A simple project, just for fun

I need a better way to store my kitchen knives. I've seen magnetic holders for sale everywhere, but wanted to make it myself. They are simple enough to make. This is more of an artsy-craftsy sort of thing just to get my hands working again, nothing special. However, if you spend any amount of time in the kitchen (as I do) then it is very hand. Plus, instead of saying, "I bought that at Ikea (or wherever)," you get to say that you made it yourself.

The back side, with the positions of the magnets marked out. The thin piece at the top of the pic will be the face.

Magnets! I am using 1" dia magnets. On the right is a cup, on the left is a cup/magnet assembly. The magnets may be strong, but they need a little help since there will be a slice of wood between them and whatever they are holding. The cups help to focus the magnet's efforts.

Two things that suck are...

...riding 30+ miles in the rain with no visor on your helmet and cutting dovetails in Aspen. Both of which I did this weekend. None of my chisels are set up to cut softwood, but I try anyway. I just wanted to knock out a little bit of practice. I also did a joint in soft maple. Getting better (especially when you consider I haven't done anything for months!)

A kick in the pants

I can never afford wood. Kind of a bad problem for someone that wants to work on wood. So it was a pleasant surprise the other day when one of my friends pulled up to my garage and opened up his van to unload this:

A nice pile consisting mainly of oak and some cherry. There are some nice 2 inch thick pieces and a few 4 inch square glue ups. The nice part was the price: FREE! I hope this is the kick in the pants that I need to start getting some projects done.

Almost back. Sort of.

Hi, all. Between doing a bunch of wiring in my house and rebuilding my chopper, there hasn't been much time for woodworking in quite some time. My other major issue was the slow death of my computer. At six and a half years old, I finally replaced it last week (not that I could really afford to, but it had to be done). I've got some ideas brewing, and hope to be back into some projects soon...now that I have some free time again, and I no longer need a seeing eye dog for the internet. See y'all soon!