Leather Backpack With Two-Way Straps and Brass Fittings
This one’s a doozy. Here Jimmy DiResta uses an interesting technique to shape leather for a backpack, creates his own latching system out of brass, and designs the straps in such a way that they can be transformed from backpack-style to messenger-bag-style:
Carrying Tray with Locking Wooden Spring Latch
Matthias Wandel builds a serving tray/tote with a very clever handle design, taking advantage of the properties of wood in order to create a locking spring latch:
How to Glue Panels Up–Without Clamps
Izzy Swan is the master of creating inexpensive and effective shop jigs. First off this week, he shows you his clever, low-cost method for gluing up panels without having to buy/use clamps:
Easy-to-Make Wooden Clamps for Holding Workpieces Vertically
Secondly, Swan shows you how to build, out of cheap dimensional lumber, a quick-‘n-dirty set of clamps for holding stock vertically on your workbench:
Installing a Shop Air System
April Wilkerson got tired of lugging her portable air compressor around her shop, and is upgrading with a 60-gallon unit that will be stored outside of the main room. Here she shows you how she installed the tubing and fixtures to get compressed air wherever she needs it:
Quick & Easy Lathe Tool Holders
This week Jay Bates, again with an assist from Matt Lane, bangs out a simple rack to hold his turning tools:
Make Your Own Exotic Wood Pencils
Super cool project from David Picciuto, who shows you how to make your own pencils. And handsome ones at that, as Picciuto uses exotic wood scraps. I’m also digging the little jig he creates to sand the hexagonal shape.
Efficient Kitchen Cabinet and Countertop Design
While Ana White’s kitchen cabinets shown here are designed for her tiny house, there are a few tricks here that would be applicable to anyone looking to build an inexpensive and space-saving kitchen. She uses drawer slides that obviate the need for drawer sides, reducing construction time, finds a good way to use the space behind the toe kick, and creates an economical countertop with a drop-in that turns the sink area into usable space:
One Day Doc in Honor of Dr. Robert Clagett
Those of you who listen to the “Making It” podcast done by Bob Clagett, Jimmy DiResta and David Picciuto know that Clagett was recently called away to his hometown in Kentucky. Sadly, word had arrived that his ailing grandfather’s time was nigh. Dr. Robert Clagett was a skilled maker in his own right from whom the younger Bob learned, and in an effort to honor him, Bob heads into his grandfather’s shop to find a project he can work on:
Floating Shelves
Sandra Powell continues to impress with her DIY interior build-out skills. This time she builds floating shelves for a closet space with angled walls, and absent a helper, has to come up with some creative ways to get the bottoms affixed:
Sharpening Chisels
Here Linn from Darbin Orvar shows us (without narration) how she sharpens her chisels. No honing guides needed; Linn has learned to do it freehand, including putting on the microbevel that we can see in the later shots. Also gotta love that the first thing she does is scrape the manufacturer’s name off of the handle:
http://www.core77.com/posts/53028/How-to-Glue-Panels-Without-Clamps-Make-a-Leather-Backpack-and-Create-Your-Own-Pencils-in-This-Weeks-Makers-Roundup