Kevin's Woodshop

6th Annual Niagara Woodworking Show

2011-08-08T16:54:00.000-04:00

6^th Annual

NIAGARA

WOODWORKING

SHOW

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 5, 2011

Niagara Falls Home Depot

7190 Morrison Street L2E 7K5

10:00 am – 4:00 pm

R.I.P. Dad

2010-11-04T23:47:00.003-04:00

My father Peter Violette passed away on October 31, 2010.

You will be missed Dad and I will make sure your twin grandsons know of you fondly.

5th Annual Niagara Woodworking Show

2010-08-16T14:47:00.004-04:00

5th Annual
NIAGARA
WOODWORKING
SHOW

SATURDAY OCTOBER 30, 2010
Niagara Falls HOME DEPOT
7190 Morrison Street L2E 7K5
10:00 am – 4:00 pm

Woodworking Competition
Two categories to enter: Small Project (has to fit inside a 2ft square box)
Large Project (greater than a 2ft square box)
PRIZES! PRIZES! and more PRIZES!
.
Woodworking Seminars
Understanding wood 11:00-12:00

Organizing your workshop 12:00-1:00
What types of finish to use 1:00-2:00
Scroll saw tips n’ tricks 2:00-3:00
.
All Day Demonstrations
Niagara Woodcarvers Association
Niagara Woodworking Club

James McQueen

Eugen Schlaak
Factory Representatives

Kids Workshop

Lumberjocks Picnic

Where in the world is MsDebbieP?

She will be at the show and says who wants to do lunch?

For information or competition rules please email Kevin at biff_kpv@yahoo.ca

Woodshows and Work

2010-03-16T13:55:00.002-04:00

Well it is almost time to return to work. My boys are growing so fast. Jake still has just the two front bottom teeth and Nate is still waiting but he has to be close. The boys are starting to enjoy sitting up to play and Jake is starting to crawl. Nathan can roll and bounce wherever he wants to get to and does so in a hurry. My Dad is still in the hospital but he is greatly improving everyday and should be getting out soon. My Mother is still battling and doing quite well let's keep our fingers crossed that things stay that way.

I attended the London Wood show a few weeks back for the first time in a few years. I thought the show was OK nothing too extravagant. My wife wanted to go away for the weekend so we packed up the kids this past weekend and went to the Kitchener-Waterloo Wood Show and went to one of our favourite stops Moose Winooski's for dinner. If you have never been to to Moose Winooski's in Cambridge you need to go. After dinner we went to our motel around the corner which was quite nice and set up the playpens for the boys. The next day we took our time heading home with a stop at Easterbrook's Foot Long Hot Dogs in Burlington. All in all a good weekend out!

Strange Days

2010-02-01T23:02:00.002-05:00

Theses days as of late sure have been strange. With both my parents being ill and in hospitals I have find joy in my twin boys who are doing just awesome. Jacob had his first tooth on Sunday and his second popped today. Nathan is drooling terribly and is not comfortable so I expect a tooth anyday now. It has been terribly cold out this past couple weeks. Debbi and I purchased new car seats for the boys as they are near the limits of their current seats. I am not looking forward to switching car seats as the new seat stay attached to the car so loading the kids will be more work then strapping them up in the house and carrying the boys and the seats to the car. Our stroller has a defective part and I contacted the company and received very quick response and had little aggravation as they are apparently sending the new part. That was easy!

Taking Care

2010-01-13T14:40:00.005-05:00

As some of you know I am dealing with some family health issues right now. My mom is awaiting news of what is next in her battle, while my father is still in the hospital. I am doing OK as I always seem to step up when times get rough but I have to admit I am getting tired. On a positive note the twins started solid food this past weekend and I did my first solo feeding of the solid food for both yesterday. The boys did good and are not quite sure about solid food but they will get the hang of it. After the twins last doctor appointment Debbi and I had to go car seat shopping as my boys are almost ready for the next size car seats. Debbi is starting to ramp up as "financial season" is upon us again. My poor woodshop is being neglected and is need of a good cleaning. Any takers??? Speaking of cleaning I am still going strong with Kijiji and selling items that we no longer need or have room for because with twin boys in this house they sure do take up a lot of room! So this is the first entry for 2010 and hopefully everyone keep their fingers crossed we can all have a good year.

Wrapping up 2009

2009-12-29T13:00:00.003-05:00

With 2009 drawing to a close, it has been a hectic year to say the least. From the birth of my twin boys to family health issues to being a stay at home dad and the resurgence of doing woodworking classes again. Hectic is definitely the word to have described 2009. This year has brought different values to my life with family and health being at the top of the list because without those not much else matters. So good-bye 2009 and welcome 2010.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Family time can now begin

2009-12-23T00:00:00.003-05:00

It is Tuesday night and the house is quiet, the boys and my wife are fast asleep. Tomorrow the first day of a week of family time as Debbi is off work and the plans are all made. We must clean the house, do some final groceries and begin preparing for the big dinner. I always look forward to Christmas but this year more so. The Chargers play on Christmas day at 8:00pm ..... maybe that's why I am excited......probably a little but being able to spend time with family and friends is what I look forward to most and with Debbi done work for the holidays.... family time can now begin. Merry Christmas everyone!

2009-12-17T23:44:00.002-05:00

Well this week has been different to say the least. I have yet to see the shop this week as I have been been dealing with somethings I do not wish upon anyone. I do not wish to get into details out of respect but my mind is definitely elsewhere. On a brighter note Nate is getting closer to rolling onto his belly yet just spins on his butt and of course Jake is rolling all over the place and is getting to be a handful. For christmas Debbi and I do not exchange gifts but merely buy a gift for the house or family. This year with the arrival of the twins we needed to upgrade our digital camera as the old one was acting up. After much investigating I picked up the new camera today and was able to set it up and take a few practice pics. I like the new camera! On a football note this is the first week of saturday football as the NFL will be on thursday, saturday, sunday and monday. Phewwww I hope I can make it through it all .... (that was a joke)!

Snow is here

2009-12-10T12:47:00.002-05:00

Well the snow and the cold have finally arrived. I will take snow over rain as I find snow to be uplifting as opposed to the rain. I did the presentation of how to shape wood with hand tools at the Niagara Woodworking Club this past Tuesday. I roughed out a cabriole leg in my shop with the bandsaw so as to show how to smooth the form out with a spokeshave and I also brought a oak riving to show how to use a drawknife, spoke shave and scrapers to create a windsor chair spindle. I thought the demonstration went well and club members asked questions so hopefully I may have turned a few to the hand tool side of woodworking. I said I would finish the cabriole leg and bring it for the next meeting so I must remeber to do that and I think I may even put some finish on it to show it off a bit too.

The boys are doing great and the holiday plans are falling into place. I am really looking forward to Christmas this year. The woodshop is in need of some cleaning so I should get at it.

Demonstrating at the NWWC this Tuesday

2009-12-06T23:47:00.005-05:00

This Tuesday Dec 8th I will be demonstrating how to shape wood with hand tools at the Niagara Woodworking Club's December meeting. Using drawknives, spokeshaves, rasps, files and scrapers is something many woodworkers are either intimidated by or have just never been introduced to. You can check out the pictures from the event at the club's website http://www.niagarawoodworkingclub.blogspot.com/ on Wednesday.

This week the boys had some breakthroughs.... Jake can already roll on to his belly but just the other day was able to roll back on to his back. I am sure going to have my hands full soon. Nathan on the other hand wants nothing to do with rolling (thatta boy) yet has continued his streak of refusing to wear a sock on his right foot. I must put that right sock on 20-30 times a day.

I need to go through the links on this page as I am told that some are no longer active. I will try and make time this week. I went with my wife on a Buffalo woodworking tour and hit the Buffalo Rockler and Woodcraft stores. That was my first time at the Buffalo Woodcraft but thought the store was in stock and welcoming, Woodcraft just opened the Buffalo store a few months ago. I need to get going on the box for the woodworking club contest. I should be able to make some headway around the holidays.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

2009-11-26T11:57:00.004-05:00

Well the house is all decorated. It took three days to decorate but it's done. Debbi and I took the boys Christmas shopping and believe it or not we are almost done our shopping for everyone. We bought family stockings for both the boys and ourselves. The twins also each got their own "Babies First Christmas" ornaments which are now hanging on the tree upstairs. In one of the stores we went into we found these little snow globe tree ornaments that are personalized with your name on them. Feeling nostalgic I bought ornaments that say Nathan, Jacob, Mom and Dad and hung the little snow globe ornaments on the tree downstairs, all on the same branch too.

Woodshop is full of toys right now. You would swear that the shop looks like Santa's workshop as nearly all the bench space is covered in trains and dogs and pieces about to be toys. Today is Thanksgiving in the USA and I call it Football day at my house so the boys and I will be watching the festive games and I will get back to the shop tomorrow.

Baptism and Boxes

2009-11-18T08:19:00.003-05:00

This past Sunday the boys were baptised. The day was shared with family and friends and was just a good day all around. Oh and the Chargers beat the Eagles that day too!

The Niagara Woodworking Club met this week and I won the door prize, a King digital tilt box for measuring angles. The club is having a box building contest and I need to come up with something...... maybe a new jewellery box for Debbi? I'll have to come up with a plan. I would like to do a bandsawn box for I have never tried one and would like too but we'll have to see.

Boys Names and Needles

2009-11-11T09:20:00.004-05:00

Well I finished and hung the letters for the twins names above each of their cribs and they look quite cute. I painted them a deep almost royal blue so that they can continue to hang on the walls when we transition from nursery to toddler room and so on. The colour I chose is also coincidentally the same as the blue of my San Diego Chargers. Go Bolts!

The twins had their second round of immunization shots yesterday and Nate cried at first but handled it like a real trooper. Jake on the other hand screamed loudly for the first needle and hit another octave for the second needle. Deb worked from home yesterday to help me keep the boys calm as they were understandably not themselves all day after the shots. I had been on the fence when it comes to the H1N1 shot as I had never had any flu shot before but after speaking with the pediatrician I decide to get one. Now like I said I had never before had a flu shot so I am not sure what to expect as a side effect but man is my arm sore.

This week I have rough cut the spoon racks and hope to make some headway there. I have really been concentrating on clearing stuff out of the house by both Kijiji and donation. I can not believe how much "stuff" is in this house. Parting with the stuff is sometimes hard but I am really looking forward to decorating for Christmas this year so I have to make some room around here.

Shop is getting some attention

2009-11-03T13:55:00.000-05:00

Well I have been trying to establish more time in my shop as of late. With the boys napping or when my wife is home I have been able to get a few things done. First of all I have the the shop relatively clean. I was also able to finally print off the lettering for my boys names and cut them out of some scrap pine I had. I will then router the edges and paint the letters so I can hang them in their room. I still have to finish some small projects but at last it seems the "woodworking bug" is back.

Nate and Jake are 18 weeks old now and are doing awesome. Tonight I have my Grandfather and my Father coming over for dinner so we can take a photo of four generations together. One of my favourite pictures hanging in my house is one of my grandfather, my father and myself in Sturgeon Falls on Father's day when we all went fishing. I thought that a new photo should be taken now that I have twin boys and another generation was born.

Working around the boys

2009-10-27T17:27:00.003-04:00

Well it has been very tough to establish any routine with the boys up until now but I am going to try to get the old woodshop up and running again. I have a few small projects on the go and a few more waiting to get started. I am thinking of doing a few video posts too as if I am not already busy but would like to give it a try. The boys are doing awesome and they are growing each and every day. No matter what kind of a day you are having a smile from the twins makes it all seem better!

Renovations are complete!

2009-06-26T17:00:00.003-04:00

The renovations are complete,

we have expanded our house by four little feet!!!

Welcome Nate and Jake

3rd Annual Home Depot St.Catharines Woodworking Show

2008-10-30T09:06:00.006-04:00

This year's show was again a huge success! The show which is growing in popularity as Niagara's only woodworking show is free to attend and full of education and entertainment. Wood chips and sawdust could be found in all areas of the store as demonstrations of the latest and greatest tools and products were on display. The sounds of tiny hammers pounding like woodpeckers could be heard throughout the store as the Kid's Workshop was a popular spot where children were introduced to the craft of woodworking. You will see in one of the photos below that after the Kid's Workshop one small boy felt it necessary to read up on some magazines and plan out his next project. The weather that day was far from ideal but didn't dampen the spirits of those that attended. The woodworking competition brought artisans together from age 19 to 89. The quality of projects was outstanding this year as the five judges inspected and deliberated for over an hour. Once the ribbons were placed on the winning projects I heard of no complaints so kudos to the judges on their selections. For this year's competition woodworkers were competing for a purse of nearly $2000 in prizes.

I would like to thank all the companies that supplied prizes for the show:

-Ridgid -Ryobi -Milwaukee -Delta Machinery -Porter Cable -Black & Decker -Dewalt -Gorilla Glue -Irwin -Footprint -Picquic -Dremel -Husky -Stanley Bostitch -Norton -LePage -Elmer's -Varathane -Minwax -Watco -Weldbond -Campbell Hausfeld -Freud -Makita -Bosch -Skil -McCordick Safety -Purdy -Bennett -Paslode -Canadian Woodworking Magazine

With the success of last year's show, the focus for this year was on promotion and advertising and I would like to thank all the companies that helped to advertise this show:

-The St.Catharines Standard -Canadian Woodworking Magazine -TVCogeco -CHCH TV Hamilton -The Wood Shed -Niagara Financial Partners -McQueen's Custom Cuts -Niagara Woodworking Club -Niagara Wood Carvers Association -Ridgeway-Crystal Beach Secondary School -Niagara This Week -Facebook -Kijiji -Lumberjocks.com

I would like to thank Ridgeway-Crystal Beach Secondary School who had there Broadcast Bus there along with a film crew that conducted interviews and shot some great footage of the show. The students will be editing the raw foortage and delivering a DVD of the days event. I look forward to having it playing at the store. Besides the film crew I took some of my own pictures and put together some pics of the day. Here are some photos from the show and photos of the winners with their winning projects:

And the winners were......

FIRST PRIZE

Small Category Large Category

SECOND PRIZE

THIRD PRIZE

DOOR PRIZE

(drawn from the names of those that did not place)

For photos of all the projects entered into the competition please click on the following link:

http://s306.photobucket.com/albums/nn251/biff_kpv/?action=view&current=23bf4511.pbw

So as you can see the show was a success. The buzz around the show at the end was wait until next year which is the best compliment because that means people had a great time and are looking forward to an even bigger show next year!

The Vacuum Gouge

2008-05-22T21:45:00.002-04:00

Have you ever thought that turning wood is a messy job?

As you turn wood the chips fly at you.....

If the wood is green, you get sprayed with water from the wood.....

You can not wear a shirt or apron with pockets for they get full of chips and dust.....

Well let me tell you.............

NO MORE!!!!

The Vacuum Gouge eliminates all these problems. You will not have to sharpen your gouge as often as there is a sharp edge 360 degrees around the tip so just give a little turn a VOILA the gouge is sharp again. I was introduced to this tool about a month or so ago and could not believe how simple an idea it is.

www.cleanturntools.net

I used this tool for the turnings on the tall sack back rocking chair and was impressed at how clean the area was after all that turning.

So take it from me this is a definite keeper and something every spindle turner should have!

I might show a video of how easy it is to use this tool this weekend if I figure out how to do that.

My Day at W.E.Saunders

2008-05-03T17:00:00.003-04:00

This past week I went to a one day training session at W.E. Saunders or W.E.S. Distributors in Delhi. This training was all about wood finishing using spray equipment, dyes, laquers, tints and sealers. I tell you my head was spinning from all the information. The class was taught by two instructors George Saunders who is the owner and his lead tech Tim and let me tell you these guys know and love their business! The passion these two expressed was contageous and they were very skill at conveying what they know. If you ever get a chance to visit and get into this class the money was very well spent and the drive was quite nice also.

Please visit: http://www.wesdist.com/

Some Previous Projects....

2008-04-11T17:59:00.001-04:00

Here is a small collection of previous projects that I have made. I will continually add to this as time goes by and as I am able to scan in photos of projects before I had a digital camera. Enjoy!

Tall Sack Back Windsor Rocking Chair

Oak Toilet Paper Holder

Maple Phone Table

Football Chair (Re-upholstery)

Repair and Refinish of Oak Office Chair

Replacing broken strecher of a chairLittle Cows made from scraps of oak

Pine Bookcase
Wooden Business Card Holder

Cherry and Bird's Eye Maple Jewellery Box

Oak six panel mirror

Repair of Low back windsor chair

Set of oak living room tables

Comb Back Windsor Chair

Award Winning Sack Back Windsor Chair

Pair of Pine Keepsake chests

Aspen Rocking Horse

An oak quilt rack

Small reindeer

A Home Depot special coat rack

Three small rocking horses, four small rocking chairs and two small chairs

A folding step stool and seat made of pine

Walnut and maple trivet set

An alder chest

Sleeping bears on a fence

Sewing Chest -- open

Sewing Chest -- closed

Maple hall table with a dovetailed maple and walnut mug rack on top

Award Winning Parsons Coffee Table made from one 3/4x4x8 sheet of spruce plywood

Dogs and critters

Coffee shop sign

Slipper chair

Wing back chair with queen anne legs

Grape leaf wine glass holder that sits atop the bottle of wine

Oak wine shelf

Poplar candlestick holder

K-W Wood Show

2008-03-17T07:30:00.001-04:00

Here it is..... the last wood show of the season!

Next season doesn't start again until the Welbeck show in August. This show in Kitchener-Waterloo has always been a favourite of mine as I attend the Stockade Craft and Wood Supply's annual Open House before going to the show and the show never seems to let me down.

Here are some photos from the show:

Hamilton Wood Show

2008-01-29T08:56:00.000-05:00

This years show was as many of the shows in Hamilton a little disappointing for me. I wish the coordinators for the show would make a rule that each vendor must be 80 or 90 percent woodworking related as it is a Wood Show or so it is advertised.

Probably half of the vendors at the show were selling goods or services that had nothing to do with woodworking. There were three different chamois vendors. Then there were people selling sweaters and jewellery and candy and COME ON!

I love the fact that this show is held at the Airplane museum and that your entry fee to the show also allows you to view the planes at the museum as well. See I am trying not to be too negative.....

This show also boasts a Canadian Carving Championship which was well displayed and showcased some real talented people. Here are some highlights from the competition:

So as a whole the show was as I said a little disappointing for me but hey...... it's still a wood show none the less.

Windsor Chair Class--comb back

2007-11-07T20:06:00.000-05:00

How to Make a Comb Back Windsor Chair

This is the chair completed

The 2nd Annual Home Depot Woodworking Show

2007-11-04T11:31:00.000-05:00

This years show was an overwhelming success. Special thanks to Mike from The Niagara Woodworking Club for all your help and to Warren from The Niagara Wood Carvers Assocaition whose group put on a great display of skills and talent for all to see. For the woodworking competition this year we had two categories in a more open woodworking competition that brought out some fantastic people and some really nice pieces of work. Competition entrants ranged between 18 and 88 years and everyone showed respect for each others work and "wood talk" and stories could be heard all over the store. Here are some photos from the event:

The woodworking competition entrants:

And the winners are.........

Cost Effective Stitches

2007-10-11T22:44:00.000-04:00

Welll.......

I have been extremely busy in the shop as of late and been making alot of headway on alot of projects. Today I was cutting some 2 1/4" thick oak on the bandsaw and knew I should have changed the blade for I knew it needed to be changed. I said to myself I will just cut out these last few and then I'll throw that blade out.

Well.......

The push block slipped and my left pointer finger went right into the blade and cut me good from the middle knuckle down to the nail and got me for.........7 stitches!

The morale of the story is ........

The new blade costs about $7.00 and I had one on the wall.

So......

I make that out to be....oh, a buck a stitch!!!

Woodworker's Prayer

2007-09-27T08:15:00.000-04:00

The

Woodworker’s Prayer

Oh lord,

So far today I’ve not cut myself nor anyone else. I’ve not coveted my neighbour’s tools and I’ve not damaged any of my own. For I’ve not been tempted to buy one of those fancy laser guided clamps that Norm uses on the New Yankee Workshop. I’ve not messed up any of my projects, nor had any cause to take thy name in vain.

For this I give thanks.

But lord... I’m going to get out of bed soon and then I’ll need all the help THAT you can offer.

The Woodstock Wood Show

2007-09-26T18:56:00.000-04:00

The Woodstock Wood Show took place on September 28,29,30 in Woodstock, Ont. This is one of my favourite shows all year. I don't know if it is the time of year or just the size of the show but I do look forward to this weekend each year. I went with the wife this year as she too enjoys the show and between weddings and funerals this past weekend we made it to the show on sunday and the weather was spectacular. The show was not as busy as I thought it would be seeing how the weather was so nice.

The show as always was full of vendors selling and displaying everything from tools and wood to jellies and fudge. I am not liking the trend though of seeing so many non woodworking vendors but I suppose to keep everyone happy you need them there too. In case you were hungry there was plenty of food vendors too from sausage to ice cream you certainly did not have to go without while at the show. Seminars and demonstrations are held inside two large tents and run every 90 minutes. Of the seminars they had I only caught the one which was on bowl turning and found it to be a little too much of the audience just staring and less interactive for the instructor did not not communicate what he was doing and said but maybe a dozen words during the hour long seminar but the crowd seemed to enjoy it.

Time to do some shopping and I of course brought my list or wares that I needed and got nearly everything but left the show with a bigger list of new items I wanted. For instance Freud was there to show off the new router table and router combo with integrated switch that can turn on the shop vac when you turn on the router. I am so due for a new router table! Steel City Tools had a large display of there goodies all of which I am liking more and more every time I see a demonstration. Nice to see the Home Depot at the show for the first time displaying the latest and greatest from the Ridgid and Milwaukee lines. All in all I enjoyed the show especially the portable saw mills.......I could watch them all day long, I just gotta get me one of those!!!

Here are some pictures I took at the show:

This is an interseting segmented turning piece

Here are some large pieces of furniture that were in the competition

This took a best of show award in the carving category.

This also took a best of show award... and it is a working model!

This beautiful piece took best of show in the furniture category

I enjoy going to wood shows as they keep me creative and get me inspired to make something great. So I look forward to seeing you all out at my Woodworking Show on November 3rd at the Home Depot St.Catharines.

Labour Day "Log" Weekend

2007-09-04T11:04:00.000-04:00

This is a 100+ year slab from a maple tree in Port Dalhousie that had been cut down. This slab is 4" thick, 5 feet round and weighs I'm guessing about 200 pounds. Here it is in the van when I got it home.

Here the slab is out of the van and propped up on sawhorses. I am going to smooth out all the chainsaw marks on both sides and make a table out of this gorgeous piece of history.

As you can see the slab was cut just prior to the crotch of the tree and has three piths or centers. I have counted the rings and have determined the tree was somewhere between 123 and 127 years old. I have used Pentacryl to help stop the checking but because I was working out in the driveway and under the sun and exposed to the wind I have some small cracks from the slab drying irregularly. I have set up a small "tent" around it and am using a dehumidifier to extract the moisture like a small kiln you might say. Keep your fingers crossed that not too much movement happens and the cracks and checking are minimized.

This will officially become a coffee table so now I can start planning out the legs. When I was at the mill this morning looking for ideas I posed the question to the owner and suggested some ash branches say about 4-5 inches in diameter and use four of them with the bark left on. I had not thought of that and am not totally convinced but he is getting me some anyway. I had originally thought of a three leg configuration using chunky say 6-8 inch square maple and distressing it. So as you can see the jury is still out but I can not do anything until the slab gets to about a 8-9% moisture content. When I got it home it was 34% and now 2 months later it is at 18% so I have some time to decide yet.

I will keep updating on the "Log Table" as it progresses

Windsor Chair Class--sack back

2007-08-30T15:04:00.000-04:00

How to make a Sackback Windsor Chair

This is the windsor chair done complete!No power tools! No nails or screws! No sandpaper!