We closed as a retail store but remain open as a studio and gallery

Since we travel so much we decided to close as a retail store but remain open whenever we are here as a studio and gallery.  We always enjoy meeting new friends and getting reacquainted with old friends, so stop by when you are in the area.

A more detailed look at dust collection in my studio

In an earlier December post I talked about changing out my Clearvue cyclone dust collector for a Felder RL-200 Cleantech unit.  Today I added a tutorial to the How to... page that describes in far more detail how the Felder unit was wired using a Variable Frequency Drive to convert the single phase power in my studio into the three phase power needed by the Felder unit and how I modified the ducting to accommodate the greater capacity of the Felder unit.  You can read the story here.

A new Felder RL-200 Dust Collector added

Last week an odd thing happended.  My Clearvue cyclone dust collector impeller surround fractured sending fine dust all over the studio and gallery.  What a mess and it couldn't have happend at a worse time as I still have last minute Christmas deliveries to make.  In addition to ordering replacement parts for the Clearvue cyclone (turns out more was wrong than I originally thought), I also decided to see if by any chance I could find a Felder Clean Air unit.  Thanks to some quick work by posters on the Felder Owners Group fourm I found and purchased a used Felder RL-200 in Bend, Oregon Monday morning.  They agreed to deiver it to my studio as part of the deal.  It arrived late Monday afternoon.  The problem was it was a three phase unit and I only have single phase coming into this building so would need a Variable Frequency Driver (VFD) to power it.  

A friend who owns an industrial electrical business speced and ordered a very sophisticated Yaskawa V1000 VFD and had it shipped two day air.  It arrived on Wed.  With a bunch of help from Felder technical support I was able to remove all of the Felder mechanical soft start and motor overload protection circuitry and install the V1000VFD to do those things and much, much more.  Here are some pictures of the new unit in place in the studio and gallery.  

Amazingly, it is Thursday and I am back to work!  A few days, the magic of the internet, lots of well meaning people helping and I could remove the old one, clean up the mess, acquire and install the new one and get it operating off of single phase power.  Never would have thought it possible.

Two new things in the Portfolio page worth a look

Takle a look at two new items recently added to the Portfolio page under Entertainment Spaces.  

One is a phenominal desk made from the largest unbroken piece of Redwood burl with a live edge all around I have seen in 40 years.  This rare piece of burl is nearly eight feet long and over three feet wide.  It sits on an unusual tressle style base that makes the top look like it is floating.  There are no drawers or pedistals to detract from the best nature has to offer.  I doubt if any of us will ever see another piece of Redwood burl to challenge this one!

The second interesting new piece is a small bar that also features flame redwood burl.  In this case the burl seems to grow outward from the center of the Brazilian cherry top.  The two woods really compliment each other.  But, what really sets this small bar apart are the tiger striped maple legs and the highly figured Oregon big leaf maple panels.  Each panel is surrounded picture frame style by Brazilian cherry with the corners elegantly mitered using the techniqe described below.

How to make hidden reinforced miter joints the easy way

I recently completed a new "how to" article that you may find interesting.  It shows how to make miter joints with a hidden reinforement that allows the joints to close up tight and square without the use of special clamps.  The only tools you need are a self centering drill guide, a long drill bit with a stop collar and a way to cut miters (chop saw, table saw, miter box, etc.).  Instead of a normally weak end grain to end grain glued miter joint only you will know that all four miters are really strong and will never come apart.  This technique works even on very large lumber like you might use for outdoor projects.  You will find it on the "How to...." page.