle’s weight isn’t a problem.

    The second coat of finish is drying here.

    I added small strips of wood to aid in lid alignment and a set of braces for the griddle’s legs to set into to keep it from sliding around as it’s in transit and being carried around.

    The finish is Minwax Polyshades, Classic Black, Satin. I used this combination stain and polyurethane finish before for a tablet stand for the car, so I’m expecting it to be a good fit here too. The outside is covered in three coats, while the inside has two.

    Ana created the vinyl logo on her Cricut machine and in the coming days I’ll be coating the whole thing with some polyurethane to add just a little more protection.