Not too much time has past though, it seems. My last article I wrote before the speedbump has only just made it to press (in the latest edition of Australian Woodworker- I haven’t seen it yet. Has been a while because I can’t remember what I wrote!).

Had a phone call on the back of that from the new business manager, and a great deal of information exchange ensued.

For one, just how much of my involvement, in promoting a quality Australian product, and in design suggestions, and modifications had been lost/forgotten. Even the very comprehensive assembly manual’s existence had been forgotten, and it was only during the phone conversation was it mutually discovered that all this history and quality relationship with Torque had been erased. Even just who I was, and what I, and Stu’s Shed represented as an independent asset for the company, and the product had been lost.

You have to ask, how the hell such a situation could possibly develop? The only answer I can give was a very deliberate, extremely hostile internal (and some external) sabotage. And all this by someone I was extensively helping (on marketing, on design concepts, on product improvements and direction), without expectation of reward, who was playing me (among others), and using me. Trying not to swear extensively here, but where I was already pretty pissed off being completely cut out of the loop for the last Melbourne Wood Show, now the extent of the betrayal (to me, and to Torque) is becoming evident, I am beyond livid. They obviously no longer work for Torque Workcentres.

Ok, so that is the negative. And it wasn’t, and isn’t directed at Torque Workcentres – they (especially the inventor) are the real victim in all this. Funny thing is, early on in the relationship I was offered to become a part owner- a 10% share (for no financial buy-in). To this day I am still glad I declined the offer. I rather remain independent- renumerated if I do any work for then (such as the assembly manual), but otherwise free of any expectation. And able to continue to provide reviews and opinions which are not compromised.

It has been a very difficult recovery for Torque (and more to come)- I imagine recovering from a real flood or fire would be the equivalent, but it has begun, and what I heard is that recovery is going to be pretty spectacular. Some of the products on their way will blow our collective socks off.

I am going to wait until I get a firm direction from Torque to talk about them, but from the sound of it, it isn’t far away.

In the meantime, if you are looking to have dealings with Torque Workcentres make sure you are using a reputable dealer. These are the ones listed on their website, including Lazy Larry in Queensland.

So hopefully, this will represent a return to Torque again making for exciting content on Stu’s Shed. Can’t wait!!!

You can certainly still subscribe to the traditional version for $20 ($19.95 for the pedantic) for 4 issues if you want, or save a tree and get it electronically to be read on you device of choice (computer, iPad, Samsung tablet etc etc)

It is available through Zinio, which has a whole swag of other magazines also available, across IT platforms. You can also buy individual issues of Manspace for $6.95

To get to Zinio, click the icon and shop for magazines to your heart’s content. It doesn’t affect your discounts, but Stu’s Shed gets a bit of a kickback. There is a massive range of magazines available too, and they are crossplatform. Buy it on your computer, and read it on you iPad or iPhone (or any other popular device) (and vise versa) Don’t forget to search for “Manspace”! There is quite a comprehensive list of magazines available to choose from, especially when using a web interface.

It has good heft, is particularly straight (unlike any of my steel rules, which all,seem to have gathered some form of kink over the years) is CNC routed and has acid etched markings. At 350mm, it is more versatile than your standard steel rule and looks a lot nicer to boot!

It doesn’t have a centre scale which I sometimes find useful, but on the other hand, the fact the markings line up on both edges is a worthwhile alternative. One end is also marked to assist with setting tool height (such as router bit and tablesaw).

The rule is currently sitting on my desk at work- I know it’d be useful in the workshop (especially marrying up with the brass square from Wood Review), but I also like the weight, and length for other non-wood related tasks! Dilema!

You could say the project started 15 years ago when it was first conceived, but it was only recently I knew what I wanted to do.

One final big push- the brass was all polished and sealed, the board sanded and finished, hole drilled for the gauge and I had the method for attaching all the items finally worked out.

Brass screws (keeping as traditional as possible) mounted the majority of the items. The crests were glued, as were the name plate (with white ensign) and the plate from the ANZAC. This wasn’t screwed on because by the time the ANZACs arrived there was so much less care for attention to detail and quick and easy was the order of the day.

Mounting the cartridges, wheel spanner and torch needed some problem solving, until I cottoned on to the idea of using copper wire. Couldn’t thing of a supplier, so came up with an alternative right in the shed already- heavy electrical wire. Stripping the insulation left a number of strands, just a heavy enough gauge to work. I started off with the idea of drilling two holes next to each other, so the wire could be twisted off at the back, but with the holes close together, huon pine couldn’t withstand the force so the wire cut through between the holes.

I then came up with a much simpler solution- a single hole, with the two end fed through, then wrapped around a screw at the back. With care, this screw is then tightened to lock the wire in place. Care is needed as tightening the screw pulls on the wire, and the copper gets close to breaking point. When successful, it is a good way to really secure the item in question.

I used the same method to secure the rank boards as well, in a way very similar to how rank boards are fixed to a shirt in the first place.

So the completed board, looking rather similar to the planned layout and in context, among some of the qualifications earned at the time. Now I just have to polish up the 4.5″ and 5″ shells.

With about 10 interested members registered, we jumped straight into various aspects of the machine, from fine tuning, degrees of freedom, mounting tools, mounting work to the workcentre.

Drilling a grid of holes 100mm apart, 20mm diameter was next, for use of Walko Surface Clamps (from Ideal Tools). They are still the best method for mounting work to the workcentre by far. Everyone got to have a go at many of the functions during the day – decent hands on, not just demo.

Lots of information, passing both ways. Heard about their difficulty in getting a complete unit delivered – incomplete deliveries is a common theme I’ve heard a few times now sadly. These guys even had to make some parts to replace those not delivered.

Also got to admire their $36000 dust extraction unit.

Pretty serious stuff!

Back to the day, and the Berwick Club sure looks after you – jam & cream scones for morning tea, great sandwiches for lunch, lamingtons, cupcakes and pastry jam & cream squares for afternoon tea.

So we drilled, surfaced and sanded our way through the morning.

A quick look at the circular saw mount before moving onto router copying.

We cut circles (with everyone getting a go) then looked at pin copy, including the body of a toy plane (Berwick make a lot of kids toys), then moved over to the copy attachment for a bit of bas relief sign writing.

So, a good “Training Day”.

Must be a bloody good product then.  Just hope they can get it together again.

Tomorrow I’m off to Berwick Woodworkers to run a 7 hour training session for the club, all on the Torque Workcentre.  Should be an interesting day, even if there is some nostalgia involved.

Got lots to cover, might list the programme, but that’d probably get whisked away as well. (Too much sour grapes?)

See how I feel after tomorrow.

Arrived the other day in a big box:

So if you are wondering why there is a stamp shortage in Tasmania, now you know why!

Inside was this collection, which I now have to decide how best to use it

Combination of Huon Pine (the large pieces), Myrtle, King Billy Pine.
There are some light markings on one piece of Myrtle that almost looks like the fabled Tiger Myrtle.

So thanks . Sorry you had to read that it arrived safely from my blog, but you know, slack son!  Did try ringing – you really need broadband.

A year ago, the board looked like this (as a conceptual layout)

Since then (and all only just recently), I’ve made some progress.

Step one was taking the slab that had an initial rough sanding on the Torque Workcentre and giving it a good flattening sand.

Best tool I have for that is the BS105E, otherwise known as the Festool beast – a 105mm, 6.5kg $1500 belt sander. Yeah, still blows my mind too that a belt sander can be worth that much. Beautiful tool to use though. It has the sled that allows the sander to be floated over the surface, either aggressively cutting to the full depth of the paper grit, or raised so high that only the tips of the abrasive is impacting the surface. Typically, you use it somewhere in between!

The shear weight of the sander means you only have to guide the sander where you want it to work. No additional downward pressure required at all.

The surface at this stage was already becoming alive. Perhaps it is the natural oils in the Huon Pine burnishing the surface with the sanding, but it looks like it doesn’t need an actual finish! Doesn’t mean I won’t, but what that finish is will need a little research.

Onto a final sand, this time the ETS150/5, sanding up to 320 grit.

Possibly a bit out of order, bit it was then onto the tablesaw to trim up the ends. Given the slab has two natural edges, and two non straight edges, I used a sled to carry the slab through the tablesaw to get the first straight edge. The Incra Mitre Express worked well in this case.

Once the first edge was cut, this then was placed against the fence to cut the second edge parallel. The final two edges I’ve always intended to be left natural.

(Guard removed for photo).

Next, taking a holesaw, a cavity was cut for the steam pressure gauge. It was a little undersized (not having exactly the right sized tool). Getting it sized correctly only took a few short minutes on the spindle sander.

The brass items needed a real clean and polish.

With a can of what anyone in the military would be well familiar with (Brasso), each of the parts were given a good polish. Perhaps not to military spec, but I didn’t want them to be completely deprived of their history/age. Not sure where my before & after photos are- still in the camera I suspect! Will post them later.

I then tried my layout again. 12 (13?) months since I last laid it out, and it has become more refined. I have also finally figured out how to attach the cartridges, and other odd shaped items to the board. Time to source some copper wire.

Anyway, this is looking like it might be a layout I’m happy with. Now to bring it home, and finally finish a project off!

(Taken on my iPhone, so sorry if the colour balance is a bit off!)

Take 1x Festool Systainer.

Now granted the lid of this systainer has already suffered some wilful damage, but what I’ve done next puts the icing on the cake.

Systainer: meet tablesaw.

Using the same technique used in boxmaking to detach a lid from the just-made box, the systainer is run through the tablesaw on each side, just above the base (but not high enough to impact the clips). High enough to retain the clip points for a lower systainer to still be able to lock to the base.

So why in the world would I do that? There is method to my madness.

The detatched systainer base can still lock to the top of any other systainer…….or Festool Cleantex vac.

So the final piece of the puzzle. Now taking a typical bucket, a few holes drilled through both the base of the bucket and into and through the systainer base, and finally some steel blind rivets to lock the two together. Now, I have a bucket that can be locked to the top of a systainer or vac. The bucket? Collection bin for a cyclone separator! Given the systainer cost $10 2nd hand, this was so much cheaper than any custom made systainer-like collection bin. A normal systainer cannot be used for dust collection as the walls are too thin to be able to withstand the generated vacuum.

Must admit, I’m pretty pleased with this solution. Nice thing is the cyclone separator has 2 1/2″ connection points, so it plugs directly inline without needing any modifications, changes in tube dimensions etc. Not sure if I will use it all the time, or even if I actually need it for the Cleantex at all (I use the reusable Festool bag which works exceptionally well), but I wanted to demonstrate just how feasible the concept was.

but it is new. My daughter has kinder tomorrow morning, and I wanted these ready for delivery.

They have been receiving various running repairs after having being subjected to about the greatest force of nature known to man. No, not cyclones, wildfire/bush fire or flood. Not even the UFC. The force of nature known as 4 year olds!

I really don’t know what they do, but it must be a combination of using the road signs as a combination of javelins and Thor’s hammer!

In hindsight I’d change the design to something more substantial, but these are as they are. To make them kid proof would probably require the post to be 4×4 cyprus pine!

Hope they appreciate them before (and while) destroying them!

Some are male, some female. Simple enough. But still a pain, especially if you have a knob of one type and you need the other version!

Of course Woodpeckers have solved that problem. Called the Multi-knob, an it is a whole $2 each from Professional Woodworkers Supplies. The price is absolutely no indication of quality either. They are strong, and an ergonomic shape, so therefore able to be turned by hand with force, and still comfortable to grip.

The nut or bolt are removable, and then the alternative inserted into the hex cavity inside the cavity in the top of the knob. So simple really. Oh, and did I mention $2?

No land for a trailer. No land for a caravan, or a boat. No land for shooting some hoops, or some backyard cricket. And most certainly, no land for a shed. What are you thinking? Why on earth would anyone want a shed? You should be sitting inside watching the latest weigh-in of the Biggest Loser (assume that show is stil running), or berating the kitchen skills of other shed-less couples vying to have everyone knows their kitchen rules. Where are the shed challenge shows anyway?

Where I grew up in suburban Auckland, it was pretty standard that each house was on a 1/4 acre block. (Just over 1000m2). These days, they seem to be 1/8 acre, and the entire land area is filled with ‘the house’.

So where is the shed meant to go? I blame 2 groups: the developers, who are only interested in buying up large blocks of quality farmland, and trying to maximise the number of properties they can produce, and the local government for allowing it to happen at all.

RIP sheds- we will see you represented in the museum of modern history, where will celebrate a time not yet ruined by modern greed.

On the road again -
Just can’t wait to get on the road again.
The life I love is making sawdust with my friends

And I can’t wait to get on the road again.

Looks like I’m off to the Ballarat Wood Show on the 31st March-1st April 2012.

This year, instead of being a demonstrator on a particular stand (often it was the Triton stand, when Triton still existed as a company, and did the demo circuit), I will be demonstrating on my own stand. It isn’t exactly the same as what I’m thinking of for the Melbourne Working with Wood Show in October, this will only be demos- no hands on.

At this stage, thinking of covering a bit of sharpening on the Tormek, perhaps firing up the Beall Pen Wizard, and I might even do some item duplication on the Torque Router Master. Not sure yet. I had the Clearvue Mini CV06 turn up last night, so depending on how that performs in workshop tests, that might be dragged along as well. What gets included will depend on how easy it will be for individuals to purchase any of these items if they get enthused. I can’t figure out (from web surfing) just how much the CV06 even is in Australia! Some of the woodpeckers items could well make an appearance.

If you are thinking of going, what do you want to see?

Jim will be there afaik (Carrolls Woodcraft Supplies, so plenty of supplies, and he carries Tormek and Beall for a start. Woodworkers in provincial centres around the country would probably run out of supplies altogether if it wasn’t for Jim and his roving shop of woodwork supplies!

Last time I was in Ballarat, it was like going back in time. In fact it felt like I had!

If you happen to be making a trip to Ballarat for the show (or otherwise), the wagon-making workshop at Sovereign Hill is definitely worth checking out. The automated, belt driven wagon wheel making tools from the 1800s are bloody impressive!

There are some posts on here aways back which has plenty of photos (& some video?) of them in action.

On the road again -
Just can’t wait to get on the road again.
The life I love is making sawdust with my friends

And I can’t wait to get on the road again.

There is, obviously, the internet which can offer so much, including videos, but books (and magazines to a degree) are still a valuable resource. Magazines do rely on adverts, which can be interesting, informative, or annoying depending on how they are done. As a general rule, woodworking ads are more interesting than others, so that isn’t such a bad thing.

As to books, the local library is a seriously good source, and free. I’ve found quite a few books in the library that after borrowing and reading, I’ve ended buying my own copy.

Amazon is an obvious source.

In Australia, Booktopia isn’t too bad, an their shipping charge is great- any number of books up to (and beyond) 100 for just $6.50

A great source of woodworking books, across the whole genre is Fox Chapel Publishing, and I have a fair few from them over the years.

I did also get the Woodsmith range of books through Time-Life. Interesting at the time, but not the best investment for me- they haven’t been read or referenced for years.