After reading woodworking magazines and watching DIY videos and taking a cabinet making class… I decided I needed a router table. It has been said it should be one of the first tools to buy, this is almost my last one. I already have a route for it, but using a table is easier. I anticipate several uses for it : box joints, profiling edges of cabinets/boxes, juice tracks for cutting boards larger than 12”x13” (my cnc router). So, more reading/watching/researching.
I looked at a couple of Bosch tables, Kreg, Skil, Craftsman, JessEm, Rockler. I window shopped at Amazon and Rockler and Woodcraft. Prices range from $200 to $$$. The small ones are about 16”x 24” and the larger ones are 32”x 24”. At our cabinet class, we used a large Kreg that had a router lift. It was nice. The router lift allows you to adjust the height from above the table. The lifts make small increments easy to do. The others you reach under and adjust from below, not as easy to make minor changes. I wish I could afford one of those, but the lift plates start at $200 themselves. Maybe in the future. I ended up getting the Bosch RA 1171, a cabinet style table. It had good reviews and was on sale one day at Amazon. The cabinet style captures some of the shavings in the cabinet. Odd thing about it is the mitre track is 1” wide and it does not come with a miter gauge. All the other tracks I have seen/read about are ¾”. I will have to work on something for that. Maybe plane some wood to run in the track. Maybe use my spare ¾ track that actually fits in the groove. I might need to get some push pads (like the “gripper”). I like it so far. I do wonder if the router lift plates will fit (if I can buy one in the future). The dimensions seem like ¼” off. Here is a video compilation putting it together :
0 Comments
A local school district hosted a Community Holiday Craft Fair at one of their schools. They had a $2 cover charge that went to support... something, I didn’t really pay attention. Awesome event. Many, many vendors. Great variety. There were enough to fill the gym AND the cafeteria. Plus the choir and bands were performing. And the students were selling concession stand food. This is a great event to bring the community into your building as crafters and as buyers. It can really show entrepreneurship to the kids. Does everyone have one of these? There were a few booths that had a student at them, but several seemed like they were just there with mom/dad. One table did seem to be solely a young person. I need to get better are asking about things like this/interviewing people. But I have some ideas for the event. Remember, I want the kids to be makers and entrepreneurs.
Let us start with the concessions. Get rid of the concession stand food (hot dogs, doughnuts, candy, popcorn). Okay, we can keep the popcorn. I love popcorn. And there was a local vendor doing caramel kettle corn. Every school building should have a culinary class, not just one for the District. The students should be doing culinary demonstrations and selling awesome, freshly prepared food. Now for the vendors. I love having community entrepreneurs in, but the students should also be the entrepreneurs. How far do we want to carry that? - Vendors should have student interns working with them all year. Give preference to those vendors. - Local craftspeople should be in the schools at various times of the year showing the possibilities of their craft. This could be after school workshops, though I would prefer that we care enough about this to have during school workshops. - Have a percentage of student vendors. I think it would be good if students find a mentoring craftsperson. Somewhat different from being their intern. What percentage do you want. On one hand I think it could be 100% student booths. But I do want to bring community entrepreneurs in and showcase them. School is a community thing. So 50/50? 51/49? Obviously there would only be a few student booths to begin with, but build it up. I believe our students can make similar creations that you see at these markets. I think some already do. I also think a #Maker centered school could run a market once a month all year. |
Archives
December 2022
Categories |