Tag Archives: mike makes

Accident in the Shop (Tablesaw Kickback)

Well…Mike had an accident in the shop. A good one. He was cutting a piece of walnut way smaller than he should have been and it kicked back and sliced his nose open.

There is only footage of the wound at the end of the video (if you’re squeamish). It took 11 stitches at the urgent care center. I was lucky it didn’t hit my eye or remove any of the skin. The doctor said it should heal just fine.

Overall it wasn’t too painful, I’m just happy to have 2 eyes and 10 fingers! Stitches come out next week.

Link to the build video: https://goo.gl/kLrwv3

Mike Makes a Dovetail Desk (Steel into Wood)

I’m waiting for the solenoid valves for the whiskey chiller to come in, so I decided to “take a break” this week and make a desk for our house. It ended up being something unique and used “dovetails” to join the wood to the metal frame.

I couldn’t find anyone else online who has done this, so I didn’t know how it would turn out. It actually looks pretty cool. The only thing I would change is somehow leaving the top 2″ instead of rabbeting the edges. It looks a little wimpy now.

PS. Yes, I know I should be wearing safety goggles when cutting and grinding.

Micarta Love Letters with Thrift Store Fabric (Layered Cloth and Wood)

Lauren wanted to make wooden letters that spelled “love” for the living room. I thought it would be a good chance to try a micarta style layering of fabric and wood.

All was going well until the epoxy set up too fast half-way through. We changed gears and didn’t use the maple veneer I made, but ended up with a unique decoration and a memorable time together in the shop.

DIY Lithium Ion E-Bike Battery Pack from 18650 Laptop Batteries

How to build a lithium ion electric bike battery pack from recovered used laptop batteries. Save hundreds of dollars by salvaging 18650 li-ion cells from used or even dead laptop batteries bought off eBay.

My pack is 24 volt 20AH which should hopefully provide a 30-45 mile range per charge on my ebike (and cost less than $150 dollars). In the video I show you how to calculate the capacity, then wire and test the completed battery.

Don’t Throw That Microwave Away!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-W2jiB8islo

Rinoa Super-Genius:
https://goo.gl/ByyxlN

Mike Makes Power Tool Storage w/ Cord Organization

This week I build power tool organization above my new tool board that we made last week. Each shelf was custom built to hold each power tool with a shelf below that organizes all of the cables.

I was pleasantly surprised with the results. It’s nice to finally have a place to store everything!

Mike Makes a Tool Board (Hand Tool Organization)

I’ve had my hand tools in a drawer at home for weeks after building the workshop. It was time to organize all of my hand tools on the wall with a custom tool board.

In this video I make holders for my most used tools (pliers, wrenches, hammer, tape measure, knife, screwdrivers, speed square etc.) Like Matthias and others, I prefer this tool board over the french cleat system.

Mike Makes a 3D Wood Photo

We have strange shelves in the walls of our living room that end up collecting junk. We wanted to experiment making a 3D wood photo cutout using Steve Ramsey’s inkjet photo transfer method.

The project turned out great! How we divided the photo into layers worked out perfect, and the scroll saw made quick work of the cuts.

When we do it again, we’ll make sure to have plenty of ink the printer, do a lot more sanding, and use an image with more contrast.

The search for a scroll saw:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAWpSGg2UFc

Steve Ramsey Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNEctCPmPbk

Our amazing photographer friend:
https://naomichokr.com/

Mike Makes Sawhorses | DIRESTA vs. Matthias Wandel Design!

I needed a few sawhorses for the shop. Instead of buying some, I made them with scrap wood. I couldn’t choose between Jimmy Diresta’s and Matthias Wandel’s design so I made both!

Which one did I decide to make a set of for the shop? Watch the video to find out! I was lucky enough to use a chop saw, table saw, radial arm saw, and nail gun. But it can be done with just a circular saw.